[Star Ruler] Indie 4x game of greatness? Signs point to yes.

ArbitraryDescriptor

Firgof wrote: »

Yep, the demo should be updated sometime soon. Probably within the week if not in the next day or so.

Cool, I'll keep an eye out for it.

Thanks for the heads up

Firgof

Sorry for the delay, ArbitraryDescriptor. I'm working on getting the demo done and I'll prioritize it right after 1024 comes out (which ought to be soon, looking at the way things are progressing).

I've already got all the documents up that I need to alter in order to change the graphics for the loading background and et cetera. Not quite sure how long it'll take me to strip the demo down to where it ought to be though. I'll keep you posted.

Evil Multifarious

i am interested in this game because of how drastically it can scale downward or upward, since it will let me find the right size for any given game.

i am curious, though, for those who have played it -which 4x games is it most similar to? what kind of skills/knowledge will i need to acquire to win, and what will make me lose?

i bought civ 5, in terms of similar games, and i was really disappointed with how easy it was to win with military, and how much of the game was spent clicking "next turn" rather than actually doing anything. i'm hoping this game does not have that problem!

Lykouragh

I would say it's most similar to AI War and SOASE: very slow scale real time strategy.

Firgof

Gentleman, a patch: http://starruler.blind-mind.com/patches/SR_v1.0.2.2-v1.0.2.4.exe

Please let us know if you encounter any errors or major bugs while we're in our first hours of the patch.

Full patch log:

[Fixed] Crash when selecting a shipset.
[Fixed] Remnants no longer run out of fuel.
[Fixed] Changed order for movement updates to prevent a one-frame delay in motion prediction.
[Fixed] Clients in multiplayer were shown the victory message before joining an empire.
[Fixed] Governors no longer build structures that are not unlocked yet.
[Fixed] Layout scales are now rounded to 3 decimal places to prevent floating point errors from showing up.
[Fixed] Pirates with money troubles weren't buying pillagers because marauders were cheaper.
[Fixed] Joining a multiplayer game after going back to the main menu from another game would not load the map correctly.
[Fixed] The fighter hull had a 5% flat dodge chance instead of it being based on relative velocity.
[Fixed] Changing the max number of selectable AIs in main_menu.xml did not work. The default still goes up to 10, but it's moddable up to 200 AIs.*
[Fixed] Fixed various issues with updating hulls (SubSystem modifiers not working when a hull is updated). Designs in previous saves should be able to benefit from being updated, depending on the type of modifier used.
[Fixed] Fixed fleet icon not showing after load and not disappearing when docked.
[Fixed] Ship owner was being set after effect activation, leading to certain effects (notably Research) crashing on ships.
[Fixed] Structures with non-natural levels (farms) could not be renovated manually.
[Fixed] Zoom to cursor checkbox was saving incorrectly.
[Fixed] Planet orbits were sometimes stopping after loading a save.
[Fixed] Undocking sometimes hurled ships across the vast expanses of space at insane speeds.
[Fixed] Damage order based on sub system position wasn't taking the size of the sub system into account. Now, a large sub system can protect little sub systems 'inside' it.
[Fixed] The music now instantly stops playing upon exiting, rather than when the game finishes cleaning itself up.
[Fixed] Treaties would randomly crash in multiplayer.
[Fixed] Objects thought they had far higher acceleration than they really did (due to not taking mass into account). Should significantly improve movement patterns, especially when it comes to planets.
[Fixed] Our custom GUI elements were not being properly deleted, causing a memory leak in the GUI.
[Fixed] Goto object orders weren't being saved/loaded.
[Fixed] Order lists were being loaded in reverse.
[Fixed] The dim2di for the blueprint window's tab buttons was using 2 px less than it should have, resulting in part of the button being cut off in the window.
[Fixed] Sending chat messages with the # character in them no longer causes weirdness.
[Changed] Various game data files (PlanetTypes.xml, build_queues.xml, ...) can now be overwritten by mods.
[Changed] Script data loading now falls back to the default files (mods no longer have to copy the Script Data directory).
[Changed] Empire names and colors are now moddable the same way system names are.
[Changed] Changed the standard maps to use a single copy of object descriptors, rather than making a new one for each object. Significantly speeds up map generation for common map sizes.
[Changed] Removed unnecessary window generation and resource loading during script testing.
[Changed] The tutorial can now be localized.
[Changed] An auto-colonize order can now be removed by right-clicking on the planet and unticking it.
[Changed] The AI now periodically retrofits its obsolete ships.
[Changed] Slightly sped up locking in general, and reduced overhead related to creating those locks.
[Changed] AIs obsolete their old designs and retrofit their old designs to larger versions. (Cruisers go up to scale 24 over time).
[Changed] Planet orbits were much slower than intended. Planets now orbit at faster speeds, and their speed is based on the size of the star.
[Changed] Changed various memory allocations over to a pooled system. Slight gains when setting the game up, but far more dramatic gains when exiting.
[Changed] Objects now register themselves instantly during map creation, significantly improving map generation speeds.
[Changed] Empty strings no longer allocate themselves on the heap.
[Changed] Star Ruler's icon has been replaced with a higher resolution version.
[Changed] Mods can now add their own Locales that are loaded after and can override the base game's.
[Changed] Weapon effect graphics are now allocated in a pool, significantly improving performance when watching combat.
[Changed] Updated French, Russian and German translations.
[Changed] While updating the blueprint window to the planet window's style, reduced the image size, saving a slight bit of memory.
[Changed] Objects are destroyed on-demand when the game exits, speeding up game exit times.
[Changed] Planetary rings now have ambient lighting.
[Changed] Planetary rings are now more common.
[Added] An optional toggle in the system window to display stored resources for planets in the list.
[Added] Ships can now be scuttled at planets for resources. They provide 50% of their cost to the planet.
[Added] Added support for ttf fonts and locale-specific fonts.
[Added] Added basic per-system minimaps.
[Added] Add Require:Tag to restrict subsystems to blueprints that have that tag.
[Added] Script bindings for Irrlicht's quaternion.
[Added] Relative military strength bars for pinned systems/stars and systems in the system window's system list.
[Added] "Zoom to object" buttons in planet window, pinned list and the system window's planet list.

* Disclaimer: Beware of duplicate empire colors and severe lag when adding more AIs.

Elvenshae

... Damn. That's a patch list.

ArbitraryDescriptor

Firgof wrote: »

Sorry for the delay, ArbitraryDescriptor. I'm working on getting the demo done and I'll prioritize it right after 1024 comes out (which ought to be soon, looking at the way things are progressing).

I've already got all the documents up that I need to alter in order to change the graphics for the loading background and et cetera. Not quite sure how long it'll take me to strip the demo down to where it ought to be though. I'll keep you posted.

You took too long, so I bought it.

That'll teach you!

The patch notes really don't do the difference between the demo and 1022 justice. You guys are really making great progress here, its kind of cool getting to see it happen. Looking forward to checking out 1024 when I get some gaming time.

Firgof

Thought I'd drop by and show you guys what's coming up for Patch 1030. Bolded points are my emphasis (been a long time coming, eh? ).

[Fixed] Ships in invalid positions could crash the sound system if they ever played a sound. This should also fix random, extreme slowdowns experienced by some people.
[Fixed] Comets now orbit farther away from stars.
[Fixed] A change in 1.0.2.4 broke script-based target weighting. Will fix jump drives, mining lasers, repair tools, and a few other specialized weapons/tools.
[Fixed] Overlapped sub systems in the blueprint editor now only glow when one is a modifier.
[Fixed] The AI will no longer try to retrofit ships in contested systems.
[Fixed] Repeat mode no longer crashes.
[Fixed] Fixed a possible cause of saves that crash on load. Old saves won't be fixed, but the problem should be eliminated for future saves.
[Fixed] Fixed a crash caused by a distant ship icon updating while the ship was being destroyed.
[Fixed] Planet conditions were not applying all of their alterations.
[Fixed] Ships would randomly "vanish" mid-flight.
[Fixed] Actually fixed crash in servers with single thread mode on. Also speeds up single thread mode a bit.
[Changed] Control+click build now works everywhere you'd expect (system window, build on best context menu).
[Changed] Importing a design with errors (ie subsystems not unlocked yet) now displays those in a message box instead of failing silently.
[Changed] Improved the comet trail.
[Changed] Updated German translation.
[Added] Added two new tracks by Artem Bank.
[Added] Event notification sounds for pending treaties or finishing the research queue.
[Added] Added speed and distance indicators to the mouse over info. 1 AU = 1000 units.
[Added] If pirates are allowed to become wealthy, they can now launch multiple simultaneous raids.
[Added] Added new Fighter, Hauler, and Satellite models, and added LODs for the station.
[Added] Added an option for a 'standard' camera, which cannot roll. Use this if you find that you cannot effectively use the default camera.
[Added] All ships with thrust can be toggled to "Park in orbit": when they stop, they will start orbiting the closest planet or star.
[Added] New structure: Planetary Thruster. Unlocked at Propulsion 18, Gravitics 6 and Megaconstruction 6, allows you to move planets.

Firgof

Alrighty! Ladies and gents, thank you for your patience. Patch 1030 is finally beginning to roll out and ought to be on Steam on Monday. We're likely to self-release the Demo today but the Demo won't go up on Steam until probably Monday as well.

The official patch log follows this short caution: If you're going to use the new camera control setting that disables tilting, please do be aware that it will currently crash on the main menu if you do it there. If you change it while a game is in progress, it will function as intended; sorry for the inconvenience, GGLucas has already fixed it for the next patch.

Rather than issue a hotfix for the release, we've decided to instead rebuild the patch. This means unfortunately that you will have to (a) redownload the patch when it becomes available and (b) reinstall your game. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Patch from 1024
Patch from 1028

If you have downloaded the patch, you'll need to redownload the patch and reinstall from 1024 or 1028 to get to 1030. (No 1000 -> 1030, sorry. We're poking D2D to get their base version up-to-date)

[Fixed] Ships in invalid positions could crash the sound system if they ever played a sound. This should also fix random, extreme slowdowns experienced by some people.
[Fixed] Comets now orbit farther away from stars.
[Fixed] A change in 1.0.2.4 broke script-based target weighting. Will fix jump drives, mining lasers, repair tools, and a few other specialized weapons/tools.
[Fixed] Overlapped sub systems in the blueprint editor now only glow when one is a modifier.
[Fixed] The AI will no longer try to retrofit ships in contested systems.
[Fixed] Repeat mode no longer crashes.
[Fixed] Fixed a possible cause of saves that crash on load. Old saves won't be fixed, but the problem should be eliminated for future saves.
[Fixed] Fixed a crash caused by a distant ship icon updating while the ship was being destroyed.
[Fixed] Planet conditions were not applying all of their alterations.
[Fixed] Ships would randomly "vanish" mid-flight.
[Fixed] Actually fixed crash in servers with single thread mode on. Also speeds up single thread mode a bit.
[Fixed] Mods were not being loaded in multiplayer.
[Fixed] Reordered economic events. Running out of metals should no longer throttle your economy!
[Fixed] Fixed hull-related crashes. Existing saves cannot be fixed, if that is the source of their crashes. Sorry about that.
[Fixed] Transfer orders will no longer try to take from docked ships.
[Fixed] Ships could get stuck and unselectable after jumping.
[Fixed] Possible fix for an infinite loop in fleets.
[Fixed] Planets would forget their repeat state on load if they didn't have anything in their queue.
[Fixed] Fixed a crash caused by having a dying ship selected.
[Fixed] Fixed a pure virtual function call caused by OrderList.
[Fixed] Saving a blueprint with the same name as a manually obsoleted one would not save it.
[Fixed] AIs were ignoring Dreadnaughts they built.
[Fixed] Fixed various crashes related to fleets.
[Fixed] Asserts are no longer compiled into release (small performance improvement)
[Fixed] Tutorial scrollbars for localizations.
[Fixed] Blueprint AI settings didn't work for multiplayer clients.
[Fixed] Blueprint AI settings were not being exported.
[Fixed] Fixed a bug that would spam the console with errors.
[Changed] Control+click build now works everywhere you'd expect (system window, build on best context menu).
[Changed] Importing a design with errors (ie subsystems not unlocked yet) now displays those in a message box instead of failing silently.
[Changed] Improved the comet trail.
[Changed] Updated German translation.
[Changed] Moved system and planet generation to a server script (map_generation.as) so mods can change it.
[Changed] Ships that fire weapons in the galaxy will become visible to all players. Note: Planets in the galaxy are always visible to everyone.
[Added] Added two new tracks by Artem Bank.
[Added] Event notification sounds for pending treaties or finishing the research queue.
[Added] Added speed and distance indicators to the mouse over info. 1 AU = 1000 units.
[Added] If pirates are allowed to become wealthy, they can now launch multiple simultaneous raids.
[Added] Added new Fighter, Hauler, and Satellite models, and added LODs for the station.
[Added] Added an option for a 'standard' camera, which cannot roll. Use this if you find that you cannot effectively use the default camera.
[Added] All ships with thrust can be toggled to "Park in orbit": when they stop, they will start orbiting the closest planet or star.
[Added] New structure: Planetary Thruster. Unlocked at Propulsion 16, Gravitics 6 and Megaconstruction 6, allows you to move planets.
[Added] Blueprint AI setting to control whether other ships are allowed to fetch resources (fuel, etc) from that blueprint.
[Added] Blueprint AI settings to limit attack targetting to only planets/ships.
[Added] Blueprint AI settings to limit deposit targets to only planets/ships. (ie Miners' deposit ore orders).
[Added] Binary star systems and asteroid belt systems.

BloodySloth

The updates for this game are regularly monstrous and you just keep pumping them out. You guys are development machines.

Firgof

Well we do owe it to you guys that we're able to do this in the first place and we owed these patches to you anyway as that is what we pledged to do.

Star Ruler was built very carefully and modularly; that allows us to very rapidly implement, test, and release. That and the 10-14 hour work days each of us puts in 5-7 days a week.

Thank you for the words of encouragement and I hope that you enjoy the patch.

EDIT: Oh, and happy belated Thanksgiving! I guess this is our somewhat-late-to-the-party contribution to your Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend. :P

Firgof

Rather than issue a hotfix for the release, we've decided to instead rebuild the patch. This means unfortunately that you will have to (a) redownload the patch when it becomes available and (b) reinstall your game. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Patch from 1024
Patch from 1028

If you have downloaded the patch, you'll need to redownload the patch and reinstall from 1024 or 1028 to get to 1030. (No 1000 -> 1030, sorry. We're poking D2D to get their base version up-to-date)

Firgof

Demo v1030 is now available!

