News: Ask the Lead Designer: Rob Irving

Ok so to help better inform everyone and spare you all from having to sift through several pages of information I am going to compile all Rob's responses to one thread here.

I ask everyone two things.

First: Do not reply to this thread! It is going to be very lengthy and I am trying to make finding his answers easier.

Second: If you want to discuss an item I post, copy/paste it to another thread for debate; I don't want this thread to devolve into a large discussion on one post.

Anyways enjoy and my work net is slow, so until I get home I will be compliling this slowly. Also everyone feel free to pick a dev forum and start grabbing info as well (Rob Irving is mine)

 

I will start with his info

Hi, I'm Rob Irving, Lead Designer on Star Citizen and Squadron 42.

Role: realizing the vision in Chris’s head, and heading up the design team.

Ask me questions about: Game Systems

You can check out my team introduction here!
http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/meet-rob-irving/

 

Mar 14, 2013


Eidolonius | Eidolonius said:


First!

Will most manufacturing be based on planets or starbases? Or will we be able to, for example, stuff a missile manufacturing plant inside one of the larger ships?

Initially, I plan for manufacturing to take place mostly on planets, with some space station elements, as well. No plan at this time for shipboard manufacturing.



pettermo:


Will the UEE be a "nanny state" with high taxes and welfare benefits for all (including illegal aliens)?

In the sense that if loose all our ships in combat (again and again) and waste all our money on bad investments - the UEE will still provide us with a brand new ship, a "how to survive a dog-fighting" - 3 weeks paid course, and give us some tax-payer spending cash so we get back on our feet? And if we still fail, they'll just provide a bigger ship, more paid training and more spending cash?


Or will we have to start flipping burgers for minimum wage in a space-station, and take odd jobs to earn enough to buy a seriously used ship? Maybe branch into criminal activities like money laundering and drug-trafficking?

UEE will definitely have higher taxes and duties (Synthworld ain't cheap). That being said, however, there are no free rides. If you lose everything (don't do that), you can get back into space by either picking up missions that provide a ship, jumping on board a multi-person ship as a gunner/navigator/etc., or taking out a loan.



3lK3busK:


I'm not sure this question is for you Mr Irving, but here it is:

The Bengal carrier looks awesome and sure there'll be lot fights around it in the game and many squadrons will try size it. Since it is a huge vessel it's got a huge flight deck and huge doors. Those doors opens to launch fighters and for landing. So, is the Bengal vulnerable in those moments? An attacker will be able to fly into the hangar deck firing weapons while its huge doors are opened? What kind of measures or game mechanics will prevent such action in case it is not possible?

Thank you.

Salu2

Yes, it is awesome. Don't know how we'll deal with combat as far as the hangar bay. Stay tuned.



Rarehero:


Not sure if I'm right here with the following question:

There's been some confusion lately about the roles of corporations. Can you give us at least a small hint about in which direction corporation-gameplay will head? Will it be like a tycoon-game with players "micro-managing" the movement of resources and goods and eventually owning and controlling dozens of star systems? Or maybe like EVE, with groups of hundreds of players controlling huge parts of the galaxy? Or will it be about small groups of players, who have own a small space station with a small production facility and who have to do the dirty work themselves and hire players to assist them?

That design is still very much in the air, but don't expect player-run organizations to have that much control over systems/etc.



Scorpiondm2:


Hello Rob,

as I understand you worked on longbow! great game.

My question, will we have Simulator standard weapon systems "for missiles locks, radars and radar warning receivers? will we have Flight sim radar scopes? and can we BVR combat and detect before the gun merge?



*Note "not looking for DCS standards" but something a bit more depth than the Arcade crap we got over the last years "multi step wepon systems using in cockpit screens etc"

Yep, I worked on Longbow, and it's one of my favorite released titles from my career. (Thanks, by the way.)

There will be simulator missions for training, and I hope that they will be very extensive. Sim design is on our list for the near future, so we hope to know more shortly.



Firefox14x:


Will there be a simulation program (possibly built into the hanger) that would allow you to test ship builds and weapon configurations prior to taking the ship out into space? This way we can tweak and test without worry of being bothered or losing money?

See above.



Vian | Vian said:


Hi Rob,

What system are you designing that is going to be the most innovative cool system that us members of the community are going to be blown away with?

a single word answer will suffice, but if you care to elaborate I'd be eternally grateful lol

As I get my team up to strength, I'm hoping to free myself up for a groundbreaking economic system. We shall see.



rherriot:


Hi Rob,

How much real life time are you anticipating it would take to get from one end of UEE space to the other? Say you own two ships, and you want to switch to the other one, which is parked on the far side. How long would that take, roughly?

Thanks!

Rherriot, that is still very much TBD. A lot of detail involved in that answer: the actual star map, what happens when you try to enter non-human space, speeds of ships, etc. But I think in terms of hours, rather than days or minutes.



Speedbrake:


Hey Rob,

Can you tell me if the affects of 'G' or centripetal force are going to be modelled on the pilot? I rather hope that we are going to have to manage our speed and energy in a dogfight rather than just go full throttle and still turn on a Dime with no repurcusions to the pilot.

I posted athread on it here if you are interested.
http://www.robertsspaceindustries.c...-modelling-amp-mechanics&highlight=speedbrake

We will definitely have some G effects, and there should be equipment that reduces those effects.

 

Mar 14, 2013 cont


RandomFox11 | RandomFox11 said:


I'm not sure if I'm asking in the right place, but I'll ask anyway:

Do you guys plan on having multiple (alien) races that players can choose to start as? Not as NPCs, but as actual player avatars. Because IMO, humans are boring.


There will be multiple races, but you will probably not be able to play as another race... at least at game launch.



Vladimir | Vlad said:


Hello.

What would you say about the general vibe of the UEE in Chris’s head:

- Is it rather semi-authoritarian, corrupt, dystopian, failing, painted mainly in shades of gray with tiny spots of white and larger spots of black here and there; An empire in retreat, similar to Eastern Europe & Russia during the early 90; Having a similar vibe as shown in the Lord of War movie produced by Chris..

OR

- Is it more similar to the Confed from Wing Commander I-IV; painted mainly in the color white with some small shades of gray and black here and there..

?


Chris (and I) definitely look at it more as the former than the latter. Old empires tend to fragment.



Hulahuga | Hulahuga said:


Just wanted to say that I really liked to see a bit of the mechanics/issues you are pondering right now in the hangar. Would it be possible for us to see more of this especially elements that are not yet fully fledged out so that we get a chance to chip in before it is finished? =)

Thanks, and yes. We will continue to open up forum posts like this, and design details will start to be released in some fashion in the near future.



wowskyguy:


Hi Rob,

How do you guys plan on keeping the universe explorable? Other than creating new system from time to time.
My point is: as the game launches, everybody will try to explore and name/get their own system. After a couple of months the whole galaxy will be explored. How will late players explore something then? What happens when you fail a jump to a new system?

Cheers,

wowskyguy: can't do any reveals on this yet, but I don't think you'll need to worry too much. It will be big and expanding.



jjmorber:


Hi Rob,

Nice to meet you.

There has been a lot of discussion on the power that guilds and clans have in the game, "owning" systems and dominating trade (i.e. EVE). Will this be the case or will NPC's be the dominate forces in the game with players living on the fringes (i.e. Firefly) or hiding in secret base from more powerful NPC forces?

Thanks for taking the time and answering our questions

We will almost definitely not be going the EVE route - at least as far as player groups fully taking control of systems that are currently owned by in-game races/organizations. Players will live more on the edges.



GreyVulpine:


Regarding the immersive environment of cockpits, how will piloting small fighter-type craft be matched with heavier ship classes? It seems pilots that fly in the vanduul fighter, which have a large open transparent cockpit, will have better situational awareness of the combat around them than say, a freelancer, with a relatively smaller vertical view area.

What types of visual aids will the pilot be given to enhance their situational awareness, but not break the immersion of flying in an first person view cockpit?

While the cockpit views may change, you will tend to rely more on your avionics/HUD than just looking around. Space is too big for pure visual to be as useful.



Maine | Maine said:


Hello Rob, really nice to meet you.

My question relates to cutscenes, generally more towards Squadron 42 than Star Citizen.

How will the cutscenes work in relation to view point, with Half Life and Half Life 2 games, the entire story and entire game was played and the story being told through the main characters eyes in a first person view point (the opening sequence all the way to the end credits is done in fps view). This means that you find out what's happening and the story at the same pace as the character you're playing, you can't have some meeting being shown in an office in UEE head quarters on Earth without you being there unless your character is watching a recording of it or reading the minutes, etc.

This is the complete opposite to the way that Wing Commander was done, whereby whenever you were back on the carrier, you were always taken out of your character when interacting with other crew members to be shown that it wasn't you playing your character but Mark Hamill instead.

I can see that both ways have their advantages and loved the live action sequences done for Wing Commander 3, 4 and 5 but personally have always preferred the Half Life fps only view, in terms of immersing a player into the game and allowing a player to become the character rather than reminding them that it is essentially just an interactive movie.

Hi, Maine. Nice to meet you, too.

I think that we'll have a mix of the two types. We're not losing the Wing Commander feel, but we'll definitely have some optional scenes for the short attention span.



Godwin | Godwin said:


Hello Rob,

I was wondering about battle instances VS player impact on environment.

Nutshell: Players can shoot down a base in one instance, and then hop to a different instance version of the same area to aid a squadron wingmen, where the base still exists. This results in the base being there again, making the player lose immersion (it breaks continuity/belief) and a sense of real achievement.
(Not being able to destroy any base would transpose the problem to destroying vessels, and not being able to kill those would be game-breaking: would completely destroy all sense of achievement and feel totally artificial (you can only kill specifically spawned destroyables somewhere where no one cares about them).)

More elaborate (with some nice (but still not perfect (hah perfection is impossible you say? Prove it!)) solutions):
http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/forum/showthread.php?12999-Battle-Instances-Issue

So if you could take the time to answer me how/when/if this will be addressed that's greatly appreciated! If you cannot say much yet I'd love to hear at least what the principle is according to which you solve these kind of things and what the most important meta design guidelines are you have set out (pertaining to this particular issue).

Thanks a lot and have a nice day,
Kind regards,
Godwin
Godwin,

While we are far from having the design for instancing worked out, we will definitely work on ways to make certain that the instances do not contradict one another.



Delios | Delios said:


Hello Rob,

I'm personally interested in how much non-combat gameplay star citizen will feature, so my question would be:
How advanced will the non-combat gameplay be? As in:
Is a pure combat playstyle going to be possible/rewarding/fun?
What mechanisms will be in place to assure that star citizen is going to be a real universe instead of just a disguised deathmatch?

Thanks in advance!
Hi, Delios.

There will be plenty of options for non-combat game play, but those who venture into space will need to be realistic about the fact that it is dangerous. Take precautions.




Shock4ndAwe | Shock4ndAwe said:


Just wondering if you have a specific pet project in mind to implement in the game and if you could tell us about it?

Economy, economy, and more economy! And the whole rest of the game.



Nemesis43:


Hi Rob,

will afterburner be an escape mechanism that gets you out of disadvantageous tactical positions for free?

(in the wc games, this was the case, with the result that it was nearly impossible to get into an advantageous position like the six- o- clock for more than a second, before the enemy would light up his afterburner and run. Well, unless the ai was really dumbed down (wc1 for example) or the ai ships were really unmaneuverable (Jalkehi) )


- do you consider this to be a problem?
- if so, what are your plans to deal with it?

Afterburner is meant to be an escape mechanism, but a) it can be destroyed, and b) fuel is limited. So it is sort of self-balancing, and it is necessary for those who are runners, and not fighters.



Hartmann23:


Hi, I'm very interested in the dogfighting aspect of SC, so I hope you can give me some more info on how you guys plan on designing a meaningful and deep metagame when it comes to dogfighting?

For instance, the amount of factors governing a planes performance in a fight is enormous. Do you guys plan on designing an intricate FM for each fighter so they have distinct advantages and disadvantages? Can we expect say roll, acceleration, pitch, yaw, turn, energy retention to be unique to specific vessels and designed in a way that allows for a complex manouevring oriented gameplay to emerge that is deep and skill rewarding? As opposed to the only valid manoeuvre being a sustained turnfight?

The design of the ships FM also influences what a reasonable TTK would be, how do you currently envisage the amount of lethality in fighter vs fighter combat?

