StarMade - Devblog May 8th 2017

[Napther]

It will be necessary because to build some key component for ship or stations you need certain type of blocks. Those blocks need certain types of ores.
I mean try and build a station without a build block for exemple.

Not a good example, as you can purchase a Build Block from a shop or NPC.

Perhaps a better one would be building a ship without either (or both) Shields and Armour, since its harder to buy that in bulk most times

 

[Blodge]

One major addition will be a new request system, that will give better overall performance and superior logic for requesting chunks allowing for larger entities.

Does... Does this mean we can has Planets load in fully without consuming all of the RAMs?

 

[Scypio]

One major addition will be a new request system, that will give better overall performance and superior logic for requesting chunks allowing for larger entities. Fleet commands will be made consistent between server restarts, as well as improved local movement, and we will be looking to make fleet fight-or-flight behavior a lot better.

<3

I mean try and build a station without a build block for exemple.

It's always on my shop list at my first log in as well as a few faction blocs. I agree a few things needs to be changed, for example if you're in a system with only ore for pulse weapons...
My bet is that blocs will need less ore each but more mesh and crystal, so you can buy things more easily. However we can't tell exactly before we get an answer. Also some asteroïds are better to mine than others and it will lead to systems being better to claim than others.
Also on a side note i would prefer systems to have all kind of asteroïds but with really few in the system, like one or two maximum of each and then the rest of the main ressource. You're not screwed for your start if you search a lot but to build big you need to explore or trade.

 

[Atheu]

One major addition will be a new request system, that will give better overall performance and superior logic for requesting chunks allowing for larger entities. Fleet commands will be made consistent between server restarts, as well as improved local movement, and we will be looking to make fleet fight-or-flight behavior a lot better.

I'm hoping this fixes the render issues of Cargo Blocks. I've noticed on lower end machines that the frame-rate tanks when you get large groups of cargo in one spot.

 

[Amadeus]

They will likely be separate. Flora and fauna do not impact how you play the game in our current plans. For the moment, they are sort of a filler to populate planets. When we get close to working on them, we may find more interesting uses for flora/fauna.


A part of the universe update is this progression. Restructuring the universe allows us to create possibilities like establishing a base in a rich environment, or fighting others for rare resources and more beyond that. Right now you can settle anywhere and be completely fine.

Glad to see that they are still planned! We haven't heard anything about them in a while so I was curious, thanks!

 

[Deleted member 678402]

good very good.

 

[Zoli]

I personally would like to see an option to start on a planet with absolutely nothing and needing to do a lot of stuff before even reaching space with whatever tiny ship I was able to make. I don't wanna be able to have a large/advanced ship until I've been playing for months.

I would like to see that too, like a shipwreck scenario, but honestly it would be a little strange to have a universe full of Space Robinsons, and I think we already saw a lot of games like that.

What about starting on an improved trade station, that has plenty of opportunities for new visitors?

• A cheap and small scout ship for rent-an-explorers looking for uncharted sectors and forgotten space treasures.
• Some crew positions on ships escorting trading fleets, or smugglers.
• A salvager pilot position on a miner vessel.
• Some local science facilities and factories looking for scientists who dare to spend some time to find new block recipes, and research their attributes.

A nice idea would be tying the resource types available in a system to the star's color and size. There's nothing wrong with not every system having every resource, and realistic because IRL stars of larger mass and higher temperature can fuse heavier elements of the periodic table. Another possibility is randomly calculated system clusters spawning more of one or two resources types and less or none of another 1 or 2 groups. This could be signified by the background image's main colors that could correspond with the color of the resources the system is rich in.

I love this idea! However it would be a mistake to stop on a macro level and not to elaborate this idea on a micro level. Having resources generated according to various system-level rules is a good start, but throwing them on asteroids and planets without any pattern still makes the mining itself pretty boring. Currently it is not challenging at all. The more salvagers you have the faster you eat up the whole asteroid or even the planet. It doesn't matter where you start, where you are heading, and how much useless materials it takes to have some useful capsules.

I mining should be the challenge of mind, skill, dexterity, and caution. Let's be frank, we are talking about rare, unstable substances capable of fueling powerful weapons, energy shields, gigantic thrusters, and even jump drives. Wouldn't it be a little more exciting if acquiring these resources would be a little more complex task, and even dangerous in some cases?
Let's have some raw materials that have only one or two veins per asteroid or planet segment. These veins would be rich, but would require some exploration to find certain signs of their location. Devouring the whole asteroid should be less effective, than finding the markers and start the precision mining in the correct place.
Or even let's have some minerals that would be destroyed by a direct hit damaging everything close to it, and to obtain it, all the blocks should be removed around it.

Even if these could be achieved only partially in the near future of Starmade, I think it definitely would be a positive change for the gameplay.

 

[JinM]

I would like to see that too, like a shipwreck scenario, but honestly it would be a little strange to have a universe full of Space Robinsons, and I think we already saw a lot of games like that.

What about starting on an improved trade station, that has plenty of opportunities for new visitors?

• A cheap and small scout ship for rent-an-explorers looking for uncharted sectors and forgotten space treasures.
• Some crew positions on ships escorting trading fleets, or smugglers.
• A salvager pilot position on a miner vessel.
• Some local science facilities and factories looking for scientists who dare to spend some time to find new block recipes, and research their attributes.

This is a good idea. Most of it is hard to implement though, but I like your thinking.

 

[Lecic]

It will be necessary because to build some key component for ship or stations you need certain type of blocks. Those blocks need certain types of ores.
I mean try and build a station without a build block for exemple.

Basic things like build blocks, cores, thrusters, power, basic armor, salvagers, all only take generic mesh/composite already. It's only higher level things (SDD/ADV Armor, Effects, Weapons, Shields) that need specific materials. The only thing that really needs changed is a white light that only takes mesh/composite and faction modules only needing mesh/composite.

 

[Ithirahad]

Does... Does this mean we can has Planets load in fully without consuming all of the RAMs?

He said an improvement to the data request system, which probably will make servers smoother with large entities according to what he said, but won't magically decrease RAM consumption unless they can use it to do better dynamic loading/unloading. However, with a total revamp of planets being worked on as we speak, applications of features like that to optimize current planets is unlikely, even if it's possible.

 

[nagygeri01]

Listen here now pops!
Find a chair, sit down, drink a cup of tea, and CALM DOWN!!!!!
After you've done that, forget everything the sheep were telling you, and only pay attention to what I'm saying!
Now that you are paying attention, about the "goals": Where are the rest of the block shapes of 1/2, 1/4, 3/4 thickness?
What will happen to the new power system? ( Contrary to the opinions of the sheep, the idea you presented first was the best ) When will we see it done?
A little optimalization wouldn't hurt either, let's say, the game could use 4 cpu cores instead of the current 1.
By bugfixes you meant the non-existant crap, right? What you cannot find, others won't either. If a bug is real it will be witnessed en masse, not by a single person.

 

[Sven_The_Slayer]

Have a reason to control certain regions of space sounds great as long as it doesn't turn into a "Oh I can't craft X block because the resource it needs only spawns in one location"

 

[Lecic]

Have a reason to control certain regions of space sounds great as long as it doesn't turn into a "Oh I can't craft X block because the resource it needs only spawns in one location"

Uh, no, that sounds exactly like what we want. That is the best way to encourage trading. Now, resources shouldn't be non-existent out of the systems heavy in them, but they should be uncommon enough to make trading with others or going to war over those areas desirable.

 

[Ithirahad]

Have a reason to control certain regions of space sounds great as long as it doesn't turn into a "Oh I can't craft X block because the resource it needs only spawns in one location"

There will likely be a bit of everything everywhere, but a lot of something somewhere.

 

[Matt_Bradock]

Have a reason to control certain regions of space sounds great as long as it doesn't turn into a "Oh I can't craft X block because the resource it needs only spawns in one location"

Why shouldn't it? First of all, it adds variety to designs. If you don't have access to say, hylat ore, you gotta rely on beam and missile weaponry, and can't use ioned up shields, whilst a player settling in a system that lacks threns, can't really build missile boats - that is, unless they trade, rogue mine or go to war and take the territory with the needed resource.
It also encourages exploration, if you want to find all resources yourself without going into conflict for them, and encourages fighting over control of systems rich in rare resources - and you can't control all of them safely through a single block station, you only get one homebase.

