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  2020-01-16 Empty Sectors
Posted by: Haxus - 01-16-2020, 04:30 PM - Forum: Updates - Replies (20)

Empty Sectors
Every sector has at least one solar system. That means you can go on forever outside the galaxy.

The number of solar systems in a sector is now allowed to reach zero when the star density of the galaxy reaches zero. Star density reaches zero outside the galaxy and it can reach zero in thin areas within the galaxy, creating starless voids.

You can travel through empty sectors. The star map will show a single "explored" dot at the center. That is where the ships present and energy emissions appear.

Star density is not allowed to reach zero at the core. There is always at least one solar system at the core.

Existing sectors and solar systems are not affected.

Organ Models
Some organs still do not have 3D models.

All organs now have models to represent them in the game environment.

The organs dropped by creatures are now determined by their DNA. 

Videos Link Broken
The Videos link on the screen in the game does not work.

Fixed videos link.

Asteroid Impact Inconvenient
Some players cannot defend against the asteroid because the impact happens at an inconvenient time in their real lives.

When starting a new avatar, the impact time of the asteroid can be adjusted up to a full day before or after its scheduled time, which is one week from creation of the avatar.

Field of View Angle
The field of view angles are shown on the screen when resizing the window. They are wrong, by a factor of two. The numbers shown are twice the size of the actual field of view angles.

Field of view angles fixed when reported on the screen.

Field of view angle adjustment added to Settings|Scene window.

Default field of view angle changed from 45 degrees to 60 degrees.

Sky Box Resolution
A request was made to increase the resolution of the sky box texture.

Sky box resolution control added to Settings|Scene window. Default is 1024.

Sky box mipmap control added to Settings|Scene window. Default is on.

I find the picture quality to be the best when this is set to about 1/2 the width of the view window. Field of view angle determines how much of the sky box will be stretched across your screen at any given moment. Each 90 degrees of field of view width equates to one pane of the sky box; at 90 degrees, the number of pixels of sky box across the width of the scene equals the sky box resolution; at 120 degrees, the number is about 1.33x the sky box resolution. If the window is less than that width, the sky box texture is too big; pixels will be lost; that is where mipmapping can help. Using a skybox resolution that is 1/2 the size needed insures ample color data is available to paint each pixel of the scene, providing a richer deeper star field.

My view screen is 1600 pixels wide. At 800 pixels, my sky box looks fantastic.

Observed System Contents
The star map should show the contents of systems that are explored but not scanned.

Star map will now show contents of explored systems. Right-click now offers an "Observatory Report" for systems that are explored but not scanned.

Manufacturing Processes for Hull Modules
Why are there manufacturing processes for hull modules?

Manufacturing processes for hull modules should no longer appear anywhere.

Biodome in Deep Crater Has No Plants
A biodome in a deep crater on a moon did not have any plants inside.

Fixed plants in biodome.

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  Inertia? What Inertia?
Posted by: Vectorus - 01-15-2020, 10:26 PM - Forum: Prerelease Bug Reports - Replies (3)

I spacewalked out of my ship to visually inspect some hull damage and check my exterior collision model. Ship was moving at the time. Instead of floating alongside me, it zoomed away as if I'd just finished hopping freight and jumped off the railcar.

This is highly unexpected, unrealistic and, when in a vehicle with collision damage, potentially deadly. Say you have a ship the shape of a Star Destroyer. You open a hatch on top of the nose and float out, but, instead of gently coasting along in the serene ballet "2001" has taught us to desire, the superstructure slams into you from behind like a stagecoach and six panicking horses.

It's also the source of the classic newbie (and not-so-newbie) complaint "I accidentally pressed E trying to steer my rocket and it dumped me".

When a ship is not in an atmosphere, can objects transiting from a hull void into space just inherit the ship's velocity (add it to their own velocity at the point of exit)? That way it's all intuitive and a bit safer. Doesn't need to apply to transporters, the most common method of travel, but should apply to launch tubes.

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  Returning to Empty Cities.
Posted by: Zoyd - 01-15-2020, 06:01 AM - Forum: Cantina - Replies (3)

Just getting back into the game and I know there have been a lot of changes. The more recent changes seem to have removed all of my buildings. I managed to build a basic mine to gather stone but the city is not showing on the city list. I still have a flag standing where the town square used to be but there is no square? I used the build window and tried to demolish it to place a new flag but there is nothing to destroy. I then tried to use a new flag but nothing happens. I have 4 flags in my inventory and none can be used/placed. All I have left of the cities are the roads. The only city that shows up on the F12 window is the one I had in the Babylon system. 