And how would 'turret' gameplay be discouraged? (heavily armed fighters simply turning off their flight stabilization and out-DPSing opponents in free movement mode)

This all might be relatively early, but I'm really hoping for dogfighting to be an actually deep and skill based aspect instead of just something dominated exclusively by turnfights and cheap metagaming tricks.

Thanks for reading.


All I can say for now is that the ship customization will be extremely in-depth and intricate - if you want to play with it at all. Combat is skill based, so don't look for insta-kill.



Michi | MichiDue said:


Hi Rob,

my question is regarding the in-game economy:

How detailed is it going to be and are there plans to hire an economist for the team?

Is it going to be: fixed demand/supply for good A in current market, price depends on how much is in stock; a more detailed model where the current situation in the system influences these factors or even a very detailed model with a strong foundation in economic theory?

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

As you've probably seen in my previous posts, it's going to be big and complicated. But I can't give anything official yet. Sorry.


Scorpiondm2:


Longbow was indeed great, i recently worked on purchasing and integrating Real world level D simulators for the AH64D for the Army here, "40 mil$ a pop for one Full flight sim", i love to think longbow had something to do with it .

Just to clarify, i was asking if SC it self will use complex systems such as the ones we see in modern flight sims when it comes to detection and firing solutions and guidance.

Thank you

In a word, yes!



yodatalks:


I was wondering if we can hire npc crew members like if we have a larger ship which can hold larger crew like the constellation? I mean like a npc we can get to know and have a relationship with. A copilot to travel with you and help pass the "hours" of travel time. Somebody to grow with our character.

Yes, we will allow the hiring of NPCs. I doubt that you'll be making them your best buddies. Fortunately, you can already talk to your phone to keep you entertained.

 

AllGamer:
A follow up question / suggestion to your reply to 3lK3busK



Ohhh... please make that a feature in game, to allow for the "Trench Run" like in STAR WAR

Just make it very difficult, but very rewarding when you succeed in getting into a Bengal to cause major damage, it doesn't need to destroy the Bengal (Death Star) but should severely cripple the Bengal for other party members to board the Bengal.

If you make it a feature, a part of the game play, then players can plan ahead, and prepare what needs to be in place to defend against the Trench Run, and make it more difficult for the boarding party

If it's possible, it definitely won't be easy.


jjmorber:
Thank you for taking the time to answer, this is excellent news. I am hoping that single players and guilds alike will get swept up by the great events in the PU's story arcs. Not not asking for spoilers...

I do have one other question. There has been a lot of discussion on the Aurora's relative merits. My understanding is that each ship has it's own strengths and weaknesses. Is this the case or should player "upgrade" ASAP?

Note I have always thought the Aurora would end up being the lightest armed but most maneuverable of the single seat fighters...an expert's tool.(Which is why I have a Hornet as a single seat..)

Each ship will have its own merits, so it's not required to "upgrade" to a new ship if you like the Aurora. Stay tuned for more info on ships soon.


Nemesis43:
Thanks for answering!

I am not yet concinced that this will really work out.

- In Wing Commander Armada, the Players would fly at each other head-on, as there was virtually no other possibility to get a hit in due to afterburner. And in PvE, unless you played on easy, the ai would go on afterburner for five minutes and be about impossible to hit, untill it ran out of fuel and turned into a sitting duck.

- The point is, escape-afterburner makes it impossible to get into a tactical position on the enemy. Which makes combat one-dimensional and boring.

- Fuel-based afterburner means, the worse pilot in any engagement will spam afterburner whenever he is beeing shot at. That makes for boring gameplay. Sure, the worse pilot will loose in the end because he runs out of afterburner faster, but untill then combat will have been really boring.

- If you think this will be impeded by the need to spare fuel for the next engagements, consider this argument from Xorkrik from the missile spam thread, which also applies to fuel-based afterburner: "And for the limited capacity of overpowered missiles. Well if I carry a limited capacity that allows me to win a fight vs someone without missiles or have an even chance vs someone with missiles then game theory dictates that I have to do that. I would have a 100% or 50% chance to win a random encounter. If I don't have missiles and then have 0% chance against someone with missiles and 50% chance against someone without.. Well. To get to that mythical second fight you first have to survive your first."

- "Afterburner can be destroyed" => if this kind of argument was valid, it could be used to justify about any game mechanic, no matter how unbalanced or overpowered it is.

There's still much to be done to balance combat and to make sure that it's fun. Far too early to start worrying about it now. We'll work it out, though.


mobiusone:
Rob,

can you elaborate a bit on this?

In dogfighting during WWII or even now, ENERGY is most important. Altitude and speed are life. If I turn or climb I lose speed or energy. Some aircraft can retain energy better than others and vise versa. It makes combat dynamic in the sense that if I'm in a P-40 and fighting a Zero. I am going to "boom and Zoom" him and try to control the fight by staying high and fast instead of turning with him. That's where the zero will have the advantage. But it also makes dogfighting hard to master because you want to retain your "energy" at all times but you also need to know your enemy and how to fight against them. Above all else it allows for different tactics to work for different situations. i.e "boom and zoom" , "high Yo-Yo's" and "Lead turns" So will there be some sort of mechanic like this to help make dog fighting deep and not just a turn and turn till you get to the six.

I'm not good at getting my thoughts on paper , So I thank you in advance for reading and look forward to your answer.

In space, energy is less important, as there's no gravity to deal with. "High" and "low" attacks are meaningless, because my up doesn't have to be your up. That doesn't mean that you can't take advantage of the environment (attacking from the direction of the sun still would work in space). In space, MOMENTUM is the key. We'll all get to see a lot more combat when the dogfighting alpha comes out.


Dread-Pirate-Pete:
Do you have any idea of roughly how it will work? Will it necessitate frequent player input? Will we be limited to how many factories we can have?

In other games with safe zone based passive income sources you see them becoming predominant and unbalancing all other professions, as you can just keep reinvesting in more and more factories that largely manage themselves and are not at any real risk down on a planet. This makes industrialists unbalancingly wealthy, as they face neither the risk of space (mining and hauling can be outsourced) nor the constraints of playtime (factories still churn out profit even if you are afk or offline). Making all other professions stupid by comparison, and forcing competitive players to babysit factories all day if they hope to keep up economically with their peers.

How will you ensure factories and industrialists are balanced with the lack of effort and risk associated with passive income?

No, I don't know the details yet. We are definitely keeping the balance of the game in mind. I envision that owning a factory will be a very hands-on experience, however, and it will be a HUGE undertaking to own one.


Scorpiondm2:
just a question on the "Combat is skill based, so don't look for insta-kill", while i do understand that combat here involves sheilds and nano carbon hulls.

i don't see the correlation between "leanth of fight" and "Skill" "example be IL2 takes about 3 months of constant training to get up to standard Skill set on PVP servers, yes one shot kills "if they hit the pilot" can happen.

How will SC provide Skilled combat?

-Will skill be based on aiming "ex. who can hose the longest I.E flying turrets"?

-Will it be based on information and knowledge? " ex. i know if i put my shield up for 3.7 seconds and turn it of for 4.1 seconds i will get more shields".

-OR will it be maneuver/speed based "Small windows to fire, hard to go into combat position vs maneuvering target, retention of approach "IE world war 2 style"

i know its a controversial question, but this one early one can set a good amount of core expectations right

Hmmm....
Yes, aiming (but it's not just fire hose shooting, as you will need to manage things like heat signature, power allocation, etc.)
Yes, information and knowledge, because it's all about how you outfit your ship and use the components to your advantage
Yes, maneuvering and speed, as well


sgtbjack:
I see that you can't give out anything officially....

But, do you have a market preference? I'm a capitalist in nature and believe that you should make as much as you can from people, but in game perspective this usually pans out with massive inflation and undesirable markets that push away any new player, or any combat focused player(that guy that makes 500 credits for killing x number of bad guys vs the guy who makes 1 million credits selling a crafted item that his guild has a monopoly of the resource required to make it)

With all that out there, my question is- with all the statements and indications that NPC's will play a role in the market, could you see npc vendors acting as "price ceilings and price floors?" or any other artificial constraint? I can't sell something for a million credits if an npc vendor sells it for 5000 credits. Just curious.

We don't look at the players as the ONLY people in the universe. NPCs are a huge part of the economy, and players are just a more adventurous minority of a vast galaxy-wide populace. So, yes, the NPCs will contribute to price controls.


Verratus | Verratus said:
Hi Rob,

Just a couple quick economy questions, I know you said you can't give anything official yet but I'm more looking for the philosophy behind the economy. I will understand if you can't give details yet though.

Since we're looking at the end of the Roman Empire which was notorious for it's purposeful inflation to fuel it's wars, is that going to be a factor in Star Citizen? Could we see rising prices or even a currency collapse?
Is the economy going to be commodity based or fiat?

Walter Block is a good choice if you are looking for an economist. btw


Thank you very much.

Too early to give much detail on this, but there is always a danger of inflation in an MMO world. The goal is to limit the "manufacture" of currency without a corresponding dip in resources - at least as much as is possible.


voinbg:
Hi Rob,

A question about combat gameplay. Will there be remote repairs during combat? As an EVE player I can say that adds a lot of strategy and thinking in the mid to big engagements. Can imagine 2 fleets with 20 pilots each fighting and the one that keeps their armor repairing/remote shield boosting ship alive wins.
And another question. Other then shooting the engines are there other ways of stopping/slowing an enemy ship down like with "webs", special lasers generally something ranged that doesn't require hitting engines?

Best of luck!

There will most likely be some sort of repairs in space. Mechanics are still TBD.

Special weapons: we'll see. Stay tuned!


Sgt.Hobbes:
Hey Rob,

I know the game is going for a level of fun realism but i was wondering if the missile capacity would be limited to what can be seen in the Missile racks or will it be like freelancer where the max ammo capacity was 50. It would be fine for larger ships like the constellation (which appears to have about 50 missile in the concept art anyways) but slightly smaller ships like the hornet and the 300i with there 4-6 missiles seems under powered.

You can't produce missiles out of nowhere. What you carry is limited by the space on the ship. Combat is more about guns and maneuvering than missile spam.


3lK3busK:
Another question regarding Bengal Carrier:

Chris Roberts stated many times that players must earn the carrier, that cannot be bought, but he never gave us a clue about how it'll be earned. My guess is that we'll have to have a very high reputation with UEE Navy or UEE goverment or both, but just reputation doesn't seems something hard enough to deserve own a Bengal Carrier. Will earn this vessel be harder than that? Can you give us some clues about what we'll have to do to earn a Bengal Carrier?

Thank you

Salu2

Nobody is just going to hand you a carrier. You'll have to work for it, and it will be a vast undertaking. Still a lot to be designed on this, though, so that's all I'll say for now.


AllGamer:
Ships / Modules / Weapon wear & tear all understandable money sinks.

How often will the player be required to go back to a space dock to have their components & ship repaired?

I don't mind this part of the game mechanic, as long as it doesn't get to become an annoyance of having to go back to a space dock for repair every few rounds (assuming I sustained no damage)

For example a trader doing a cargo run, if lucky runs into no opponents at all and gets a successful delivery.

Will the Trader still needs to visit his/her favourite local repair shop to fix the ship after 10 runs? 50 runs? or 100 runs?

How would the "repair"/"wear" indicator look like? hopefully not something like in MMORPG weapons/armour 0% ~ 100% durability bar right??

I don't know all of the answers to this right now, but you shouldn't have to run back to the mechanic after every run. We'll try to do something more creative than the durability bar.


wowskyguy:
Hi Rob,

I got a little worried as to ship cargo capacity in "tonnes". I know it's a traditional method for sea-navy ships, and mass is very important on a detailed physics game like SC.

I think cargo capacity should be in cubic meters (m^3). You can always fill (eg) 10 m^3 with lead or uncompressed cotton and the mass should be very different. Also I expect the spacecraft to have worst acceleration when it's cargo mass is high and better acceleration when it's cargo mass is empty.

5 tons of "cars" occupy a very different volume than 5 tons of Uranium. And if you have internal free volume on you spacecraft, why not fill it up with another brick of Uranium. The spacecraft will be sluggish, but maybe it's a worth trip to a nearby safe system.

I believe that modifications (weapons, missiles) will change the "basic" mass of a ship and better thrusters will increase it's acceleration.

My 2c

You have a good point, and I've already discussed that with the design team. Keep in mind that initial ship stats were very much a work in progress. More on ships coming soon.


Me | MeCooper said:
Hello Rob,

I just have a few questions about the plans for fuel consumption and refuelling stations.

How far (or for how long) will a ship be able to fly before it runs out of fuel? Or specifically an M50/Racer, A Fighter/Hornet and A Constellation/Large freighter.

Other then getting fuel from tanker ships like the Starfarer, How will players be able to obtain large amounts of fuel?

How often will non-tankership based refuelling be available? Eg Is there a Gas station in every solar system?

Will I be able to syphon fuel from a ship I have boarded and taken over (but don't want to keep) or just disabled?

I figure none of these have had any actual development yet so I'm not expecting anything definite, Theory is totally fine by me.

Random side note, I love how neat you have kept your thread.

Cheers mate!

Way too early to give you anything definite, but you'll certainly be able to outfit your ship with extra fuel for long trips, refuel from tankers, or stop at the gas station on almost any inhabited world. Plus, many ships have hydrogen scoops to replenish their own fuel at a slow rate.

Siphoning fuel is an interesting idea...

Thank the moderators for the tidy threads! They're doing a great job with these boards.


Miggs | Miggins said:
Hi Rob,

I was wondering if there is anything further you could tell us about the lifetime ship insurance and how that would relate to Chris's idea that a players actions have consequences.

Say I take my 300i out and decide to try a little piracy (not the ship best suited to this perhaps). I take out several other NPC and PC ships but then the police land on my head and blow my sad backside out into space.

The consequences for me are that I will get a police record and maybe a heafty fine, and possibly even use up one of my "lives" and find myself missing and eye and getting replacement legs.

I might also get a brand new 300i (minus any upgrades I had fitted at the time).

Is there anything you can tell us about how the lifetime insurance for pledge ships might work?

Would illegal activity invalidate that insurance policy perhaps?

I really don't have all the answers on that yet, but I envision that there will be some insurance companies that take care of the slightly-less-law-abiding citizens, as well. (That won't stop the Advocacy from hunting you down, though.)


Kinshadow: Raw, Premium, Uncut | kinshadow said:
Rob,

I have a question about capturing ships:

Boarding and capturing has been mentioned explicitly for 2+ player larger ships. For smaller ships, it has been said you can capture the Vanduul Scythe in game, but the mechanics have not been mentioned. Is it the implication that all low / single crew fighters will be capturable in open space / combat or is that still TBD?

That is the implication, but that's still TBD.


check engine | raskolnikov-fd said:
Good afternoon Rob,

First Id honestly like to say that I cant express enough how appreciative I am for the opportunity to have access to the staff at Cloud Imperium Games. Im involved with one or two other crowd funding projects and my experience with the others sits solidly in the thanks for your money, well get back to you camp. Star Citizen is is the only one where I feel like there is encouraged community collaboration and transparency. To be given an opportunity to be heard by the developers is truly a humbling experience.

I am absolutely blown away by the scope of this game and am particularly interested in the inclusion of larger crewed ships. I understand that the idea is to allow them to be crewed with either NPCs or players, but that for lesser, or sub-capital ships, multiple players will not be a necessity. As a father with limited gaming time who has but few gaming confederates who also happen to be fathers with limited gaming time I cannot laud enough the decision to not require a vessel that takes so much time and treasure to acquire be regulated to the hanger except for those rare times the planets align and there is a night with no ballet recitals, little league games, or long division homework for all of us.

As far as how those ships operate, other games that attempt larger ships in a dogfighting sim seem to stick with the underwhelming formula of essentially the player drives an unresponsive bus while other people or NPCs shoot guns.

Will larger ships like corvette classes and larger actually give the experience of command, with all the system and crew management that comes with being the skipper of a warship?

I have anticipatory visions of standing on a bridge cringing as the tactical display shows two more torpedoes closing fast, barking orders to the helmsman to adjust course and engineering to shunt power to the aft shields all while my port battery teams screams fill the intercom as a fire burns out of control on C deck.

We hear you! But the design is still in its infancy on multi-player ships, particularly capital ships.

 

March 28, 2013

Varquai | Varquai said:
follow up questions related to fuel..
Are we looking at Hydrogen being the fuel for the engine that produces on-board power, or as the propellant for the thrusters?
Will Fission engines require radioactive materials and anti-matter engines require anti-matter?
I was sort of hoping one of the benefits of a Fusion engine would be it's the only one that could collect both its propellant and engine fuel through the intakes, whereas the other engines would require both intakes for propellant as well as on board fuel for the engine.

Anyways, just curious what your vision on this is!
Thanks for your time!

Hydrogen is the propellant: the solid mass that is expelled to provide the negative force vector that powers your forward motion.

As for power plants, I don't think that they will require an external fuel source. But we'll see.


Scorpiondm2:
Thank you! this sounds to be very interesting indeed!

Ok what will happen if shoot some one in the cockpit canopy with a powerful armor piercing round?.

My assumption will be something like:

Shields go down after some hits > Round penetrates glass "if light fighter" > Pilot takes a 35mm round to the head > Dead.

Will it be along those lines?

Let's worry about space head shots later.


check engine | raskolnikov-fd said:
Somewhat akin to walking into Richard Garriott's office and dumping a pile of writing samples and game design work on his desk...

This may be a touch too forward, and if it is I appologize, but there is some discussion on how this could look currently in the forums here:

http://www.robertsspaceindustries.com/forum/showthread.php?13244-Feature-Request-Crew-Implementation

We (particularly me) do pay attention to posts on the forums. Of course, not every idea fits in our universe/schedule/concept, but you're not being ignored.


Varquai | Varquai said:
And a question in relation to raskolnikov-fd's work..
There are a few people on these forums that write up long and fairly detailed ideas of how things might/could work. Lots of passion and commitment from the fan base. What, if anything, could we do to help you when writing up thoughts/ideas to flesh them out more, to format them better, or whatever? There's thousands of us and only a handful of you to slog through these forums. If there's anything we can do to better organize our own feedback/ideas for you guys, I would like to know.

Make sure that the title is very clear about what part of the game the post concerns.
Make your thoughts as brief as possible - but as thorough as you need to get your point across.
Organize! If you spew one massive paragraph, it's harder to read.
Get your post tagged (if it wasn't already) properly.
The index is very useful for me, too. I do bookmark specific threads, but that doesn't mean that I've seen every one (yet).


Ant32:
This was a bit of a late idea, so didn't get into the designopotamus thread about Hangar stuff, although there were requests for ground crew.

The idea is that NPC Androids(instead of NPC humans) are assigned to the pilot during Squadron 42 and could continue through to the Persistent Universe as ground crew. It could be used partly as a means for continuity between single player and Persistent Universe, partly to smooth the transition to a new character after permadeath.

The thread on the subject is here.

Any thoughts on having Androids in the game, as hangar crew or not?

Thanks.

I'm with Ripley on the android question. But I suppose it's possible...


Scrambled Legs | Scrambled-Legs said:
What is one idea,concept,object,ship, or anything really, that is NOT a planned feature or part of Star Citizen/Squadron 42 that you wish WAS in the game?

Don't know if there's an answer to that yet, since we're still not entirely sure what IS in the game! Cuts usually happen later in the design process. (We start out with the "if we can do everything we want" design, and go back from there.)


Zortiander | Zortiander said:
Heya, and some questions from me:

1.) Can we damage enemy ships with our exhaust plumes? For instance, fly over an enemy ship and then initiate full down-burn (as for a VTOL lift-off), thereby incarcerating the enemy?

2.) Will shifting missile locks (as in the fiction), i.e. trying to fly close to an enemy's engines to get the missiles to lock unto them, work?

3.) will we get secondary damage to a ship through ammo explosions (e.g. like in Mech Warrior Online)? Or energy core explosions?

4.) Will we see the damages to our ships on the inside, i.e. if a shot penetrates the hull, I can see the inner part of the ship through the hull, i.e. the engine now renders the inside which has become visible?

5.) Will there be a visual representation when inside the ship (i.e. 1st person view) of damages? (so the opposite to above question) I.e. looking through my hull to the stars? Seeing conducts, wiring etc. blown apart? Liquids dripping around my ship?

Thanks a lot!

1) Don't know, but it's doubtful that you could get close enough to an opponent to do significant damage.
2) Possibly
3) Maybe
4) Don't know
5) Don't know

Does that cover it?


dadoes:
Hi,

I asked this question in the "Gameplay-Programmer-Tom-Oliphant" thread but was told that it'd be better suited for one of the designers, so here it is.

if I'm playing with a friend on their ship as a crew member but don't log on to play ever time they play what happens to my character? Is he controlled by the AI? What happens if the ship is destroyed, does he automatically escape?

Thanks.

Note to self: have a talk with Tom
Um... if you're not logged on, you will probably NOT be part of the crew of your friend's ship.


Cabbagehead:
Hey, Rob!

i don't know if you can answer these few Questions and maybe a request? but

Is it possible to change the Cry engine 3 FPS mechanic to be more suited to. A more slower pace, a more tactical feel instead of a run and gun nano suit wearing bad ***, is that going to be hard to change? (Of course you guys do have Crytek support so)

Is there a way to make the fps part of the game 3rd person view as well, because theirs lots of way to make it work without giving a player a advantaged/ all seeing eye. For example you could blur the distant or make it little like mass effect but maybe a little bit wider, not so much over the shoulder. like i mentioned before is that even possible in CE 3?

Well weight play a factor in character movement?

How much interaction will the character, have with his or her environment. When i push a button or click a mouse because in a lot of games it's virtually non existent and it only happens within a cut scene or a per animated moment. ( I know that problem a animation question)But what I'm asking here will the character model act according in a realistic way to my own actions, say when i click to open a hatch the character will dial in the code (Maybe at a faster clip) or if you want to plant a explosive on the door, the character pulls out that device and arms it...stuff like that?

Request

If you guys are looking at doing, a cover based system for fps. Then please look at the new tomb raider system, it's very organic and the animations are unbelievable and it's not a automatic cover or will their even be a cover system in the game?

Well, that's a lot of FPS questions. Not our highest priority, so I can't answer those yet.


Raigor | Raigor said:
I have a question. Can we create scenarios for other pilots to go through?

If so, how detailed can we get? The easiest missions would be to mine X or some sort of Bounty mission. However what if we wanted to do a mission, with dialogue (text of course) and such.

Other games have the ability to create these mini-modules for other players to try and vote on. Just wondering if that's so and how detailed we can make them.

Way too early to know what the modding tools will be like.


surofr:
in ship components system it says :" but also build a unified whole that will behave the way you want it to without micromanagement during the actual combat."

will this mean there won't be power management during combat ? (ie diverting power to shields , weapons or thruster a la freespace)
i think this is a very important part of the gameplay and it would be dispointing if it werent there ...

There will be some sort of power management. Don't panic. It just means that you don't HAVE to tweak your power settings.


Appleton | Appleton said:
There is quite a discussion happening about the implementation of a pvp/no-pvp slider. It was suggested I ask you the following question. Basically the question is how do you see this scenario playing out under the planned implementation of instances and pvp/non-pvp slider.

It has been said that prices for good will fluctuate based on supply and demand. Shortages will occur and missions will be created requiring good be delivered to planets. Delivering goods where there is a shortage will reduce the sale price over time and reduce profitability over time. Imagine my fleet knows of a planet that is in need of element x and we have a bunch of element x. My fleet is interested in maximizing our profit when we sell so we post warships around the planet to prevent traders from delivering element x and dropping the price before we can sell our goods.

Random PvE flagged player loaded down with element x approaches the planet. When he encounters our warship the game determines, based on his non-pvp flagged status that he will enter a combat instance with a PvE replica of our stationed warship. Our warship enters a PvE instance with a replica of that trader. Our warship wins its battle. The trader wins their battle. The trader exits the instance and proceeds to the planet and delivers his element x. The cost begins to decline.

How does that match with what I believe was the original intent that the player would be able to meaningfully impact their game environment? This appears to remove the ability to blockade planets and potentially trade routes. The conversation on the other thread is hovering around the idea of why does it matter if a pvp'er gets to fight a player or an NPC. The issue isn't that we didn't get to fight the trader. The issue is that the condition we were attempting to enforce was altered and we were, due to artificial game play settings, unable to do anything about it.

Hopefully I have made that clear.