 

[Asvarduil]

So, it looks like it's time for me to weigh in.

Exploration
Simply put, we need a reason to explore that's not having to do (exclusively) with mining.

As the game is, we have two implicit 'modes': piloting a ship, and moving around as an astronaut. Our ships are sufficient for exploring space, but the astronaut game has been hugely neglected, possibly for development reasons.

To improve the ground game, we need a reason to go on the ground. As the game currently is, the only real reason to go into astronaut mode is either when you've started the game, or when you're in your home base and you need to build something.

My suggestion involves the Shipyard system. Make chests that spawn blueprints for special, community sourced ships. This encourages the player to go back to base, and build and test the ship for themselves.

We also need things to play against in the astronaut game. AI enemies, like those weird bugs that used to be on stations, would help, as it would make us have to 'work' for getting to whatever loot you decide to spawn around the universe.

You'd also be wise to add mining beam inhibitors to places that we'd want to explore, so that we can't just take the easy way out.

We also need more traps and hazards. This not only enhances the astronaut game by making astronaut-exploration segments more dangerous, but it also helps with astronaut PvP, in that we can better protect bases from hostile players, and players can also get creative and create parkour courses.

On that note, the current laser pistol simply isn't going to be up to the task of staying interesting. We need weapons, and armor of some sort.

TL;DR
If you want to make Exploration great, you need to make the astronaut game great. The importance of mining needs to be de-emphasized. It's time to make the things players do more diverse.

 

[Lecic]

My suggestion involves the Shipyard system. Make chests that spawn blueprints for special, community sourced ships. This encourages the player to go back to base, and build and test the ship for themselves.

Why would I want some crappy performing ship taken from Community Content? I know for a fact I can build something that performs better than 99.9% of the ships on there already, and they'll already look how I want them to look.

 

[Matt_Bradock]

Why would I want some crappy performing ship taken from Community Content? I know for a fact I can build something that performs better than 99.9% of the ships on there already, and they'll already look how I want them to look.

This feature wouldn't be for you, or for me, or for anyone who plays and has played for years and took part in more PvP battles than he can keep count. This would however help the guy who's still learning the how-to of shipbuilding a lot. Also, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, don't look a gift ship in the reactor :P

 

[Ithirahad]

Why would I want some crappy performing ship taken from Community Content? I know for a fact I can build something that performs better than 99.9% of the ships on there already, and they'll already look how I want them to look.

You're not necessarily an example of a typical StarMade player. Most so-called 'serversiders' aren't much better in quality than CC ships, and his suggestion is valid for them. If you and I can do better than default blueprints in the game, good; we've been here for a really long time, and you at least have been involved in competitive PvP for a really long time, so I'd hope so. Most players are (and most players always will be) still on par with CC, so it'd be interesting for them to discover blueprints of ships ingame. Even moreso with first-time players exploring the universe in singleplayer.

 

[Lecic]

This feature wouldn't be for you, or for me, or for anyone who plays and has played for years and took part in more PvP battles than he can keep count. This would however help the guy who's still learning the how-to of shipbuilding a lot. Also, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, don't look a gift ship in the reactor :P

You're not necessarily an example of a typical StarMade player. Most so-called 'serversiders' aren't much better in quality than CC ships, and his suggestion is valid for them. If you and I can do better than default blueprints in the game, good; we've been here for a really long time, and you at least have been involved in competitive PvP for a really long time, so I'd hope so. Most players are (and most players always will be) still on par with CC, so it'd be interesting for them to discover blueprints of ships ingame. Even moreso with first-time players exploring the universe in singleplayer.

Yeah, that's nice and all, but astronaut exploration should be rewarding to more than just those who don't know how to build their own vessels. What rewards should experienced players be able to get besides a design to plug into a shipyard that is worse than everything in their current fleet line up?