Satellite galaxies

[RODLON]

Simple idea: Remove over a quadrillon galaxies from the game, left only one. And add smaller satellite galaxies around it. Like we have here in the real world.

It would be cool to have somewhere to go outside the main galaxy, but not so big or far away or infinite that you can just forget about everyting else. I don't know why any faction would want to go there, but a lot of players like to play in places like that and it would look awesome, adding so much fun to the game.

 

[KaRe]

Doesn't the real world have quadrillions of galaxies though? And even if we remove the galaxies wouldn't there be someone that just wants to go into the endless abyss? Plus if enough people join wouldn't a server get overrun with factions and people and eventually run out of safe ways to extract resources, since every system would be claimed by a faction that's likely to protect their resources?

 

[aRottenKomquat]

I agree galaxy generation could use some tweaks. Seems like they're all pretty similar in size, and spaced perfectly evenly. I assume it's a placeholder for a future universe generator?

Would love to see huge variation in galaxy sizes, with galaxies that are not perfectly aligned on a grid like they are now.

 

[jayman38]

I agree galaxy generation could use some tweaks. Seems like they're all pretty similar in size, and spaced perfectly evenly. I assume it's a placeholder for a future universe generator?

Would love to see huge variation in galaxy sizes, with galaxies that are not perfectly aligned on a grid like they are now.

Well, they kinda have to be aligned on the grid, this being a voxel game. However, if you make the galaxies big enough, avoid placing stars at every single 16-sector-wide "system", and offset them just a bit, you'll have a much more natural galaxy. Galaxies should be much bigger. People forget that even small real-life galaxies have a billion stars (with a B). It would be a good challenge for players who want to reach out and explore to experience the accomplishment of -finally- getting out beyond the outer rim of the galaxy into void space after being in full-on warp-mode with chaindrives for 3 real hours.

 

[Reilly Reese]

Starmade galaxies are jokes compared to real ones.

THESE are what you call "satellite galaxies".

 

[aRottenKomquat]

What I mean is if you zoom out in the map view, all the galaxy centers line up perfectly along all three axes. Instead there should be some offsets, blank spaces, and different sizes. Variable distances between galaxies and such.

 

[apelsinsaft]

Well, they kinda have to be aligned on the grid, this being a voxel game.

I think this timestamp is sufficient to prove you wrong

If you instance every solar system so it's separate from the galaxy, you can have the galaxy actually be a galaxy with realistic scale. Why have the entire game be voxels just because you build with voxels?

 

[KaRe]

I think this timestamp is sufficient to prove you wrong

If you instance every solar system so it's separate from the galaxy, you can have the galaxy actually be a galaxy with realistic scale. Why have the entire game be voxels just because you build with voxels?

They're not going to instance the game in anyway at all if possible. More or less likely, they're going to instead keep the grid system and have the game generate random variables to offset the location of each PoI such as stars but keep them within a reasonable distance from their "home" Galaxy.

 

[Reilly Reese]

I think this timestamp is sufficient to prove you wrong

If you instance every solar system so it's separate from the galaxy, you can have the galaxy actually be a galaxy with realistic scale. Why have the entire game be voxels just because you build with voxels?

Unity Engine =/= Java Engine

 

[NaStral]

At the very least, there should be some config options that can restrict players from traveling beyond the starting galaxy, perhaps by number of systems from galactic center.

 

[apelsinsaft]

They're not going to instance the game in anyway at all if possible. More or less likely, they're going to instead keep the grid system and have the game generate random variables to offset the location of each PoI such as stars but keep them within a reasonable distance from their "home" Galaxy.

That's the most likely thing, yeah. I don't really see them making any larger changes to the way galaxies and the world works right now since that would be more work than it's worth; the current voxel galaxies are perfectly serviceable. Instancing the Starmade world would break everything and make everything feel far too disconnected.

On to the topic of the OP, i think this could easily be something that you leave up to individual server configs. Some servers might like having the infinite 3D grid of full size galaxies, some might prefer limiting their players to a smaller set of more varied galaxies.

Unity Engine =/= Java Engine

If what you tried to say was "Making a game with Java is inferior to even making a game in Unity", then i don't exactly disagree.

What the heck is Java Engine?

 

[Nickizzy]

Doesn't the real world have quadrillions of galaxies though? And even if we remove the galaxies wouldn't there be someone that just wants to go into the endless abyss? Plus if enough people join wouldn't a server get overrun with factions and people and eventually run out of safe ways to extract resources, since every system would be claimed by a faction that's likely to protect their resources?

If you only join a server to run away from everyone, you might as well have SMD chat open on another screen and play SP. Your wasting server power if you run off and play SP on a MP server.

 

[KaRe]

If you only join a server to run away from everyone, you might as well have SMD chat open on another screen and play SP. Your wasting server power if you run off and play SP on a MP server.

If people thought this in the first place, why would there be quadrillions of galaxies in the game?

 

[jayman38]

If people thought this in the first place, why would there be quadrillions of galaxies in the game?

False Cause Fallacy

There are so many galaxies in the game, because it is so relatively easy for the game's world-building alorithms to make them. Nobody voted for a specific number of galaxies. Nobody was polled. We didn't discuss the optimum number of galaxies in chat. It's simply a result of the game's logic and java's max number limit. (If there was a higher limit, we would end up with an even more ridiculously-high number of possible galaxies.)

Nobody is going to visit all 4 quadrillion galaxies. Nobody is going to find a special easter egg in galaxy # 3,999,999,999,999. It's just an empty marketing point that doesn't really mean much, except to quantify what "infinite universe" really means, when it's not really infinite.

 

[KaRe]

False Cause Fallacy

There are so many galaxies in the game, because it is so relatively easy for the game's world-building alorithms to make them. Nobody voted for a specific number of galaxies. Nobody was polled. We didn't discuss the optimum number of galaxies in chat. It's simply a result of the game's logic and java's max number limit. (If there was a higher limit, we would end up with an even more ridiculously-high number of possible galaxies.)

Nobody is going to visit all 4 quadrillion galaxies. Nobody is going to find a special easter egg in galaxy # 3,999,999,999,999. It's just an empty marketing point that doesn't really mean much, except to quantify what "infinite universe" really means, when it's not really infinite.

But if the devs thought this would be an actual problem, there'd only be a single Galaxy.

 

[jayman38]

But if the devs thought this would be an actual problem, there'd only be a single Galaxy.

Obviously, they didn't think it would be an actual problem.

 

[KaRe]

And it isn't. Or at least, only a social problem and practically unimportant.

 

[Ithirahad]

If what you tried to say was "Making a game with Java is inferior to even making a game in Unity", then i don't exactly disagree.

No, he was saying it's different. SkyWanderers probably has its systems as different scenes, because that is generally how Unity does things. Schine Engine as it exists now isn't really built for separate scenes or 'levels' in one game, as far as I know. Instead it has a bunch of sectors that are visually and systematically booped together to act as one contiguous universe.

What the heck is Java Engine?

An engine written in Java. There is no such thing as Java Engine.

 

[The Judge]

I think this timestamp is sufficient to prove you wrong

If you instance every solar system so it's separate from the galaxy, you can have the galaxy actually be a galaxy with realistic scale. Why have the entire game be voxels just because you build with voxels?

Java, that's why.