Interactive terrain was turning out to be confusing due to unclear boundaries and feedback, RTS'y in its effects on combat in the sense that it mooted too much of the players skils and just made it all a lil too gamey (quick zoom by the black hole and whip around!!! Really? Why? And why is this black hole even a battlefield? And why isn't it taking up the whole screen?), and in the end it just wasn't much fun in its current implementation. So we have backburnered it for the time being. It may make a comeback in an expansion someday where it gets the full attention it needs not to be hokey.
fluid government is definetly there Achievements...well the only issue there being how many we can add over time to keep you pushing the game
Indy's are in but to be very honest proving to be very dangerous right now in terms of game stability since they touch just about everything. I may have to make a hard decision over the next 24hours about their inclusion at release. May have to delay them till the first or second week update. Sorry but always try and be up front with you guys.
Some guy then asks the obvious question:
wait ... you are less than 48 hours out from release and you don't have a content lock-down for the release candidate yet?
Heh, not just me who finds Mecron to be... difficult to deal with? Great that he plays with the fan base and is accessible but goddamn if talking to him doesn't make me want to bash my head against a wall sometimes.
Ah well, so looking forward to tomorrow. I've put up an event in the SotS group for a release day game, honestly I don't even know what timezone Steam adheres to. Group admins feel free to edit it to whatever time works for the US players who I believe are the majority (I'm euro but I'll be staying up for this one hehe).
Mekron may also be drinking pretty hard judging from the awful typing.
lol or just not getting much sleep....
why do I get the feeling I just payed to be in a beta test?
Sokpuppet on
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
Content lock-down?
I feel like I should know what that means, and that I am dumb for not.
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
Basically it's that they would stop trying to put stuff in right up to the last minute. There's a high chance of screwing something up due to hasty last-minute code additions, or just general issues popping up and there being no time to properly test for them because they're supposed to be uploading the 'finished' code to steam just about right now.
If you watched the Extra Credits episode on producers, this is pretty much a prime example of how things can get hairy if you don't have someone who's relatively neutral saying 'ok, it's time to stop now. It's time to ship'.
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
Basically it's that they would stop trying to put stuff in right up to the last minute. There's a high chance of screwing something up due to hasty last-minute code additions, or just general issues popping up and there being no time to properly test for them because they're supposed to be uploading the 'finished' code to steam just about right now.
If you watched the Extra Credits episode on producers, this is pretty much a prime example of how things can get hairy if you don't have someone who's relatively neutral saying 'ok, it's time to stop now. It's time to ship'.
So basically a cut off time where they say "Ok all that extra stuff is going to be have to be DLC/expansion material, since we need the game to actually WORK" or something to that effect?
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
Basically it's that they would stop trying to put stuff in right up to the last minute. There's a high chance of screwing something up due to hasty last-minute code additions, or just general issues popping up and there being no time to properly test for them because they're supposed to be uploading the 'finished' code to steam just about right now.
If you watched the Extra Credits episode on producers, this is pretty much a prime example of how things can get hairy if you don't have someone who's relatively neutral saying 'ok, it's time to stop now. It's time to ship'.
So basically a cut off time where they say "Ok all that extra stuff is going to be have to be DLC/expansion material, since we need the game to actually WORK" or something to that effect?
That or patches. Basically, you develop it all until you get to a point where you feel it is good enough. You hav e accomplished the features you THINK you need. Now you spend weeks killing bugs based on priority. At a certain point, you feel the biggest bugs are dead, and you have a release candidate. You complete your testing process or period and then release it (provided there are no show-stoppers).
That said, most smaller companies adapt this heavily, allowing themselves to fix bugs up until the last minute, by using version control or something to cover their ass.
I'm sure smaller companies are also under a fair amount of pressure from Steam (or whoever) to come up with and honor a release date.
Not everyone can be Blizzard and just be like, "lol release today? six more months. deal with it."
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Casually HardcoreOnce an Asshole. Trying to be better.Registered Userregular
Guys, I hate to be pedantic, but I'm pretty sure you're referring to the Scilicoids/The Swarm/Space bees.
The Locusts are a grand menace. You don't get trapped in with the locusts, the locusts come, strip a world bare, and leave.
That would explain why, during one of my games, there was this huge infestation of Locusts and, I swear to god, 1/3 of the galaxy was just dead (0 resources). It's funny how quickly warring civilizations can come together to destroy a greater threat.
This is what I love about SOTS, every game is different. Sometime the game is mundane and somewhat boring, and sometime the game is just epic as all fuck.
