Development roadmap?

[Tobyz28]

Just curious how I can get plugged into what is coming in subsequent updates! Where can I find a dev roadmap of sorts?

 

[Billazilla]

Here ya go:
https://trello.com/b/9Kg5Jn6g/starmade-roadmap

 

[Tobyz28]

Here ya go:
https://trello.com/b/9Kg5Jn6g/starmade-roadmap

Tyvm!

 

[Keptick]

The next updates should be focused more on gameplay and roleplay features instead of ship mechanic oriented features like the last year's updates.

 

[Gasboy]

Is there a non-app way to view the roadmap? Like HTML for example.

 

[FatCobra]

It would be nice the see whats planned in the next release as well as the over all road map. Would it be possible to get some insight on whats currently being worked on for the next release?

 

[Ithirahad]

Yeah... Contrary to its name, the Trello does not seem to be a roadmap, just a partial list of features to be implemented whenever... An actual roadmap would show things by priority or by planed release order.

 

[GRHayes]

What gets me is the priority they assign to stuff. They are going to implement Fauna, station updates, launcher, and a new starter station.
The starter station and some station updates would quite small so I can see getting that stuff out of the way. It is just build projects.
The launcher reasonable.
But I wouldn't touch Fauna until I overhauled the AI systems. When I say over hauled this is what I mean currently the fighters that spawn 9 out of 10 times don't attack. I think that has to do with weapons not working in part do to recent updates.

Tactics need massive improvement. My son's 14 and they have had a coding club for the last 2 years at school. I seen their games have better tactics. It seems about the only tactic I see in this one is close to X distance try to maintain distance move around target and fire at target and maybe move if being shot. Not sure the last is real or just coincidence from my ship moving against their position.
I would implement group fighting such as surround target strafe runs, evade and recover.
Evade and recover would be to move out of range once shields drop to 50%.
Then implement hit and run.
Given they do have characters how about implementing boarding and some ground fighting.
Then add in some pathing so you can have them do patrols.
Implement a recovery system so they can land and park.
Implement a small dialogue system. - basically gives you menu options. with potential responses...

Then make that work on script system.

Then you could create pretty much anything you want after such as different races, pirates, animals, and so on and they could all use the same AI.

Then if I was going to do fauna I would make it a open Model so players could add types. That way Shine can benefit from the communities creativity rather than have to do everything.

Think about it if Shine just had to focus on the game Mechanics and the Community could do the stuff like modify AI, create new characters, add new blocks and functionality.

It would cut down on the work they need to do. Make things happen a lot faster.

 

[Ithirahad]

What gets me is the priority they assign to stuff. They are going to implement Fauna, station updates, launcher, and a new starter station.
The starter station and some station updates would quite small so I can see getting that stuff out of the way. It is just build projects.
The launcher reasonable.
But I wouldn't touch Fauna until I overhauled the AI systems. When I say over hauled this is what I mean currently the fighters that spawn 9 out of 10 times don't attack. I think that has to do with weapons not working in part do to recent updates.

Tactics need massive improvement. My son's 14 and they have had a coding club for the last 2 years at school. I seen their games have better tactics. It seems about the only tactic I see in this one is close to X distance try to maintain distance move around target and fire at target and maybe move if being shot. Not sure the last is real or just coincidence from my ship moving against their position.
I would implement group fighting such as surround target strafe runs, evade and recover.
Evade and recover would be to move out of range once shields drop to 50%.
Then implement hit and run.
Given they do have characters how about implementing boarding and some ground fighting.
Then add in some pathing so you can have them do patrols.
Implement a recovery system so they can land and park.
Implement a small dialogue system. - basically gives you menu options. with potential responses...

Then make that work on script system.

Then you could create pretty much anything you want after such as different races, pirates, animals, and so on and they could all use the same AI.

Then if I was going to do fauna I would make it a open Model so players could add types. That way Shine can benefit from the communities creativity rather than have to do everything.

Think about it if Shine just had to focus on the game Mechanics and the Community could do the stuff like modify AI, create new characters, add new blocks and functionality.

It would cut down on the work they need to do. Make things happen a lot faster.

I would assume that an AI revamp would come along with the addition of fauna, but you never know... I do agree that some things would have been more important than the implementation of fauna, at the moment, but the art team's been apparently working on this stuff for a long time so just because we are only just now haering about this doesn't mean that Schine just randomly decided out of the blue to add in fauna.

