| elliotg | hi to all |
| Kregoth | HI |
| Sean_Drummy | Thanks for doing this Elliot! |
| Martok | Hey Elliot! |
| Argien | hi |
| hgilmer3 | Hiya |
| Sean_Drummy | Alright, let's get started! |
| Simulation01 | Hey! |
| Aures | hi Elliot |
| dawilko | o/ Greets |
| Sean_Drummy | Argien, your turn to ask a question. |
| Argien | ok is it possible to create a fleet right from the build order screen ? |
| elliotg | not in the build order screen - you'd use either the Empire Navigation Tool or the Ships and Bases screen for that |
| dawilko | Well seeing that was my Q |
| dawilko | I will pass |
| elliotg | you can dd ships under construction to fleets, so you dont have to wait for them to finish building |
| elliotg | dd = add |
| ehsumrell1 | Hello Everyone! |
| Sean_Drummy | DrApostle, please ask a question if you'd like. |
| DrApostle | I just bought the game 3 days ago, so I'm just here to learn ... thanks for the free expansion Erik :^) |
| Erik_Rutins | Eh, what? |
| Erik_Rutins | ;-) |
| DrApostle | I'm just kidding! |
| Erik_Rutins | Glad you joined us, DrApostle, I hope you're enjoying DW |
| Sean_Drummy | Alright then, est1895, your turn! |
| est1895 | little old me? |
| Sean_Drummy | Yes indeed. |
| est1895 | uuhhhhhhh |
| Sean_Drummy | If you don't have a question you're welcome to pass if you'd like. |
| est1895 | when is this expansion coming out? |
| elliotg | very soon... |
| Sean_Drummy | Classic question. :-) |
| raykhughes | classic response |
| Simulation01 | lol |
| Erik_Rutins | I'm testing a gold master candidate on my other system while chatting... very soon is a good answer. ;-) |
| Sean_Drummy | Haha. |
| Sean_Drummy | Galen, please ask a question if you'd like. |
| Galen | The reseach section has undergone a massive facelift---can you explain a little about research and the reasoning behind the change? |
| est1895 | couldn't think of anything else ;) |
| elliotg | Research: previously this was an area you didn't have much control over (in original DW). We wanted to change that and beef things up with lots of new tech, weapons, etc |
| est1895 | what do these buttons do? |
| Martok | @est1895: (Erik said in the forums that they're hoping to have the expansion out by the end of next week.) |
| est1895 | yes yes... more weapons!! |
| elliotg | so its now a classic 4X-style tech tree, 3 of them actually |
| est1895 | thanks Martok....Kapla |
| Martok | Qapla! ;) |
| est1895 | lol |
| elliotg | theres some interesting new components for your ships and bases, like gravity well projectors that pull ships out of hyperspace and alot more ;) |
| Galen | OOohhhh :) |
| b0mber | Erik hasn't gave info about diplomacy, are there some changes? |
| est1895 | what weapon will be the most effective to the shuriken? |
| Sean_Drummy | Guys please wait your turn to ask a question. |
| elliotg | you can use gravity well projectors to make a 'safe zone' around your key spaceports - enemies cant jump directly to the space port |
| b0mber | sorry |
| est1895 | sorry |
| Sean_Drummy | There will be time to just discuss things off the cuff but for the time being please keep the chatter to a minimum |
| Sean_Drummy | No worries! |
| Sean_Drummy | Hawawaa, your turn to ask a question. |
| Erik_Rutins | Yep, let's let everyone get one question in, then we'll open it up for a bit |
| elliotg | Diplomacy: the trade screen has more detail - you can hover over tech for info on what the traded item means |
| Sean_Drummy | Hawawaa, do you have a question? |
| Erik_Rutins | One of my favorite improvements, Elliot :-) |
| Sean_Drummy | hgilmer3, your turn! |
| elliotg | you can also ask for help in a mutual defense pact by trading for the other empire to declare war on your enemy (without offering anything in return) |
| hgilmer3 | I'm just interested. No specific questions. Thank you. |
| Sean_Drummy | Ok then, HMSImperator - please ask a question if you'd like. |
| HMSImperator | Is there much in the way of changes to civilian behaviour/economics for this release? Things like a dozen freighters all going to the one Argon source at the start of the game to pick up 100ish units each rather irks me at times, along with colonies with no starports apparently not having the things they produce being picked up or counted as part of the empire's stocks |
| elliotg | there are some changes to how some of this works - hard to be specific on these details, but i think trade works a little better than before |
| elliotg | The new Empire Policy screen has some options over where and when to build spaceports |
| Sean_Drummy | jamesejackson, your turn! |
| jamesejackson1@comcast.net | Just reading, Thanks |
| Sean_Drummy | Ok then, Kregoth, your turn. |
