Twitch Stream Event This Friday

UK time

Mizuk, we're GMT+11 at the moment with Daylight Savings, so our 11am would be your 12 midnight.

Washington DC (U.S.A. - District of Columbia) Thursday, 26 November 2015 at 7:00:00 PM EST UTC-5 hours

For some of us idiots who forget that time is different around the world.

And also Thanksgiving evening. I hope the turkey has worn off and I am awake.

1) ui questions , w-5 type questions

2) more detail on cmbat specifically how carries will work and ships inside

3) eta od PVE

4) new story line for pve and possible pve prom?

5) will modding for game or other donations (programing time ui, etc) currently not possible but what would it take to make it possible?
perhaps 'approved' overseers of player made projects?

6) eta on 'finished' game it will never be finished but will combat mean the game is no longer early release?
and if so can we expect price increase or perhaps a sale pricing? (special 1 year pricing)

7) would George accept any finished 3d stuff and if so what formate and scale? (and the game name of George...what does it mean and how do u pronounce it)

8) terra-forming.. an answer like have not had time to do the details yet is fine... but question: mentioned we don't have the ships for conventional terraform but can we do smaller stuff...like begin able to splitting gases from some massive dome settlements, vent to atmosphere to add o2 to environment? or convert toxic gases to other stuff

9 are anomalies possible and if so is there a plan to add them (rivers, caves, special features both land and space)

thx and good luck.

by rmartz » Wed Nov 18, 2015 9:29 am
Any leads on the UI person?
Would it be beneficial to bring in another rookie like George and let them learn and be trained as they go?

What is the ETA for carrier?

What is the ETA for new combat?

Will new combat be coop only with NPC?

Will a second phase of combat come that will allow player coop?

What will be the next feature priority after combat?

Will NPC dialogue be expanded soon?
"What is your route?"

Basic Medical Supplies do not benefit the HoN(morale) of the OSB. Could it be added so the productivity of the OSB goes up just enough to make it beneficial for factory production?

I am sure I will add more soon.

Thor's Hammer in game? Maybe!!

I have been conscripted to try to summarize the latest Twitch event. I will do my best. I am sure there are some things I am missing. Others are welcome to add or contest any of my post.

Some things we learned:

1. We CAN crash Jam's computer if we make him run too many processes.

2. Jam forgets to turn on the recorder when we do, thus the need for a weak summarization.

3. Wulf likes to ask questions. Okay, we already knew that, so we just reaffirmed that.

From here on I will try to remember what was discussed and said using Wulf's list of questions.

1) ui questions , w-5 type questions

Because of slower game sales at present, Jam is slow to hire a UI person. If he does, it will be a recent graduate paired with a mentor most likely.

Much of the challenges, ie scroll bars and such, are/were Unity limitations that had to be worked around. Moving UI windows is the same. Unity had not existing code to do this. It may be possible, but will take design time to address it, so no, it will not be addressed any time soon.

I don't know what w-5 type is. I will skip that. I think it is dog code for something.

2) more detail on combat specifically how carriers will work and ships inside

Carrier is now in game and George said there is some updating planned for the code, so this is early release. You can IVA (Internal Vehiclular Activity) go to the transporter (Elevater don't get excited) and go to several different levels. You can enter a ship by right clicking the ship in the hanger and fly it out.

The plan for combat is NPC will fly the extra combat ships loaded in the carrier. This will allow the player to either stay with the carrier, which can have weapons too, or board a fighter and fly with the NPCs.

New Combat was demoed too. Targetting of the axial is a little different and the AI of the pirates has improved a LOT. So much Jam had trouble beating a simple drone. Adjustments are being made. We hope to hear more soon.

3) eta of PVE

Jam speculated in a quick little side comment that when new combat comes in pirates will be EVERYWHERE! (Emphasis mine) Pirates will no longer be restricted to Janus A. I noticed a Shiva Dreadnaught in Miners Paradise today. UNCA is upping their presence. Must be because of the expected increase in pirate activity.

4) new story line for pve and possible pve prom?

I suspect with pirates popping up, impromtu storylines will be created continually.

5) will modding for game or other donations (programing time ui, etc) currently not possible but what would it take to make it possible?
perhaps 'approved' overseers of player made projects?