 

[GRHayes]

I would assume that an AI revamp would come along with the addition of fauna, but you never know... I do agree that some things would have been more important than the implementation of fauna, at the moment, but the art team's been apparently working on this stuff for a long time so just because we are only just now haering about this doesn't mean that Schine just randomly decided out of the blue to add in fauna.

I get that but I am a firm believer in when it comes to software development fix what you have first before adding to it or you just end up with more to fix.

 

[Ithirahad]

I agree. Thing is, we haven't really gotten to the point of adding to existing systems yet; it seems Schine is still filling things in and adding new systems mostly. Weapons, of course, got a major patch a while ago, but even in their current state they're kind of a framework to extend later on... Fauna is just another new system, though not a very well-timed one.

 

[alterintel]

Shameless plug for my Idea of a programmable AI: Link

 

[Panpiper]

Snip
But I wouldn't touch Fauna until I overhauled the AI systems.
Snip

This has been said many times before, but apparently needs be said many times more.

The people who work on fauna are not AI programmers. The people who work on AI and such, are not doing Fauna. Should they perhaps fire the people who are working on fauna until the AI people finish working on whatever they are doing, then rehire the fauna people so they can then do their work?

This game is not being written by a single human being who can do all things and has to decide how they will ration their limited time. The game is being created by several people who each have their own strengths. They each contribute to the whole in the manner they are best able. That is why some features you personally don't care for might well be released before something else you do care for isn't ready yet.

 

[Ithirahad]

This has been said many times before, but apparently needs be said many times more.

The people who work on fauna are not AI programmers. The people who work on AI and such, are not doing Fauna. Should they perhaps fire the people who are working on fauna until the AI people finish working on whatever they are doing, then rehire the fauna people so they can then do their work?

This game is not being written by a single human being who can do all things and has to decide how they will ration their limited time. The game is being created by several people who each have their own strengths. They each contribute to the who in the manner they are best able. That is why some features you personally don't care for might well be released before something else you do care for isn't ready yet.

Fauna AI is being worked on though, I'd assume, and if not then maybe some framework for procedural generation of fauna, spawn location generation code, etc etc. Fauna (the models) are not being worked on by the same people that work on AI, yes, but fauna is, will be, or at some point has been, worked on.

 

[GRHayes]

This has been said many times before, but apparently needs be said many times more.

The people who work on fauna are not AI programmers. The people who work on AI and such, are not doing Fauna. Should they perhaps fire the people who are working on fauna until the AI people finish working on whatever they are doing, then rehire the fauna people so they can then do their work?

This game is not being written by a single human being who can do all things and has to decide how they will ration their limited time. The game is being created by several people who each have their own strengths. They each contribute to the who in the manner they are best able. That is why some features you personally don't care for might well be released before something else you do care for isn't ready yet.

Fauna as in creatures they intend to put in the game right.
Without AI work they don't move or do anything!
So unless the AI is done first pointless work!
By what you mean of Fauna you mean the art work only! That being the 3D Mesh bone/skeletal system, animation and textures.
Again unless there is other work done pointless.

But what you could say is you are doing work on creature art work. In the hopes that the programmers get the AI working well enough to make use of it. Generally when I here Fauna we tend to think you want to actually implement the creatures when you are done creating them. Which for me as a developer myself that usually means unless you have everything in place extra work needs doing to do so and that includes programming. You need to make sure the current graphics engine is capable of rendering what you want, that the AI for it is in place, the file type works with what you have or you have a new system to load it... I could go on.

Lets face since the AI is dead well you've got a sand box for building and showing stuff off but unless you have someone else to play with the game is a dead end. Which is what most the kids in my son's school said they stopped playing because of. They in short they want something besides other players to fight against.

That said to your comment about firing the artist. If you have work for them to do great. If it isn't going to see the light of day you may as well fire them! Myself on the other hand I would schedule my work related to that to coincide so that those two issue become one issue and then you wouldn't be telling me that well the people who work on Fauna don't work on programming. You would be telling me something more on the line of these two issue are being dealt with simultaneously.

Of course I would be using a project management software to plan and schedule my work not trello. There are a number good ones on sourceforge.net. If you did this you would also end up with an actual road map and a lot less people asking questions.