Interactive terrain was turning out to be confusing due to unclear boundaries and feedback, RTS'y in its effects on combat in the sense that it mooted too much of the players skils and just made it all a lil too gamey (quick zoom by the black hole and whip around!!! Really? Why? And why is this black hole even a battlefield? And why isn't it taking up the whole screen?), and in the end it just wasn't much fun in its current implementation. So we have backburnered it for the time being. It may make a comeback in an expansion someday where it gets the full attention it needs not to be hokey.
fluid government is definetly there Achievements...well the only issue there being how many we can add over time to keep you pushing the game
Indy's are in but to be very honest proving to be very dangerous right now in terms of game stability since they touch just about everything. I may have to make a hard decision over the next 24hours about their inclusion at release. May have to delay them till the first or second week update. Sorry but always try and be up front with you guys.
Some guy then asks the obvious question:
wait ... you are less than 48 hours out from release and you don't have a content lock-down for the release candidate yet?
Mekron may also be drinking pretty hard judging from the awful typing.
Before I go on a little rant here, please understand some perspective. This game has a digital release, with a retail box release coming roughly 2 weeks later. They do not need to release RTM a week before launch. They are also running an active beta, that the game was delayed specifically for so they didn't release the game without community testing. As he said himself in the rest of the quote that you didn't display
Locking something down doesn't magically make it perfect...and only a fool keeps something unviable in there just cause it is "past lockdown". An update can remove things as well as put them in
rant
So the CEO of a company tells his core audience(long term players, anyone caring enough about to game to participate in the company forums), in response to a questions on several features that hadn't been heavily discussed recently, that one feature is delayed to an expansion and the other is in but give them some stability problems; so it may be enabled in the first weeks updates. Now to me this shows transparency and a will to inform people of how things are and why they are that way. I value this, and apparently Mecron believes people appreciate this or he wouldn't be on the forums in the first place.
Do you want to just talk to PR people, do you want to not know anything substantial about the game? Do you want to have any influence on the expansions or the next edition of the game? Because right now we get to talk directly to nearly half the company, no PR, no spin BS, just straight communication. Sorry about the rant here, I'm just tired of people being disrespectful and then acting all hurt when the person doesn't back down in a corner and then tells you off.
/rant
I just don't get people, remember the Rule of Wheaton
Agent.Nihilist on
<rintaro> Maybe "Coke" doesn't like postings about "Pepsi" on their website?
<--- Is not Moe
"The tech forest of the old game has also borne new fruit. A number of nasty new conventional weapons are available, and a new theater of warfare has opened: the theater of the mind. "
suddenly stoked. very.
Sokpuppet on
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
"The tech forest of the old game has also borne new fruit. A number of nasty new conventional weapons are available, and a new theater of warfare has opened: the theater of the mind. "
suddenly stoked. very.
Yeah Psychic warfare is a tech tree that is going to be available now. Zuul-Liir Alliance and the Suul'ka horde will naturally likely have large boosts in that direction.
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
I'm just tired of people being disrespectful and then acting all hurt when the person doesn't back down in a corner and then tells you off.
Nothing disrespectful about asking the pertinent question when the lead CEO is talking about adding or removing game elements a day before the game is supposed to release, because that is highly troubling. Though par for course since the ongoing joke with paradox games is how you pay to be a beta tester. Couple that with the fact that beyond screenshots and months old developer walk throughs, we've seen absolutely zero press about the game, yeah, I'd ask the question too.
I'm not sure what he expected, perhaps an awed hush that he graced the forms with his divine presence? It's a valid question, and copping an attitude to dodge answering is childish.
Dark_Side on
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lu tzeSweeping the monestary steps.Registered Userregular
I'm not sure what he expected, perhaps an awed hush that he graced the forms with his divine presence?
I doubt that, since he practically lives on those forums.
On the one hand, the army of sycophants he attracts, along with his often obtuse attitude and... err, short fuse, can make the forums seem very insular and one sided.
On the other hand, he's often very honest and transparent about the workings of his company. And I'm pretty confident he knows what he's doing.
At least Solforce can't get node-screwed anymore in II. The maps have set node lines between solar systems and the systems are randomized game to game instead of the entire map. I'm guessing it'll also help cut down on the 'Human AI takes half an hour to take its turn' thing.
The worst thing in one was spawning with two lanes, both leading to locusts while there were six other stars just out of reach.
What? No more randomized star maps? This is a dissapointing disaster Please say there will be a 'fun and exciting random map' option as well as a 'boring map which is always the same and I will never play' option.
