Messages

Very nice! Fits perfectly! Great job!

Oh, I did have one more piece of advice to offer, though this is something I just know I'm personally wary of (and someone mentioned it tangentially above regarding Elite):

Make a note somewhere that if you ever /are/ going to discontinue support for VE, that you'll at least release a version of the game with the Master Server connection disabled and glossed over.  I don't mind it, personally, and as someone who has admin'd plenty of game servers I like the accountability that it brings, having your login account connected to stuff... but people also want to know that they'll be able to continue playing their game for some time.

^ Very much that! Couldn't have put it better myself. I'm fine with having a Master Server login while the game is in development and is being actively marketed and sold. But, God forbid, you guys can no longer support the Master Server, being able to play it with out having to log into one would be GREATLY appreciated!

[Zer0Glitch]

Zer0Glitch, about your suggestions. I will be completely honest here. Even though all of them sounds great they are simply beyond the scope of what we can do now. It is simply not possible with the things as they are now. We would need at least 2 new people (developer and artist) on the team and MASSIVE funding to make this happen. Especially the first two points, as that would require major changes to the core game. So, I have to say - no. It is, unfortunately, not possible, not unless we have massive sales on Steam that would enable us to continue working on the game for another half a year.

I totally understand and respect the fact that you can only do what you can do based on the funding and time you have. And perhaps my suggestions were a little too ambitious for the game this late in the development cycle (where I'm sure you're far more interested in bug squashing and mechanics tuning).

While I stand by my comments and opinions maybe I can lay out a more realistic suggestion that might be better suited for the game and for your development time and budget.

Bare Bones Road:
You guys have already done an absolutely amazing job opening up the API to the game for modding. Seriously impressed. So, to utilize this, I would suggest (as I did above) to spend some time documenting (improve on the wiki), writing guides and tutorials on how to do some of the basic things, and perhaps offer a way to host "Authorized" mods from your site.

The logic behind this:
Since your time and money are limited but most of the players of the game won't be, giving them to tools to create things is by far your greatest asset. So empowering and encouraging them to create mods and giving them the guidance to ensure they don't get frustrated during the process will be a tremendous boon for the life of the game. And giving them the knowledge in an easy to understand format will give people the courage to try new things.

Middle of the Road:
I don't know what else you have hidden behind the curtain of the engine (if anything), but exposing more of the underlying game logic would also be a good way of helping it along (for the reasons stated above). Past that, since a galaxy wide simulation is out of the question (understandable), then perhaps a more system local way of approaching it would be easier? I haven't toyed that much with the API (though I plan to shortly) but I think I remember it being possible to spawn things on a timer. Would local "events" be a tough thing to add before release? Doesn't have to be grand scale. Maybe just skirmishes between pirates and local enforcements. Random asteroids flying through the system (if you can stop it, you can mine it, o r you can get crushed by it.) . Really anything that can happen in a system other than the 3 patrols of Pirates and the 30 others just chilling across the system waiting for you to wander by. I'm not talking fancy here, just more movement. Again, I understand if this is not feasible. Just trying to help! 

Unicorn Road (it's a real thing, shut up):
I suppose everything else I stated in my previous post. Though understandably not realistic this late in the cycle.

Understanding that adding more developers/artists/designers/etc is out of the question at this point, really just supporting mod development  going forward will be the biggest thing (not that I think you won't, just saying).

In conclusion (you seriously read this, all the way to here? give yourself a cookie!), thank you so much for taking the time to seriously consider our thoughts and opinions about this game, even when they are wildly unrealistic. I will do what I can to help you guys make this game a raging success! Which I know it will be!

I want to +1 kyokei's post. He/she did a great job of going over some of the issues I also feel might need to be addressed first.

But to answer the question, is it ready for Gold?

I think by today's standard of games, yes. You could release it now, patch it a few times and move on to a new project and most people would be very happy with their purchase.

However I think a few more months (no more than 3) of improving the gameplay, the atmosphere, and adding more content might go a long ways towards putting this game on the map. Along with releasing more detailed tutorials and documentation on modding (more on that later).

My biggest "issue" with the game is a very subjective feeling I get while playing. And please understand, all of this is said with love.

The universe feels lifeless. I don't mean there aren't enough NPC's to shoot, because Lord knows there are PLENTY of them in every sector. But that too is part of the problem. Every sector I go into, I know I'm going to have a 80/20 ratio of Pirates to NPCs. The NPCs do absolutely nothing it seems. The few skirmishes I do see end up ending it the NPC being overrun by Pirates. It all feels very static. Like every system is a new arena for to shoot pirates in. There's no story, no struggle, no, well, life. I suppose the universe doesn't feel real, or the universe is inhabited by far more pirates than not.