| Erik_Rutins | HMSImperator, I've seen fewer of those instances and we'll continue to improve the civilian behavior when we see a problem |
| Kregoth | How much of an improvement has the AI gone through Will they do a much better job of expanding and using diplomacy as well as attacking and defending? Will the AI be smarter about diplomacy and not accept gifts evey 3 seconds? |
| Kregoth | to easy to BRIBE in the game as is now lolz |
| elliotg | Yes, gifts have little effect unless spaced out |
| elliotg | theres a lot of improvements to the AI in warfare too - automated fleets will auto-intercept attacks |
| Sean_Drummy | lancer, please ask a question if you'd like. |
| lancer | Great Game. Resource Slider. Tweak the prevelance of resources in the galaxy. Are you able to talk about this a little? |
| Erik_Rutins | The AI in my experience is much better in Return of the Shakturi, it puts up a serious fight |
| elliotg | dont remember the Resource Slider, maybe you meant colony prevalence? |
| Martok | (@Erik: Difficulty level?) |
| Erik_Rutins | It's somewhat smarter about diplomacy too |
| est1895 | are more things automated? |
| Kregoth | thats good to know thanks Erik |
| Erik_Rutins | We have the colony prevalence slider in Return of the Shakturi, which dictates how plentiful good planets are in the galaxy |
| elliotg | the difficulty level is mainly controlled by a combination of the Galaxy settings: Aggressiveness, Colony Prevalence and for your empire: corruption level |
| Sean_Drummy | Martok, your turn! |
| Martok | I'm curious about the "regional capitals" feature. What do they do, and how do they work? |
| elliotg | Regional capitals reduce corruption. You complete research projects to enable your empire to build more regional capitals |
| elliotg | Your std capital and regional capitals now have a stronger reducing effect on corruption, so thats a good way to boost your income |
| Martok | So, do you research specific projects to get more regional capitals, or just any project? |
| elliotg | corruption is lost income from your colonies. The further a colony is from a capital and the larger it is, the more corruption |
| elliotg | There are specific research projects to add each additional regional capital |
| Erik_Rutins | The same tech branch with regional capitols also has techs like Space Command, Cooridnated Control, Officer Training, etc. which reduce your maintenance requirements |
| Sean_Drummy | Oxenshtrudel, please ask a question if you’d like. |
| elliotg | Regional capitals are one of the new Planetary Facilities |
| Martok | Ah, okay. Very cool! Thanks Elliot & Erik! |
| Oxenshtrudel | Pass, busy testing some carriers :) |
| Sean_Drummy | Ok then, raykhughes, your turn to ask a question. |
| raykhughes | Ok my turn - right now I am in the red all the time with my budgets - without really knowing fully why - its just too hard, have you made any changes to make it more obvious as to where the debt can be fixed |
| elliotg | The Empire Summary screen has gotten a complete makeover - things are clearer here, esp Regular income and expense versus one-off bonus income and expenses |
| Erik_Rutins | Oh, yes, definitely. The new Empire Summary screen is much better and the top right tracker for cash flow now shows your base cashflow separated from your bonus income (which is now reported in detail on the Summar screan) |
| raykhughes | did you seperate out civilian from military |
| elliotg | Your colonies also make slightly more money overall, so you should have a bit more cash to throw at other things like crash research, trade, planetary facilities, etc |
| elliotg | Yes, the Empire SUmmary screen is broken down between State and Private |
| Sean_Drummy | Shark7, please ask a question if you’d like. |
| raykhughes | ok thanks |
| Shark7 | I'm interested in the modding support. How much modding ability will the game have at release and do you plan to open more up in the future? |
| Erik_Rutins | Ray, I have not had a single instance where I did not know where my money was coming from or going to in Return of the Shakturi |
| elliotg | There is better support out-of-the-box for modding, plus more to come in updates |
| elliotg | for example, you can now add more ship image families, so you can have one set of images per race if you want |
| elliotg | races also have more settings, e.g. tech focuses to direct their preferences in research and ship design |
| elliotg | we'll be expanding modding support further for sure - the first update will have this as a priority |
| Kregoth | lol we need cilivilan to state loans :P |
| elliotg | hopefully externalize the research, for example |
| Shark7 | very good, as you might guess, I like to tweak everything ;) |
