"Starmade Devs Q&A" Notes

[22SAS_Wimp]

Hi all,
I thought I would post notes on what was talked about in the Starmade Devs Q&A videos so that people who either don't have the time or the patience (ie ADHD sufferers) can still be kept in the loop with the future of Starmade. (For the sake of those ADHD sufferers, I will try my best to keep these notes as short as possible.)


Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4KKN7UwW10

Collisions between ships will be overhauled so that the ship/s will be "teleported backwards slightly" instead of just the larger ship currently being teleported around.

Waypoints and co-ordinates will be able to be saved and catalogued.

RGB colour selection will not be introduced to due the needed data-per-block to implement (12 bites/block instead of 3 bites/block).

Plexdoor wedges (and other shapes) are possible and might be introduced.

Shape selector for block types will be introduced (as a GUI update) so that "you can use one block to get all 5 of the current shapes (and any possible future shapes...)."

Planets will become two-sided (the base will not just be flat, but will instead have a planetary surface like the top has currently).

Devs would like to see moons and rings (blocks or graphical effect) around planets as well as gas giants, water planets and nebulae.

Flowing liquid and their related source blocks will be introduced for water and lava (and maybe others). These will be separate from the current "decorative" versions so as not to break current ship designs using those blocks.

Lighting will be constantly worked on to combat issues with areas being too dark and light sources not illuminating large enough areas.

It is possible for lights in contact with each other to be turned on and off as a group, like plexdoors.

An "Activation Block" is planned to allow us to wirelessly connect blocks. "You would place an activation block and then link other blocks to it."

Although not planned, a "Max Speed" setting could be added to the GUI for single player.

An option in the Admin tab of the blueprint catalogue could be introduced to select/deselect all ships, especially for use or not as enemy/pirates.

 

[22SAS_Wimp]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIew-evEJ8Y

An automatic & customisable quest system will be introduced to give players and factions game generated & player made missions.
Bounty hunting other players will be a possibility with custom quests.

A system will be introduced where a faction will get points for each member.

• Faction points will be lost when members die. Faction points will also be consumed by a faction homebase based upon size (bigger station = faster consumption) to make it invulnerable. When faction points drop below a certain threshold, the homebase will become vulnerable to attack (so long as there are faction members online).
• It would be possible to allow faction points to be also spent on protecting other outpost stations as well as the homebase.
• Quests and having ally factions will give your faction bonus faction points. Custom quest rewards will include credits or faction points, chosen by the quest author. Where faction points are chosen as a quest reward, it will then cost the author faction points to create the quest.
• Factions will be able to share or trade faction points with other factions.
• Buying defensive faction bonuses, such as more efficient shields, with faction points is possible but wasn\'t originally thought of by the devs. It is a possibility that these buffs/bonuses can be radiated outward from a related block on a ship to grant those bonuses to any ship within the area of effect. Buying bonuses that gives more damage from AMCs is not likely.

It is also not likely to allow a ship to be designated as a faction homebase due to the griefing potential of an invulnerable ship, even if unarmed.

The ability to spawn on a ship (on an Un-deathinator) without being thrown out of the ship if it is moving needs to be worked on.

An ability to allow either normal players, faction members, faction leaders or server admins to see when players have been logging on to the server is a possibility, to prevent players who play at odd hours or in different time zones from being kicked for inactivity from a faction or server.

Different views and perspectives, such as a chase cam, are being look at in the future.

The RaDAR will be expanded to include sensors (probably a Sensor Block) that could be used in a player built territory bouy satalite, which could then pick up other players entering the sector and send your faction a message or warning, or \"activate your defences if they don\'t leave within a certain amount of time\".

Faction Territories are a possibity, where, as a faction &/or its homebase grows, the area around the homebase is affected by the influence of the faction\'s presence.

• This would affect things like how safe from pirates that space is or what options are available to use with the sensors (mentioned above).
• It would be possible to spawn other faction related/chosen AI ships instead of pirates within the faction territory. This may or may not cost faction points, since this could be abused to make a homebase vulnerable even when faction members are offline by dropping the faction points through killing these respawning AI ships.

 

[22SAS_Wimp]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jjqPPGOaBQ

New weapons will be introduced as well as changes to the existing weapons. The following image demonstrates the weapon update:
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/1854/ca3l.png
which is taken from the New Years News post:
http://star-made.org/content/new-years-news

Additional astronaut items are planned, including: armour; more weapon types; handheld utility devices, like a repair beam, med pack; jet pack.
Astronaut health, damage and healing with a medbay block are planned.

Alternate energy types &/or sources, such as solar panels, will be introduced.

Boosts/buffs could be possible (which I guess to be like spending skill points to increase damage, accuracy or speed in other games).

Ship \"coring\" will not be a function of destroying a ship in the future.

An alternate system (to destroying the ship core to destroy the ship) which may or may not be introduced would see a ship given HP (Hit/Health/Hull Points) based upon how many blocks are in the ship. Armour would increase HP further/more.

• When a block is destroyed, the HP is reduced by the amount associated with that block.
• At different HP percentages, different effects could be had, such as reduced ship-wide energy at 70% or a meltdown timer at 10%, for eg.
• HP would be set once you leave where it\'s built to prevent people adding more blocks during a fight to increase the ships HP.
• An Astrotech Beam would repair and replace (from the inventory) missing and destroyed blocks.

A thurster system which also is not guaranteed to be introduced would allow the player to allocate percentages of the total thrust of their ship in each direction.

• For eg: 50% forward/acceleration thrust; 10% aft/slowing/breaking thrust; 10% port & 10% starboard strafing thrust; 10% dorsal & 10% ventral vertical strafe thrust.
• This might also be tradable with turn rates.
• Afterburners that operate in each direction as a percentage of the percentage of thrust already assigned to that direction is a possibility.

Graphical effect decorative blocks will be added to mimic rockets/thruster plumes.

Having groups of lights, crystals &/or lava connected to thruster groups so that they glow brighter the more thrust is being used is a possibility.

 

[22SAS_Wimp]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUPoro9AkC8

AI crew will be able to perform tasks such as: piloting ships; manning turrets; basic fleet options such as formations, follow, guard, patrol; mine; deposit blocks; use astronaut tools, like med packs and weapons.
This will either be via pre-programed abilities or a player created program with the LUA.

Ship Crew will be different than and separate to the Active Crew. The ship crew will be basic duty officers where-as the 5 active crew members are like your \"away team\".

As mentioned already, Astrotech Beams will be able to replace destroyed blocks (if the HP system is implemented).

• An inventory could be linked to the astroteach beam with blocks for use in repairing.
• When you build a ship and leave build mode or the station/drydock where it\'s built, the ship in that state would be saved as a cache that the astroteach beam would use as the blueprint for repairing that ship.
• This could be done by either an astrotech-beam equipped turret or (separate) ship, or at a repair dock at a station.
• A repair dock could feasibly do the opposite, where you park a wrecked ship in it and tell it to take the ship apart for it\'s parts/resources.

Salvage beams are planned to be able to be link to plexstorage chests to dump the mined blocks into, in the same way that a slave weapon computer will be connected to a primary weapon computer in the new weapons update.

Stack sizes will be limited.

Space docks for building, repairing and dismantling ships is a possibility.

AI and player based boarding actions are wanted by the devs.

There will be an autopilot (possibly by just giving the command to an AI crewmember to fly the ship) that will fly the ship to a waypoint.

Using LUA scripting (and probably the quest system) it would be possible for players to recreate to, some extent, other sci-fi games &/or their stories.

Asteroids do not contribute to server load and lag, unless a player is going round modifying by ramming or shooting lots of them.
Universe generation will get an overhaul, which will include asteroids not spawning in every sector.

Schema wants AI enemies to get more difficult the further from the spawn point the player travels, in both ability and size of ships. More default ships at various sizes will be introduced to enable this.

A folder of ship blueprints and NPC skins for each NPC faction might be introduced, allowing new NPC factions beyond \"Pirates\" and \"Trading Guild\" to be created, even by players, and therefore specific ships (which are placed into the faction\'s folder) used by each.

Planets will get bigger when the universe generation is improved and the ability for ground vehicles might be a possibility.

Modding is something the devs do not directly support right now (please note, \"do not support\" is not the same as \"do not allow\") because the game is currently changing so often, but in the future would be something they would encourage more when the features are more stable.
An API (Application Programming Interface) is planned.

 

[22SAS_Wimp]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmoOYaSbAEc

Custom orientation and custom control is planned for docking ships and turrets.
There is also the option that the use of turrets will have specific demands on power from the ship it\'s docked to in order to rotate, but is not guaranteed.

Turrets may get some shielding from it\'s parent ship in the future, but this would be based upon the turret\'s size where the larger it is the less shielding it would receive.

The docking system may need to be reworked in order to facilitate ships with belly mounted turrets not having those turrets clip through the hanger floor (or whatever) when the ship itself is docked.

A tractor beam is planned, but the implementation is still in the works because the tractor needs to work around certain game mechanics.

The ability to land or dock on a planet or station without a docking module is a possibility, but the mechanics would need to be figured out.

The devs are working on a system that will procedurally create NPC creatures.

• These creatures will be able to be bred together by players.
• Custom creatures could be added by servers/players.
• \"Queen\" creatures that lay eggs that in turn spawn baby versions are a possibility.

 

[22SAS_Wimp]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4SSMMZw7WU

Although crafting is going to be simplified and streamlined, there is currently no direct solution planned so they are open to ideas.

