Asteroid Strikes Again!

[FinalGen]

My first week in the universe has been pretty eventful. Some key bugs / items, like Targoss and the Rocket Training mission were missing. I found out about the asteroid in game after hearing Haxus tell another player. That started a 4 day countdown of when it would hit my planet...

Many hours were spent building and getting things ready to launch into space for the the first time. On the big day, I enlisted some help from other Avatars, and we went hunting. With crappy sensors, a good calculator, and some navigational prowess from Vectorus, we got a sensor hit. We honed in on it, got visuals and were right on top of it when the unthinkable happened. A server crash with only 3.something hours left.

Needless to say the servers were down for about 3 hours and I was bricking shits. There was just enough time to build a 25 minute ship (Badger 1 by Deltova) and take care of this menace once and for all.

Taking off with no time whatsoever to spare.

https://youtu.be/EiXC-2H9Ou8

WTF....

Ok plan B. The F2 fighter sitting at the factory. There are only seconds left. I get into orbit and get visuals.

https://youtu.be/HA1ANwqtsO0

I get a little turned around on the direction, but it was too late anyway. RIP! Oh, and if that's not good enough, it kicks you off the server as well. I logged back in with my ship at about half health watching the pieces drift into a descending orbit around the sun.

Some say the asteroid can be overcome, but I don't believe it. Just from my time here, and what I've seen in-game (in a week), there is a 0/6 success ratio.

After sitting in my fighter, watching the pieces get destroyed by the sun, mourning the loss and dusting the salt off my skin, I recall to a new homeworld since there was nothing left.

I was greeted by a binary system in which I had 3 moons, a ring planet, a gas giant with rings, another gas giant with moons with rings, and a spectacular view.

Total upgrade ;)

-FinalGen

[Haxus]

I apologize for the server troubles.

Fwiw, the deadlocks induced by the asteroid were in code that hasn't changed in many years. It was a glorious moment to have them flushed out.

The asteroid can be destroyed. I have done it myself using a space fighter armed with large rockets and large missiles, just for variety. I watched a player destroy the asteroid using a small ship with two cannon turrets. In his case, the break was near his planet and the pieces destroyed his cities but not his planet.

Here is the video.

http://hazeron.com/Playlists/Scenes%20of...Impact.mp4

[FinalGen]

I know, I was only embellishing the lore of the great asteroid. :)

I was online during that strike, and if he had gotten to it a few minutes earlier, he would have had it. Still saved his home world though!

[Vectorus]

I'm sorry you had to fight the game as well as the enemy FinalGen...but at the same time, the degree of excitement and the degree of grim determination - in all, the degree of engagement these asteroids have produced in us players has been unexpected, joyful and amazing. The week we had to prepare for the impact...well, it felt uncannily like High Noon.


For years, a Hazeron player's big worries have been about (1) exploiters grief-stomping you while you're on holiday (2) glitches or untested rules changes flushing your hard work down the tube overnight.

To face off, instead, against a real enemy, a worthy enemy - an enemy you knew was coming and which, despite the challenge, you knew you had a fighting chance against: frankly, that felt like a different game.
A better game. Your game, Haxus, as it waits for us in your final vision - a glimpse of those nail-biting, memory-making personal stories for which the current grand-strategy level will become the World Generator.

So, I want to say (1) thank you!! and (2) GIVE US MORE! After you've fixed and balanced asteroids, challenge us again and keep us shouting at our screens in a mix of worry and excitement not only in week 1, but week 2, week 3 and every week we log in to play Shores of Hazeron! Though maybe let us help you with some slightly less catastrophic testing next time...

[resonkinetic]

Maybe two weeks after spawn the sun will explode or something if you don't do something space-y about it hehe

[Neils Iyssada]

Maybe two weeks after spawn the sun will explode or something if you don't do something space-y about it hehe

Something like sending him Targoss as a sacrifice  :D

[Haxus]

On the topic of balancing asteroids, they are much easier to defeat now. Should I give them more hit points?

The biggest asteroid has 4000hp. There are three other sizes, with 3000hp, 2000hp, and 1000hp.

The bigger asteroids break into two of each of the smaller asteroids.

4K -> 2x3k + 2x2k + 2x1k = 4K + 26k + 8k + 2k = 40k total
3k -> 2x2k + 2x1k = 3k + 8k + 2k = 13k total
2k -> 2x1k = 2k + 2k = 4K total

The final total number of asteroid hit points is 40k.

After the 4K is broken, the smaller pieces fall freely with gravity. They are not held on a collision course for any specific target.

[FinalGen]

On the topic of balancing asteroids, they are much easier to defeat now. Should I give them more hit points?

Depends on what you want the player to be able to destroy it with I guess. If the goal is to get them into space, then no planetary defense should be able to, but yet maybe a fully loaded Space Fighter can (assuming 1/2 - 3/4 the shots land?). Any ship blueprint created with a weapons bay could do it if a Space Fighter can.

That should easily be able to handle a 3k health asteroid and the 4 pieces created? I'm not sure of the heavy arms ammo vs rocket damage differences etc, but I'd love to go find some and test it out.