We have a lot of discussion still to come on instancing, but I don't believe that is how it will work.


suicidal°ghost | suicidal_ghost said:
Hey Rob, hope this post is finding you well. I am really excited about the current direction of the ship component systems. Question about the pipe system. Will any or all of the "pipes" be upgradable or are they more of a theoretical construct? For example, might it be possible to replace copper signal wires with fiber optics for some (probably small) processing gain, or swapping out the heat pipe so that a secondary cooling system may not be necessary if a ship is borderline for needing one.

Very interesting question. We hadn't really discussed that, but it's a possibility.


2good4hisowngood | 2good4hisowngood said:
I am curious if there will be any HUD targeting systems you can add to your ship, like when you lock onto a ship, based off of its speed and trajectory it will display a target or a cone showing where you need to aim to hit based off of your ship's current weapons' speeds.
I could see this being high end targeting systems, with more expensive ones providing a better resolution, like a tighter target but not on every ship.

There will be a LOT of HUD upgrades.


Firefox14x:
Rob,
Thanks in advance for all the hard work and interaction with the fans. I can say that I have never been this excited for a game... ever... (well except maybe upon hearing the news that they are going to develop Homeworld 3)...

I was wondering if there had been any talk about allowing an AI in the game. Something similar to Janus on the Beacon II that Tanya was able to "create". Would it be something along the lines that Tanya found the AI while looking for the Artemis or perhaps found on a derelict world, or even developed by the UEE one day in the future.

It would be a lot of fun to have a quirky companion like Jarvus from Iron Man or Cortana from Halo that is both in the ship but also downloads to your suit when you land or are in first person view. Can help provide tactical data or a witty remark during combat

There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into creating characters, so my initial thought on this question is that if one person gets an AI, then everyone would have the same (or similar) AI. Not much fun, is it? I'd rather spend time making "real" characters for the overall game.

You never can tell, though.


3lK3busK:
Hello Rob,

I'm glad to know that earn a Bengal carrier will be a really hard task and it'll be a rare player ship (hope so).

Now to the question.
Every week the lore of SC is becoming more and more deep thanks to Dave Haddock, I enjoyed very much his Tonya Oriel stories (the short one in JP #1 and the Lost Generation tale), to me the best character so far. But that last story ended in a museum, and that made me think of tourism, and when I think of tourism I can't help think of leisure cruisers and actualy those are sea titans, huge vessels of almost of a size of a small village.

Will we see huge civilian leisure cruisers in Star Citizen, true mobile space stations capable of carry thousands of tourist in a tour through the most popular planets in UEE space?

If the answers is yes, will we be able to dock in those vessels to find jobs or do business?

Salu2

Anything is possible, but we will certainly focus on the critical ships (i.e., involved in combat) prior to adding the more "decorative" ships.

 

April 4, 2013

dadoes:
Ok, what I meant was that if I was a member of my friends crew and then logged out but my friend carried on playing and went on got his ship destroyed, when I logged back on where would I be place in the PU?

Thanks

I honestly don't know how we'll handle that just yet. Handling people who disconnect (intentionally or unintentionally) in the midst of spaceflight is a very serious issue.


EnderM5:
Hi Rob!

Okay, I was wondering whether or not you could implement Callsigns or ID Codes or something. Like for example, Battlestar Galactica: Apollo, Starbuck, etc. (If you haven't seen any of the episodes, then what the heck are you doing creating a space sim? ) Will you be putting in like a Halo style system how you can choose your own "callsign?" Like, maybe get 6 letters or so to create something that will show up on ally's screens, or party member's screens? (I still don't know what the HUD will look like, so...) And then, when you actually center your view onto that person, then you can see their entire name?

Thanks!

Of course I've seen Battlestar (old and new). Yes, we'll have callsigns.


wlorca:
Will we be able to use the power plants of docked ships to compliment the main ship? i.e.: The constellation having better shields if your P52 is adding power to the guns.
I'm sure it wouldn't be as easy as an extension cord from one engine to the other one, but maybe as an upgrade

Don't know. Interesting idea, though.


Montana1176 | Montana1176 said:
Hey Rob,
I was wondering if the Vanduul were to invade and take over several UEE systems, could we the citizens aid the UEE in recapture or destroy a UEE Rebellion (or help the rebels)?

I would certainly hope so!


StromIV | StromIV said:
Hello (and sorry if this is asked in the wrong place),
After reading the GDC 2013 (http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/0...oberts-expounds-on-star-citizens-crafting-ec/) I had some questions. Are team hangars limited at first, and if so, to how many ships (estimated to depend on size of ships)? If they are limited, can be upgrade them to fit in more ships? Can we customize the team hangar?

Don't know what the ship counts will be yet. That's a work in progress. But you will be able to customize your hangar.


Bjørn Farmann | Viking said:
Hello Rob,

I was wondering how NPC's will populate uncharted systems we are supposed to discover ourselves. Will we see NPC driven shops appear out of thin air right after the discovery, or will NPC's populate the system slowly, like real players?

Populating a newly-discovered planet will be an epic event. No insta-malls!


Billy-Rueben:
Hello. I had a question regarding the finer art of pirating.

Hypothetical situation:

I have a very nice ship, with plenty of expensive upgrades. I'm making my way through a "null-sec" area with some decently valuable cargo. I run in to another player and his friends that have ships far more capable in combat than mine. They offer me safe passage if I agree to hand over my cargo. I accept their offer and hand over my cargo. Is there anything within the game that would stop them from blowing up my ship anyway?

I don't have an answer for that yet, but who trusts a pirate?


Rear Admiral Bang | AmbiguityX said:
Hi Rob,

Thank you for taking the time to interact with us. I believe the economy is very key to making this a great and thriving game and am glad to hear that you are getting into it. I was wondering if there were any more details you might be able to share with us and let us know how things were progressing.

Thanks in advanced,

Rear Admiral Bang

You're welcome. Stay tuned for more on the economy.


pettermo:
If I trash my old-and-pretty-banged-up Constallation, will I get a brand new one from my insurance company? Or just the value of an equivalently used ship?

(As with real insurance companies, they don't give you a new car - if you crash your ten year old one).

Our lawyers are still working out the 25-page insurance contracts. Stay tuned.


Sinperium:
Hi Rob!

If this has already been addressed, my apologies but I am not finding it anywhere.

Are ships going to incorporate antigravity technology or just use centrifugal force for artificial gravity when its needed?

This makes a huge difference when designing ship interiors (for us potential modders).

Any deetails here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Large ships will have some form of artificial gravity.


BaconHeadIthorian | BaconHeadIthorian said:
Hi Rob,

Thanks again for taking the time to answer our questions about what is shaping up to be a really exciting game.

My question is regarding capital ships. There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what will be the largest fully player-owned ship currently envisioned for the game.

Let me expand a little. We know that the Bengal is a persistent universe only ship that will likely be extremely rare and require tremendous cooperative effort to capture/repair/defend, as I believe it should, so the question is not about the carrier (or at least not the Bengal), but the "cruiser" and "destroyer" kickstarter goals.

We know the Idris corvette is a player-owned and upgradable ship. In a past thread, devs have indicated that the destroyer would likely be the upper end (size-wise) of this type of ship (player owned). CR himself seems to have confirmed this in the latest player video chat where he said something to the effect of, "We'll let you purchase up to a destroyer, but anything beyond that, you'll have to earn in game."

I take that to mean, anything bigger than a destroyer (assuming in the SC universe a destroyer is, in fact, larger than a corvette), will be a player owned and purchasable ship, while anything larger (again, I am assuming the cruiser is larger than a destroyer), will be a persistent universe only ship that must be captured and defended.

Can you please clear this up a little for those of us who are very interested in gathering and managing the resources (both material and human) to eventually build, customize, command and crew capital ships as an essential element to game balance?

Specifically, will the destroyer analogue be something those rare few of us willing to commit that effort (who despite low numbers will create content for so many more) can hope to look forward truly making our own in game?

We'll answer this one later on in development.


ChetManley:
Hey, Rob.

Thanks for taking time to answer questions. I'm hoping you can provide some clarity for me.

What level of Newtonian Physics will we see implemented in Star Citizen? Will conservation of momentum be a constant if you coast or will you start to slow down the minute your no longer applying thrust? Also, will we see gravity implemented or will celestial bodies have no affect on space craft?

Thanks!

Chris talks about physics in the original ship doc (obsolete link). More to come as we start testing and balancing.

 

April 11, 2013

RpTheHotrod:
Hey Rob. I'm asking you here as I'm not sure which person would specifically have the technical knowledge on how viable this is. Since you interact with the whole crew, I figured it'd make sense to ask you.

I had an idea concerning a feature but there was some concern on if the system would be able to even handle the processing required. How viable is the following idea from a technical standpoint? Would the tracking required be too great to implement, or is this something that would be plausible on the current system?
Idea:
http://www.robertsspaceindustries.c...teraction-levels-and-quot-knowing-quot-people

There are some interesting ideas in there, Logante. Sounds a bit data/computation heavy, but I've at least bookmarked the thread.


Grimmr Rieperr | brothergrimm said:
Question for ya Rob (also cross-posted to the Wingman's Hanger question thread):

Every space sim I am familiar with has made mining punishingly boring as "balance" for its economic value, and to keep the economy under control.

In Star Citizen, various fuel and maintenance costs along with ship wear & tear have been mentioned as ways to keep the economy under control, freeing up a more interesting design space for mining. I like to imagine something like "Blade Mode" in Metal Gear Rising: Revengance where the pilot selects cutting planes for their mining laser. Fewer cuts in the right places = better yield and faster extraction.

Can you share any plans on how mining will be designed to be engaging and reward more skilled miners?

We've yet to really get into great depth about mining, but we'd like to avoid soul-crushing boredom.


Lucid1:
Hi Rob,

I was just wondering if there was a chance you guys had thought about putting a cinematic style camera in so it could be used to make movies or short films from in the game engine? I'm not expecting anything like source filmmaker but even just a camera that could be made to move on a set track while you/your friends acted out scenes. Thanks (Although something like source filmmaker what be amazing! lol)

Lucid

We really haven't thought much about it yet.


Question seems to be missing, but it appears to be about part overclocking.

There are a bunch of numbers under the hood, and durability is one of them. Overclocking will most likely have an impact on the lifespan of a part.


Grayson Burrows | iMik said:
Would it be possible to save few configurations for one ship (speed, stealth, fighting)?

I believe that Chris mentioned this in the PC Gamer article yesterday.


Nagidal | Nagidal said:
Sorry for the cross-post, Rob, but I'm not sure whether you also read and respond to the General Chat. Anyway, I think you're the one who can reliably answer my question, so I'm reposting it here.

I'm reading through the ships plan and am thinking what exactly is the difference between the jointed thrusters or flex thrusters.

The description says "[T]here are Jointed thrusters; these are rigid nozzles that can rotate on one or two axis. After this there are Flex thrusters; which can articulate on one or two axis, but arent rigid. Think of these like the nozzles on a Harrier or an F-35."

Both thruster types can be either rotated (or articulated) on one or two axes. So where exactly do they differ?

Does the last sentence mean that both Harrier and F-35 have something what in Star Citizen would be the flex thrusters? Or does it mean that the Harrier is an example for jointed thrusters and the F-35 for flex thrusters.

The Harrier thrusters are jointed. They can rotate on a single axis, providing less assistance to yaw maneuvers. The F-35 is a true flex thruster.


Grishord | Grishord said:
I recall reading seeing (was either in Wingman's or in a CR interview) that we will be allowed to be (as in real life) part of multiple organizations (guild/clan etc etc) will there be any benefit to being in only 1 or 2 or will that only serve to limit our outreach as a player? I'm considering joining 2-4 before launch and want to assure myself that there will not be negative (in game mechanic related I know about political lol) blow back from this decision? (Again aside from them being different alignments etc)

A lot of this is still TBD.


radscorpion9:
Hi rob, I have a very clear and succinct question for you:

Is there any plan to release a document stating what "RSI" plans to do with the extra two million dollars they have left over from crowd funding? I mean "extra" in the sense that there was no pre-existing stretch goal to put the money towards, so it seemingly has no definite use at the moment. Will a stretch goal be added later on detailing its use, or are you guys currently confused as to how you might use all this money .

Thanks!

We're making a game with it. As was stated early on, the money we were trying to raise was a small fraction of what we needed to actually build the game. The more the fans contribute, the less we have to rely on oustide investment. That means that we keep more control of the game that we make.


Grishord | Grishord said:
I'd like to add to this question: Can you bring on more staff to push up the release date possible?

We are adding more staff. That doesn't push up the release date.


3lK3busK:
Hello Mr Irving,

We already know we'll have extravehicular (EV) first person combat. Does that mean we will have some other EV activities like walk on the surface of an asteroid to place a minning drill head or on the outside hull of a derelict looking for a hatch or breach to enter and explore it?

Thank you

There's still a lot of design work to be done on this. Stay tuned...


Rear Admiral Bang | AmbiguityX said:
Hi Rob,

I was really impressed by your [Designopotamus Discussions] Military Careers post. It really shows your commitment to looking at what we think about certain things about the game. So I was wondering a few things.

1. Did you find the post useful?
2. Anything in particular you liked in the thread?
3. Will you be doing this again?

It think its preferable for you to let us know what sorts of things that might like our insights on; because as you can see there are threads about everything under the sun and we can discuss any myriad of things, but if you give us topics like the military career post we can focus in on the things that really matter to you.

Thanks in advance,

Rear Admiral Bang

1. Absolutely useful. I started these threads because it helps me to understand how our players think.
2. If you're asking if some answers were better than others, no.
3. Absolutely. Throughout the design process.

There will be a new post tomorrow.

Thanks for your participation.


Dysenious:
Heya!

I have a couple of questions. Two really.

Firstly, the $10k backers have the ability to "name their ship". Does that mean that normal players can't give their ships a name that would show up for everyone else? I may be understanding it wrong, but I would have thought giving everyone the option to name their own ship would make it far more immersive for them.

Secondly in regards to combat. There is another game out on Steam by the name of "Star Conflict". Would you compare the combat system you are designing to a less arcadey version of that? Or is it planned to be something totally different?

Cheers

That's "name a ship". Not the same as naming your ship.

Certainly less arcade than Star Conflict. And better physics. And cooler.


EvilRickles:
While we are in port/dock will there be an interface available for the paranoid or virtual germophobe who wish to sell cargo or accept jobs from the comforts of my/our/your space Winnebago?

You will probably need to actually interact with others.


CCC-Dober:
Hey Rob, I got a tough one for ya (hope you don't mind).

My question is, if you guys have considered the possibility that the game might feel 'stale' after a while, when players manage to dominate (important parts of) the galaxy against all odds?

It could be any combination of alliances that merge, who literally own a bigger part of the galaxy or heavily influence/manipulate markets, industries and the 'supply' of NPCs and more. If this is in the realm of possibility, are there mechanisms or events in place to spice things up? Like idk a cosmic armageddon, a pandemic, alien invasions etc., something that can topple even the mightiest and greatest organisations in the universe?

To put this in perspective, other online games usually reach some sort of stalemate in terms of power. There are one or several power blocs that dominate and, other than divine/RL interference, there's not much that will change the status quo. Imagine to be thrown into an environment like that as a player, only to realize that you will hit the endgame rather sooner than later, figuratively speaking. Mainly because the powers that be make it difficult or outright impossible to grow or expand beyond a certain point.

I hope that Star Citizen can tackle the (perceived) endgame problem, which hopefully allows players to join and enjoy the game many years after release. It seems to be a bit of a holy grail in online gaming.

We are a long way from having all of the mechanics/systems worked out, but this has been a major focal point for the design team as we develop things.

 

April 18, 2013


dahools:
Hi Rob,


Will there be any other Well defined Squadrons within the game other than 42 you can join/associate with post campaign?

(not player made ones but actual UEE ones or alien) i.e a transport squadron, spy squadron or tanker re-fuel squadron.

Thanks,

Well, obviously there will be more than one squadron. We haven't spent much design time on them yet, though. More to come later on.



AllGamer:
This is a follow up idea to your reply on:



Following the explanation from the Death of a Spaceman, if the ship was destroyed, while the player was Disconnected, it would seem suitable to assume the avatar died, then the body recuperated and revived at the last saved planet medical facilities, with any applicable replacement limbs.

If the ship was Not destroyed, and their friend returns to port, then the Disconected Player's avatar should get dropped off the ship and stay at port, until the player logs back into the game.

When the player logs back in, should find their Avatar either at the hangar lounge of the planet, or spaceport lounge area, or in a Bar having a drink.

Maybe alternate between those 3 scenarios depending on the Quality of life on the spaceport/planet they were dropped off at, just to give the game some variety.

You're thinking along the right lines.


CroosaidR | CroosaidR said:
Hello,I just wanted to ask,will there be an option to freely walk around your ship(as long as its not one of those tiny one-man fighters),you know,something like.. You will set your course and the ship computer will fly it automatically while you can inspect your cargo or just watch the deep space around your ship.. That would be great.

I believe that you will be able to walk around during autopilot. Stay tuned...


Wulfram | Wulfram said:
Hey Rob,

This is the main thing I'm worried about right now Regarding NPC's,

First off, I know you can hire NPC's to be crew on your ships, but can you hire an NPC'S to be the "Captain" of your other Freelancer if you have two? If so, would he just stick as your wingman or would you be able to send him out on missions (and yes, I know that would be really risky to do)?

Also, lets as you've set up a blockade on a planet, and you aren't letting anyone through without paying a price, would you be able to Hail an NPC passing through and stop them by talking to them (without blowing them up)?

I'm just concerned because in almost every game ever, the NPC's **** up your strategy for you, "Leroy Jenkins" style ....

Thanks!

We have not yet determined whether you will be able to hire NPCs to fly other ships. If you can, however, they will not go off and fly missions on their own.

I'm hoping that there will be some dialogue options when dealing with NPC pilots. TBD, though.

Several dead links in this one
strawberrybacon:
Hey Rob! Great having your thought on things here.

For starters; I am a big protagonist when it comes to being able to cruise in space similarly to how it was done in Freelancer.

I made this thread that asks people what is preferable as a travel mechanic, cutscenes or roaming. I gather you are working towards the latter.

Then I made this thread where I summed up what I found was doable in the cry engine and what I thought most people seemed to like. Now I see many questions and threads started with the same mindset which pleases me.

Now, I talked to Ben about cruise mechanics, and he diverted the talk towards auto-piloting (with some kind of possibility to steer, mind you).

However, I discussed the cruise mechanic with Nate as well and he was envisioning for a logarithmic, hybrid kind of solution.

So my questions are these:

1: Is the three engine solution something the design team are working towards?

2: If no, what are your current solution and plan of action?

3: What are the obstacles your team are facing right now in terms of figuring out the intrasystem travel mechanics?


Can't thank you enough for your answer and your great work on this game.

We're still working out the relative size/scale of planets, suns, systems, etc. Once we know what the engine can handle (and they do have an upcoming solution for preventing floating-point issues), we'll figure out how best to handle different types of spaceflight.


MrRstar | MrRstar said:
If i steal a ship, then die and pass it on to my benefactor, wouldn't the people that make sure your stuff gets to your benefactor check for stolen goods and return the ship to the person i stole it from?

Stolen property may very well be impounded when a criminal is captured or killed. But no definite answers on that yet.


Shamirr | Shamirr said:
Hello Rob,
I have a question about AI. It was mentioned that there will be unique, hard to kill, NPCs. Will they be powerful because of overpowered ships (with million hit-points and super guns) or will they fly 'realistic' ships (high tech, but still comparable with player's ships) and have sophisticated AI.

Realistic ships (although maybe with some extra-juicy technology) and advanced AI.


Nagsterus | Nagsterus said:
Hello Rob,
Thank you for taking the time to answer questions! This is my first one, and its regarding the newly confirmed gameplay mechanics of 3rd person chase view flying and of multiple characters under one account.

I was wondering if you were also considering the potential for gameplay abuse these mechanics introduce to the game. For example, 3rd person chase view flying without a HUD in essence becomes useless for combat other than to switch rapidly between it and first person view in order to gain an advantage in field of view. This advantage can be used to quickly orient oneself towards a target that would otherwise be obscured by the cockpit in first person view, to look around asteroids when hiding behind one, to scan space for stealthy ships, to determine where shots are coming from, etc. This has the potential to force the majority of pledgers who wish to play the game immersively and in first person in the cockpit only, as the game was pitched to be made for during the fund-raising drive, to also have to switch to 3rd person chase view flying in order to stay competitive.

As for allowing multiple characters, if sharing of assets (credits, ships, components, etc.) is also allowed between them, then someone playing two characters, a pirate and a law-abiding citizen for example, could use the law-abiding citizen character to gather resources that would be difficult or off-limits to the pirate, such as citizen-only military grade weapons, and then transfer them to the pirate character. Also, the citizen character could be used to scout trade posts, routes, etc. for vulnerable targets to attack with the pirate character that would otherwise have a more difficult time gathering that information.

These are my concerns with the proposed gameplay mechanics, and I was just hoping that you guys were at least aware of and considering these potentially immersion and gameplay breaking issues. Thank you for your time.

You're welcome!

I think that Chris said that you wouldn't be able to use 3rd person during combat. I'll have to go look that up, though. I agree that it might provide some unintended advantages.

I don't think that your multiple characters will be able to share assets. I do understand your concerns about having multiple characters, and we're still working on ways to prevent abuses.


Rhadiem:
Hey Rob,

Could you describe how a ship like the Constitution would work in gameplay?

For example, could I ditch the Constellation and use the fighter for a "quest/mission" then go back to the Connie when it's over? (assuming no warp/hyperspace is needed) Would the connie be vulnerable if I did this?

Also, would the same snub fighter be purchasable individually to dock in other ships, or just have in the hangar for local trips?

If you leave your Constellation sitting in space, of course it will be vulnerable. Not sure if we'll sell the snub fighter separately at some point.


mspedersen:
Hey Rob...

First, I just want to say that it is simply amazing following the development of SC. What you are doing, the amount of interaction with the community, you guys taking the time to answer all these questions, and everything else, is something truly unique. I am already getting all my moneys worth and I just want to thank you for that.

And then a question;

I am completely sure that everybody at CIG is going to play the s*** out of Star Citizen when it is finished. With the kind of immersion CR is going for this will surely be a game and a universe that you can let yourself get completely sucked into. But I am curious whether some of that immersion and satisfaction diminishes for you guys, since you are the ones working on it. Does the fact that you (especially as a designer) know all the mechanics and numbers working behind the curtain, all the little secrets of the universe, and so forth, destroy a part of the "gaming experience"? Or is it just completely outweighed by the sense of accomplishment and the joy of having created such a product?

Anyway, couldn't really find a game related question of the top of my head. It just seems like you guys have it completely under control at the moment, and all the worries of the community simply fades every time you release information about game mechanics, lore, or anything else. One thing is sure though, I will be following the site and the forums rigorously for a long time to come.
And once a gain thank you for making so many peoples dream game!

I'll admit that it's often difficult to play a game that you've been living with for years, but I think that SC will be different. Plus, since most of us will be the core of the live team, we'll always have to be part of our universe.

And thanks for participating!


FatJoeM:
Hi Rob,

I am a little afraid that Star Citizen will be a pay-to-win game.

How much of in-game achievement or progress will actually be buyable with real-life money?

Say for example, will in-game money be buyable with real-life money?

Star Citizen is not a pay-to-win game.

While there will be some manner of currency purchasing, it is just a matter of people who have less time to play being able to trade money for time. If you can buy it in the game, you can also earn it in the game.


FatJoeM:
Hey Rob, another question.

Will in-game helmet-HUDs be added? I don't mean the usual on-display HUD every game has. I mean an actual on-visor HUD in the helmet of the pilot. This would come very handy, when playing the game with Oculus Rift. If the on-visor HUD shows targeted ships with a marker, the marker would be visible through the hull of your ship in cockpit-mode. Sounds a bit like a wall-hack at first, but it is how such on-visor HUDs would work in real-life. It would increase immersion by a lot.

Pretty certain that we'll have an on-helmet HUD.



Irre:
Hey Rob,

I have a question, will different ships have different start up / flight pre-check sequences or will there be a "one sequence fits all" solution?

Here is video on what I am talking about from A10 Warthog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV35B-vfT4U&feature=youtu.be

There will probably be different sequences for each ship, and they will also depend upon what equipment you have purchased.


Me | MeCooper said:
Hello again Rob and thanks for answering my previous question.

Now I've thought of something that is incredibly important!

I've been looking through the Constellation catalogue and have noticed something of great significance, It has a toilet and shower!

The highly important question is this: Can we use the them? And if so how will that work?

We're hoping to make everything interactive. How much is still to be determined.


Speedbrake:
Rob.

With regard to the 3rd person debate have you looked at the view system in place in DCSW? I think its an excellent system and one that SC could implement. e.g. F2 external view, F3 flyby view etc

OK so moving on to to the questions
1. Will SC ships have a IFF system (or similar) aboard that the player can select codes on. When going PvP with friends against pirates I do not want to inadvertantly shoot a teammate. Also it would nice if these codes were encrypted and unhackable so that attacking ships can't interrogate your IFF and select the same code.

In addition to the above it would also be great if the flight leader could distribute an additional encrypted code to each wingman/assisting pilot with same IFF code, that only Flt Lead knows and has access to. (I forsee a possibility where you garner help to assist taking out pirates only to find 1 of said help is on same teamspeak server with pirates and passing codes over. Unique Flt Ldr code would stop this - Maybe make it an upgrade option).

2. Will there be a formation option in the autopilot to allow teammates to fly with you hands off? Lead has control of waypoints, speed and direction and all other teammates hold position in formation automatically via the autopilot (I see this as a great upgrade option). If aircraft are in combat mode or a weapon is fired I think this mode should NOT be available or should disconnect A/P since each player should rely on their own skill in combat and not that of others. Also maybe limit the number in the formation to 3 ?

3. Will players be able to pull as much neg G as positive G and will the fact that you have cargo restrict the amount of G you can pull? How do you intend to model over-G ? greyout/blackout/G-Loc/structural failure?

If you don't want to accidentally shoot your friends, you should aim carefully. While some missiles are capable of IFF recognition, most weapons are not. So fly carefully....

There will be some way of sharing autopilot information, but it's not all designed yet.

Ship mass will affect maneuverability. There will be some form of G effects, although there may be equipment that mitigates those effects.


LSaunders75:
Hi Rob, will we be able to go sailing and swimming on Terra? I understand that, at launch, you are planning to only have landing points then walk around shops and bars. However, are there possibilities to eventually be able to enjoy the planets, the cities and the environment?

The picture below is amazing and far too inviting!



Yeah, I'd like to go there, too. I don't know precisely how far we will eventually take the planetside portion of the game, but I doubt that you'll be swimming.


SethAltF4:
Hey there Rob,

I am very excited about managing my own server separate from the persistent universe (I have rubbish internet in my country), so my question surrounds your plans for content updates into private servers. Chris briefly touched on plans to roll out episodic content that changes the persistent world and history, will these updates also be available for the private servers as well, or will the private server world be a static thing that never changes?

I ask this because it seems the persistent world will be getting intermittent small add on story content as well and it would be such a shame to miss out on all of this stuff.

Thanks again for everything.
Seth

We will definitely be constantly updating/tweaking the persistent world. We haven't spent much time on designing the local server experience yet, so I'm not sure how (or if) updates would flow to a local server


Roberto-Roscoe:
Hi, i hope its the right place to ask.

Is there any plans or thought about adding some kind of small mechs on Star Citizen Universe. I'm not talking about huge mechas like those from japanese anime, i'm talking about "small" mecha used for heavy duty, or like small mobile AAA platforms on the exterior of big ships and space stations. They could be good defense systems but also special slow moving targets for our fighters.
They would also look cool seeing them performing heavy duty on hangars and such.


No plans for mechs yet.


Roberto-Roscoe:
Another one questions. It is know that a lot ships entering and exiting and atmophere would damage it, so have you considered some planets with "Space elevators", you leave your ship outside atmosphere, and go down to the planet through an elevator.
At the moment, they are theoretically possible!.


Space elevators are theoretically possible, but not all that practical. Small shuttles would be a better choice. (Besides, space elevators would constantly be targeted by enemies...)


Tovoklar:
I'm not entirely sure I'm in the right place, but I just wanted to ask: do you know how crossbows will be handled in-game as far as how they function, i.e. how long it will take to reload one?

So many games have crossbows that load really fast or can shoot a dime from a mile away which just isn't realistic at all. On that point I can provide some facts on what factors affect the performance of a bow, if needed.

We haven't really gotten to the stats on personal weaponry yet. We're more focused on ships right now.



pettermo:
Thanks for your great answers Ben. But the more you answer, the more questions pop up.

Entry (and exit) from cities on planets - will this be a short cut-scene, or will we be in the cockpit all the time but not able to steer the ship (it's on autopilot) allowing us to see the beautiful cities/landscape from the air (like Prime on Terra)?

Will you be able to see other people land or take off from the spaceport?

Initially, at least, this will be some sort of cut scene. Don't know how much of the planets you'll get to see on approach: it's all a matter of art assets.


pettermo:
Previous question got posted in wrong thread, but I guess you might also know the answer

In any case, my question for you Rob is regarding Jump-Points. Will some of them be restricted (for whatever reasons) for larger ships / some ship-classes/require special modules to pass. Like modern day canals, if your ship is too big, you will have to travel a long way around.

Or will all ships be able to travel through all jump-points?

I know all the answers! (I just can't always tell them...)

I don't know if there will be restrictions on jump points, but that's an interesting idea.

 

April 25, 2013


NetAndy:


I might not interpret it right but from the response it seemed to me that we will have 3rd person view in combat, but without HUD. I like the gameplay videos shown to us so far and there was fighting in 3rd person, also without any HUD. I hope that game will not tell me you are in combat you can not do that...I agree that instant switching might provide advantage over both 3rd person view without HUD and cockpit view with HUD. I think that cockpit-3rd person view transition taking some time is a good start to balance it (I would also like to see the same transition outside of the combat).

Anyway related question. How will you decide whether I am in combat? It might be easy in singleplayer game but how will you decide whether I am in combat with other players? And will I be able to shoot weapons from 3rd person view outside of the combat? What if I hit someone neutral/friendly?

Yeah. That appears to be the way he said it. So that's the way we'll do it.
Transition time is TBD once we get to more playtesting.

In combat: TBD. Way too early to figure out the exact calcs.
Shooting "out of combat" should be ok. But make sure you're in a nice empty area.


Speedbrake:
I think in space in a brawling fight its going to be far too difficult to accurately visually identify your friends, especially if similar ships are involved. So if some sort of IFF system that allows your HUD to indicate FoF (friend or foe) is not implemented then there will be a LOT of friendly fire. Current military aviation has mode11+ encrypted IFF, datalink (JTIDS) etc, surely this is a must for SC for situational awareness and correct targeting? (Come on longbow had it!).

We will definitely have varying degrees of IFF. No doubt about that. But those who choose to spend their avionics power/space on other systems might have to be veeeeeeeeeery careful in dogfights.


BDUSlammer:
Hello was wondering when on the carrier , running to your fighter are you in 3rd person or first or can do both. Also i have seen ina pick some one witha gun are there going to be Marines in this game

There will be marines, although not necessarily player marines.
3rd person vs. 1st person is still TBD, although CryEngine can handle both.


HangOverGuy:
Hi!

My questions are all about sharing:
- Will we be able to give money to other players and buy upgrades/ships for them?
- If my buddy kills someone innocent and my intention is to be a good guy, how will it affect my reputation? And the other way around, if he travels with me in my ship and one of us kills someone with a bounty, will both of us receive credit for it?
- Will sharing a ship be possible? What happens if you invest on a ship that doesn't belong to you, will you lose that investment once you part ways and/or the (insured) ship gets destroyed?

Thank you.

* Don't know yet
* Your reputation will most likely be affected by those who are directly a part of your group
* Sharing, yes - at least as far as shared crew. Shared purchase, I don't know.


palad1n:
For immersion value, how will insurance of a player's ship work when they lose their ship for whatever reason?

Example, I am flying my hauler and have insurance on it. While transporting cargo through verified "safe" area, I get attacked by pirates, and my ship is blown up. Ok, well my ship is insured, but how does this work with the economy? The resources to build me a new ship has to come from somewhere, and what about time to build this new ship?

From an immersion point of view, it doesn't make sense to have players lose their ships (which are insured) and be able to hop right back into them after a loss, more specifically with larger ships (Seeing as smaller ships should be much more readily available). There is also the issue of, where would a player have to go in order to get their new ship?

I think it would be great to have specific ship building facilities that build these ships, and would require the player to have to get to that system in order to get a new ship which was insured. However, if your insuring bigger ships, even up to the point of say and destroyer / carrier or even the bigger freighter ships, how feasible is it that there will be an extra one just sitting in a systems dry docks, "waiting" just in case someone loses their ship?

There should be some reasonable time period involved from the time a player loses a ship (depending on size and class) to which they can get another one, and thus, be given a smaller craft to get by in until their new ship has finished construction. In other words, there should be a "finite" amount of resources and available ships at any given time, and the economy will need to have players or NPC's gather more resources, get them to the ship manufacturers, in order for them to have the available resources to build a new ship that you lost.

Does this make sense? I guess I am advocating some accountability in the game because having another ship "magically appear" at some space port for you to hop right back into (again, depending on size / class of the ship you lost) with no global resource hit or time to produce, will inflate the economy and cause there to be little or no thought from the players on how they view their investments.

That's a great question, Paladin, and I'm in agreement with you to some extent, but I don't have final answers. We have to balance reasonable penalties for getting blown up with not utterly stifling the fun factor. (e.g. You only get to play for an hour one night and spend 5 minutes getting blown up and the rest getting back to your ship?)

Ship availability IS linked to the economy.


MikeyTWolf | MikeyTWolf said:
That reminds me, you should totally design an aqua world. You can park by simply flying the ship through the water and docking near a biodome. Could transition from space to windy/stormy weather to aquatic paradise.
Alternative weather (either as a pattern based on weather, crime levels or just another aqua based planet) could just have you land in the drink and sail into port like a flying boat.

Scenes inspired partly by Cowboy Bebop, where half the time they landed in water.

What science fiction universe doesn't have water worlds?!


Sentinel | OddGodd said:
Hi Rob;

In Privateer, we had a faction list with a +/- rating beside it. In Freelancer, faction rep was represented by bars that filled with grenn or red, depending on the interactions you had with those factions. I know CR prefers to represent game mechanics and information in ways that are integrated into the narrative wherever possible. The proposed design of the new website shows that he intends to carry on that tradition in SC.

How will faction reputations be represented in-game? How will we be informed where we stand vis-a-vis the UEE, or the X'ian, or pirate factions, etc.?

I have no idea at this point. We're still working on the system itself, and I tend to like to work on _display_ after I know the shape of the data.



Montana1176 | Montana1176 said:
Hey Rob,

I was wondering if it would be possible to integrate your wingman's ship status to one of your own screens, or would this type of display be limited to larger ships like the Idris or the Bengal?

Thank you.

Not sure, but a good idea.


Daioro:
Hello Rob, first time asker here!

With regards to stuff you can do on multi-player ships, what kind of systems on the ship could be controlled? Ideally I'm envisioning something like some people sitting around a command table, plotting out nav markers and objectives for wings under their command, a navigator scanning and marking hazards or enemies being detected, or someone manning communications and doing stuff like scanning background chatter, encrypting comm lines and stuff. The prospect of being able to do something like that would be amazing!

I was also wondering, do you think there'll be space races in the game? I'd love the idea of tricking out a ship with speed and manoeuvrability upgrades and blazing through courses against other pilots.

Cheers, and thanks for reading!

Welcome to the forum! Unfortunately, I don't know the full extent of large ship roles. But there will be some different jobs available.


rherriot:
Hey Rob,

Thanks for taking the time and for all the great answers so far!

Follow-up to my previous question: Will there be mechanisms such that I can transport my character from one place to another, other than by flying there myself? Perhaps a shuttle I could take, that could move me around while I am logged off? Alternatively, would it be possible to pay to "ship" your ship to a given destination, again allowing transit while you are logged off? Some other form of rapid transit? One of my concerns would be that you want to meet up with a friend at a certain planet, but the universe is so big and you are a million miles away that it just wouldn't be fun or worth it to waste time trying to get there.

I'm guessing we'll have some way to transport yourself and maybe your ships.


