- Joined
- Feb 24, 2014
- Messages
- 284
- Reaction score
- 316
Q: What exactly is the “universe update”?CALBIRI: "We are working on updating what block types the planets generate with, how the asteroids, planets, stars and galaxies are laid out (to be more in line with the common expectations a player generally has) It also includes the crafting update and the FTL systems that we have already released as the work on the underlying larger scale changes progress."
Q: Is there anything in particular planned after this universe update? If so, what?
CALBIRI: "I’m not certain, but I’d guess expansion of the single player aspect of the game and possibly work on factions or missions. Since Schema is the one doing the coding, it’s really up to him which system is best to implement next."
Q: What are your plans for future texture packs and the ones we already have?
KUPU: "Plans are to complete the default texture pack and maintain it as the default option. The only other texture pack I am considering continuing (and overhauling to improve the quality) is the Pixel pack. Creating new texture packs is a lot of work, I would struggle to create a new one and maintain the current art assets / projects in development."
Q: What is the plan for the currently unreleased minelayer system?
KUPU: "The minelayer is postponed for now and may (hopefully) appear in the future. It was postponed to avoid overlapping roles in our current weapon pairing systems. Cal has a plan for it eventually."
Q: What has changed with the crafting system in the dev build?
CALBIRI: "Its now a three tiered crafting system, with a split of resource income at the refining level. You’ll now get alloyed metal and composite crystal from refining, as well as the specific capsule types. These are then spent on the crafting tiers, basic crafting uses mostly the alloy and composite, while standard uses a mix of those and colored capsules. Finally, the advanced factory uses primarily capsules. This spreads the resource load needed to make items focused on easy to make basic blocks and harder to make (through rarity of resources, not complexity) the advanced blocks."
Q: What are your thoughts on AI fleet control?
CALBIRI: "I’d like some fleet control, although one must not mistake simulated “AI” in the gaming since with -actual AI-, we’re never going to see truly complex intelligent behavior from npc’s in our game. But basic fleet orders and interactions as well as specific behavior parameters are something I look forward too."
Q: Are there any plans for stellar phenomena, like black holes?
CALBIRI: "Yes, but that's not confirming black holes specifically. We plan on adding more stellar variety, but what types and how they affect gameplay are not firm decisions yet."
Q: Will we ever get textures that are higher resolution than 256?
KUPU: "No, the maximum resolution will stay at 256 pixels. Any more will kill performance and becomes a little redundant in a voxel game like starmade. I’m quite sure the game doesn’t allow 512 textures to be loaded at the moment anyway. The aim currently is to make textures that look good at all current resolutions but great in 256. With normal map support and continued lighting / texture improvements, I feel we now have all the tools available to create a good looking voxel game. We don’t need much more texture wise."
Q: What is the number one thing you would like to see put into Starmade?
CALBIRI: "I think the next thing I look forward to the most is player content. Specifically player gear, armor, weapons, utilities, tools, other equipables, and how you obtain and utilize these. This should go a long way to providing alternate game styles to explore besides just building a cool ship and flying it through the void as if that wasn't cool enough already."
KUPU: "I’m really excited for the Fauna system. It has massive potential to bring loads of life and variety to the universe. Space whales."
Q: Do you guys play any games outside of StarMade? If so, which ones?
CALBIRI: "I haven’t played many games lately, I unfortunately don’t have much spare time outside of my day job and the work I do here at Schine. When I do rarely get a chance to play, I enjoy storylines and creative type games, so RPG’s and Sandbox games are generally my favorite, also RTS games. Armored Core, Final Fantasy, various RTS’s, I burned a few years away on WoW, I was hooked on MC for some time as well. Recent favorites are Starbound, KSP, FTL, MC, and of course, Starmade!"
KUPU: "I’m currently playing through some old final fantasy games (7/8/9) and GTA 5. Starcraft 2 custom games to chill out sometimes."
That wraps up this month. Thanks for reading and please, feel free to post questions you want answered next month down below. We will make an effort to sift through them. Just make sure they are still relevant 30 days from now! Take care!
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