The UI in my project is what happens when a coder designs a UI for debugging purpouses.

The way the project progressed the UI was put in so that I could get feedback on what's going on in game while adding features and fixing bugs. I often asked myself what players would want out of it - maybe my own preference of "show me information" overshadowed the needs.

Luckily indie dev means releasing alphas.

TheSkyIsUp - there might be something going with the host, there's been a bunch of successful downloads lately (yay!), maybe give it a few minutes?

Katawa - that first wave is specificaly designed so that they don't all target you. Only about 2 or 3 go after you. You can also hang out near the base or the frigate to give you a bit of an edge. If you give it another shot... who knows - down the line if aliens kidnap you and force you to be their pilot in the galactic wars this game might just save your life.

Alright, but mostly because of that reference at the end.
Well not really, I'll try it again anyway, but the dying so soon was disheartening.

The next time it happens remmember:

Every pilot dies... but not every pilot lives! So eat something delicious, pet a dog/cat, listen to a bird sing, walk in a forest and make sure you tell someone you love them or at least think about it.

Hmm. Thinking about eating something delicious? At least it's low fat.

Gazz wrote:There's about 2 people posting on that forum... and one of them is the developer. Not much to moderate there. =)

I guess he's busy enough with your suggestions .

Which make sense BTW. Gazzification is a good thing for most games

Rabiator wrote:I guess he's busy enough with your suggestions :lol: .
Which make sense BTW. Gazzification is a good thing for most games :)

He's the rock star, I'm the roadie.

He creates, I fix what doesn't work. =P

just found this, watched the second embedded video and thought such command options are awseome! lets post them in the LT forum! (what i am doing right now ^^)
(besides that i thought it is a kickstarter worth sharing ^^)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/171 ... -destroyer

i hope this gives some valuable thoughts for josh ^^

greets Cornflakes

*edit:
in another video of this game i saw that he is clicking on single turrets and assigning them individual targets as if they were just another ship, maybe worth considering to copy too

PS: gazz! Where the f**k are you NOT lurking around? XD

There's already a thread about this in the games forum :3
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1134

I'm sorry, i only lurk around in suggestions/technical/devlog :3

Cornflakes_91 wrote:PS: gazz! Where the f**k are you NOT lurking around? XD

I'm the internet background radiation...

Gazz definatly has a knack of finding things to be improved.

There is a sort of a coder mentality - I think - it basically go like this - create something, then improve it, then improve it, then improve it, then improve it...

Now in the AAA world - this is a bit more like this - I think (never been a part of it except as a gamer) - it is like this create something - improve it - is it good enough? ship it.

So indie "studios" have this ability to put in what I call "craftsmanship" - continuous improvement and thus learning.

Command mode (that video) - I always wanted something like it - but it needs more commands. The issue targets to turrets is also something I've always wanted - and it needs lots of improvement to be much more usable. But due to the craftsman ship ideal - its just a matter of time.

Personally speaking - it becomes very valuable to put in bad systems - because then the question becomes - why is it bad? and then the answer is easier to get (for me) seeing it in game. Then it can be improved. Don't want to ship with bad features, but while in development it is very helpful to see why something is bad. Anyway guess I'm rambling a bit so I'll stop.

chaosavy wrote:There is a sort of a coder mentality - I think - it basically go like this - create something, then improve it, then improve it, then improve it, then improve it...

Also known as OCD. =P

chaosavy wrote:Now in the AAA world - this is a bit more like this - I think (never been a part of it except as a gamer) - it is like this create something - improve it - is it good enough? ship it.

That's probably true for something that is mass-produced like the yearly CallOfDuties or FIFA Soccers.

If you followed the XCOM:EU story then it's not always true. Unless you count Firaxis as an indie studio. =)

Command mode (that video) - I always wanted something like it - but it needs more commands. The issue targets to turrets is also something I've always wanted - and it needs lots of improvement to be much more usable. But due to the craftsman ship ideal - its just a matter of time.

Many parts of the UI are rough and it's all programmer art. A few boxes he slapped together to be able to test / write the game.
But this Paul guy really appreciates feedback. While we can work with that in principle, someone still needs to come up with a better implementation. =)

Gazz wrote:But this Paul guy really appreciates feedback. While we can work with that in principle, someone still needs to come up with a better implementation. =)

And that's where you step in!

Seriously though, I have no clue how you come up with all your ideas but definitely keep them coming.

BTW, did any of you play Outpost in the 90ies?
I always found it sad how the game wasn't finished.

For people who don't know what I'm talking about:
When Outpost starts you can select a spaceship and add equipment to it. Then it flies to some (random) planet where you start a sim city-esque game.
The game never really ended (unless you count conquering the rebelling second colony). Originally you were supposed to build new rockets and start over with new colonies in the same universe. Perhaps even managing multiple colonies at once and having trade between them.

I would really love this kind of gameplay with current generation technology. Perhaps even tucked in with a game like Limit Theory or Void Destroyer. Colonies could be made unique just by the planet they're on. Unique elements found on those planets could lead technology in different ways.

I played Outpost and had some fun messing around in it but well... it wasn't actually a finished game, so... =)

BTW: VD hit the 50% mark after 5.8 days. (out of 32 days)