Cabbagehead:
Hey, Rob

Important Question's ? (For me,anways)

Someone just told be that, Planet side areas and Space platform area's will be safe heavens like a barrier...where nothing bad happens or situations of conflict cannot happen on foot, that it's only a social hub detached in a way from the prescient universe. But once you launch back into space everything is fair game...pretty much fun over immersion. (That's my take on it anyways)

is this True? or not?

if true, then that would be a bummer...sense in my mind those hub areas and people inside it should be reacting in tune with star citizen active universe and it's rules within the game and they should not be full time safe heavens. Because say person is on the run and they know to head straight to one of those hubs and then you can't do anything to them while there would kind of suck in that scenario.
-----------
Also if you seen the "Stowaways and other misfits" thread? if so

Then can players/npcs hack or stowaway into a persons ship npc's or not? (If that's in the plans, it would/should be a hard task to pull off)

Players would attempt this at their own risk....

and with that, to combat against that happening player would have selection of security systems upgrades like, infrared cameras, an alert signal, turrets, trap's i.e attack dogs, bodyguards human or other....etc and maybe go from their to balance those two out and factor where this type of thing can take place and such.

have you guys thought about doing this as a mechanic and having it be a possibility? *Finger crossed*

Initially, there will not be ground combat (other than boarding parties). We are focused on ships primarily.
I, personally, am not in favor of hacking/stowaway gameplay that cannot be prevented by another player's actual skill with the game. Since we don't have an in-game skill system, that makes it even more difficult. But we'll see what Chris says.


Selfishmonkey:
Hi Rob. Not a clue who I should ask this of - so here goes: Is Terra Kepler 69c? Weird question I know... but I guess my actual questions is; will real life astronomical phenomena be included in the game and locations based of actual observable stars in our sky?

Actually, I don't think that Terra is in the right position in space to be Kepler 69c. (Although it might be another one of our worlds.)


EvilRickles:
Now that multiple characters has been confirmed does this mean that every character I make gets access to my pledge ships?

as in if there are 10 char slots does this mean Radd effectively has 590 ships? (wow Radd u crazy)

Most likely, you will either divide your ships among characters, or new characters will start at the bottom. Still TBD how we'll handle it.


monobloc | submarine said:
Hi Rob thanks for answering our questions. I expect you have plenty of other things to do

I want to ask about exploring which is a popular profession. Specifically explorer ships, there are two earmarked for explorers, Aurora and Freelancer and my question is - will there be anything intrisic to the ships which make them good for exploration over other ships? We can currently see cargo values for trading, weapons load outs and thruster powers for combat but we have no idea what makes an explorer ship an explorer... any pointers? (Truth be told I am wondering about pledge ships.)

You're welcome.

All stats are subject to change. But there will be some additional systems that make explorers explorers.


pettermo:
Another question regarding traveling.

Assume I'm going from Mercury to Pluto (or equivalent long-distance run in another system), and it would take me 30 minutes in Real-Life. If I have a spaceship with beds, will I be able to bunk in the bed, and speed up the Real-Life travel-time? (So the trip maybe just takes 5 seconds of blackness?)

There will almost certainly be some sort of fast travel, and you should still be active in your ship during it. But we'll see exactly how it plays out.


Klondike | klondike said:
Hi

I have a question regarding NPC economy. How far will the simulation go? Will every NPC constantly be running its own AI program to determine next course of action or will simulation run from more global perspective rather than from each individual NPC?

Is it possible for example that a NPC trader to start out with certain amount of credits and then slowly build his fortune up to the point he is paying dozens of both PC and NPC to escort his trade routes?

English is not my first language so I hope you understand my poorly worded question. Thanks!

I think it will be more global. It would be extremely poor use of our storage/bandwidth to waste it all on NPC careers.


Lightsider:
A question about weapons systems. The current system of gun mount "Types" defines articulation, with Type I being fixed, Type II being articulated, Type III being pylons and Type IV being turrets. It's also stated that lower rated types can be mounted on higher rated ones. This has caused some confusion, especially since information that has come out since the Ship Document was initially published would refute this. For instance, the Type I MaxOx Neutron guns mounted on the nose of the Hornet would never fit on the Type II articulated chin mount on the 300i. As far as I know, so far we have only gotten the note that "Some guns may be too large to fit on some hardpoints."

So... here's the actual question. Is there plans to revise this system to include the size of the guns? I see that the types have been moved from a weapons classification, where it was originally, to a hardpoint classification, and that makes sense. However, it would seem to me that another classification is necessary that is attached to a weapon: size. So in the above example, the nose hardpoints on the Hornet would be, say, a Type I fixed, Mark V sized hardpoint. The aforementioned MaxOx Neutron guns would be Mark V size, and would fit. However, the chin hardpoint on the 300i would be a Type II articulated, Mark III sized hardpoint, and the MaxOx guns would not fit there.

I think a system like this might clear up confusion when a player is looking at an array of weaponry and wondering "Will this fit on my ship?"

Thank you for your time and great work so far!

There are sizes. The spreadsheet is enormous. Each hard point has a size AND a class.


Zenerbufen:
Hello rob, you have no idea how much I enjoyed Longbow. It was a very well made game that consumed a huge chunk of my childhood. I still have my original manual for longbow 2, (~240 so well written, and packed with information that I'm sure I could have flown a real longbow if it had a keybord/joystick interface) and am very glad to see you are involved with star citizen.

My question is, We already know that Star Citizen will be playable like longbow was in simple/arcade mode.. for those who do not desire the extra complexity, but can we expect the same level of detail in the ships and systems that existed in the longbow games when flow in realism/expert mode? or perhaps even more?

I found it very difficult to learn to operate all of the ships weapon systems, while simultaneously flying my death machine with accurate physics. However, once I learned it, the longbows gave me the most amazing and rewarding experience I have ever had from a computer game that has not to this day ever been matched. I found myself many times wishing I had someone to help me fly my hellecopter so I could just focus on my radar / FLIR / Optics / Weapons targeting systems / IHADS/ TADS / MMS Camera / NVS / ANVIS / PFZ's / FCR. (well maybe 2-3 additional crew men to help me, but the copter only had 2 seats)

needless to say beyond just the act of keeping the helicopter airborne, (difficult in it self, as helicopters are only ever in a controlled crash when airborne) while everyone was trying to murderize me. Their was ALLOT to do, as the cockpit of these helicopters was just PACKED with equipment (just like their real life counter parts)

For those of us who crave this level of depth and wish to load up our cockpits with (optional) advanced electronic equipment, do you think star citizen will be simpler, on par with, or exceed the longbow series?

Glad you liked Longbow! I did, too.

When CR says space _sim_, he is very serious. There will be a TON of depth to it for those who are interested.

 

May 2, 2013


Mister | Mister said:
In various fleeting mentions cybernetics and bionics have been mentioned.
What can you tell us about this?
I for one have a huge transhumanist streak and would love to escape a rotting cage of biomatter.
Are we looking at functional or purely cosmetic stuff?

We really haven't gotten to the design of cybernetics yet, but I'd guess that they will be more cosmetic and not physically augment your body.


gamewizcreations:
I haven't read through this entire thread yet, but on this subject of people disconnecting to avoid death, it seems to me the most easy solution is what CR has already said on this subject... your ship isn't safe unless you log out in a hanger or "planet-side". So if I log out in the midst of a dogfight with someone because I'm about to lose, my ship will just sit there and drift through space, allowing the other person to blow it up. So when I log back in 5 minutes later, I probably did far more harm than good because now my ship is gone and I probably get severely injured or killed since I wasn't there to try and control the situation.

So basically you and your ship only "disappear" from the game world if you log out while docked in a hangar somewhere. Problem solved. If you get disconnected accidentally while out in the real world, that's just a bummer situation and you better hope you have good insurance just in case. But that's just a real world technical situation that is apparent for ANY online game and can never be fully resolved.

Your ship will most likely make an attempt to navigate to a safe port (depending upon the quality of your autopilot, of course). If it is in a non-combat situation, it might be allowed to disappear. We're still working out the final details.


wesmagyar | wesmagyar said:
They could have a system similar to eve, where you get timers if you are attacked by people. for eve its like 20 minutes. And the timer resets every time your attacked even if you are DC'ed.
Also if you log out and you weren't attacked you sit in space for like 1 minute, and if your aggressed during that 1 minute you get the 20 minute countdown.

I think this would be a far better system. The reason being is what if there is an emergency IRL and you have to log out suddenly and you don't have time to get to a planet. Say your wife goes into labor or if there is an earthquake or whatever. I Dont think that you should have to risk losing your constellation or other shiny ship just because you have to log out suddenly.

See my other response on this thread.


FatJoeM:
Thanks for the reply.

I understand that the third-person cam is discouraged during combat, and there will be mechanisms to diminish its advantages (i.e no HUD).

I imagine that this will give an advantage to Oculus Rift players (as they can look around freely). Will there be a similar way to look around for players, who do not use the Oculus Rift? Will they be able to move the player character's head and look around, too?

Yes, everyone will be able to look around.


AllGamer:
Hi Rob,

Regarding the Reputation System, we have not hear much detail about it.

Do you know if any of these ideas can be incorporated?
http://www.robertsspaceindustries.c...r-Virtues-as-part-of-to-the-Reputation-System

Perhaps you guys might already have it coded, but we just didn't know about it

It's not coded yet. Still in the infancy of its design. As Chris mentioned on Reddit, it's not going to be heavily "virtue/honor" based, but more about each group's attitude towards you. So if you do things to help the UEE, your reputation will improve with that group. (Or get worse if you do bad things.) All of it will be affected by the magnitude of the deed and the speed of communications.


lok288:
Hey Rob,

Sorry I kinda TL;DR'd the whole thread here but I have a few questions.

1. Will we be able to load a cargo ship with some kind of explosives and detonate it in space after being dropped? As in something more or less like the MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb)in use by the current day United States Military. Kinda like a one off if you will. (I might be thinking too big on this one >_< )

2. Any thoughts on some kind of deployable UAVs/turrets/un-manned surveillance drone given that we are starting to see more of them in the real world? I'm sure that there must at least some type of un-manned drone in SC that would be deployed from a ship for recon purposes by the UEE.

3. If you boarded a ship could you make the ship's powerplant go critical and take out the whole ship and maybe then some?

4. Will there be any kind of weapons that will leave a damaging area after they are used? Sort of like a nuclear weapon but well.... less permanent.

5. Would it be possible to upgrade the Idris from 3 small 1 person fighter hangers to say 1 larger hanger that could hold something like the constellation? or would this unbalance it too much?

That's a lot of questions!

1. I doubt that we'll do cargo bombs, but you never can tell.
2. TBD
3. You're really into explosions, aren't you?
4. Don't know. Don't have any planned right now, but the list is ever-growing.
5. The space on the Idris is pretty tight for ships. The hangars are in separate locations, so there's not really a way to combine them.


Nagidal | Nagidal said:
Hi Rob,

I noticed some contradiction about the Aurora Clipper's shield. On p. 10 it says the shield is the Gorgon Defender AllStop (Size 1), but on p. 12 the Clipper has the Seal INK-1 (Size 1).

Which one of them is it going to be? Will it be fixed in the brochure?

Thanks.

Keep in mind that each part can be upgraded individually, so one is the standard shield and one is an upgraded version. If there's a difference, the individual ship list is the "stock" parts list, and the second one is with post-manufacturer upgrades installed.


PosisDas:
Hello Rob,

First off, the Wing Commander series (Privateer in particular) was one of my favorite series growing up. I love how transparent and accessible the development team is - makes us players feel like we are already part of the game that hasn't even reached Alpha yet! I just wish I could give you guys more money...

My question concerns characters that go through the single player campaign first. After they "muster out" into the sandbox universe, will they get any special bonuses for completing their tour of duty? Like a 100cr/week stipend and/or better/easier/cheaper access to military grade hardware or missions?

I do play on playing through the single player campaign, I was just curious is there was an added benefit to doing so versus those players that jump right into the multiplayer universe.

There will be some benefits from the single-player campaign that pass to the persistent world. I doubt they'll pay you, but you'll have a head-start on your reputation with the UEE.


Ainar | Ainar said:
Hi Rob,

I'm new to the forums so sorry if any of this has been answered already. I always try to get all my facts straight first, but the sheer volume of knowledge in regards to SC is just overwhelming (and I used to be a knowledge manager).

1) Is there anything that you can already say about gravity effects? Can a carrier "fall" on a large asteroid if it gets too close?

2) Will small physical objects (like micro asteroids) be a danger in long exploration or will they be deflected by shields?

