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Thanks for all the feedback and bug reports from RC1! RC2 is now available for testing! Barring any major issues, this will probably be the last RC before I leave for vacation.

Download 0.14.0_rc2

Changes (in addition to those already in RC1):

  • Increased Standard Thruster force from 200 to 300.
  • Increased Large Thruster force from 500 to 800.
  • Increased Huge Thruster force from 1000 to 2000.
  • Decreased Small Thruster power consumption from 50 to 30. (Note: Due to bugfix below, the effective power consumption of the Small Thrusters has not actually changed.)
  • Decreased Large Thruster power consumption from 250 to 200.
  • Decreased Huge Thruster power consumption from 500 to 400.
  • Small Thrusters (including the 2-way and 3-way variants) no longer exert any lateral thrust, just like the larger thrusters.
  • Huge Thrusters are now technically 3x4 in size instead of 3x5.
  • RC Bugfix: Frequent crashes in multiplayer due to parts being destroyed.
  • Bugfix: Thrusters were using less power than was intended.

@Walt

Had a quick go (with 3 test ships - small, big and huge thrusters).

  • The good thing is huge thrusters now can be supplied with power much better (still hardly 100% of the time but that might be an intentional challenge.)

  • The odd thing: Yes especially huge thrusters now make for a really fast ship - but will this ever be usefull in gameplay or is it just a kind of manic fun ?

  • The complicated thing: No-lateral-thrust not only means that ships without dedicated lateral/stern thrustes can no longer strafe at all BUT even worse cannot turn at all - so many move orders are invalid for them! I understand that lateral thrust might not be the most logic thing but it would improove & speed up gameplay, especially for beginners (and lazy ppl like me), quite abit.

Overall i think your early ideas 1. having 10% lateral-thrust unified & 2. shorten the ramp-up times! Would fit gameplay very well! (now that the power distribution seems almost completely solved).
The latter idea of POWER! is funny ... ludicrous funny 😉 you not seriously keeping that? 😃

PS.:
Little wish for final or next RC - rly just a cosmetic one.

Could Multiplayer Ship Colors be "Original" default - because noobs and also not so noobs are complaining how ships look in MP - some even suspect this might be bugged.

  • Walt

  • Post #3
  • Edited

SpaceCat No-lateral-thrust not only means that ships without dedicated lateral/stern thrustes can no longer strafe at all BUT even worse cannot turn at all

It depends on where the thrusters are placed (more off-center thrusters will still allow a ship to turn okay). But for sure, with these changes a ship with insufficient side/front thrusters will have a really hard time maneuvering. Whether you think that's a good thing or not probably depends on whether you prioritize realism (in which case it's a good thing) or ship design flexibility (in which case it's a bad thing). I'm currently leaning towards thinking it's a good thing.

SpaceCat 1. having 10% lateral-thrust unified

This doesn't work with the ramp-up times. It causes strange ship behavior.

      SpaceCat o-lateral-thrust not only means that ships without dedicated lateral/stern thrustes can no longer strafe at all BUT even worse cannot turn at all - so many move orders are invalid for them!

      I haven't experienced this. This ship, for example, can turn (not well) despite having only forward thrust.

      image https://i.imgur.com/Bal546h.png

      SpaceCat The odd thing: Yes especially huge thrusters now make for a really fast ship - but will this ever be usefull in gameplay or is it just a kind of manic fun ?

      Personally I think they will be useful for kiters, antikiters, spinners, hit-and-run ships, armadillos, and similar. Large walls will probably be better off with clusters of small or standard thrusters, since they only need turning thrust which doesn't last very long.

          Walt depends on whether your prioritize realism (in which case it's a good thing) or ship design flexibility (in which case it's a bad thing).

          Agree that here you can have both sentiments ... guess it wil be about democracy then, or dictatorship if you so wish 😉
          And as often in politics the smallest will pay - because these cute single thruster smoll-ships are out of the game then ... or have to be converted with the "3way".

          For the super powerfull thrusters: i guess i have to test them with larger ships and wait what others design and think of them ...

          My vote goes for have a minimal amount of lateral thrust so ships do not end up with invalid orders.

