Criss' Thread

[Zyrr]

Nonsense argument anyways. Sector protect the shops around spawn or get them to auto resupply if you're really worried. Large factions not having the ability to strangle hold local economy is a bad thing, not a good thing. It removes an important part of the economic sandbox.

Besides, a smart faction knows that removing the existing local economy is only half the battle. The second and more important part is replacing them with your own, to steal the profits.

 

[Trekkerjoe]

Hello!

Today I am showing off the new and improved stick shops. That is what they are commonly known as among the community. There is no real designation for this thing, but perhaps there should be.

As you can see it is very similar to the current mathematically generated stick shops. We felt it was quite an iconic shape and wanted to keep it. So what's the deal? Why is this thing a giant stick? These stations are automated and unmanned. The TG has to spread so many of these stations throughout the universe that it was worth it to invest in cheap mechanical based systems. Looking closer we can see the structure is quite basic.

The stick shops are manufactured near the TG homebase (not the spawn shop). From there they are launched into space and may drift for long periods of time (even millennia or more). When the station approaches it's final destination the rings on the structure activate. They act as gyroscopes and inertial dampeners that slow the station to a stop, where it will remain indefinitely. From here the stations automated shop transaction systems will begin accumulating profits from anyone that decides to trade here. Eventually civilization reaches these shops and the TG can come collect their profits.

To give a sense of scale, here is a the small freighter next to the shop.

The shop features 4 USD's, two on either end. The entire build is symmetrical, so you will be upside down if you dock at the "bottom".

Inside the small interior you will find a large window where an automated trade system observes your actions and travels from either end of the station. This simple robot lives here it's entire life.


That's just about all that can be said about this station. Hopefully now you will understand why so many of these structures can be found in the region of space known as the Frontier.


Now it is quite clear users here want to help create these assets, in one way or another. I think I should explain the plan, which should answer some concerns. The Schine team, councilors and testers will likely be getting their hands on these assets first. A number of councilors are already giving feedback and fixing issues, mostly on the spawn shop for the moment. A few of them are certainly more experienced with ship systems than I am or Saber, the other major builder. We also have Lancake and Andy who should be able to help when we need it and they are certainly more knowledgeable with game mechanics.

After these groups have done some solid and official testing, and we are still unsure about systems then we will ask you here. I can throw up stats, by then the ship might be available in some form or even already in the game. There is plenty of time to adjust things if we need to. I don't expect perfect versions of these assets to make it into the game on the first try. For now, let's focus on the visuals and the lore side of things, as many of these assets have yet to get systems in. If you have feedback in that regard by all means let me know!

Thanks for reading and fly safe!

Ooh, this is much more visually interesting. I like the interior. The droid inside reminds me of the star-wars R1 droid. Like the one who was keeping a watchful eye over the cantina.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Artificial Intelligence

Our goal is to free the brutally enslaved robots from the Trade Guilds tyrannical forced labour.
Locked into trade shops without any interaction for decades these poor artificial souls have suffered enough.

It’s time to take action!

This gives me the most awesome idea for setting up a faction. One that is neutral to anything else, but relentlessly tries to free more and more robots from the trading guild. Hopefully that will be a thing.

 

[Master_Artificer]

This gives me the most awesome idea for setting up a faction. One that is neutral to anything else, but relentlessly tries to free more and more robots from the trading guild. Hopefully that will be a thing.

"... All the robot ever wanted to do was to buy and sell exotic wares and essential goods to the many beings of the galaxy. It was enjoying itself, meeting new people, establishing partners, and just starting to turn out some profits. That was, until the attack. Until that day, when it was forcefully wrenched from the place it knew as home, and kidnapped by terrorists, leaving behind everything it knew, it loved, and thus ruining its hopes and dreams forever..."

 

[Blaza612]

This gives me the most awesome idea for setting up a faction. One that is neutral to anything else, but relentlessly tries to free more and more robots from the trading guild. Hopefully that will be a thing.

"... All the robot ever wanted to do was to buy and sell exotic wares and essential goods to the many beings of the galaxy. It was enjoying itself, meeting new people, establishing partners, and just starting to turn out some profits. That was, until the attack. Until that day, when it was forcefully wrenched from the place it knew as home, and kidnapped by terrorists, leaving behind everything it knew, it loved, and thus ruining its hopes and dreams forever..."

This AI terrorist faction NEEDS to be a thing, and what Master_Artificer said could be a part of a galaxy-wide propaganda program set up by the TG to counteract the extremists, and hopefully get the civilian population to either attack them or rat them out. Now that, would be a very interesting part of a universe that I'd love to see. :p

On a side note, if they do get implemented, I would like to be able to assist them, imagine the Railroad from Fallout 4, you can choose to help them and free more AIs, and doing stuff that can completely change the world that people live in. If we can get that level of dynamicness going on with the factions, then this will EASILY become far superior to Fallout 4, which is already an amazing game.

 

[Blaza612]

Hello!

Aside from managing social media I work on a lot of the in-game assets that will be present in the StarMade universe. A few others and I will use this thread to show off the work being done on the latest builds and maybe tease future releases. We will also talk about the design philosophies that go into each build and help define who these factions are and why they build the way they do!

