Parts taken from the log of #se4 on November 3rd, 2003 for nostalgia and some info about SE5 I thought would be useful.
<ZeroAdunn> Evening, so, Dave says you have decided to quit working on the SE series and build giant robots, any truth to that?
<E3> lol
<DavidGervais> lol
<Atrocities> Where is Fyron?
<Mephisto> missing in action?
<Malfador> Giant Robots that can crush whole cities...
<Atrocities> So is it true, that Fyron is not really Aaron? I thought this rumor was confirmed and now I am told it was not.
<ZeroAdunn> I am Aaron
<Malfador> No, Fyron is not Aaron.
<Mephisto> He really is
* tescosamoa malfador will be here for an hour
<Atrocities> LOL
<Mephisto> Thats the reason Fyron is missing
* DavidGervais shakes his head, not the fyron/aaron thing again..
<Rollo_> I am Fyron
<Mephisto> I am Fyron too
<DavidGervais> no, I am fyron
<E3> Naaaaaa...... Fyron cant be Aaron. Fyron is obsessed with FQM.... leaves him no time to be working on SE5.. which we know is what Aaron does night and day. Right? RIGHT?
<ZeroAdunn> Well, Fyron isn't answering his phone... (unless he got a new number, which is entirely possible)
<Mephisto> and my wife too
<ZeroAdunn> What aspects of starfury's ship design system will make it into SEV (firing arcs, component slots, etc...)
<Malfador> I've been debating this for a while. If we're going to use real ship models like in Starfury, we have to have firing arcs. Otherwise ships will fire through themselves.
<Malfador> But I may lighten up some of the other features like power generation.
<tescosamoa> is any chance of us fanfic writers getting to write "officially" for se5. Maybe a few short stories could be included in the manual, or maybe we could work with scenario-builders or write detailled back stories for the stock races. This Last suggestion would be especially cool if the much-requested "animosity" setting (ie Druks always hate EEE etc) makes it into se5.
* tescosamoa zero is next
<Dinesku_Executrix> yeah!... i'd like to right something!
<Dinesku_Executrix>

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<Malfador> That's quite possible. The original race descriptions for SE4 were mainly written by SE4 fans and beta testers (with some modifications by your trully).
<Dinesku_Executrix>

... cool
<Malfador> If there are enough fans interested in this, I will make that a design goal. It will certainly help take some of the load off.
<Dinesku_Executrix> we'll keep an eye on that
<Dinesku_Executrix> :-D
* tescosamoa go zero
<Dinesku_Executrix> indeed
<ZeroAdunn> What kind of system view/movement system are you going for in SEV? Will it sill be sector based or something new? (like maybe vector based)
* tescosamoa atrocities is next
<Malfador> But people need to be aware that not everything will be accepted. And modification is always possible.
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<Dinesku_Executrix> ofcourse...
<Malfador> The movement style has been a major design issue. For most game designers, we love to start from scratch.
<Malfador> But there are a number of issues stopping that. Mainly series continuity and ease of use.
<Malfador> My feeling right now is that it will most likely stay a square based, sector movement style.
<Rollo_> how about hex based?
<ekolis>

<Fyron> How about some other shape like hexagons
<Malfador> I really wanted to change it, but completely rewriting the game will put the release date back years...
Dinesku_Executrix> OK..I have a very basic and founding question... is SE5 gonna be 3d like Conquest:Frontier Wars, Hegemonia:Legions of Iron, etc
<ZeroAdunn> Dependso n fleet size
<Rollo_> no more then 10 minutes...
<tescosamoa> combat should be quick
<Fyron> Well for strategic play, it doesn't really matter, as it will be done quickly anyways
<Dinesku_Executrix> or are we still keeping the 2D for general play
<Fyron> And in tactical, the whole point is to immerse yourself in the battle ;P
<Fyron>

<Malfador> Yes, we are going for a 3D display of the solar system and for combat in SE5.
<Mephisto> Are you going to change the intel system in SEV? If so, how? Spies like in Moo? Or back to the good old Se3 days?

<tescosamoa> thank you
* tescosamoa fryon is next
* ZeroAdunn hates intel!
<Fyron> Ill wait until Meph's question gets answered.
<Malfador> I've gotten a number of requests for Intel in SE5. Half want the SE3 system where offense and defense are separate. The other half want a more individual system where spies are used and have specific capabilities. I'm tending more towards an SE3 system of intel.