Most likely not going to happen. It would take lots of Jam time to go though any code and he would have to release some of his code. He said, "Ain't gonna happen" or some such words. He didn't sound as much of a redneck, but said about as much. Give it up Wulf.

6) eta on 'finished' game it will never be finished but will combat mean the game is no longer early release?
and if so can we expect price increase or perhaps a sale pricing? (special 1 year pricing)

Game is targeted to come out of early release early next year. Jam is pressing to get things done for that. It could be the make it or break it turn. Either the game lurches forward, or we stay with a two man crew progressing as we are. Not really a break it, so not too scary.

7) would George accept any finished 3d stuff and if so what formate and scale? (and the game name of George...what does it mean and how do u pronounce it)

No. 3D modeling is tough and a major part of it is how it gets used in game. Much of that is very unique to the game. Yet, we did identify that it IS ALL GEORGE"S FAULT. More on this in a bit.

8) terra-forming.. an answer like have not had time to do the details yet is fine... but question: mentioned we don't have the ships for conventional terraform but can we do smaller stuff...like begin able to splitting gases from some massive dome settlements, vent to atmosphere to add o2 to environment? or convert toxic gases to other stuff

No.
We still need to haul out bad stuff. Just way too early. Need some of those dreadnaughts!. See, George's fault again.

9 are anomalies possible and if so is there a plan to add them (rivers, caves, special features both land and space)

Rivers, no. Subterranean is wide open, but would take developer time. Nothing on the horizon for this at this time.

What will be the next feature priority after combat?

Assassination

Yea, my heart sank at this time. Except .... if we can Assasinate that Lirri Lopez Turtle that sits at Apollo gate since the DAY NPCs went live and has not moved since. I might be interested if we can clear out some inactive NPCs.

Will NPC dialogue be expanded soon?
"What is your route?"

Yes! We will be starting a thread specifically for this. So be thinking what you want or need to ask the NPCs.

Several other things were mentioned and suggested to add as bug fixes. Once combat is in, Jam plans to spend a little time really attacking those bugs.

Now last point. It is all George's fault. A lot of what can come into game requires a LOT of art. 3D modeling is not just drawing, but making it actually work from all sides. He has lots of projects and often jumps from one to another as they address different needs. It just takes time. It is George's fault that he sleeps. I am thinking of starting a thread of how we can keep him awake 24 hours a day with only short meal breaks.

Okay, it is not ALL George's fault. We do love his models and imagination. We love George. I am so glad he is part of the design team. George, I think way down the road, Ascent will be looked upon as a great triumph and you can say you were there. Big bucks and lots of sleep are good for the moment, but being part of something very unique and original will last a lifetime.

With this I close my brief summary, mostly because of my poor short term memory and I was having trouble staying awake after thanksgiving day meal! It was fun though.

Jam and George, I would like to personally thank you for your time. I know you have lots of things to do. It can get annoying answering the same questions by different voices. For us, it is exciting because we are so vested in this crazy dream of yours. Taking this time impacts the community more than you realize. It also helps us to see you as human, not a machine that spits out code all day long. Many of us need to see that. This helps.

And now that we got Wulf out of the way, maybe we can ask some good questions next time!!

Honestly, Wulf, thanks for caring and being interested enough to be organized as we take of their time. We need to do this. Thanks for taking the leadership to help us do that.

And lastly, there was NO mention of ISB cache files from either side. We are patiently awaiting since it was said, "Umm, Yea." And, yes, that is a Jam quote!

Well, that is the extent of my memory. If I re-remember anything else I will add it. If others remember something I did not cover, please add it for those who missed the event.

w-5 who, what, where, when, why sorry just a note to self to set up questions. some apply some do not

George did ask some feedback for debugging the carrier, lots of watching jam get blown up by drone..are you really sure jam you remember to put shields on?

pirate bases from 'lost' colonies and we asked about removing deeds that have no population (buildings?). maybe pop would work well?

lots of folks flying around carrier, landing in it and jumping on the roof, poor carrier.

hint at new weapons, likely missiles

Thor's Hammer in game? Maybe!!

Do I get best screenshot award?

almost time for another chat?

Jam likely to busy to write a press release but maybe some informal chat?