Re: Some observations
 

Thanks again! Okay, next question:

I noted the issue with the weapons and there not being much difference in ability between levels. It seems there is a slight difference in some of the weapons (my experience so far).

What about other components though? I do notice the difference between engines (propulsion speeds) armor rating, shield Ratings, etc.

But for the life of me, I can't figure out whether a 7th level Bridge or Crew Quarters is better than a level 2 one. They seem to be exactly the same. If so, why denote different levels? Should we just ignore level differences for certain devices?

Re: Some observations
 

On those, I don't know. Everything except bridge, CQ and LS seems to improve. I think the crew quarters and life support might as well, by preventing crew death better. On a destroyer that doesn't matter, but the rate of death can be adjusted- I bet some of the bigger ships need more than one Life Support..with a more advanced type, they might not.

Re: Some observations
 

Sometimes, seems like usually after I've sped up time to cross a system, my ships speed will drop to almost stopped and will not match where I have my speed set. After a little bit of waiting, it starts working again. I don't have damaged engines, or anything like that, and I am carrying no cargo. Aside from that, I am really enjoying the demo http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Its not often that a demo can get more than just a few minutes or so of playing time out of me.

[ September 24, 2003, 18:47: Message edited by: macjimmy ]

Re: Some observations
 

Once more, thank you!

How about this...

Every once in a while, I manage to destroy another ship and they leave behind some "illegal" cargo. What is the value fo this stuff? Is it worth more to some people? I haven't really tried to shop it around becuase I sold all my cargo holds and armor just to afford the weight of an extra gun on the SS rinky-dink, and any extra cargo effects my speeds rather noticeably.

Is it just stuff to be sold where ever and whenever, or is there a bigger prize waiting for those who make the effort? (i'm talking about the illegal cargo)

How long does cargo float around anyway? will the PC ships pick them up? Do they disappear?

And if anyone could shed some light on the mystery of skill levels, that would be appreciated. What does investing the offensive and defensive skills give you? Negoitation? I can tell that armor, hull, and shield improve your regeneration repair rate (in space), but what do these other numbers mean?

Re: Some observations
 

Is it worthwhile joining the pirates mercenary guild? What kind of missions do I get for 50,000 bucks?

You DO know where the pirates mercenary guild is, don't you....

Re: Some observations
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The pirate mercenary missions tend to have higher rewards. The guild itself becomes more important in the full game.

Re: Some observations
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sounds like perhaps you ran off the edge of the map... When that happens, you drop to 1/8th speed automatically.

Press "g" for the grid, to see where exactly you are.

Re: Some observations
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">It is in line with SE4 physics, though.

Newtonian physics can be done fairly well in a mod.
Just give the ships infinite top speed, and zero acceleration / turn rate. Then give the accel/turn abilities to engines.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That won't solve the issue of ships with damaged engines suddenly decelerating to zero, will it?

Also, if you give infinite (or even, very high) max speed, won't ships still be able to reverse direction quite quickly? If so, that would just add a new problem, which would make avoiding collisions even harder, and perhaps challenge the AI. Sounds humorous to try, but not much help for the funny physics.

PvK

Re: Some observations
 

"Also, if you give infinite (or even, very high) max speed, won't ships still be able to reverse direction quite quickly?"

Lower the turn speed and acceleration rates to match. I'll test this now, see what happens..

EDIT: a big problem, though, is you can only speed up in 25% incriments. Very odd for a pure newtonian system.

Tested. Speed doesn't affect turn time at all. It does, however, affect turn radius. I didn't play with turn speed, since there is no way to vary it depending on speed.

That does and doesn't make sense. Does, because a ship could turn around quickly. Doesn't, because a ship would still be moving the other direction. Not so in Starfury.

[ September 24, 2003, 22:07: Message edited by: Phoenix-D ]

Re: Some observations
 

The key thing will be that top speed does not depend on your engines. The built-in top speed of the hull would be very high, the built-in turn rate and built-in acceleration would be zero.

Engines would add to the turn & accel. Engine damage would thus force you to go in a straight line, and prevent you from slowing down (top speed is always above current speed)

You could only set desired speeds in increments of 25% (of lightspeed, perhaps) with the keyboard, but with mouse controls, you can get it in 1-pixel increments.
If the acceleration is low enough, you don't need to worry - just press full throttle to accelerate and zero to slow down. When at your desired speed, you can click the mouse where the speed line is to set cruise control, or just alternate between gas and brakes. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif