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[zoq]

The white pieces give a nice visual indicator that (i) your shots are actually doing something; and (ii) give you a reference for where you've hit.

Looking good.

I should add that I consider most of the visual aspects just placeholders. At the moment I'm concentrating mostly on the engine and gameplay, but if I decide one day to put this on sale as either an alpha or a release version, I'll hire an artist/hired muscle to make real textures and smack me on the head until I'll program visual effects properly.

[zoq]

I probably should make a proper DevLog. Yesterday I added a mouse support and today I half-finished ship-to-ship module-wise collisions.

The first step is just to make it impossible for ships to go through each other and at the same time make it possible for ships to fly inside each other provided that there is room. And of course, this has to be fast enough that even large ships flying into each others cargo bays do not reduce framerate noticeably. Initial tests show that the performance should not be a problem at all, so I'm quite optimistic.

The second step is to combine that with the physics system so that collisions transfer kinetic energy. So, bumping to other ships can lead to either or both (depending on the masses and collision locations) the ships to change course and perhaps start spinning. Again, the feature is worthless without good performance.

[Galaxy613]

Blockade Runner has a head start, but it is in no way has a monopoly over minecraft-in-space.

The more the merrier, and I love sandbox space games. :D

[Garthy]

The white pieces give a nice visual indicator that (i) your shots are actually doing something; and (ii) give you a reference for where you've hit.

Looking good.

I should add that I consider most of the visual aspects just placeholders. At the moment I'm concentrating mostly on the engine and gameplay, but if I decide one day to put this on sale as either an alpha or a release version, I'll hire an artist/hired muscle to make real textures and smack me on the head until I'll program visual effects properly.

Of course. There's certainly going to be a lot of polish that happens down the track. Concentrating on the engine and gameplay first of all definitely makes the most sense.

The more the merrier, and I love sandbox space games. :D

Also, I imagine that each of these games will concentrate on different areas, and ultimately end up to be very different games.

[zoq]

Blockade Runner has a head start, but it is in no way has a monopoly over minecraft-in-space.

The more the merrier, and I love sandbox space games. :D

Well said. The world has more than one FPS, more than one puzzle game, and more than one platformer, so why not more than one space sandbox game?

[zoq]

I made a new video. It doesn't yet feature ship-to-ship collisions, but it does feature force transfer, so when a ship is shot, it starts moving/spinning. The url is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbeiRQSe4xo.

[zoq]

Today I managed to "finish" the ship-to-ship collision with force transfer. Youtube video for that can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_UpH1WICO0. The behavior is still a bit funny, but the basic principle working was a big win.

[Garthy]

I made a new video. It doesn't yet feature ship-to-ship collisions, but it does feature force transfer, so when a ship is shot, it starts moving/spinning. The url is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbeiRQSe4xo.

Pretty neat.

I had initially thought the ships were attached together, and you were breaking away the supports between them, with the resultant force leaving the broken fragment spinning.

[zoq]

I made a new video. It doesn't yet feature ship-to-ship collisions, but it does feature force transfer, so when a ship is shot, it starts moving/spinning. The url is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbeiRQSe4xo.

Pretty neat.

I had initially thought the ships were attached together, and you were breaking away the supports between them, with the resultant force leaving the broken fragment spinning.

Actually that is something I'd like to do as well, but I'll have to think for a bit how to implement that. Next I'm probably going to add something else, since I realize most people aren't too interested in physics simulations and those don't make the game fun by themselves.

[Garthy]

Next I'm probably going to add something else, since I realize most people aren't too interested in physics simulations and those don't make the game fun by themselves.

Indeed, that makes sense. Heck, I don't even mention physics in my initial "why I'm keen" post in this thread myself. You've probably got a million and one things you'd love to add, given infinite time. I suspect the trick is to pick the right ones, for whatever definition of "right" is in line with your goals.

[zoq]

Yeah. I do think some physics is very important not because it's fun by itself but because it's an integral part of the Newtonian movement engine. The stuff in the last video (force transfer in ship-to-ship collisions) really is not needed in the minimally accepted space engine, but since it was really easy to add given that all the parts were already there, I decided to use a few hour to combine them. Also, generally the more physics you already have, the more easy it is to add even more, in case there is some physics-based feature you want to have.

I hope to use a continuous method of development/release, which means that I will keep on adding stuff even after the (possible) release, which also lets me release early. I plan to publish the first dev version very soon after there is something to actually do besides shooting pilotless ships and big rocks, because I really want to get feedback on the engine itself, mainly the flight model.

Edit ::: I count 6 people that have expressed any kind of interest. I wonder if I should take that as a hint..

[Garthy]

Edit ::: I count 6 people that have expressed any kind of interest. I wonder if I should take that as a hint..

Six interested people who posted on a single subforum whilst the code is still at a very early stage? Some completed games don't even get that kind of attention. I'd be taking that as a positive, personally.

Ultimately though, you should do what you feel is best. Such a game would almost certainly be a heck of a lot of work, and something that you should only do if you feel it is the best thing for you to do.

PS. For what it's worth, if I wasn't in the middle of working on something else right now, this type of game is pretty high up on my would-make list.

[zoq]

Six interested people who posted on a single subforum whilst the code is still at a very early stage? Some completed games don't even get that kind of attention. I'd be taking that as a positive, personally.

Ultimately though, you should do what you feel is best. Such a game would almost certainly be a heck of a lot of work, and something that you should only do if you feel it is the best thing for you to do.

PS. For what it's worth, if I wasn't in the middle of working on something else right now, this type of game is pretty high up on my would-make list.

I do know many people like the space shooter, building and trading genres a lot, and given that this place was kind of the birthplace of Minecraft I think people also do like sandboxes here. By no means was I trying to seem uninspired or down I'm very motivated to keep making this.

[peous]

Do you plan to have any specific graphic style ?

[zoq]

Do you plan to have any specific graphic style ?

I haven't thought much about that yet. I hope to have something clear but at the same time sci-fi-y and cool. Can you be more specific about what you mean?