Updating and refining the game\'s economy will happen later once updates to other aspects are stable or finished.

There are some basic concepts for FTL (Faster Than Light) travel which are being considered (although the devs would like to see a lot of different options):

1. Jumping, which is simply teleporting from point A to point B with or through a \"Jump Gate\".
2. Hyperluminal, which is just traveling at a very high speed.
3. Special Distortions, which would including wormhole travel.
4. Hyperspace, which means entering into and travelling through a different layer of space where the distances are shorter (much like traveling through the Nether in Minecraft).

Calbiri states that \"we\'re going to give you (the) functionality and you can build it how you want it, make it look how you want and call it what you want\".

• FTL will cost power which will need to be charged - there will be \"no pressing a button and you\'re gone\".
• Jump Gates are the most popular and are possible but may or may not be used. These would work by flying upto a station or through a ring structure (which may be both naturally generated & player created) and you would travel instantaneously to the matching/linked gate at another location in the same way you would cross over sector boundaries. The issue with Jump Gates is that the gate on the destination end might be smaller than the entry gate, so players would need to explore both ends first.
• Hyperspace, whilst possible, is the least likely because the devs do not want to take players out of the universe and have them spend time traveling in an empty space (the skybox and effects might be cool looking, but there will be no physical blocks there).
• Wormholes would work similar to jump gates except without the structures. Again, the size of the exit aperture might be smaller than the player\'s ship so would need to be explored first before use (or obviously you could take the risk).
• Superluminal would come with the issue that the player might travel too fast for the game to load things like asteroids and stations, and when they slow down at their destination might find that an object is in the same place as their ship.

Advanced Build Mode will get a text field and server setting controlled size increase (about 10x10x10).

\"En masse Delete\" with a Build Block will also be restricted with admin controls.
Although there is a discussion that in order to place a build block on a planet your faction must first own that planet for a period of time (by having it within the faction\'s territory) before you\'re able to delete blocks. This will stop players using the build block as a mining option and instead use it to modify and build on a planet that they want as their home base or home planet.

Another of Calbiri\'s ideas is with shields, that they can be transferred in all 6 direction like the thrust idea. Like the thruster idea, this also may or may not be introduced.

• There would be a computer/controller block, just like with the weapons, to which the shield blocks would need to be linked, and then the player could adjust the shields in all directions of that control block in percentages.
• The player could decided to transfer all 100% of the attached shield group forward of that block, or (like the thrusters) 60% forward and 10% in each other direction.
• By placing other shield controller blocks at the same or different points around the ship the player can overlap shield groupings and customise how well shielded specific parts of the ship would be.
• Placing shield blocks without the controller would evenly distribute the shields all over the ship as it does currently.

The credit limit will be raised.

 

[generalBLT13]

nice work doing it all on a thread

 

[Ithirahad]

A folder of ship blueprints and NPC skins for each NPC faction might be introduced, allowing new NPC factions beyond \"Pirates\" and \"Trading Guild\" to be created, even by players, and therefore specific ships (which are placed into the faction\'s folder) used by each.


So I can finally have fleets of Klingons and Romulans and Tholians and Species 8247 and Borg and Federation ally NPCs and Andorian allies and Vulcans and Jedi and massive Voth city ships flying by every once in a blue moon and the occasional Death Star floating by and destroying everything, and so on and so forth. XD


The ability to land or dock on a planet or station without a docking module is a possibility, but the mechanics would need to be figured out.


That\'s easy, your ship just becomes level with the ground/station and locks its position in sync with it. (No more planetary rotation jitters!)


Superluminal would come with the issue that the player might travel too fast for the game to load things like asteroids and stations, and when they slow down at their destination might find that an object is in the same place as their ship.


This already happens... IMO warp drive would be worth it (at least as an option, with configurable power requirements and whatnot) despite this issue.


An alternate system (to destroying the ship core to destroy the ship) which may or may not be introduced would see a ship given HP (Hit/Health/Hull Points) based upon how many blocks are in the ship. Armour would increase HP further/more.

• When a block is destroyed, the HP is reduced by the amount associated with that block.
• At different HP percentages, different effects could be had, such as reduced ship-wide energy at 70% or a meltdown timer at 10%, for eg.
• HP would be set once you leave where it\'s built to prevent people adding more blocks during a fight to increase the ships HP.
• An Astrotech Beam would repair and replace (from the inventory) missing and destroyed blocks.

YES. This also implies the building dock, discussed later, which is an idea I also love...


As mentioned already, Astrotech Beams will be able to replace destroyed blocks (if the HP system is implemented).

