StarMade News - November 9th 2015

    Bench

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    Here at Schine there’s always so many different developments happening at once. From new features to performance improvements, new content to experience both in and out of the game, it’s almost hard to keep up. With the last release just a few days ago, we’ve returned to our two-week release cycle, giving a lot more reassurance about what’s going on and when to expect updates.

    But through it all we want to keep you, the community informed, so here’s some stuff you should know about.


    Cargo Update

    You may have heard around the watercooler that our next major feature we’re working towards is the cargo update. Coming with it are a number of changes that we’d like to share with you so that you can best prepare. While we have it quite thoroughly planned out, we still have to say that Alpha is Alpha and in the middle of the build we may find that it would actually work a better way or there’s a programming issue preventing a particular aspect. So take this with a grain of salt, but know this is what we’re working towards.

    The cargo system will be built as an extension of the current storage blocks. It will utilize the placing of build-only-visible area blocks (think Trigger Areas) to define a 3D area-block-filled region as a cargo area. The cargo area is then connected to a storage block, rather than us having to introduce another block in the process. This also saves us from reinventing the wheel as all the filters, pull mechanics etc already exist in the storage blocks. You will only be able to define one storage area per storage block, so if you have two cargo areas on your ship, you’ll need a storage block for each. When you then store items through the storage block into the cargo area, cargo crates will appear in the cargo area.

    As part of this same cargo update we’ll be introducing stack limits. We’re refining exactly the process we’ll be stack limiting but regardless of our mechanics, the main thing we want to address now is the process of rolling this change out, so don’t immediately jump to the bottom to leave a reply demanding that it should be implemented this way or that.

    When we first release cargo and stack limits, any stacks in storage blocks or your inventory that are over the stack limit will appear in red text. You will also get an alert if you enter any friendly (probably factioned) entity that there are overstacked blocks in storage on the entity. These overstacked blocks are easy to break apart through the current storage options, and once dropped under their limit the numbers will become white again. You won’t be able to stack more on your already overstacked blocks.

    After a couple weeks we will be adding in a server setting that allows server owners to switch on stack decaying. Stack decaying will cause any overstacked blocks (the ones with red numbers) to slowly lose blocks from their stack, decaying until the stack comes under the stack threshold. This setting helps servers transition over to the new system while also giving active players enough time to move to the new system as well.

    If you need a quick fix, shop modules will still have their own block storage for now, and will hold more than the stack limits. However this is only a temporary solution, as we’ll be transitioning shop modules as well though it will be staggered with the cargo update.


    Launcher


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    We have been working on a new launcher for StarMade, and we are finally ready to start testing it with the general public. There are still several outstanding bugs that are preventing us from releasing it fully, but we are hoping with your help we can get those stomped out ASAP.

    Windows users can find the new launcher available via the Steam menu by simply selecting "Start with Beta Launcher" when starting StarMade within Steam.

    For everyone else, we are still working on the Steam integration, so you'll need to download the new launcher from this website: http://sm-launcher-test.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html. Simply select the largest number (they will increase as development continues). These development versions include built-in debuging software, so any bugs should be automatically reported back. If you would like to join in the discussion on the forums, the official thread is http://starmadedock.net/threads/launcher-public-beta-thread.21799/.


    Live Dev Q&A on Twitch


    We’ll be hosting a LIVE Dev Q&A session on Twitch on Sunday 15th November at 1:00pm PST (or 9:00pm GMT) where you the community will be able to ask questions directly to the developers of StarMade. It will be hosted on a special Q&A Schine server where those lucky enough to jump on before the server cap will be able to check out the recently announced spawn station for yourself. This will be one event you won’t want to miss. But, if you do miss it, we’ll also be uploading it to the StarMade YouTube channel afterwards.


    Price increase - Don't get left behind!

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    We will be increasing the new price of StarMade to be $14.99 USD on November 17th. Steam will adjust automatically to the appropriate pricing structure for all other countries when this happens, and we will occasionally be reviewing them to address any really weirdly generated prices.

    So don’t be like Dave above and get left behind, now is the perfect time to get in and save yourself a couple dollars.

    You may be thinking, but the game is completely free to download at the moment; that is correct. However it won’t always be completely free to play, so get in now and help support development and get a saving in the process.
     

    Ithirahad

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    So much good news! (Also, the cargo system works in exactly the way I was hoping it did, which means that required changes to most of my ships are minimal at best. My station, however, is a whole 'nother story... I might end up building a completely new sub-station facility just for storing ungodly amounts of crap.)
     
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    Whahooo!!
    Quick question:
    -Any ideas on what the stack limits might be like???
    -Few mill blocks???
    -Ability to purchase items which INCREASE your stack limits:?

    Thanks!
     

    therimmer96

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    most importantly, are we getting a way to move cargo from a docked ship to the mother and vice-versa? Especially with stack limits, moving cargo is going to be more difficult than ever.