At least Solforce can't get node-screwed anymore in II. The maps have set node lines between solar systems and the systems are randomized game to game instead of the entire map. I'm guessing it'll also help cut down on the 'Human AI takes half an hour to take its turn' thing.
The worst thing in one was spawning with two lanes, both leading to locusts while there were six other stars just out of reach.
What? No more randomized star maps? This is a dissapointing disaster Please say there will be a 'fun and exciting random map' option as well as a 'boring map which is always the same and I will never play' option.
The stars/planets per system/resources per planet and all that are still randomized, they just have a number of maps with preset node lanes so humans don't get screwed.
At least Solforce can't get node-screwed anymore in II. The maps have set node lines between solar systems and the systems are randomized game to game instead of the entire map. I'm guessing it'll also help cut down on the 'Human AI takes half an hour to take its turn' thing.
The worst thing in one was spawning with two lanes, both leading to locusts while there were six other stars just out of reach.
What? No more randomized star maps? This is a dissapointing disaster Please say there will be a 'fun and exciting random map' option as well as a 'boring map which is always the same and I will never play' option.
The Star locations and terrian features(black holes, nebulas and such) are static. However the Star type, number and types of planets are randomized each game. Its unconfirmed if node lines get randomized each time, but i would expect that they do as its easier to do with static locations.
The star number slider was taken out, IMHO, due to many many people making games with too many stars for their playtype and getting frustrated. Devs had said prime as designed around having an average 10-20 stars per player.
Agent.Nihilist on
<rintaro> Maybe "Coke" doesn't like postings about "Pepsi" on their website?
<--- Is not Moe
To be honest I thought 15-20 stars per player was plenty in SotS1, and that was with one planet per star. The macromanagement challenge of handling 20+ colonies was exhausting to me.
Vic on
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Casually HardcoreOnce an Asshole. Trying to be better.Registered Userregular
Yeah, I tend to keep my colonies number low so I can concentrate forces easier.
So who is up for a release day epic bout of multiplayer? If you have to leave midgame we leave you to the AI. We WILL finish a game for once
I'd love to be a part of this, but I am not sure how possible it will be since you people will probably start the game at like 2 AM in the morning Saturday my time. Might pull an all-nighter though!
Who here has bought and read the Deacon's Tale e-book?
I have. I liked it. I am a huge lore-junkie for the game though.
Of course, I have an ulterior motive. I want to read more of the stories in this 'verse. The author has made public the number of copies needed to make this a profitable venture at the surprisingly low number of 3500 sales in print format, 2500 sales in electronic formats. Well, profitable enough to write another novel, at least. She's even been kind enough to hint at what future novels might hold (it's Hivers).
Besides the usual distribution channels, you can get an .epub or .pdf version of the book direct from the publisher by sending a quick email to kthonia@gmail.com. The publisher REALLY likes the direct sales, so don't be shy about sidestepping the usual retail chain.
Was, uh... Was that too many links? I usually just lurk around here.
>.>
I've been called in for extra work today, but it's fine because it means the wait for won't be completely unbearable because I can leave just before the game unlocks
going to install on my work laptop as my home desktop is xp... i only pray it sorta kinda runs
Mon-Fri 8:30 PM CST - 11:30 PM CST
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Lord_AsmodeusgoeticSobriquet:Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour: I AM A TIME MACHINERegistered Userregular
I just want to summon a Suul'Ka in my first playthrough.
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. - Lincoln
The steam page says 5 hours to unlock now. I guess it got pushed back?
Well this just will not do.
Have to admit I am pretty pissed. I don't like buying a game with the promise that it will unlock in less than an hour when they actually don't have a game to release.
And because of the time zones I get to wait to play it until tomorrow. Yay.
Posts
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Hmm?
Some guy then asks the obvious question:
To which the wonderful reply is:
Mekron may also be drinking pretty hard judging from the awful typing.
Ah well, so looking forward to tomorrow. I've put up an event in the SotS group for a release day game, honestly I don't even know what timezone Steam adheres to. Group admins feel free to edit it to whatever time works for the US players who I believe are the majority (I'm euro but I'll be staying up for this one hehe).
lol or just not getting much sleep....
why do I get the feeling I just payed to be in a beta test?
I feel like I should know what that means, and that I am dumb for not.
If you watched the Extra Credits episode on producers, this is pretty much a prime example of how things can get hairy if you don't have someone who's relatively neutral saying 'ok, it's time to stop now. It's time to ship'.
So basically a cut off time where they say "Ok all that extra stuff is going to be have to be DLC/expansion material, since we need the game to actually WORK" or something to that effect?