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

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  shield base texture issue
Posted by: jakbruce2012 - 01-15-2020, 01:06 AM - Forum: Prerelease Bug Reports - No Replies

Shield textures for the bubble around milliatry shield bases are glitchy, flashy, and headache inducing.
bubble textures appear to be zfighting everywhere.

Image:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fhryr4d4qjzh2m...h.png?dl=0

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  consoles in millitary buildings are unusable
Posted by: jakbruce2012 - 01-15-2020, 01:04 AM - Forum: Closed Bug Reports - Replies (3)

Both shield base and weapon base consoles do nothing in buildings, no buttons can be clicked.

Troops also do not spawn at troop berths in buildings, and will not man stations.

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  Removed one too many modules
Posted by: jakbruce2012 - 01-12-2020, 05:40 AM - Forum: Prerelease Bug Reports - Replies (2)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ohwbev8t9yes3m...g.png?dl=0

You can remove more modules than the system has installed, and it causes that system to roll over backwards.
I have yet to test the implications of this on craft performance.

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  Civilian Buildings Block Weapon's Fire
Posted by: Deantwo - 01-12-2020, 01:25 AM - Forum: Prerelease Bug Reports - Replies (24)

It is possible to clip buildings into each other in the new building system. This is kinda of a feature, even if I think it is silly. But it has a big issue when it comes to blocking line of sight or projectiles.

For example, if you place a military building so it is surrounded by civilian buildings, or even inside civilian buildings. You can make it impossible for weapons to hit the target unless you are at that possible one exact angle to hit it, if there even is such an angle.

On that note I have even seen one farm building blueprint that seems to just block all missiles fired at buildings around it.

Code:
Farm
Weltreich
Blueprint: 3067507 10kFarm
Architect: Racer FMXFM

This is essentially the exact same issue is with the Underground Buildings Exploits, but a lot worse since civilian buildings can't even be blown away with explosives.

Suggestion: A civilian building that has had its health reduced to 0 should stop physically blocking movement and projectiles. The AI should also ignore civilian buildings when doing line of sight checks to see if they can hit a military target.

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  Client Installer and Microsoft Visual C++ 2015
Posted by: Snowmantis - 01-11-2020, 03:42 PM - Forum: Closed Bug Reports - Replies (5)

Installing the client is proving to be tricky on my new Windows 10 (home) version.     Specifically, the installation of Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 is failing while indicating a newer version is already installed.     I have also been unable to independently add it to my system as I get the same error (looking for work arounds now).   Is there a reason why the client can't use the latest MS Visual C++ distributions?.      Seems to me this could be a barrier to play for many if work arounds are required for client operation.


PS - I am assuming that the following client launch error is related to inability to use older libraries? (Shader linking error - image attached)  .


This error also freezes the client windows and requires entering Task Manager to quit the processes.



Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
       
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  2020-01-10 Spacecraft Damage and Modules, Organ Models
Posted by: Haxus - 01-10-2020, 05:35 PM - Forum: Updates - Replies (31)

Spacecraft Damage
I have never been very happy with the way spacecraft damage is managed. Every bit of damage equates to a part that must be replaced.

Damage tracking was completely revamped. This affected both spacecraft and buildings.

  • All damage was removed from existing spacecraft and buildings. The old data was incompatible.
  • Damage is now separated into hit points of damage and parts that are broken.
  • Each system (hull, transporter, maneuver drive, etc.) has a total number of hit points.
  • Most damage is recorded as hit points, against that total.
  • Some damage is recorded as broken parts. A broken part equates to 10 hit points from the total.
  • Most damage is applied to the hull system, comprised of hull, hold, and fuel portions of the ship.
  • Critical hits may affect internal equipment systems: weapons, engines, etc.
  • Critical hit damage is distributed between hull and internal systems according to the ratio of hull damage to full hull health. Critical hits affect internal systems more as the hull becomes more damaged, not at all if the hull is undamaged.
  • Damage Report window changed considerably. It now shows hit points damage, broken parts, and other conditions such as fire and acid.
  • Request Repairs page of Spacecraft Services window changed considerably.
  • Repair shops can now assign multiple workers to a repair job to get it done more quickly, never less than 10 seconds.
  • Tools can be used to perform repairs by hand. If parts are needed, they are fetched from the hold when the tool is used. If no parts are in the hold, they are fetched from your gear. If no part is installed, whether not needed or not available, the tool repairs hit points of damage, the amount dependent on the quality of the tool.
  • Hull damage is always the hull material and internal system damage is always a module. The only tools needed to repair a ship are a hammer and a wrench (fitting wrench, pliers or wrench).
Spacecraft Modules
System modules for spacecraft seem to be only partially implemented. They aren't used to make a spacecraft but you need them to upgrade a spacecraft. What IS a module? A huge crate of junk that upgrades any system, no matter how big or small?