          Hope MP is as stable as 13.9 again.

          regards

            SpaceCat guess it wil be about democracy then, or dictatorship if you so wish

            Don't kid yourselves, this has always been a dictatorship. 😛

                Then yous have been a very kind dictator so far 😛

                BTW.: enemy ships in mp now have this wierd checkered texture when zoomed out a bit:

                image https://i.imgur.com/6yzhKXU.jpg

                SpaceCat I'm not seeing that problem. Is anyone else having that problem?

                  Just a word on smallships,

                  Not only the zero lateral thrust but even more so the ramp-up of big thrusters rly sucks the life out of them.
                  Talking about smallships with 1- 4 big main thrustes & some brake thrust (100-200K).

                  The speciality of them was that they can accelerate and evade fire (especially cannonfire) quickly - now not anymore ...

                  SpaceCat If you replace the Large Thrusters with pairs of Standard Thrusters, how well does it work? I realize Standard Thrusters still have a 1-second ramp-up time (which effectively adds half a second of lag to the ship's maneuverability), but a pair of Standard Thrusters is also 20% more powerful than a Large Thruster used to be, plus it's $1000 cheaper!

                    Walt Now that you removed latteral thrust entirely can you please consider making a small angled thruster for fighters and diagonal ships.

                      Walt I'm not seeing that problem. Is anyone else having that problem?

                      The checkered texture migt be rare problem could not reproduce it after restart either ... or was it a clever decal shop?

                      thatPolarBear Now that you removed latteral thrust entirely can you please consider making a small angled thruster for fighters and diagonal ships.

                      Just played diagonals - and actually zero lateral thrust effects them very little, they just fire their 90° angeled thrusters and move quite fine.
                      I thinnk small ships rly suffer from the rampup mostly.

                            SpaceCat Just played diagonals - and actually zero lateral thrust effects them very little, they just fire their 90° angeled thrusters and move quite fine.

                            Diagonals only get 70% forward thrust from angled thrusters, which does hurt them somewhat. Lateral thrust helped to partially make up for that, especially with small thrusters (which brought them from 70% to 91% forward efficiency). No lateral thrust = reduced diagonal movement speed. The reduction from 91% to 70% isn't huge, but it isn't small either.

                            I don't think it's much of a problem for small ships. What stops you from just hooking up a bunch of small thrusters or several standard thrusters?

                              Walt If you replace the Large Thrusters with pairs of Standard Thrusters, how well does it work?

                              Ok i testet this very successfull ship(s) - these sometimes fooled quite monstrous behemoths.

                              image https://i.imgur.com/50O3aJk.png

                              The one with the standard thrust accelerates faster but then gets overtaken by the one with big thrusters after short time.
                              So the choice seems to be "Acceleration" VS "Top speed" here. It is a hard one. And then you could mix thrusters. And then look at the significant cost difference (133k - 140K). And so on ...

                              Mentioning that small ships without lateral thrust are forced to have a rebuild because they refuse to attack from an angle and overshoot their move-order-destination constantly and are often found circling helplessly.
                              Also bigger ships without side/stern/lateral thrusters have a hard time now.
                              Only Diagonals still do not have to care for thrust-direction because they have 90° placed thrusters anyway.

                              Walt Also, I might change it to 1 / 2 / 4.

                              hope you still consider this thrust-rampup ratios - might smooth it out more overall ...

                                    Dalas120 The reduction from 91% to 70% isn't huge, but it isn't small either.

                                    Diagonals have so many other advantages anyway so ... i think it is fair - still favors diagonals compared to ships without lateral thrusters, the latter beeing the real losers from having no auto-lateral thrust.

                                        beeing in two minds on this RC2

                                        • on the one mind i like fast spaceships, even rockets!
                                        • on the the other mind i do not see any big role for them yet ingame.

                                        only 0.14.0 - cannot rly imagine how this will look let's say 0.99.0

                                        I should create the mod sprites quickly before the stable release!

                                          • nop

                                            • Post #18

                                            I'm enjoying engine rooms and thruster "party mix" on bigger ships, like this missile barge:

                                            image https://i.imgur.com/RLwUuoy.jpg

                                            what is lateral thrust.

                                            • Walt replied to this.

                                              Walt Yeah Finally is comming this broken update that will broke mods YEAH