| Sean_Drummy | Simulation01, your turn! |
| Simulation01 | Have you added the ability to construct artificial planets? Dyson Spheres, Ringworlds, new planets etc...etc... If so..explain...if not explain why not. Thank You!! Great game!!! |
| elliotg | sorry, no constructing planets, just blowing them up :) |
| Simulation01 | :( |
| Erik_Rutins | Mind you, we did have something close to that in beta, but there wasn't time to finish it up for this release. |
| Simulation01 | still great game |
| Kregoth | dyson sphere from AI Wars would be nasty |
| raykhughes | there has been a disruption in the force luke |
| elliotg | yeah, there was some tech we had to drop due to time, that wasn't too far away from that. See what happens in futrure... |
| Simulation01 | cool |
| Erik_Rutins | We definitely think artificial worlds are cool. |
| Sean_Drummy | warstomp, please ask a question if you’d like. |
| Simulation01 | Distant Worlds are cool too |
| Sean_Drummy | warstomp, do you have a question? |
| Sean_Drummy | Ok we’ve gone down the list but I know some people may have come in late and have not yet had the chance to ask a question. If you haven’t had a chance to ask a question, please say “Me!” |
| blastpop | me |
| Grunt0331 | me |
| Evil Steve | ME |
| ehsumrell1 | I Pass Sean, busy testing (at Wolf 359 attacking Shakturi vessels heading toward Planet Utopia). :{ |
| Erik_Rutins | No spoilers, please. :-) |
| Sean_Drummy | blastpop, your turn! |
| Kregoth | Wolf 259 oh god |
| b0mber | Me |
| blastpop | Will the expansion seemlessly integrate with current games
or current games have to be finished before installation? I would assume not... might be nice to be able to finish old games and run new ones with expansion at the same time. |
| Kregoth | 359* |
| elliotg | old savegames from original DW are not compatible with Return of the Shakturi, sorry |
| Kregoth | so shakturi are like BORG that bad news |
| blastpop | thanks |
| Sean_Drummy | Evil Steve, your turn! |
| Aures | Me, but as I am a tester I can wait until others have had a chance. |
| DrApostle | Me! (add me to the list) |
| raykhughes | do the shakturi pop up frequently or nearer the end game when your tech would supposedly put up a fight? |
| Erik_Rutins | We're not going to spoil that for you yet Ray |
| Evil Steve | to me the living galaxy is the thing. what were your influences on this? |
| Kregoth | lol |
| Evil Steve | and where might you take it |
| elliotg | yeah, the living galaxy feel is very important i think. I wanted to make an interesting world/galaxy where you want to explore and discover new stuff |
| elliotg | So its a matter of putting as much AI activity and discoverable stuff lying around the galaxy |
| elliotg | maybe a future direction would be more ability to make scriptable stories in a game |
| elliotg | more campaign/scenario style |
| Kregoth | thats would be awesome |
| raykhughes | nothing on rails - I like the openess |
| elliotg | nothing like that exist yet of course, but if people want to see that, i think it might be fun |
| Evil Steve | ahh, that's good, some variability in backstory (that, perhaps, could be modded) would be great |
| Erik_Rutins | I should mention that Return of the Shakturi lets you play with or without the storyline, it's your choice. So you can go for a complete sandbox and turn off the storyline, play with just the original storyline, the expansion storyline, or both. |
| Erik_Rutins | Grunt0331, your turn! |
| b0mber | that was my questions xD |
| Grunt0331 | Thanks for your time Elliot and thanks for hosting Sean and Erik...my question is whether there is any thought about adding details to the planetary invasion/ground combat model? As of right now, it is servicable, but rather basic. I'd like to see more variation in unit type, ie. infantry, Marine, armor, mech...also, some strategic and tactical options would be nice, ie. use of gas, tactical nukes, vertical envelopment, flank attack, commandos, partisans etc. I know its asking for a lot in a 4x game on the grand scale of Distant Worlds, but these details would be a great addition, and they've proven to work in, dare I say, MOO3...thanks again for the super game...Semper Fi! |
| elliotg | good point Erik. You can even turn off the original DW stuff like debris fields, etc, if that's what you prefer |
| raykhughes | elliotg you live in auckland - can't believe I wasn't asked to be a beta tester ;) |
| elliotg | ray - you should have applied, would be happy to have ya - maybe next time ;) |
| raykhughes | gotcha |
| Evil Steve | Distant Worlds - Return of the Sheep (sorry antipodaean cousin here) |