In summary, system modules are now treated like individual components, like an electronic circuit board, only specialized to their purpose. Ships are now built mostly of modules and some kind of metal.

Details:
  • Hull modules no longer exist as a commodity. They exist only for designating hull materials. Hulls are built of metal, magmium, vulcium, or adamantine.
  • System modules are manufactured at airport repair shops. That did not change.
  • System modules now require very few parts to manufacture. Previously they took lots.
  • System modules are installed and removed using a fitting wrench, wrench, or pliers.
  • When repairing a system, use the same kind of module as is already installed.
  • When all modules are removed or destroyed in a system, the first new module can change the system type, to perform an upgrade by hand.
  • When upgrading by hand, modules of a different system type are not grabbed from the hold automatically, only from your gear. To change a system type by hand, you must possess the first new type module that is installed. After that, additional modules can be acquired from the hold.
  • System Upgrades page of the Spacecraft Services window can be used to change the type of an entire system at an airport repair shop. All modules must be replaced. The number of modules needed to perform the upgrade depends on the system. Previously, only one module was required to upgrade any system.
  • Modules are used to manufacture spacecraft. This change reduces the construction time of spacecraft quite a lot. Atlantis went from 5 days 14 hours down to 23 hours. Basic Design went from 3 min to 1 min.
  • Modules can be disassembled using a screwdriver, the same way a carcass is butchered using a knife. 1/2 of the parts consumed to make the module are recovered (fractions are rounded up).
  • No patents are required to build any spacecraft. Previously, the module patents were required that would have been needed to make the various system modules. Now it is possible to sell/give/transfer modules to someone to build a spacecraft, without giving them the technology to make the modules.
  • Model of a module now looks like a small grey box with some wires, instead of a huge crate.
  • All modules weigh 1kg each, instead of whatever massive weight they had before.
Old Space Ship Nerf
Old style spacecraft did not survive this change. They are gone.

All code and data related to old style spacecraft was removed.
  • Textures were removed.
  • Shaders were removed.
  • Story lines were updated to use a modern spacecraft design.
Organ Models
When I butcher a body I get three grey boxes. They turn out to be heart, lungs and stomach. I butcher a head and one gray box pops out; it's a brain!

This was a lot more work than it sounds, mainly because I was determined to not do it using Blender.
  • Item Designer is now usable by me. It is disabled for everyone else.
  • Item Designer enables me to make item models for use in the game. No more Blender!
  • Brain and Heart now have 3D models, instead of the bolt cube.
  • Module model is a .SoH model.
Food Variety Bonus
Food variety bonus is different for carnivores because of the limited number of food choices.

The addition of more food choices edible by carnivores resulted in the food variety bonus calculation being unified for all ecological roles. It is +1 at 4-7 food types, +2 at 8 or more food types.

White Roads
When flying down to my city from orbit, all the roads turn white at the moment I enter the atmosphere.

Fixed fog calculation error.

Enter Primeval Designer
When I start up the solo designer, the options window says "Enter Primeval World".

Fixed dialog button wording.

Vulcium EV Suit Model
The vulcium EV suit gets a bolt cube model. It's been around forever. Isn't there a model for it?

Discovered the model was not being included in the distro library. It is there now but adding it broke the Windows 32 build due to a library that got too big. It can be fixed. Will delay today's post of the Win32 update.

Spacecraft Refit
Refit window is confusing if your ship has/had the bug that caused volumes to be incorrect. Nothing seems to fix it.

Fixed messages to update according to changes. It is now more clear when the problem has been corrected.

Butcher Icon
When in butcher mode, the knife shows two icons on the screen that are hard to understand.

Knife now shows one icon of a meat cleaver when in butcher mode.

Infinite Damage Bug
Ships sometimes seem to take infinite amounts of damage.

Fixed by the damage management changes.

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  Building Volume & City Reports
Posted by: Seathre - 01-09-2020, 05:53 PM - Forum: Prerelease Bug Reports - Replies (2)

I was doing some heavy building on a moon (1,800m) and was having trouble increasing population. I was trying all sorts of crazy things, but then I noticed something about "building volume" affecting morale. I was checking the city report pretty frequently, and this particular morale modifier would only show up if I checked at the exact time the population increased from 0 to 1. After I noticed this, I started doing some research on building volume, then ended up destroying a bunch of stuff. After this, I took a short break, but I returned to see my population steadily increasing, and that nasty morale modifier had not reappeared.

This definitely deserves more testing, 'cus something isn't right.

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