• An inventory could be linked to the astroteach beam with blocks for use in repairing.
• When you build a ship and leave build mode or the station/drydock where it\'s built, the ship in that state would be saved as a cache that the astroteach beam would use as the blueprint for repairing that ship.
• This could be done by either an astrotech-beam equipped turret or (separate) ship, or at a repair dock at a station.
• A repair dock could feasibly do the opposite, where you park a wrecked ship in it and tell it to take the ship apart for it\'s parts/resources.

This is the sort of thing that I really want to see. Finally, I can have a helm officer, and be a proper captain rather than a pilot. Now if they could just get gravity to actually keep you IN your ship rather than just dump you out every time you change systems.


Planets will get bigger when the universe generation is improved and the ability for ground vehicles might be a possibility.


Good; I\'ve wanted ground vehicles for a long time.

 

[Bkwrm]

This. This excites me greatly. If even half of this comes into being, I\'ll be a very happy camper. Good to see things like lighting being an issue are on their radar, frankly blinding brightness mixed with pitch black shadows drive me crazy when building, I have most of that stuff minimized or off as a result. My bloom is set to .01 I believe. Also being able to save and name Waypoints would eliminate most of the map/getting lost complaints imo.

Hopefully most of those new NPC commands, ship power transfer ideas, and whatnot can be (a toggleable) part of the hud with buttons while piloting and not just buried inside menus.

And lastly, why not just use Docking blocks as magnets? Docking will force the 2 magnets as close together as possible, just stick the Docking block on your ship where you want it\'s dock to be. Then the blocks used to set the docking bounding boxes dimensions can be changed instead to just be the trigger to dock your ship (as a bigger target for your docking beam to hit or even just on a nearby easy to see wall so you don\'t have to maneuver your ship to face the docking block). Lot easier than messing with bounding boxes and running blocks all over trying to get it big enough while still looking decent If the ship fits or not is the owners responsibilty.

Anyways, that\'s my 2 cents upon reading this. Thanks for typing all this up 22SAS_Wimp, I greatly appreciate it.

 

[22SAS_Wimp]

No worries.

 

[Mosshadow]

The additional factions thing could be pretty cool if you wanted a PVE server, were you can fight against the aliens as a large fleet

 

[marcus87]

I hope they make the wormholes or jumpgates depend on the mass not the dimensions of the ship.

 

[Malacodor]

Does anybody know if turrets will stay as they are or if we\'ll get turrets that work like real ones (base rotating in one plane and guns rotating in another plane)?


Wormholes would work similar to jump gates except without the structures. Again, the size of the exit aperture might be smaller than the player\'s ship so would need to be explored first before use (or obviously you could take the risk).


Since light can travel through wormholes it should be possible to simply look through.

 

[Bkwrm]

Not to sidetrack the thread, but I hate things that use the mass of a ship. I enjoy creating full interiors in my ships more than making uber ships of destruction and there\'s already enough hurdles thrown in the way of that (reactor shape requirements taking up lots of space for example). No matter the size of the ship, pretty much anything I make ends up handling like a boat as soon as I start adding more than a few rooms due to packed interiors and having to creatively manage/hide the various systems. Which in turn bumps up shielding power requirements. It\'s kind of a viscious cycle. My 2 cents anyways.

 

[marcus87]

That may be an issue. But could be handled by giving normal hull a lot less mass. And the reason I mentioned it should use the mass is because, when using the hight and width of a ship that would force big ships that want to pass through the gate in the form of a brick.

 

[22SAS_Wimp]

I\'m the same mate. But I find that having rooms and corridors in a ship helps keep the mass down because so much of it is empty space.
What would be nice though, is if the amount of empty \"air\" blocks within a ship also had a further reducing effect on the total mass too. Purhaps something like -0.025 per empty block (so 4 empty blocks would lower the mass by 0.1).

Whilst people like us who love building realistic(ish) interiors will always be at a disadvantage when it comes to not having a hull filled with power, shield and AMC blocks, it would be great if we got a lower mass bonus.

 

[Invadr]

Most, if not all, of the planned and even the maybe stuff, really is great and I\'m looking forward to it. The only thing I would have liked to see addressed was turret rotational speed. Something that would establish a relationship between the mass and how fast they can turn, in order to help the survivability of smaller ships.

Also, the transitions between sectors. It\'s a huge problem when you cross a sector\'s boundries and the ships your fighting are jumping all over the place.

Lastly, I know the AI is being worked on, but improvment of the AI for pirate ships is really high on my list.

Lots and lots of really great stuff tho.

 

[22SAS_Wimp]

\"The only thing I would have liked to see addressed was turret rotational speed. Something that would establish a relationship between the mass and how fast they can turn...\"
Agreed, I think big turrets should turn slower too.

 

[Calbiri]

I meant to cover that. Turret size will affect its rotational speed, and a power cost will be added to acheive this.

 

[ltmauve]

Can the power cost be paid from the turret as well as the mothership?