| Erik_Rutins | I agree with you Grunt, I'm sure we could do more here - that was not in the list for this expansion, but I think it's fertile ground. We've also discussed adding things like leaders for both ground and space forces. |
| elliotg | Grunt: there are more options in ROTS with troops - more troop types via new planetary facilities: troop cloning facilities, robotic troop foundries, etc |
| elliotg | but would be nice to add more control over troops |
| Erik_Rutins | Good point, the new planetary facilities do add a lot to the game, especially in terms of ground warfare preparations |
| Sean_Drummy | B0mber, your turn! |
| Kregoth | How long of a devlopment life do you plan one giving Distant Worlds before you move to a new project? will the beast never die? |
| kentcol | I'm just getting on so sorry if this has already been discussed but any chance of actual commanders in the game in the future? |
| Sean_Drummy | Hang on everybody, please wait your turn |
| elliotg | i think theres a lot more room for new stuff in DW - if you keep buying it we'll keep building it :) |
| Erik_Rutins | i'd like to also remind everyone with a feature request to make sure you post it in the wishlist in the forum, we do read that |
| Kregoth | It help if their was a demo TBH though sorry had to say it |
| b0mber | it was answered by erik. was the option to remove the storyline. but anyway I saw in a video at youtube that now you have links at the moons and planets to move through the galaxy a lot easier. it's tru? |
| elliotg | in-game characters was something that I wanted to add this time round, but it was too much to squeeze in - but i think that would tie-in well with story/scenario features in the future |
| Razz | hello |
| Razz | Are the bugs fixed enough where the game is playable and enjoyable? |
| Erik_Rutins | Hi Razz, we will get to you, we're still calling on folks i norder |
| Sean_Drummy | Aures, your turn! |
| elliotg | The new Empire Navigation Tool helps you find lots of stuff in your empire or to expand your empire: new colony locations, new mining locations, etc. Lots of single-click ease to do tasks |
| Aures | Since I already know what is in the expansion my question is, what's next? You said that several (which usually means more than two) expansions are planned for DW. I know it is hard to give specifics and nothing is written in stone, but is there anything else you would like to share about the direction you see DW going in? I would be particularly interested to know about any areas targeted for improvement in updates (in addition to the already mentioned stuff like increased modding support) between now and the next expansion? |
| Erik_Rutins | Kregoth, we will definitely consider a demo in the future, we have some additional marketing plans in the works |
| Kregoth | yay |
| elliotg | For updates to ROTS we'll be focussing on modding, and extending the Empire Policy screen and the new advisor suggestions (some of these now show up like the diplomacy messages at the side of the screen instead of the Yes/No popups) |
| Sean_Drummy | DrApostle, your turn now. |
| DrApostle | How many people did it take to make DW? Has there been a price point for the expansion? And do you think the expansion makes the game a little more understandable for a new player (less than a week)? |
| Erik_Rutins | These dang Naxxilians are completely outcolonizing my poor Teekans! |
| Martok | (@Erik: Psst. I still encourage you guys to create a site on FB. :) ) |
| Kregoth | lol twitter updates :P |
| elliotg | Future stuff beyond ROTS would probably be story/scenario and in-game character focuses, and whatever else people want :) |
| Erik_Rutins | We have one for Matrix, Martok - check the Facebook button on the main page. Also a twitter link, though we need to make that more active |
| Erik_Rutins | Let me address the price point question - it will be less than the full price of DW, more of an expansion price, but as usual we don't go into specifics until release |
| Razz | When will GG War in East be released? |
| Kregoth | ya I need wtitter updates so i can tell my boss i am heading home early to play the new patch update for DW :P |
| elliotg | DrApostle: coding is pretty much me. Artwork is Jason Barish and lots of help from the testers and Matrix |
| Martok | @Razz: It's already out. |
| DrApostle | Great job! |
| Sean_Drummy | Razz, your turn now! |
| V22 Osprey | Erik, will there be a reduced priced package if a new buyer buys both at the same time? |
| Erik_Rutins | We haven't decided on that yet V22, but it's likely. |
| Oxenshtrudel | me |
| Sean_Drummy | Razz, do you have a question? |
| V22 Osprey | Razz already asked his question about War in the East |
