Veering away from block logic?

[Rymac]

I'm noticing that a lot of the changes are veering farther away from block logic.. Ever since your thruster update.

Fleets, shouldn't the menu be accessed from a Fleet Command Computer block? Even offer up some logic control, for instance setting up a patrol? Would allow us to control AI a little more, and would definitely add a creative level to the logic and fleets. Strategy and tactics.

Even for thrusters, shouldn't they be balanced on the ship, rather then in a menu? All forward thrust would be all thrusters pointing forward or balanced in all directions for all axis movement. Percentage of thrust would be percentage per direction. Would make a lot more sense for the Newtonian physics. Even allowing those to be controlled by logic, turning off forward thrust and leaving reverse thrust for faster/harder stops.

Are there problems that would cause that i'm missing? Or a reason for your design choice that i'm overlooking?

 

[nightrune]

The experience I had with space engineers was like that. I found it ultimately frustrating and un-fun. Starmade seems like a happy middle ground to that. What would it add to the game to have thrusters directional like that?

 

[Ithirahad]

Fleets and mail should definitely be accessed by computer. Thrusters are a bit more controversial...

Personally, I had no issue with the Space Engineers approach to thrusters. The main problem I had was the noticeably low top speed of ships and the general clunkiness of the first-person building system (tolerable floating in space in creative mode; totally not okay in the ground in survival).

 

[Blobfscrazy]

Thrusters can be altered from the thruster block, go and press R on one

 

[lupoCani]

I must say, I understand if it's difficult to accommodate block logic for everything. The game is complex, and trying to usefully control things like mail (text) and fleets (3d maneuvering and decision-making) with cubic meter-sized NOT gates is just not very practical. Minecraft is making a valiant effort with things like command blocks, but that's a game where you can afford to make a control system twice as large as the thing being controlled. In StarMade, where every block of logic has to compete for space with weapons and shields, I fear the current system of per-block logic just won't hold up in the long run.

Personally, I maintain that the game should benefit from - ahem - a particular, more compact system of listing instructions for the game to execute, but that proposal is usually met with a combination of disinterest and dismay.

 

[Ithirahad]

I must say, I understand if it's difficult to accommodate block logic for everything. The game is complex, and trying to usefully control things like mail (text) and fleets (3d maneuvering and decision-making) with cubic meter-sized NOT gates is just not very practical.

That is... really not what I meant. We can keep the UIs, but they should be accessed via computers, not by the player's 'portable' UI.

 

[lupoCani]

Right. My apologies for misreading.

 

[Lone_Puppy]

My old idea for a universal computer could possibly accomodate this, but I suspect it's probably a Dev nightmare.
Universal Computer Block

 

[aRottenKomquat]

I personally would prefer more computer blocks to control/configure things. It would open up more roleplay/cooperation, at least given the way we play on my server when it's online. It encourages players to work together to fly a ship, e.g. captain must give the engineer orders to quickly reconfigure the thrusters or whatever to make an upcoming maneuver possible.

I know that would hamper single-player and one-man-factions, so maybe there's a way to work NPC crew into this in the future, with a quick menu to issue orders to specific NPCs who can reconfigure systems. Or maybe just give the captain direct access to those systems as long as an NPC is stationed at the system's control block.

 

[Ithirahad]

I know that would hamper single-player and one-man-factions, so maybe there's a way to work NPC crew into this in the future, with a quick menu to issue orders to specific NPCs who can reconfigure systems. Or maybe just give the captain direct access to those systems as long as an NPC is stationed at the system's control block.

Or, just keep the menus there, but make them like the faction menu. If you have the block on your ship, you can access the UI from the core. Having people on your crew would still be useful, as any time you spend adjusting that stuff yourself is time spent not actively piloting.

 

[alterintel]

Would be cool to have a Thrust or Engine computer from which we could access the thrust menu. all thrusters would be linked to it like any other system that requires a computer. And the Thrust settings could be saved there so I don't have to set the thrust settings every time.

 

[Lone_Puppy]

Being able to configure presets would speed up single player abilities without the need for NPC crews.
Then have these presets operable from the hotbar or similar command console.
Example, for me thrust would only need 4 configuration profiles and even then I would probably only use 2 or 3. These could be interchanged using the same method we use to interchange block types of a particular colour/set in build mode on the hotbar.

 

[Rymac]

The experience I had with space engineers was like that. I found it ultimately frustrating and un-fun. Starmade seems like a happy middle ground to that. What would it add to the game to have thrusters directional like that?

Well on our server we notice that players don't really play together. They play among each other, but not together. There is no need to. As you start to build larger ships, you SHOULD need help to run the ship. The NPC idea wasn't bad, even if the menus we currently have are unlocked with an NPC stationed at the Control Block. For an engineer to repair on the fly a specific Build block linked to the specified system should be required.

As for the thrusters, yes, I do know you can press R on them. That's not what I'm talking about. With some of the physics, some make sense, some don't, for instance, a long ship should be able to turn faster with evenly spaced thrusters from bow to aft. That would also give players new targets(take out all of the thrusters on the left side, and the ship can no longer turn right, or at least slower to). You should not be able to stop a ship with only thrusters on the aft of the ship. Missile heat seeking would actually have a "heated target" not just any entity. Cold running as in no thrust, just momentum should be possible. No reason to ever have Kaylee in an engine room... BLASPHEMY!

All of this especially with the new power system coming and there being room for interiors.

 

[Deserea]

The thruster discussion is very old, and though this thread isnt related to thrust, i used it as an example and had a further discussion with a dev. it sums up the thruster discussion very well. Shields change.