Suggestions on how to fix this:
1) Have the amount of pirates in a system vary based on proximity to factions. For example, while flying in the capital system I would expect to find very few pirates. In fact I would only expect pirates if they were trying to take out a NPC Hauler, Bounty Hunting, or sending a huge force in to attack the base (which, btw destructible bases would be awesome. Also deployable bases too ). Between faction sectors I would expect the pirate count to increase, especially when getting closer to Pirate faction territory. This, of course, could be a very fluid thing based on any number of factors, but you get the idea.

2) More dynamic NPC interaction. Being able to hire NPCs for various jobs would be great. Being able to talk to or scan an NPC ship to see where it's headed and where it's coming from and be able to follow it to it's destination between sectors. Random events that you get "called in for help", such as random pirate attack on convoy, save crew from broken down ship, get lured into a trap or set a trap up. The mission board is nice, but "stumbling" across such events, I think, would help add to the living universe immersion.

3) Better trading UI/Info. As it stands right now trading is difficult and not very fun. I don't mind the difficult part, in fact I think it should be a challenge. But not being able to see prices (even stale) or get trade data other than through a broker seems a little restrictive. I've never gotten the impression that the trading aspect of this game was anything other than static, unless modified by the trade broker for trade routes. What I would enjoy is the ability to take an item and see what it's highest/lowest buy and sell price is for it and on which system. Also being able to affect the economy in a system would be nice too. Like being able to buy a lot of a particular item to cause it's price to skyrocket. Or tell a lot of one item to a base to cause it's price to bottom out.

4) More modding documentation/tutorials/guides/examples. As a developer, I was able to see just how far you've opened up the modding capabilities with the API. It's very impressive. However I think to really give this game a boost, adding more documentation for the modding would help give this game some real momentum. Showing how easy it is to create a simple mod for all the basic things someone might want to do (add a ship, add/modify weapon, at a system, etc.), I believe, would increase its chances of being recognized in the long run. All it takes is one Counter-Strike mod to change everything (dating myself with that reference).

Having said ALL of that, I love this game! Truly, I've been waiting for this type of game since Stellar Frontier (look it up ). I have had an absolute blast playing it, and honestly if you guys stopped developing it today, I would still feel like I got more than my monies worth. I have no regrets purchasing this game and would do so again in a heartbeat. But because I am so enamored with this game, I want to be sure it's as good as it possibly can be. Thus, all the above.

Best of luck guys!

So far I haven't noticed any issues. The beams are no longer blinking out on me. Sound doesn't seem to be hanging on me either. I haven't done the math yet but it looks like the bonuses are being applied (though I rolled a prospector so the progression is slim).

Just to add to this. While mining with two lasers the other day, I got the mining beams to disappear. I believe it happened when I flipped back and forth between them repeatedly.

Just to add to what Hammish just said.

I was looking through the API on the wiki the other day and what you can do in a mod is mind blowing. Seriously, what you CAN'T do is a shorter list. Absolutely insane. I expect Elder Scrolls levels of modifications once the game gets released and get traction.

I made this ship with people like me in mind. I'm not into fighting. I'm happy running around doing quests and trade routes, and for that style of gameplay, this ship fits the bill. It can defend itself if attacked. It just obviously cant go off and fight high level things. But it can throw off a couple of EMPs and run away or knock the attackers off with the 360 turret.

This is a style of play I also tend to gravitate to (and then randomly switch off and bounty hunt, because.... bounty hunting). And I'm certainly the kind of player that will sink all his time and money into finding the niche ship that gives me the most bonuses for what I'm currently focusing on. So this kind of ship seems to be be something I'd really enjoy using in the game. I wouldn't expect to to be able to take on high level ships. Or even a  bunch of mid to low level ones. But enough firepower to hopefully hold them off until I could get to safety.

/drools at the prospect of prospecting in that ship

It's a known issue that the Auto-Pilot gets a little... ummmm... "special". I can't count the  number of times it's went "OH SHINEY!" and flew me straight into the system's sun.

The game is still being worked on. You're going to find a number of things that don't seem "quite" right. But they are working on it. And so far I've been very impressed with the progress that's been made.

In the mean time. I'd make a drinking game out of it. 1 shot for every time the Auto-Pilot gets a wild hair in it and tries to kill you...

[Operating System:]

I'd be willing to  help in any way I can.

My System:

Operating System:   
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1

CPU:
    Intel Core i7 2670QM @ 2.20GHz

RAM:
    16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24)

Motherboard:    
    ASUSTeK Computer Inc. G74Sx (CPU 1)   

Graphics:
    Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1080@60Hz)
    3071MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M (ASUStek Computer Inc)

Storage:    
    149GB INTEL SSDSA2CW160G3 (SSD)
    698GB Western Digital WDC WD7500BPKT-80PK4T0 (SATA)

I'm able to sign and scan anything you need.