| Sean_Drummy | Ok has anyone else not yet had the chance to ask a question? |
| Razz | not yet |
| ehsumrell1 | Rats....that's the fourth Monitoring Station they've taken out.. |
| Kregoth | O.o |
| Sean_Drummy | Alright well I think almost everyone has had the chance to ask a question so I think I’ll open up the floor for free chat at this point. |
| lancer | Lots of different forum views on appropriate approach to fuel, ship ranges and refuelling. Are you able to indicate a preferred direction here? |
| Martok | Partially related to V22 Osprey's question: What's the possiblity of the original game being sold with the expansion as a single bundle? |
| Kregoth | ya more limited fuel would be nice |
| elliotg | default military ship designs now have more fuel capacity and will handle refuelling better - so this should be less of an issue than in original DW |
| Razz | Will there be anymore patches for DW? |
| Erik_Rutins | Hi Martok, we'll provide more info on that over the coming days, we are still discussing bundling options |
| Simulation01 | Have you added wormholes, jumpgates and or other means of quickly traversing large stretches of the galaxy? |
| raykhughes | Ship design - is this made easier? |
| elliotg | hyperdrive speeds are a bit lower though, but you can change this in a new startup.ini file |
| Martok | Thanks, Erik. |
| Shark7 | More modding stuff. I've read you intend to add in the racial bias modifiers, is this something similar to what myself and Igard discussed in the Modding Wishlist thread? |
| b0mber | really that's great!! |
| elliotg | original DW will be getting another patch: bug-fixes, revised galactopedia and some more modding |
| Martok | Hooray! |
| Galen | The exp will have an updated galactopedia stock though, right? |
| Kregoth | Any plans on adding more to the ingame tutorial? I feel it lacking and could use mroe information for new players |
| elliotg | Shark7: yes, a text file where you can set the biases for all races to each other |
| elliotg | ROTS has a fully updated galacotpedia |
| Razz | Yes , the tutorial was bad, so my friend played the game a little and now shelfed it |
| elliotg | tutorials have some of the new features added to them - Empire Navigation Tool and so forther |
| Oxenshtrudel | Have you considered makeing a 64-bit build of distant worlds? |
| elliotg | i would direct people to the YouTube DW videos too - not tutorials, but they do help understand the game |
| Kregoth | Have to ask any plans for Multplayer? |
| Razz | ahh.. You tube videos are good |
| Erik_Rutins | Hi Razz, please post on the forum and let us know where you found the tutorial to be lacking. I think they work pretty well and have been updated for Return of the Shakturi too. |
| Kregoth | speically with drop in and out save would be awesome liike AI war does |
| elliotg | 64-bit: DW original and ROTS are both large-address aware so will have more memory on 64-bit windows and appropriately configured 32-bit windows |
| Kregoth | or Sots |
| Erik_Rutins | The youtube videos are quite good, great job on those by Elliot. |
| Martok | Thanks, Kregoth. I mean to ask that myself. |
| elliotg | no mulitplayer plans at this point, but who knows |
| Kregoth | :) |
| Simulation01 | Have you added wormholes, jumpgates and or other means of quickly traversing large stretches of the galaxy? |
| Martok | Hey yoshino! You made it! :} |
| V22 Osprey | Multiplayer is one thing this game needs |
| elliotg | no wormholes sorry, good idea though - ill put it on my list :) |
| Evil Steve | i missed the start - will the races have different tech research priorities? and will they be unpredictable? |
| Kregoth | Oh regards to auto saving has this changed? i hate it when i am designing ship and the game save how about making it game time based not real time |
| Martok | Ooh! Question about ship design: Will the expansion make it easier to tell if a new ship I'm designing will have sufficient power? |
| elliotg | Races: yes you can influence their research and design focuses in the races.txt file with new settings |
| elliotg | auto save is still the same |
| Shark7 | How much slower does the game play now? For example, I started a game yesterday and within 3 hours I had around 80 colonies, I like games that last forever. Will expansion be significantly slower than DW? |
| Kregoth | shark try playing with everything LOW that slows it down a lot |
| raykhughes | I like the idea that blackholes suck you in and annilate your ship - adds a dangerous dimension - wormholes could add a new dimension so they suck you in and deposit you right in the middle of 19th century |