Tertiee

And with that it is finally time for me to take the demo out for a spin. If I was to buy this game which distributers would let me use the most up to date patches? Just the Direct2Drive and Gamersgate versions?

Firgof

Hmm... I'd say go with Impulse or GamersGate, personally.

Metallikat

How does one set up for mining asteroids? I imagine a ship loaded with cargo holds and a mining laser is needed, but do the ships simply go back to the nearest system/planet when loaded up?

Firgof

It would depend on the AI settings for the individual ship, I'm afraid. By default, ships look for planets to offload their cargo onto. If you bring your mining vessels into a system where there are no planets when their cargo holds are full they will stand by, watchful for any valid planets that stumble into the system.

If, however, they are set to dump resources into ships and there is a ship or station in that system that has a cargo bay, the Mining vessels will proceed to that ship/station and dump their Ore there. Unfortunately, with the Repeat Mode order currently non-functional (it causes crashes) bringing the resources back can be somewhat micromanagey but the amount of Ore that can be retrieved from an Asteroid System is vast and may be enough to rejuvenate a late-game economic depression due to a drop in production output due to lack of Ore.

My current set up is a station being brought over into an asteroid system, dropped off by that carrier along with a few mining vessels, which then becomes the 'Storage Center' for that system; it's pretty much 2 cargo bays, 2 fuel cells, and 2 bussard ramscoops. This ensures that the mining vessels are kept stocked in fuel and have a place to go. Meanwhile, I move the other ship out of the system and return it to my homesystem. While that is ongoing, I start setting up a huge hauler that will go back and forth between the systems, grabbing all the Ore, and then sitting in the system until it runs out of that resource.

If the mining vessels which were mining are going too fast for the large Hauler to keep up with, then I simply deploy more stations for the larger ship to gather from.

It's a bit managed and it's more of a 'stockpile' than a supply chain at the moment due to repeat mode being broken but in a pinch I can count on it to accelerate a local economy in a late-game situation to give me the edge I might need to knock out an enemy fleet by out producing another enemy empire.

All ships do remain in the systems that they're currently in unless told to move elsewhere, yes.

yurnamehere

The Impulse download appears to be broken. I keep getting "Error retrieving data." The download log indicates a 404 error searching for a file on the server. Is anyone else experiencing this?

Firgof

I've seen reports of this on other forums. Some said that shutting Impulse down and starting it back up again resolved their error. Try it again after doing that and see if it works; if it doesn't then unfortunately we'll have to wait for Impulse to resolve the error on their end.

yurnamehere

The error definitely persisted through several restarts of Impulse. It finally started working when I was in the middle of writing out a support ticket to Stardock.

Firgof

Just under two hours to go until the Indie of the Year contest is over! Click the link above to vote for us.


Here's something we started cooking up last night alongside getting a chat system for the master server up and running (so that you can find people who are waiting for a multiplayer game but aren't yet in one). It's still in its prototype stages but should be ready to be put into the game fairly soon.


We're also working on getting an automatic updater/patcher for the game running so you don't even have to visit your distributor's site (exception: steam) to get updates for the game!


Finally, here's the current live patch log. We're still a bit from releasing it (it's going to be a big patch) and here's what we've got in so far:

[Fixed] Multiple colonizer modules on one ship now correctly sums the structure count.
[Fixed] Crash on return to main menu for mods using tag{} blocks in shipsets.
[Fixed] Ships moving to a target that gets destroyed flying towards the quasar.
[Fixed] Disabled ships getting station icon on load.
[Fixed] Ships following a planet after a transfer order.
[Fixed] Loading a game with 0 research rate would lead to an empty sub system / structure list.
[Fixed] Crash when constructing ships on a planet / dry dock in deep space.
[Fixed] Ships with control but without fuel could still use their thrusters every second tick.
[Fixed] Sub Systems did not have their onDeactive binds called when scuttled or retrofitted.
[Fixed] Space port trade now happens in the planet tick, leading to less wasted trade rate.
[Fixed] Fetch orders were not leaking control to subsequent orders until fetching for the first time.
[Fixed] Haulers could get stuck doing nothing waiting for a resource to become available instead of trading in different resources.
[Fixed] Superfluous explosion sounds were playing when scuttling / retrofitting or when colonizing a planet.
[Fixed] Ringworlds were being constructed at the wrong position.
[Fixed] Ringworlds constructed on larger stars (ie the quasar) would appear inside the star.
[Fixed] The ringworld structure size bonus was not applying correctly.
[Fixed] Using a jumpdrive could render the jumping ship unselectable.
[Fixed] Ships parked in orbit using a jumpdrive would not pick a new orbit correctly and fly off into the distance.
[Fixed] Offline planetary structures could not be removed.
[Fixed] Asteroids and comets were not working for multiplayer clients.
[Fixed] Ships constructed after load would not be assigned their proper automation (fetch, deposit, work) orders.
[Fixed] Capturing another empire's design will no longer spam duplicates each time.
[Fixed] Haulers ended up with wrong / negative cargo after trading with a planet that had cargo storage.
[Fixed] Haulers would end up filled with one particular resource (usually adv. parts) when its supply outweighed demand.
[Fixed] Hovering over the +/- resize buttons while holding shift in the blueprint editor now correctly displays the effect of an increment/decrement.
[Fixed] In the blueprints window, dragging a sub system to an invalid position would sometimes return it to the last valid position, rather than the nearest valid.
[Fixed] We have discovered that a particular function in OpenGL is quite slow; fixing this improved framerate significantly.
[Changed] Shields now have a % chance to block or leak all damage from kinetic weapons entirely, rather than always blocking a % of the damage.
[Changed] Objects larger than scale 3600 are now visible everywhere to everyone.
[Changed] The system window's build on best algorithm now prefers shipyards over other structures.
[Changed] The main menu planet now chooses a random texture.
[Changed] Only one ringworld can be constructed per system. Attempting to construct additional ones will simply fail.
[Changed] The Analyzer now captures the design of disabled ships. Each attempt has a chance to succeed, which improves dramatically with bigger ships and analyzers.
[Changed] Ringworlds are now unlocked at MegaConstruction 22, Gravitics 16 and Spatial Dynamics 16.
[Changed] Haulers only supply when storage is under 45%, to avoid attempting to race against space ports.
[Changed] You can now hold shift when dragging sub systems in the blueprint editor to snap to a grid.
[Changed] When dragging sub systems in the blueprint editor, they can no longer leave the circle (you will see them where they would normally snap to).
[Changed] Dry Docks automatically fetch resources from the planet they are orbiting, if the planet has any.
[Balance] Shields are now more effective, particularly for larger ships.
[Balance] Planetary shields are now much stronger.
[Balance] Increased power cost of middle-tech weapons.
[Balance] Power generators produce significantly less power.
[Balance] Bridges and Computers produce significantly less control.
[Balance] Increased mass of armor.
[Balance] Decrease gains to science labs from general sciences research. (Getting to level 10 takes about twice as long, level 20 four times)
[Balance] Missiles and Torpedoes now have longer range.
[Added] The blueprints tab now displays statistics for the currently selected design.
[Added] The loading screen displays random gameplay tips from a moddable / localizable list.
[Added] "Stockpiling Protocol" civil act: makes space ports keep resource levels at 95% instead of 50%.
[Added] You may now check for updates from the main menu. Note: Steam users won't see this option.
[Added] AI Personalities may now specify a shipset for the AI to use.
[Added] "Refresh Automation" option in the right-click menu: adds back automation orders (fetch, work, defend, etc) after clearing them.
[Added] Destroyed planets now leave behind a bunch of asteroids based on the amount of ore they had left.
[Added] Added three new tracks by Artem Bank.
[Added] Economic Sub Systems for ships: Metal Refinery, Electronics Fabricator, Advanced Parts Assembler, Export Dock.
[Added] Graviton / Anti-Graviton beams: Repulsor, Attractor, Interdictor.
[Added] New Sub Systems: Quantum Battery, Matter Generator, Overcharged Laser.

Firgof

The patch is now live: http://starruler.blind-mind.com/patches/SR_v1.0.3.0-v1.0.4.0.exe

SR now links up with a chatroom we've got on Slacked (thanks to the awesome server admin, shadow) that can be accessed in MP and SP (T in SP opens up the IRC client in MP it's optional). That way, you can keep playing a singleplayer game while waiting for other people to come online to play against and coordinate what y'all want to do for that multiplayer game without ever having to step foot out of game to do so.

Should help people get in to multiplayer and find other interested MPers with far more ease than the current system of 'host a server and hope people join'.



Here's the final changelog:

[Fixed] Multiple colonizer modules on one ship now correctly sums the structure count.
[Fixed] Crash on return to main menu for mods using tag{} blocks in shipsets.
[Fixed] Ships moving to a target that gets destroyed flying towards the quasar.
[Fixed] Disabled ships getting station icon on load.
[Fixed] Ships following a planet after a transfer order.
[Fixed] Loading a game with 0 research rate would lead to an empty sub system / structure list.
[Fixed] Crash when constructing ships on a planet / dry dock in deep space.
[Fixed] Ships with control but without fuel could still use their thrusters every second tick.
[Fixed] Sub Systems did not have their onDeactive binds called when scuttled or retrofitted.
[Fixed] Space port trade now happens in the planet tick, leading to less wasted trade rate.
[Fixed] Fetch orders were not leaking control to subsequent orders until fetching for the first time.
[Fixed] Haulers could get stuck doing nothing waiting for a resource to become available instead of trading in different resources.
[Fixed] Superfluous explosion sounds were playing when scuttling / retrofitting or when colonizing a planet.
[Fixed] Ringworlds were being constructed at the wrong position.
[Fixed] Ringworlds constructed on larger stars (ie the quasar) would appear inside the star.
[Fixed] The ringworld structure size bonus was not applying correctly.
[Fixed] Using a jumpdrive could render the jumping ship unselectable.
[Fixed] Ships parked in orbit using a jumpdrive would not pick a new orbit correctly and fly off into the distance.
[Fixed] Offline planetary structures could not be removed.
[Fixed] Asteroids and comets were not working for multiplayer clients.
[Fixed] Ships constructed after load would not be assigned their proper automation (fetch, deposit, work) orders.
[Fixed] Capturing another empire's design will no longer spam duplicates each time.
[Fixed] Haulers ended up with wrong / negative cargo after trading with a planet that had cargo storage.
[Fixed] Haulers would end up filled with one particular resource (usually adv. parts) when its supply outweighed demand.
[Fixed] Hovering over the +/- resize buttons while holding shift in the blueprint editor now correctly displays the effect of an increment/decrement.
[Fixed] In the blueprints window, dragging a sub system to an invalid position would sometimes return it to the last valid position, rather than the nearest valid.
[Fixed] We have discovered that a particular function in OpenGL is quite slow; fixing this improved framerate significantly.
[Fixed] Sub-menus in the right-click menu will no longer move off screen.
[Fixed] Objects could push each other to ridiculous speeds.
[Changed] Shields now have a % chance to block or leak all damage from kinetic weapons entirely, rather than always blocking a % of the damage.
[Changed] Objects larger than scale 3600 are now visible everywhere to everyone.
[Changed] The system window's build on best algorithm now prefers shipyards over other structures.
[Changed] The main menu planet now chooses a random texture.
[Changed] Only one ringworld can be constructed per system. Attempting to construct additional ones will simply fail.
[Changed] The Analyzer now captures the design of disabled ships. Each attempt has a chance to succeed, which improves dramatically with bigger ships and analyzers.
[Changed] Ringworlds are now unlocked at MegaConstruction 22, Gravitics 16 and Spatial Dynamics 16.
[Changed] Haulers only supply when storage is under 45%, to avoid attempting to race against space ports.
[Changed] You can now hold shift when dragging sub systems in the blueprint editor to snap to a grid.
[Changed] When dragging sub systems in the blueprint editor, they can no longer leave the circle (you will see them where they would normally snap to).
[Changed] Dry Docks automatically fetch resources from the planet they are orbiting, if the planet has any.
[Changed] The mouse over information and object information panel now display hitpoints of all objects, not just the ones owned by you.
[Changed] You can now set individual settings, difficulties, names, colors, and cheating or not cheating for Empires in the New Game window.
[Changed] You may now add far more than 10 opponents if you wish; caution: larger numbers of opponents can rapidly degrade system performance.
[Changed] Sped up base panning speed.
[Changed] Updated Translations: Polish.
[Balance] Shields are now more effective, particularly for larger ships.
[Balance] Planetary shields are now much stronger.
[Balance] Increased power cost of middle-tech weapons.
[Balance] Power generators produce significantly less power.
[Balance] Bridges and Computers produce significantly less control.
[Balance] Increased mass of armor.
[Balance] Decrease gains to science labs from general sciences research. (Getting to level 10 takes about twice as long, level 20 four times)
[Balance] Missiles and Torpedoes now have longer range.
[Balance] Increased overall laser damage to compensate for their short range.
[Added] The blueprints tab now displays statistics for the currently selected design.
[Added] The loading screen displays random gameplay tips from a moddable / localizable list.
[Added] "Stockpiling Protocol" civil act: makes space ports keep resource levels at 95% instead of 50%.
[Added] You may now check for updates from the main menu. Note: Steam users won't see this option.
[Added] Added a patching program which downloads patches from our server and installs them itself. Must be run from Star Ruler.
[Added] AI Personalities may now specify a shipset for the AI to use.
[Added] "Refresh Automation" option in the right-click menu: adds back automation orders (fetch, work, defend, etc) after clearing them.
[Added] Destroyed planets now leave behind a bunch of asteroids based on the amount of ore they had left.
[Added] Added three new tracks by Artem Bank.
[Added] Economic Sub Systems for ships: Metal Refinery, Electronics Fabricator, Advanced Parts Assembler, Export Dock.
[Added] Graviton / Anti-Graviton beams: Repulsor, Attractor, Interdictor.
[Added] New Sub Systems: Quantum Battery, Matter Generator, Overcharged Laser, Internal Defenses.
[Added] Lobby System to Multiplayer and Singleplayer.
[Added] Detailed Statistics sub-window for the Blueprints window.
[Added] Lobby Chat window for both the main menu and in-game that connects to the new official irc channel.
[Added] "Give Vision" clause for treaties. Does what it says on the tin.
[Added] Ability to set teams between players before starting the game.

Elvenshae

Seriously, you guys need to make more changes to this game.

I've found your changelogs to be somewhat underwhelming.

Firgof

I'll take that as a joke because the changes are anything but small strides.

But, since you started your sentence off with 'seriously': What would be not 'underwhelming'?

Elvenshae

Firgof wrote: »

I'll take that as a joke because the changes are anything but small strides.

But, since you started your sentence off with 'seriously': What would be not 'underwhelming'?