    How many stacks will we be able to store in one block of storage area?
     

    Ithirahad

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    most importantly, are we getting a way to move cargo from a docked ship to the mother and vice-versa? Especially with stack limits, moving cargo is going to be more difficult than ever.
    This is my question as well.
    How many stacks will we be able to store in one block of storage area?
    Balancing is usually not finalized until playtesting and stuff has taken place. I doubt the devs know much more than you or I do at this point.
     

    therimmer96

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    Balancing is usually not finalized until playtesting and stuff has taken place. I doubt the devs know much more than you or I do at this point.
    Yeah, I figure that, but it would be nice to get a general idea as they're obviously going to need to start somewhere.
     
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    Maybe give each item a 'Weight' or mass index or whatever.
    Each area can store 'X' mass index, thus you could have lots of light capsules in one box or a couple of heavy armor blocks etc....
     
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    Sounds good all around. I'm also wondering where the stack limits are going to come down.

    Thanks for all the hard work!
     

    Bench

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    Whahooo!!
    Quick question:
    -Any ideas on what the stack limits might be like???
    -Few mill blocks???
    -Ability to purchase items which INCREASE your stack limits:?

    Thanks!
    It'll be balanced to accommodate the fact that players do still need to be able to build.

    most importantly, are we getting a way to move cargo from a docked ship to the mother and vice-versa? Especially with stack limits, moving cargo is going to be more difficult than ever.

    How many stacks will we be able to store in one block of storage area?
    We're devising ways that you will be able to transfer between docked entities so you can move cargo via docked entities on rails.

    Stack area numbers will be balanced but however many a storage area block provides it'll be more than if you just replaced it with a storage block
     

    Criss

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    -Few mill blocks???
    That would be quite high. I don't think it has been determined yet but based on what I am seeing it may be as little as a few thousand per stack. It also depends on how your cargo is setup. There is more depth to the actual cargo system that was not revealed here, however I do not know if it is fleshed out yet. The specifics need to be discussed a bit.

    are we getting a way to move cargo from a docked ship to the mother and vice-versa?
    We have looked into that already. It would come after the cargo is in. The details of this are also being worked out.
     
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    I believe it's time for a photoshop contest of what's behind Dave as he's left behind
     
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    How does one get the launcher through steam? I can't seem to find that setting.
     

    therimmer96

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    look in ./steamapps/common/starmade/ and run starmade-launcher.exe
     
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    How is sorting going to be handled? Now Bench said only 1 storage area per (storage) block, but is the reverse also true? Will we be able to hook multiple storage blocks up to 1 storage area? Will it even make sense to do so?
     
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    That would be quite high. I don't think it has been determined yet but based on what I am seeing it may be as little as a few thousand per stack. It also depends on how your cargo is setup. There is more depth to the actual cargo system that was not revealed here, however I do not know if it is fleshed out yet. The specifics need to be discussed a bit.


    We have looked into that already. It would come after the cargo is in. The details of this are also being worked out.
    Might be best to set a defalt and then allow it to be changed via the server config?
    When building somethings I put down 10k + Blocks in one click.
    Or when you need to move some of your factions 800 million stacks of capsuals..... (This is on a hardcore survival server)...
    I think its entirely dependent on the situation to whats appropriate, thus having it as a server option would be great : )
     

    Bench

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    How is sorting going to be handled? Now Bench said only 1 storage area per (storage) block, but is the reverse also true? Will we be able to hook multiple storage blocks up to 1 storage area? Will it even make sense to do so?
    As cargo is an extension of storage blocks, any sorting that you can do currently with storage blocks will in turn naturally extend to utilize the cargo attached to those storage blocks.

    Might be best to set a defalt and then allow it to be changed via the server config?
    When building somethings I put down 10k + Blocks in one click.
    Or when you need to move some of your factions 800 million stacks of capsuals..... (This is on a hardcore survival server)...
    I think its entirely dependent on the situation to whats appropriate, thus having it as a server option would be great : )
    There will be server config values for stack limiting but we're aware we still need to allow players to build so there will be ways to build without being too limited, without having to adjust the server config.
     
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    As cargo is an extension of storage blocks, any sorting that you can do currently with storage blocks will in turn naturally extend to utilize the cargo attached to those storage blocks.
    Yeah, but right now we use multiple storage blocks for sorting and storage. Say we wanted to be able to sort (for extraction) but use a common storage area (for capacity). Will we be able to do that, or will we have to set seperate storage areas for each? So like say I want 1 big storage area, but then I want to be able to push and pull from it with different storage blocks and factories.

    Another question came to mind. So say for instance that you keep your storage...going to call the old blocks lockers for convenience sake..lockers in your high security core area and you have your big cargo hold with the storage. So your ship gets boarded and they break into your cargo hold without taking control of the ship. Will they be able to take items directly from there or is it still going to all be controlled by the locker?