| elliotg | game speed is a bit slower i think. The colony prevalence slider has a lot to do with this. Overall the number of colonizable planets is a bit lower. And the way you research colonization techs is differemt |
| Erik_Rutins | Shark7, you can customize this pretty easily now. For one thing, you have completel control over the research speed, which influences all techs including colonization. Default hyperspeed is also slower, and you can adjust that further down in the ini file. |
| Shark7 | good, I realize not everyone likes it as slow as I do, so having it tied to the sliders is a great way to go |
| elliotg | i personally like slower games too, so I tried to make that happen :) |
| Kregoth | Any plans on expanding the galaxy sizes? like making star far mroe distant? |
| Kregoth | I like it slow to shark |
| Kregoth | Slow research plus low quiltary home planet really make a difference |
| Kregoth | have to wait for money before you can build lolz |
| lancer | Elliot. Merry Xmas. Hope Santa delivers some good sales numbers. |
| ehsumrell1 | Martok. Use this formula: Sprint speed energy consumption + Max Weapons Energy Use per second must be less than Excess Energy Output |
| elliotg | galaxy size: nothing new here really, though there are some new galaxy shapes. Would be good to change how the size works (instead of just star count). Its on the list :) |
| Simulation01 | Have you added star trek style phasers? |
| Erik_Rutins | Meaning beams instead of pulses? |
| Martok | Question about ship design: Will the expansion make it easier to tell if a new ship I'm designing will have sufficient power? This has long been a bit of an issue for me in the original game. |
| Simulation01 | yes |
| elliotg | what do you mean by star-trek style? |
| Shark7 | yay for larger maps :) |
| Kregoth | Elliotg that would be a great feature for a patch :P |
| Aures | I think he means instant hit, not a projectile that moves |
| Simulation01 | yeah, a continuous beam from one ship to another |
| raykhughes | elliotg the idea of distance has to be sacrificed onscreen and I understand that, but the idea that stars are really out of range until you progressively enhance your hyperdrive doesn't yet have the right feel to it. How have your managed that in the expansion |
| Erik_Rutins | No, but that is definitely on my wish list. I'd like to see some cutting beams too and I will remind Elliot about these. :-) |
| elliotg | ship design: you can see how much your total reactor putput is versus you total energy drain from weapons and engine/hyperdrive |
| Simulation01 | cool thanks |
| Martok | @ehsumrell1: I know, but that's kinda hard to remember when you're in the middle of playing. :p |
| Simulation01 | What are your plans for the idea of empire territory...as in you have an expanding blue blob of "territory" that other empires cannot enter? |
| elliotg | ok, no phasers like that yet. My list is getting longer :) |
| Shark7 | another thing I noticed in Erik's screenshots was there are different type of direct fire weapons (IE beam weapons, Autocannons etc). Do these have different properties that make them more effective against different types of defenses? |
| ehsumrell1 | Martok, Use the formula when building/designing your ships. |
| Evil Steve | i tend to play the short game that I come back to when I can - the mnemonics in DW (ie a visual presentation that help reinforce memories of stategies eg borders, zones etc) is a little weak - any thoughts/intentions on improving this? |
| elliotg | Empire territory is a great idea: I'm very keen on having something like this - I know the lack of real borders bother a lot of people. It's hard to do in an open game like DW, but I would really like to add this in future |
| nadia911 | graphic inprovements? |
| Simulation01 | awesome |
| b0mber | I would like to see info about how long a ship could fire all his weapons and move at cruiser speed before running out of fuel. I have to do it with my calculator and it's a bit tedious. It could be called efficiency |
| Kregoth | How about exploration ship when you have a new location you need to get to it a pain to zoom out find the blue circle then send an exploration ship there are you adding those to the new sidebar? |
| elliotg | The new weapons have different strengths: e.g. missiles are very long range and fast, but they do not have as high a damage amount, but they do not lose damage over distance |
| Kregoth | like discovries |
| Erik_Rutins | You've also got things like the point defense weapons that can hit fighters, whereas other weapon types have trouble tracking them accurately |
| Evil Steve | i've broached a resource slider of the ability to make more resources strategic - any thoughts on this going into the future? |
| b0mber | me too |