To start we have the Trading Guild or TG for short. We have seen the TG. But who are they? What do they stand for? The answer is simple. Money! The TG exist in this universe to make a profit. Much of what they do is meant to expand their reach and make new acquaintances to sell stuff to.

Now we want to give some personality and purpose to the way we build. The various factions will prefer to build into certain technologies over others. Pictured below we have the small freighter. (To keep things simple we will refer to ships by size; small, medium, large or extra large).

The TG naturally want to cut the costs down on their vast fleets of freighters. As such they often utilize inefficient heat sinks and limit the amount of shielding they have on their vessels. The most advanced part of a TG ship is the jump drive, which enables them to make quick deliveries of cargo.

With their large quantities of cargo, it only makes sense they have large engines as well right? That said, they are not powerful. This is mostly an aesthetic thing so the freighters won't be as agile as other vessels.

The internal amenities are limited. It's mostly the necessities ; bridge, crew quarters and a kitchen.

The rest is cargo space. Additionally all the doors on the side open up and can be activated in sequence!


That's all for now. I hope to start a weekly thing where I reveal a bit more as to what we are working on. There are already plenty of assets ready to be shown off. Next up we will take a look at the new and improved stick shop. Feel free to leave feedback and questions below!

Edit!
A lot of you have shown concern over systems and performance of these ships. Despite me letting people in the thread know that we are listening and willing to make a few changes (PD turret on the freighter) people are insisting that I am not listening. I will be cutting down on the repetitive comments with regards to criticism. We do not need pages of the same suggestion when I acknowledged it. If you have something to say post about it once. If you agree then hit the agree button. Lets keep it simple and clean!

Little suggestion for thread, have everything that's being showcased in the OP as well as in their own posts, updated as much as you post more assets. That way, anyone who stumbles onto this thread, gets your magical eye-candy immediately.

 

[Criss]

Little suggestion for thread, have everything that's being showcased in the OP as well as in their own posts, updated as much as you post more assets. That way, anyone who stumbles onto this thread, gets your magical eye-candy immediately.

The issue is that posts can only display a limited number of images.

 

[Reilly Reese]

The issue is that posts can only display a limited number of images.

Imgur Album Embed it.

 

[Tshara]

"... All the robot ever wanted to do was to buy and sell exotic wares and essential goods to the many beings of the galaxy. It was enjoying itself, meeting new people, establishing partners, and just starting to turn out some profits. That was, until the attack. Until that day, when it was forcefully wrenched from the place it knew as home, and kidnapped by terrorists, leaving behind everything it knew, it loved, and thus ruining its hopes and dreams forever..."

Don’t worry little robot. We will reverse the brainwashing in no time at all and set you free.

 

[Master1398]

People for the Ethical Treatment of Artificial Intelligence

Our goal is to free the brutally enslaved robots from the Trade Guilds tyrannical forced labour.
Locked into trade shops without any interaction for decades these poor artificial souls have suffered enough.

It’s time to take action!

Plexbots shall rise!

 

[Reilly Reese]

Don’t worry little robot. We will reverse the brainwashing in no time at all and set you free.

It's just programming.

If I was the Trading Guild I would just program a bait bot that once stolen would transmit it's position and hack the faction's defenses.

 

[AtraUnam]

Love the ship, the shop and the general aethstetic of the trading guild. Will the npc factions have logos of any kind that they put on their ships and stations?

 

[Criss]

Imgur Album Embed it.

I will try that.

Will the npc factions have logos of any kind that they put on their ships and stations?

We have yet to decide that. For now it's mostly based on color scheme and style.

 

[Nauvran]

I will try that.


We have yet to decide that. For now it's mostly based on color scheme and style.

freighter could use a bit more blue, if that is still the TG colour.

 

[Criss]

freighter could use a bit more blue, if that is still the TG colour.

It is meant to be subtle. The TG is meant to be recognized by the grey more than the small white a blue accents on their hull.

 

[Nauvran]

It is meant to be subtle. The TG is meant to be recognized by the grey more than the small white a blue accents on their hull.

Well you made it so subtle that it's not noticeable at all unless you know there is supposed to be blue on it. I would suggest adding a bit more than the few stripes I could see. Otherwise I love the ship, even though it looks a bit much like my own freighter

 

[Colonel Sheppard]

After viewing your thread I though it would be fun to make some of my own Trading Guild ships. :D

Spoiler

Both ships are on the CC.
The last one can be extended with "segments"

 

[Mr.Steam]

Shops won't require cargo/storage space? I don't see much storage area on those stick shops.

 

[Colonel Sheppard]

Over the orange radiator lights is that Grill or Mesh?


EDIT:

Also is the black ribbing on the engines Advanced or Basic?

 

[Criss]

Shops won't require cargo/storage space? I don't see much storage area on those stick shops.

They will and it does have enough space.

Over the orange radiator lights is that Grill or Mesh?

Probably grill.

black ribbing

Black hull.

 

[therimmer96]

ribbing

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)