That or patches. Basically, you develop it all until you get to a point where you feel it is good enough. You hav e accomplished the features you THINK you need. Now you spend weeks killing bugs based on priority. At a certain point, you feel the biggest bugs are dead, and you have a release candidate. You complete your testing process or period and then release it (provided there are no show-stoppers).
That said, most smaller companies adapt this heavily, allowing themselves to fix bugs up until the last minute, by using version control or something to cover their ass.
Not everyone can be Blizzard and just be like, "lol release today? six more months. deal with it."
That would explain why, during one of my games, there was this huge infestation of Locusts and, I swear to god, 1/3 of the galaxy was just dead (0 resources). It's funny how quickly warring civilizations can come together to destroy a greater threat.
This is what I love about SOTS, every game is different. Sometime the game is mundane and somewhat boring, and sometime the game is just epic as all fuck.
Before I go on a little rant here, please understand some perspective. This game has a digital release, with a retail box release coming roughly 2 weeks later. They do not need to release RTM a week before launch. They are also running an active beta, that the game was delayed specifically for so they didn't release the game without community testing. As he said himself in the rest of the quote that you didn't display
rant
So the CEO of a company tells his core audience(long term players, anyone caring enough about to game to participate in the company forums), in response to a questions on several features that hadn't been heavily discussed recently, that one feature is delayed to an expansion and the other is in but give them some stability problems; so it may be enabled in the first weeks updates. Now to me this shows transparency and a will to inform people of how things are and why they are that way. I value this, and apparently Mecron believes people appreciate this or he wouldn't be on the forums in the first place.
Do you want to just talk to PR people, do you want to not know anything substantial about the game? Do you want to have any influence on the expansions or the next edition of the game? Because right now we get to talk directly to nearly half the company, no PR, no spin BS, just straight communication. Sorry about the rant here, I'm just tired of people being disrespectful and then acting all hurt when the person doesn't back down in a corner and then tells you off.
/rant
I just don't get people, remember the Rule of Wheaton
<--- Is not Moe
suddenly stoked.
very.
Yeah Psychic warfare is a tech tree that is going to be available now. Zuul-Liir Alliance and the Suul'ka horde will naturally likely have large boosts in that direction.
Nothing disrespectful about asking the pertinent question when the lead CEO is talking about adding or removing game elements a day before the game is supposed to release, because that is highly troubling. Though par for course since the ongoing joke with paradox games is how you pay to be a beta tester. Couple that with the fact that beyond screenshots and months old developer walk throughs, we've seen absolutely zero press about the game, yeah, I'd ask the question too.
I'm not sure what he expected, perhaps an awed hush that he graced the forms with his divine presence? It's a valid question, and copping an attitude to dodge answering is childish.
On the one hand, the army of sycophants he attracts, along with his often obtuse attitude and... err, short fuse, can make the forums seem very insular and one sided.
On the other hand, he's often very honest and transparent about the workings of his company. And I'm pretty confident he knows what he's doing.
What? No more randomized star maps? This is a dissapointing disaster
The stars/planets per system/resources per planet and all that are still randomized, they just have a number of maps with preset node lanes so humans don't get screwed.
The Star locations and terrian features(black holes, nebulas and such) are static. However the Star type, number and types of planets are randomized each game. Its unconfirmed if node lines get randomized each time, but i would expect that they do as its easier to do with static locations.
The star number slider was taken out, IMHO, due to many many people making games with too many stars for their playtype and getting frustrated. Devs had said prime as designed around having an average 10-20 stars per player.
<--- Is not Moe
I'd love to be a part of this, but I am not sure how possible it will be since you people will probably start the game at like 2 AM in the morning Saturday my time. Might pull an all-nighter though!
Of course, I have an ulterior motive. I want to read more of the stories in this 'verse. The author has made public the number of copies needed to make this a profitable venture at the surprisingly low number of 3500 sales in print format, 2500 sales in electronic formats. Well, profitable enough to write another novel, at least. She's even been kind enough to hint at what future novels might hold (it's Hivers).
Besides the usual distribution channels, you can get an .epub or .pdf version of the book direct from the publisher by sending a quick email to kthonia@gmail.com. The publisher REALLY likes the direct sales, so don't be shy about sidestepping the usual retail chain.
Was, uh... Was that too many links? I usually just lurk around here.
>.>
<--- Is not Moe
I'm sure that the release hour is when it finishes uploading to steam
Well this just will not do.
Have to admit I am pretty pissed. I don't like buying a game with the promise that it will unlock in less than an hour when they actually don't have a game to release.
And because of the time zones I get to wait to play it until tomorrow. Yay.
Not sure what to make of that.