| elliotg | bomber: that's a good idea. Note that ROTS rebalances energy usage a bit so that std engines and weapons use less than before, so more time between refuels |
| raykhughes | Ellitog - the intro movie - can we have the option of bypassing this please - once is enough |
| Shark7 | So the weapons systems now work similar to WWII style guns then. Your Bofors 40mm is great for shooting at fighters, but not so great at shooting at BBs, while your 14" gun is great for BBs but has no real chance of hitting a fighter, etc. |
| Erik_Rutins | Evil Steve, you mean a resource slider for the galaxy, that could make them more scarce and more plentiful? If so, I agree that is something I'd like to see too. |
| Kregoth | click the mouse it skips it all ray |
| elliotg | Evil Steve: resource slider is a possibility, one more for the list |
| elliotg | yeah, just click to skip the movies |
| Evil Steve | great. I like to have an excuse to go to war ;) |
| Erik_Rutins | Shark7, that's basically correct. |
| raykhughes | what ? you mean the mouse does this - Well I'll be!!!!lol lol lol |
| Simulation01 | What planetary defenses are now available and is it still possible to take a planet without taking care of any orbiting stations? |
| Kregoth | click to skip lolz awesome rhyme |
| raykhughes | how about landing troops on large orbiting stations without invading the planet? |
| elliotg | the new planetary facilities include a fortified bunker that you can research and build at colonies. This improves the defensive strength of any troops by 100% |
| Argien | With automated ship design, is there a way to tell it to focus on certain weapon types ? |
| Erik_Rutins | Well, those orbital stations can now have gravity wells to pop you out of hyperspace a ways out from the planet. They can also have missiles to engage you at long range, fighter squadrons to chase you wherever facilities like the Giant Ion Cannon and the Fortified Bunker are also a big help. It is harder to take a fortified planet now. |
| Martok | Any new music/soundtracks in the expansion? Just curious. |
| elliotg | there's also a planetary shield for stopping enemy bombardment and a giant ion cannon for disabling invading ships |
| Simulation01 | Do planets have fighter bases or missile bases? |
| elliotg | theres some new music. the new ROTS theme is on the video released today |
| Kregoth | lol simu was about to ask that |
| Erik_Rutins | No, those have to be in orbit at present |
| Simulation01 | lol sorry |
| ehsumrell1 | Yeah....that Giant Ion Cannon (like in the Star Wars movie)....Oh my!!! |
| Simulation01 | k |
| elliotg | Giant Ion Cannon is the closest we have to a missile base for a planet |
| elliotg | fighters have to be on a base or ship - spaceports and defenseive bases have them |
| Martok | @Erik: To clarify, so fighters/bombers cannot be based on a planet? They can only orbit it? |
| Kregoth | With carrier like adition any plans on making it so say escorts an dock with capital ships? |
| Martok | Never mind, Erik. Thanks Elliot! |
| elliotg | Planets cannot host fighters: they have to be on a base or ship carrier. Fighter Bays are a new component that manufacture, repair and host fighters |
| Shark7 | On fighters, how exactly do they work? Do they regenerate during battle similar to the MoO series, or do you get one wave and they need to replinish from a station or planet? |
| elliotg | Fighters will rebuild automatically when destroyed, but take time. In a battle you can exhaust them |
| Shark7 | sounds good |
| Erik_Rutins | They regenerate, but slowly. You don't want to lose all your fighters/bombers during a battle, they will not generally regenerate fast enough for that. |
| Kregoth | Any plans on adding wepaons that use liimited ammo that would need to be reloaded at a station or ship? |
| Martok | Are fighters/bombers automaticallly deployed in a battle, or does the player control when they launch from the ship/base? |
| Martok | Also, do fighters/bombers automatically fight until they're destroyed? Or can they be recalled to their mother ship/base? |
| elliotg | Fighters will automatically deploy. There are some buttons to control this yourself too - but in our testing we found that you really dont want to micromanage this yourself :) |
| Sean_Drummy | Ok guys, Elliot has to get back to polishing up ROTS. 5 minute warning! |
| Kregoth | aaawww :( |
| Simulation01 | What are your plans for Diplomacy? |
| elliotg | Diplomacy: what would you like to see? |
| Martok | @Elliot: That's fine by me! I'd just as soon not have to worry about them either. :) |