You know, I thought about putting a winkyface in there, but then I thought, "Nah - there's no way he could possibly take this comment seriously, given the doctoral thesis each set of patch notes resembles."

Maybe I should have written "Srsly"?

This game continues to evolve in fascinating ways, and each patch is a marked upgrade. You guys do good work.

Firgof

I admit there was an initial punch-to-the-stomach feeling, but I took a step back, looked at the post, and went 'nah'. But just in case, I figured I'd bring it out in case somebody else took their gut-reaction and made a post on it. :P

Thanks, man.

Virgil_Leads_You

I really like where you dudes are going with this.
It's becoming a much more intuitive game.

Firgof

Thank you! Hope to see you in the MP lobby sometime!

Firgof

Hope to see you in the MP lobby sometime!

Ironically, it turns out MP was broken in patch 1040 due to a SVN error at the last minute. We're working on a hotfix for that and all other known issues with the patch at this time. SP is unaffected and stable by the bugs though the Researcher personality is weaker than intended at the moment due to one of its main designs being unupdated with the recent balance changes.

Firgof

Hotfix for 1040 is now available: http://starruler.blind-mind.com/patches/SR_v1.0.4.0-v1.0.4.2.exe

Changes:

[Fixed] Choosing to auto-update would crash the game.
[Fixed] Multiplayer clients were not loading the galaxy map.
[Fixed] Certain xml files would not load from mods.
[Fixed] Certain AI designs did not have enough power and would go disabled.
[Fixed] Ships would sometimes run out of control even though they had a surplus available.
[Fixed] Internal Defenses subsystem would not get unlocked.
[Fixed] Fixed various designs being mis-localized or unstable.
[Changed] Updated translations: French.
[Added] /who can be used to list users in the IRC.

Fartacus_the_Mighty

I just got this, and it's fun. However, I have encountered an annoying bug/feature: ships of enormous scale with shields (didn't test without shields) are unable to attack anything, because they physically collide with the target before they can get into firing range.

Oh, and there needs to be some means of getting Ringworlds to be mobile. Maybe add an extra tech requirement that will let planetary thrusters work on them. It is simply not fair that I cannot terrorize my opponents with a system-sized ring of doom.

Firgof

Patch is back up. Unfortunately, early-adopters of the patch will have to redownload it as there was a version-number error in the patcher. It won't correctly recognize the version with the currently available patch.

Patch 1.0.4.4 is now available! Also, we're currently on sale for $12.49 on Steam; more sales are oncoming for our other distributors so keep your eyes peeled!

Change log:

[Fixed] Dry Docks could get stuck fetching resources from another planet in the system.
[Fixed] Asteroids in normal systems would be destroyed instantly instead of when they ran dry.
[Fixed] Missiles were not consuming proportionate amounts of ammo.
[Fixed] Multiplayer clients could crash when holding alt.
[Fixed] Legacy mod for 1.0.4.0 was missing, resulting in abnormally slow thrusters when loading 1.0.4.0 games in 1.0.4.2.
[Fixed] Default level health gain was 1.25 instead of the intended 0.25.
[Fixed] Repeat mode was crashing after completion.
[Changed] The IRC window can now be minimized.
[Balance] Computers generate a bit more control to make up for their large power consumption.
[Balance] Torpedo bays no longer gain bonuses from coolant systems / targeting sensors.
[Removed] Legacy 1.0.1.2 and 1.0.1.4 games are no longer supported.
[Removed] Removed the patcher, as it was entirely non-functional in most cases. Instead, Star Ruler links to a list of patches for your version.

Kris_xK

This is on sale at Steam for 12.49, thats 50% off.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like blowing up someones ring world.

Firgof

Special Announcement
Wanted to give you guys a heads up: Looks like Steam won't be offering Star Ruler for the daily deal after all. Just wanted you guys to know in case you were holding out for it to go to the mega-sale price (85% off versus the current 50% off). I'll keep you guys posted while I make sure.

We still have the game currently on sale over at D2D and GamersGate however.

Firgof

Patch 1050 now available! (It's not a typo; we bumped it up to 1050 because that's how big a difference it makes!)

Non-Steam users, click here to download Patch 1044->1050!
Steam users: We're working on getting the patch to Steam ASAP. It probably won't be up this weekend but should be available at the very start of the week!