But hey that's just the way I run my ship. Maybe it has to do with having been Naval Nuclear before going into electrical engineering and computer science.

Also considering the type of game you are running I would never have hired Artist I would have contracted the work. Because you are eventually going to run out of work for them to do. If you have a bunch of high detailed creatures running around in a world with low detail blocks they are going to look out of place.

 

[StormWing0]

Someone obviously doesn't know how to run a game company. >_> Each team within the company does it's own thing and just because they are working on one thing doesn't mean they aren't working on something else. Also if you contract out work you no longer own said work and can't do jack to it.

 

[GRHayes]

Someone obviously doesn't know how to run a game company. >_> Each team within the company does it's own thing and just because they are working on one thing doesn't mean they aren't working on something else. Also if you contract out work you no longer own said work and can't do jack to it.

You are dead wrong! You stipulate in your contract the work is done for your company and the rights to it belong to you. People sell the rights to all sorts of works each and every day.
Suggest you look something up before posting.
A lot of Major game manufactures contract out work.

If you wonder what I know about game development. https://wiki.libsdl.org/Tutorials
Its my tutorial listed under setup.

 

[Winterhome]

Throwing around credentials won't get you very far. If anything, it makes you look like a demanding ass - the loud, obnoxious, red in the face, angry mid level manager type personality.

Anyhow - AI ships are a totally different system from AI NPCs. Pirates use ship AI. Ship AI is not used for NPCs. The two systems do not even touch eachother. You're asking them to fix the roof because the toilet is clogged.

This is not an enormous studio with a single end goal in sight. Enormous studios make games with a clear goal post and are therefore able to assign an efficient order of operations to the teams working on the project. This flat out does not work on small scale indie work with the end goal being "everything and anything"

For all we know, this project doesn't even have a detailed long term road map. Most games I've seen don't. Hell, every project I've personally had any hand in has had no "completely thought out plan". A heavily detailed long term roadmap is only convenient to a small subset of potential customers, and that small subset is not as likely to just buy the game as the people who flat out do not care are. Is it worth the trouble? Because I seriously doubt it.

 

[GRHayes]

Throwing around credentials won't get you very far. If anything, it makes you look like a demanding ass - the loud, obnoxious, red in the face, angry mid level manager type personality.

Anyhow - AI ships are a totally different system from AI NPCs. Pirates use ship AI. Ship AI is not used for NPCs. The two systems do not even touch eachother. You're asking them to fix the roof because the toilet is clogged.

This is not an enormous studio with a single end goal in sight. Enormous studios make games with a clear goal post and are therefore able to assign an efficient order of operations to the teams working on the project. This flat out does not work on small scale indie work with the end goal being "everything and anything"

For all we know, this project doesn't even have a detailed long term road map. Most games I've seen don't. Hell, every project I've personally had any hand in has had no "completely thought out plan". A heavily detailed long term roadmap is only convenient to a small subset of potential customers, and that small subset is not as likely to just buy the game as the people who flat out do not care are. Is it worth the trouble? Because I seriously doubt it.

As for the AI not being the same. That is a choice they chose when writing it.
Most my AI work has had to deal with real world navigation. When you kill someone there isn't a respawn.

I guess it comes down to how I write AI code. That is probably why I see this differently from you.
Most my AI code I write has had to perform in the real world. When you get someone killed there isn't a respawn or do over.
As for most game based AI I worked on well it has almost always incorporated a state system.
The primary part of the AI to me is the same.
In general the AI tells makes the choice of what to do. The calling class provides the how to do it.

Something like limiting a creature to walking or flying for the AI would be no more than setting a state a flag or single true false.

If we looked at the result of "FLEE" then a class where the entity walks would run away where a bird would fly away. The decision on how to walk or fly would be the choice of the AI. The how the bird or person gets away is provide through them and path finding. The path finding shouldn't be in my opinion directly tied to the AI. If a character can run or fly the AI can select the faster of the two or choose one the Enemy can't do if possible. But once the choice is made again it falls back to the calling class to provide the means.

To me it make sense to make the best use of the code. Given I program mostly in C++ vs C these days this fits well with class systems. Considering this game is written in JAVA it would make even more sense to me to do it that way.

So that is why I don't see it as trying, "You're asking them to fix the roof because the toilet is clogged."

 

[StormWing0]

If you are so confident it is that easy than write a mod for the game that fixes the AI yourself. >_>