| Aures | Are there any plans to include historical graphs in DW? It would be nice to easily see how lots of the numbers you are presented with in DW (such as in the Empire Comparison, Empire Summary and Expansion planner screens) change over time. |
| Simulation01 | More options for negotiations and coercion |
| elliotg | The trade screen has some of that now of course - threats of war or trade sanctions |
| Simulation01 | Nato style alliances |
| Kregoth | How about adding a multi race diplomacy where you can talk to mroe then one race at a time |
| Simulation01 | exactly kregoth |
| Shark7 | Definately would like to see different levels of alliances |
| Erik_Rutins | I'd like to see that too, Aures |
| elliotg | interesting idea: on the list :) |
| Kregoth | like descus and see if your allies would be willing to go to war with you and see which race would help in what area would be awesome |
| Aures | Is there anything you'd like to mention about the changes to racial techs in ROTS? I don't think that has been covered at all yet. |
| Razz | the SPY that has a potential to create a war |
| Kregoth | nice one aures |
| elliotg | the research tech trees have unique tech for most races. Only they can research those. They can trade them too though... |
| elliotg | or you might have a super spy who can steal that unique racial tech ;) |
| Martok | Nice. |
| Kregoth | Nice |
| Shark7 | Trading should be really tough for it though, I personally would like to see the racial techs be something you have to steal via spy missions |
| Kregoth | Can the spy be used to say influance a race to go to war with another race? |
| Simulation01 | what about trading ships and such with other empires? |
| pipewrench | diplomacy and spying would be nice if a budgeted amount were set with tech to help with outcomes |
| elliotg | Racial techs are valued very high - not traded easily. And the offering empire has to like you a lot first |
| Razz | And if you get caught you could create a war |
| elliotg | Only disputed bases can be traded, not normal ships |
| Simulation01 | what are your plans for leaders in the future? |
| Shark7 | hehe, hmmm, so if I'm Emporer Wonderful... :P |
| Martok | So no selling ships to your buddy who needs them? |
| elliotg | You can ask another empire to declare war on antoher empire in the trade screen, but not with spies |
| Martok | Can we at least *give* them to friend in need? |
| elliotg | I guess you could do that thru the editor, but no other way at this time |
| Erik_Rutins | We should note that there are more thresholds for when another empire will even consider trading with you. When you first meet, for example, it will now require building up relations in most cases before they'll consider trading their territory map with you |
| Shark7 | Gifting items would be nice...of course you can do that now in the trade screen just by not asking for anything in return |
| Kregoth | How about playing as pirates that be awesome getting hired to do odd jobs for other empires would be fun game to play making it so only way to make money is lie cheat steal and taking on contracts |
| pipewrench | share spy resources if allianced |
| Erik_Rutins | Sounds like fun, Kregoth :-) |
| elliotg | Pirates: in races.txt you can now set any race to be a pirate |
| Kregoth | It would be |
| Shark7 | I think he wants to be the pirate though |
| Martok | Kregoth & piewrench: I like both those ideas! |
| blastpop | The pirate idea is great!!!! |
| Kregoth | I want to be a pirate race lol |
| pipewrench | lol |
| Sean_Drummy | Thanks everybody for participating in this live developer chat and thank you to Elliot for agreeing to do this! The transcript of the chat will be available in a day or so. |
| Shark7 | could be a fun diversion...make money by raiding defensless stations |
| Simulation01 | Erik, what are your plans for leaders in the future...ie admirals and such? |
| Erik_Rutins | Thanks everyone, interesting questions and a good discussion. |
| elliotg | thanks everyone - those ideas were cool! |
| Martok | Thanks for your time, Elliot, and for answering our questions! |
| Shark7 | yes thanks for coming Elliot |
| blastpop | Thank you! |
| Erik_Rutins | Simulation01, yep leaders for various areas, can't go into more detail now but Admirals are definitely on Elliot's list |
| Razz | Pirates need a specific goal to win |
| Razz | Then I'm in |
| pipewrench | good ideas and thanks everyone |
| Martok | Thanks to Erik and Sean as well! |
| Kregoth | Thanks a lot for this was great |
| Sean_Drummy | You're very welcome! |
| Simulation01 | Cool Thanks for hosting us!!!!! Good work!!!! |
| b0mber | thanks for your time |
| Aures | Thanks Elliot, Erik, Sean and everyone else here. |
| Erik_Rutins | Thanks for taking the time to chat with us all, Elliot |