If you'd like to see the major features of Patch 1050 in action while you download it, click the link! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF3e2haC9xk

Changelog:

Fixed
A long lag before joining a multiplayer game in progress that appears as a freeze (but eventually does connect).
Modded EmpireNames.txt and EmpireColors.txt are now used in the lobby.
Tips files were showing up as languages.
Freeze when holding alt for range rings while hovering on an enemy unit.
Antimatter generators would not explode when disabled due to lack of control.
Queue management commands did not work for dry docks in multiplayer.
Light/Heavy/Stealth hulls were incorrectly scaling with level, making them much too powerful at later tech levels.
Ships can now be retrofitted / scuttled at dry docks.
The victory message was not showing up when eliminating all enemy teams in a team game.
Docking stations into planets or carriers could crash.
Starting a multiplayer game with teams could crash due to timing issues.
When hovering over a sub system with a modifier/link attached to it, the correct stats will now be shown on the left.
Overriding controls that had a default key assigned to them would create duplicate bindings and not be displayed correctly in the options menu.
Hotkey groups are now saved and loaded.
The Rack Mount was misbehaving at small scales. It now behaves much more sensibly at all scales.
Fixed jittery movement of ships in multiplayer (except in very high-lag situations).
Manual transfer orders did not work for MP clients and did not save.
The order list on completely idle ships would not properly display for clients.
Boarding defenses were not scaling up, making them wholly ineffective.
Changed
Nano armor hitpoints and damage reduction now only increase with armor research, while regeneration rate increases with nanotech research only.
Multiplayer server names now default to "<nickname>'s Game".
Clicking the planet lost message now zooms to the system the planet was lost in.
Version compatibility is now checked before joining the lobby, instead of after starting the game.
When a treaty ends prematurely because of one party lacking the required materials / research, a message is now displayed.
Use tool only appears in the right click menu if the ship could actually use that tool on the clicked object.
Stations built from orbital dry docks now correctly orbit the original planet.
System Searches (used by the AIs) should now be faster.
The hovered object poll now uses the OctTree, improving performance by ~10% in large galaxies.
Arrow key movement speed now changes more drastically with zoom level, instead of being exceedingly slow when zoomed out.
Zoom in now locks on to the system plane, so missing a target will no longer zoom "through" the system.
The Remnants now use designs with more advanced technology in them. Analysing or boarding their designs will let you build high-tech toys much earlier.
The system rings are now larger so as to fully contain the bounds of the system.
Space damage is now percentage based.
System ring owner color is now based on military strength rather than pure ship count.
Systems are only marked as under attack if either you or the enemy have military presence.
Systems that are contested now glow rather than their ring changing color.
Distant icons for ships that are taking damage now glow.
Balance
All armor levels are now equalized, making more advanced armor more viable.
Ablative armor now scales the same way as other armor, giving it significantly more hitpoints at higher tech levels.
Torpedoes now use less ammo.
Planets now have a damage resistance related to cities, capitols, and bunkers. This scales with level, increasing their longevity late-game.
Added
Savegames may now be deleted in-game.
Added an 'experimental' tab to the options menu. Has various completely unexplained options that aren't quite ready for release, but mostly work.
Dedicated server binary to run a server without playing or rendering the graphics.
UPnP support: port forwarding is no longer necessary to host a server when using a modern router that supports UPnP.
Moving your mouse to the edge of the screen now moves the camera. (Can be turned off from the options menu).
Options menu settings for ambient brightness and multiplayer server autosave.
3D movement orders: Double right clicking and holding the right mouse button now lets you adjust the vertical component. (Also works by holding control, single right clicking and holding)
Added support for scripted planet queues. Use '<script call="Module::Function" />' in a queue to use a function of the type 'bool Name([email protected]).' Return true to prevent the rest of the queue from running.
A grid is now displayed on every system's XZ plane. (Can be turned off from the options menu).
Added 'OrderList::leaveFleet()' to remove a ship from its fleet.
Added a new weapon: Artillery. Huge range, massive damage, but very slow fire rate. May only be equipped to stations.
Added log & log10 functions for formulas.
Added new planet conditions: Plains (Cheaper buildings), Volcanic (Weaker buildings), and Geothermal vents (Faster electronics/advanced parts production).
Empire messages now have a category. Categories can be toggled on or off when expanding the ticker display.
Options to control the display or hide the distant icons for ships, stations and planets.
Race Customization: before the game starts, you can pick traits affecting your empire in various ways. Traits are picked with a point-buy system.

Elvenshae

Congrats on another overwhelming patch list!

Of the "big ticket" items that you guys wanted to eventually patch into this game, what actually remains? You've got planet qualities and racial bonuses, now, which is pretty sweet.

Firgof

Still want to get Scenarios, Campaigns, Ship Blueprinting outside of the normal game space, Planetary Invasions, getting the DevTools to be more user-friendly, espionage, system-wide upgrades, getting the AIs to be 'moldable' in their personalities through their interactions with other empires (e.g. the player), etc. Probably a bunch of other stuff as well that's not coming to mind right now.

Demiurge

Cool stuff for the new patch, but I seriously laughed when you listed screen scrolling as a huge new feature :P

Elvenshae

Demiurge wrote: »

Cool stuff for the new patch, but I seriously laughed when you listed screen scrolling as a huge new feature :P

- Added ability to create Deathstars
- Space armor now functions more awesomely
- Force fields now regenerate at a decreased rate within nebulae
- Floating spacedocks can now automatically pull resources from multiple homeworlds
- Can now scroll the screen

One of these things is not like the others ...

Yes, mine are made-up patch notes.

Virgil_Leads_You

Ooh, I love that you dudes have started implementing races.
Lots of other neat things too!
Gonna have to check this out.