3) If I own a multi-crew ship do I always have to be the captain or can I give the helm to a freind and man a turret or a fighter myself?

4) If I complete the single player campaing with a character and enter the squadron 42 and then get perma-killed, will I have to do the campaign again with that character's "descendant"?

1. Uh... there will be some gravity effects, but way too early to know exactly how extensive.
2. There will be wear and tear on your ship from long exploration, but I doubt you'll actually see any micro-asteroids.
3. You can move around.
4. No, you will only need to play the campaign once. But you'll probably want to play it several times!



Moriendor:
Yo Rob,

I've tried to keep track of the Q&A so far but it's hard and all I can hope is this hasn't been asked (too often) before

1) Are there going to be (rare?) Privateer-like random events on planets like a drought on -say- Kepler 56 and then that planet has a crazy demand for just about anything edible and drinkable for a certain period of time (until the demand is met basically)?

2) Are there going to be random wars between certain systems or maybe between certain factions within the same system? Or are you planning to keep that kind of stuff non-random (i.e. initiate wars only manually when it fits the story that you guys have in mind for the universe)?

3) As far as the ongoing progression of time and thus the history of the universe is concerned: What are your plans in that regard? Approximately how often do you plan on pushing the "forward" button? Do you believe that players starting the game in 2017 will have a substantially different experience from the first adopters in 2014/2015?

Thanks in advance and big props to you on Strike Commander, Pacific Strike (two of my all-time favs! ), and of course also Longbow, WC 4/5, and SWAT 4 (not all-time but still very highly rated favs! ).

1. Of course!
2. We shall see...
3. The universe will be constantly evolving, but think lots of smaller updates, and fewer massive updates.

Thanks! Always nice to meet people who have enjoyed games I worked on.


Rodrigo "Cuco" Rezende | Cucobr said:
Hello Rob

Imagine this situation: You and your buddy are in the cargo hold seeing the things that you placed there... AND SUDDENLY THE ALARM SOUNDS with red lights spinning inside the Ship! You and your buddy quickly go to battle stations. Once there, you turn off the alarm and prepares for the the point without identification approaching the ship on radar.

Do you think this is doable?

We sure hope so!


wesmagyar | wesmagyar said:
Hey rob, i was wondering something that drove me insane in Freelancer,
If you are fighting pirates in secure space will the npc police be smart enough not to fly into you or into your shooting. On more then a few occasions i got rammed by the npc police and or shot them when they flew into my line of fire and got criminally flagged. I hope that the npc's are a bit brighter in this game. Is this being taken into consideration?

AI is a crucial piece of our development. So we'll certainly make them as smart as possible. That being said, accidents happen. So one accidental shot probably won't sic the Advocacy on you.


Gargonder:
Good Day!
Sorry for my poor English.

I love to play Chris Roberts. I went through all the series WC and Privateer. Of coorse, I became Star Citizen. But ... Since then, it took a very long time. Changed the gaming community. Changed the requirements for the games. Now you're not playing against the computer/ You play with other players and against other players. This is the first change. Second - in the meantime we have changed ourselves. The third. The gameplay has changed significantly. Previously, for example, I could only own one ship. Now I have a hangar. And I have some questions.

1. Can I own several ships of different modifications of the same type? It is known, for example, that Aurora have, at least, five modifications. Can they all be in my hangar?
2. Will the hangar to move with me from planet to planet? For example, I'm on the planet Alpha, taking Aurora, flies to the planet Beta. My hangar, with a fleet of 100% loaded cargo ships will move with me? Or remain on the planet Alpha? If you stay, whether implemented an interactive map with a mark of finding my ship? Will there be a company such as RSI passenger lines to move from planet to planet? Will there be passenger ships operated by the players?

3. I do not know now, on what ship I would be interested to play. For example, Constellation requires four surviving members of the crew, which can be replaced by NPC. Will I be able to gather such a team? Will live players interested in playing extras in the turret? Meanwhile, for those ships now we are paying real money. Will realized the possibility to change the ships before release? Maybe, in the course of testing, I understand, that I want to be a pirate, not a trader, or vice versa?

4. Do the ships represented in the Add-Ons insurance?

1. Absolutely! The more, the merrier.
2. Your initial hangar will be on one planet. It doesn't teleport. But you can rent or purchase additional hangar space on other worlds if you need it. There will be transportation of some sort, and I'm sure that some players will choose that path if they can get the right ships.
3. You could crew it out with AI or other players (many have said they'd rather be crew). I think the new web site will allow you to change your existing pledge ships.
4. If you're asking about LTI, all existing ships will have LTI as of the $9M stretch goal.



Shalimaar:
Hi rob, this is a question regarding signal stealth. From what I understand, stealth tech in SC is basically an upgrade so that your ship's electronic signature is very reduced hence enemy radar detects you much later, to the point where it might be too late for the enemy to do something once the radar picks your stealth ship. Could we have skill based stealth also, where lets say you don't have money to spend on stealth, but if you have the skill to fly really really close to a capital ship or a huge transport vessel, then your ship's signal gets lost in the much louder signal noise generated by the much larger ship, of course only a fighter sized ship could get away with this.

This would also make for an intense experience, where you're at a jump point with a procession of giant freighters in que to make the jump, and you're being chased by pirates, UEE, or bounty hunters, you are desperately outnumbered and out of missiles, with your ship taking damage and you manage to all of a sudden disappear from the enemy's radar, and then who ever is chasing has to visibly search the immediate surroundings of the larger ships, and possibly risk a bounty, by firing at a neutral larger ship to flush you out. Of course all this will be possible only if a pilot is skilled enough to pull off such a tight manoeuvre by hugging a larger ship without causing damage to self or the capital ship. the few extra seconds of hiding might recharge your shields enough for you to make a run for the jump point and escape by the skin of your teeth.
It would also make for a great surprise raid mechanic, where a pirate clan has large transport, with ships (if they can manage it) hugging the transport, and what may seem on the radar like a innocuous cargo carrier might spring a nasty ambush, this would also encourage pilots in a pirate clan to practise together to coordinate their ambush tactics.
This way you can circumvent the cash spending for stealth just by having the ability to pilot your craft like a boss.

I think we'll have some sort of radar "shadowing" modeled, but I don't know the full details yet.



Speedbrake:
I'm sure that dealing with hacks and cheats is something you are thinking about, so I thought I'd push this link your way

http://www.gameblocks.com/

A lot of games companies are having a lot of success with this fairfight anti-cheat serverside middleware it seems. Might be worth considering?
(for instance The War Z server, in just 30 days, identified 7000 people cheating. LINK to dev diary and their ideas about tackling cheaters).

Cheaters ruin the experience and annoy the hell out of me so I am very much hoping you come up with something pretty solid.

We are definitely thinking a lot about preventing cheaters. Thanks for the link! The programming team will be evaluating this package along with many others.



Cyco-Dude | Cyco-Dude said:
how will ejections work in-game? how will ejections work with a multi-crewed ship? will there be an escape pod (entire cockpit module ejects)?

Pull the lever and shoot your ejection pod into space, just as you'd expect. Mutli-crew ships will have some sort of life boats.


gamewizcreations:
Got a couple questions for you.


1) There were two major reasons I never fully got into Eve even though I tried it multiple times. The first being the lack of actual free-form flying in space (which obviously SC can do), but the second is because I never wanted to join some huge Corporation and in not doing so I severely hampered my ability to play the game.

My question is this... I'm all for allowing large guilds the ability to maintain some pretty powerful prestige in the game, but what (if anything) will be done to make sure they don't effectively control the game in entirety? Just like the pros/cons between having an Aurora vs a Constellation, what will be the advantages for being a lone-wolf as opposed to being apart of some massive conglomerate of players that control a huge section of known space? What keeps the large guilds in check?


2) Now that it's been confirmed that we get multiple characters per account, what does that mean in regards to the ships we've pledged for? For instance, I have the Constellation, 300i, Hornet, and Cutlass. Do I get all 4 ships for each character I create, or do I get only 4 ships for my entire account and when I create a character I have to basically "assign" one of my pledge ships to that character which removes it from the pool of available pledge ships for my future characters? (or don't assign any to that character and have him start with an Aurora with no LTI)

Lone wolf play will be a viable option. (Heck, I'll probably play that way.)
You won't get multiple copies of each ship. Not sure yet how they might be divvied up.


Entropy | X1Viper said:
Will there be artificial gravity in the smaller ships, or just the large ones? It would be cool to have zero-G in most of the small/medium sized ships! Not sure what the technology/lore is behind the generation of artificial gravity, but you would think it would be a very power intensive process. Also take up a lot of room and weigh a lot.

Don't know yet. We'll have to see how it feels.



shortwings:
You're the lead designer but you don't have to do everything by yourself. For example say you're designing the economy. Have you considered the sheer number of intelligent, reasonable and knowledgeable backers who would be willing to work with you for free on perfecting it?

Maybe you should have an "inner circle" of handpicked people who could help you develop some of the idea you work on, sort of beta testers on an intellectual level. Before Wikipedia no-one would have believed competent people would be willing to work for free. They were all wrong, lots of experts spend their days doing work and put in enormous amounts of hours editing their subject page on Wikipedia. You can build a good system for an economy alone but no-one probably can build a great one alone because of the complexity of the task involved. So get some free "workers" from the forums.

All I'm saying is that you've got to find some way to harness the power of the thousands of volunteers willing to help you. What do you think?

We are definitely looking for outside advice on the economy. And I don't do everything myself. I have a team (and Chris R.) that does a whole lot of heavy lifting.

We already do use FanPower (TM) for a lot of things.


Varquai | Varquai said:
Hi Rob,

Just wanted to say I've been missing the designopotamus discussions. Do you think we'll be seeing more soon?

Yeah. We've been running a bit behind. There will be a new one this week.


FatJoeM:
Hi Rob,

I understand that when my ship is about to blow up, I can eject into space.

Can you explain what will be my options from there?

Will the screen just go black and my character will wake up on a near planet? How will this look to other players looking at my ejected character in space? Will I simply disappear to them?

Will I have the option not to wake up on a near planet, such that a nearby friend can pick me up in space?

Will I have the option to go back to my ship after the fight ended (in case it did not blow up)?

I don't know if you'll be able to get back into the ship (ejection does sort of take it apart), but you'll either return to a nearby world or get picked up.



Cabbagehead:
Hey Rob!

A three part question?

1. Will the store fronts/ clubs etc... be the only things,that will be enter able on space stations and planet side station's? or will their be other types of stores and maybe lounging areas an such?


2. Is everything, on those station in regard's to the stores, markets, clubs, dealerships might there be places on some stations that, use their store as a front for other operations? For example like black market, smuggling rings, shadier clubs, off the book auctions and their could. Be secret passage's ways to under dwelling either inside the store or building or even outside, and somehow the player might get passage by doing something for someone or getting the information through force or by listening to npcs talk in code or maybe the player might happen upon one of them by chase and it goes on from their.

3. Will certain space station be more populated then others, and will some of them serve a purpose in someway more then another or be more important to a big group or corporation/government body and it in turn be more protect or less for that matter? and will a station's in space be different, then a planet station and how much more will they be different. Will their be size differences and that could dictate what the player might be able to venture into or see? (Pretty much, different station layout's and area size)
-----
One more

Will their be non lethal weapons , that can be used?

Thank's again for your time Rob.

1. Stores, social areas, clubs, etc. There's a long list. Depends upon which world you're visiting.
2. There will be areas for the more... disreputable players.
3. There will be different purposes for and types of stations, with different populations.
4. Yep. They were mentioned in a previous writers' guide.


woody7527:
Hi Rob,

A Quick question about IFF/Sensor data regarding combat with allies.

If for example I was with a group of friends staking out a trade route. We have 4, 1 person ships. 3 fighters/interceptors and a command/sensor ship. Would it be possible to outfit the command ship with high-grade sensor modules, upgrades like longer range scanner and deep scan systems and then be able to share all the advance sensor data to my three allied fighters so they don't have to waste upgrade modules, allowing them to concentrate on weapon upgrades?

Thanks in advance!

We're still working on all of those details, but I'd like to enable someone to play an SWACS role.


jcrg99:
Hi Rob...

What do you think about that:
http://www.robertsspaceindustries.c...0415-Time-Travel-through-Temporal-Jump-Points

Maybe not for the 1st release, but for the future?

Appreciate your opinion.

Thanks in advance.

That's an interesting post, but time travel? Unlikely.