Since the release of 1.3.5, I believe there will only be a few minor updates to some bugs, and it is off to work on Stellar Frontier 2.0, 100%. Players have been wondering what is to come in the new 2.0 version, so I have included this small post of what will be included. Now that there is a set team that will be working on the game, SF 2.0 should be very well done, and definatly should be a enjoyable game to play for everyone!
Please note, Stellar Frontier 2.0 is a new game, rather then a 'updated version'. There will be many changes, which require redoing most of the code to get it up to par with todays current games. Here is a list of what is to come:
-New engine using DirectX/OpenGL: This will have a more 'stable' frame rate, and allow us to continue adding in more 'graphical' effects without losing FPS. Rendered tractors and lasers will be added as well, and possibly rendered 'trails' instead of the current BMP style trails that were added in SF 1.3.1.
-Frame rate 'maximum' increased: This will allow smoother gameplay vs the traditional 16 FPS. At very high FPS, the game alone looks much nicer! Ship rotations will also be increased to 'rotate' smoother and for better looks.
-A few new ships will be added: Such as the Carrier, and non-playable ships, such as 'building drones' (will explain later), and small fighters/bombers. This will allow for much more interesting gameplay. Fighters/bombers will mostly be on 'carrier' type ships for 'default', and will have a limited supply of fuel before they come back to redock. (And yes, there is a good system in place to prevent lameness!)
-New ships images: All the ships images are currently being redone in a newer style look. Currently, about one race is fully complete, and the ships simply look awesome. You won't be disappointed! Any donations that I have gotten, or will still get, will go directly to getting more ships.
-New network system: Currently, the game is not up to par with network coding. You constantly lag and even on a local server, you sit at at least 60ms lag. This will be completely redone from scratch, and the current lag issues will be solved. With lag solved, games should be alot better to play in, and player vs player combat should be alot more interesting! (We'll see actual skill instead of lag skill.) This will also remove the need for syncing up, F7.
-Completely redone stat system: The stat system will be redone for todays type of game style. Currently, the stat system is a basic point/kills system, and is very messy. We aim to have several different stats, such as 'Kills', 'AI Kills', 'Planets Captured', etc. They will all pool in into one 'stat' called Prestige, which will determine your rank. On top of this, we will also be including Badges; We are not exactly sure how they will be used, it could be something small as 'extra' tags on your ship/player name, or unlocking ships, depending on how we go.
-Fleet System: A fully manageable fleet system in game. You will be able to promote, demote, invite, kick, and manage your fleet from the fleet manager. You will also be able to view other fleets and generic information here too. Fleets will have a 'total rank', which will be dependent on the 'total amount of prestige'. Fleet names will also be displayed in game right below your player and ship name.
-Completely redone weapon system: The current weapon system works for energy based weapons. We want to bring in ballistic type weapons, non-ammo energy weapons, 'actual missiles' (missiles that actually damage, and cannot be fired rapid fire, for the most of the missiles), cluster weapons, self-powered weapons (weapons that don't use heat/energy, missiles would go in this category for the most part), emp weapons, and a couple new types of lasers; charged laser (Fires in one burst all its energy, the higher its charged, the better), and pulse laser. Weapons will also have a new 'delay per shot' added, and possibly heat (still deciding on heat.). Lasers will either be PDS (point defence system) or standard/pulse/charged. PDS will not be overpowered AS AI use them, they will have a time to 'lock' and destroy missiles, for example. This is only a few types of what is to come.
-LUA scripting system: This will allow 'events' to happen in SF, thus you can create SINGLE PLAYER CAMPAIGNS. To sum up what LUA does, it allows scripting without having to edit the actual coding, so you can spawn a ship at these coords, whenever, or have a few ships attack a specific planet when a event is triggered, like a player that is 10gu from a planet. You can also make 'interesting' events happen, like planets 'revolting', or planets having a 'happy year' where there population raises even quicker for a certain time limit. In general, the options are limitless! Lua scripts can also give 'bonus prestige' depending if requirements are met; For example "Kill xxxxx player in 180 seconds." If you complete this, you gain extra points. Scripts that submit 'bonus prestige' will have to be 'approved' by the nexus administrators, else this could be a potential exploit. Overall, single player missions alone would be very interesting to see.
-New high resolution detailed sound effects: All the sounds will be replaced with high resolution sound effects. This will give the game a better 'feel' instead of using the current garbled Star Trek sound effects.
-Module system redone & expanded: The module system will be redone. New types of sensors, different types of shields, and new modules will be added. All ships will have 'sub-module' slots, which you can add 'sub-modules' to current modules to enhance them. For example, I have a Power:5 with 1 sub-module slot. In that sub-module slot, If I have enough cash, I can either add "Higher Capacity: 5%", or "Faster Recharge: 2%". This will allow more customizable ships.
-Ability to save ship schematics: We've all wanted it, a way to save our ship settings so we do not have to keep modding our ship the same way every time we login the game. You will be able to save up to 3 ship schematics, and if you have enough cash, it will 'automatically' change your ship settings to the selected ship schematic when docked, instead of having to manually change your ship settings over and over!
-Enhanced ship damage system: Currently, the a ship explodes when all your main modules are damaged, and your energy being 0. We want to change this to a more new style system. We will be adding 'Hull' to ships. Depending on hull, will depend on your module damage. The more hull damage you have, the higher chance of your modules to be damaged. If your HULL reaches 0, or your reactor(power) hits 0 damage points, you will explode. Reactors will have a high amount of damage points compared to the current low damage point system. If 'armor' is kept, armor will be changed to prevent weapons from 'penetrating' much like shields, but will not regenerate. There is the possibility of armor being another type of 'shield', but will be discussed in the future. As well, modules will have a 'placement' area, thus you can place a module on the top/right/topright/etc. This will allow better 'damage' control when you are hit with a projectile and have damage to the hull.
-Different weapon damage types: You will be able to create a weapon that damages your sensors only, or a weapon that penetrates your shields like butter, or maybe both! With weapon damage customization, you will be able to create interesting weapons that do different things to player ships.
-Enhanced shield system: Shields will be split up into 4 arcs, front, rear, port, and starboard. Each shield will have its own individual point system, and will regenerate on its own. (Think of having 4 shields, but only defending one area.) Some 'special' shields, will be weaker in max shield points, but will allow you to ROTATE the shields manually to disperse the damage to shields, thus being more powerful, if you know how to use it!
-New interface: A whole new interface that allows a broader range of gameplay area, and being able to 'toggle' the interface (up/down) at will. This will allow more gameplay area whenever you really need it. The interface will have more interesting looks and some new features will be added, such as a 'global map' for very large maps.
-Enhanced AI: Currently AI are basic, they run at you in a straight beeline. What if the AI would circle around you and focus on your weakest shield spot? Or just circle your larger ship to prevent you from firing your missiles at them? I would like to see AI more 'smarter', so that they don't just 'line up' to die.
-Better chat system controls: Better chat systems, including a 'global' fleet chat, global game chat (not dependent on IRC.) that will work with the nexus. This will allow better communication between several players, without having to be in the same server. We will also be adding a perm /ignore & /remember feature for those nasty buggers who have a loud mouth!
-Better map functions: Ability to see what ship is what depending on the type of sensor you have. For example, a "Advanced Heavy Sensor" will give you 'different shapes' on the mini map, so you have the ability to detect if it is a large ship or a 'small ship'. As well, some extra functions such as 'detecting mines or missiles' on the map can be included as well. (which again is dependent on your sensors..)
-Building & Planet Slots: A big thing for SF2.0 will allow building. This will mainly be a 'toggle' in the ship settings, but will be for the freighter type ship. You will be able to build such things as turrets, shipyards, supply bays, jump gates, and other interesting things in space. Planets will also have 'slots', which will allow you to build on them, such as building more weapons (your pick), or more powerful shielding. With planet slots, we actually thought of tying 'factories' to planets, which allow you to receive 'income' to the race that currently owns the planet. Planets will be simple, but customizable. (Planets will have set energy, and will require power planets, rather then the current unlimited to prevent 'weapon/shield mass.) It is undetermined how many slots a planet will have & may be customizable depending on the size of the planet. Materials or Credits are being decided on this solution to be able to 'build'. All ships that are builders will have a set amount of 'drones'. (There are different types of drones however, construction drones, mining drones, etc.)
-Redone spawning system: As stated above, you will be able to build shipyards. This will allow faster spawning of your ships vs home planet building. Ships will not be able to be built on a starbase anymore, and all races will start with one shipyard.
-Keyboard mapping: You will be able to map out all your keys, and have the ship fly just the way you want it. Alot of players play on keyboards, but did you know there are some features you are losing out? Such as 'side thrusters' which allow your ship to move float left or right, without having to turn the ship. I believe the keys that do this are PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN on a laptop. But features are not being used to there fullest!
-Competely revamped modules/ships: Pretty self explainitory, we wish to balance ships so that small ships are fast and agile, and big ships are slow/heavy on weapons, and can take more then a couple of heavy hits.
-New way to create mods: Currently, making mods can be a hassle because the delimiter used is a 'space' key. We want to change this modding in this game to use/support a better system, and even bring in a program that allows 'simple' editing and customization of mods without the use of direct modifying.
-New interactive website: This will allow you to edit your fleet, check out stats, download hot mods, and other great things that a full website should allow you to do. We aim to have thing such as a 'download page', etc. You will be able to login with your game character to submit/post/view stats/fleets/etc. You will also be able to check current servers online and other details.
-Advertising: As soon as SF2.0 comes out, I will be advertising in multiple areas to rack in some players. Though advertising has its fees, I feel that it will be worthwhile to broadcast SF2.0 to its fullest. Currently, SF1 is more of a 'closed' circle, not many know about its existance anymore. We will definatly raise the roof when the time comes and begin pooling in players again!
This is only the 'main' base of the features (meaning not all of them.) We still wish to keep 'ship customization' at its best however, and that is one thing that won't be changed. Hope this clears some things up so players know what is going on. Currently, there are four coders who are going to be working on the game; Trompete, Plague, Mobious, and myself. We hope to combine our talents to creating a game that will be enjoyable for more years to come!
Thank you for your support & hope to see you here down the road
-NiteHawk
