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Re: The July, 2014 Devlog Discussion

#46
Flatfingers wrote: Lars Simkins has been using a nice web-based display for his project planning chart. I'd post the link to the Google Doc, but I don't know that it's not for backers of Frontiers only. Anyone who is a backer can find the link to his Backer's Calendar 2.0 in his Kickstarter Update #52, though.
I like the way Lars keeps his backers informed, Flat. :D He has always been open and informative about the decisions he's made and whenever I've asked a question I've received a complete and detailed answer. This can't be said of all developers including *cough*. The Backer's Calender is a superb piece of work and a testament to his project management skills. I most appreciate his sense of humour and the way he can be self deprecating about his own efforts. The man will certainly have my support if he ever decides to start another KS. :thumbup:

That was a party political broadcast on behalf of the Lars Simpkins Appreciation Society. :D

It should be noted that Lars is somewhat of a veteran in project management so comparisons with the approach Josh takes would be unfair. ;)
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Re: The July, 2014 Devlog Discussion

#47
Hello there!

I'm 'Eagle', and I'm new to the forums, or at least, as in 'having an account'. I have been following Limit Theory for quite some time now, reading the daily Devlogs and, of course, watching the monthly updates! I am what you could call an 'observer' :think: ; I read a lot of topics and closely follow games like Limit Theory, but I usually do not activily participate in discussions and the like. This time, I made an exception though, because I just wanted to say that Limit Theory is just looking fantastic :thumbup: ! It did before, of course, but man did this update look nice! Thanks Josh! I just had to say that.
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Re: The July, 2014 Devlog Discussion

#48
blacktea wrote:Well i feel like in the next couple of month Josh should focus on the main features of the game like AI, allowing the player to build their own ships and stations, everything that is placeholder in the game right now , just to get things done. Then he could outsource as much stuff as possible for modders, because it would be awesome to have lot of people working on this beautyful game. In the end, he can deal with all the cosmetics like engine trail, as patches after game release. Just how i would do things to get everybody satisfied. ;)
I'm sure he has and will be reading many posts of a similar nature to yours, blacktea. I doubt if he will be doing any outsourcing to modders but I've been known to be wrong before. So who knows? Maybe a question directed at Josh would furnish you with the answer you require. ;)
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Re: The July, 2014 Devlog Discussion

#49
Eagle wrote:Hello there!

I'm 'Eagle', and I'm new to the forums, or at least, as in 'having an account'. I have been following Limit Theory for quite some time now, reading the daily Devlogs and, of course, watching the monthly updates! I am what you could call an 'observer' :think: ; I read a lot of topics and closely follow games like Limit Theory, but I usually do not activily participate in discussions and the like. This time, I made an exception though, because I just wanted to say that Limit Theory is just looking fantastic :thumbup: ! It did before, of course, but man did this update look nice! Thanks Josh! I just had to say that.
Out of lurk mode I see 8-) . Glad to have you with us :D .
Image The results of logic, of natural progression? Boring! An expected result? Dull! An obvious next step? Pfui! Where is the fun in that? A dream may soothe, but our nightmares make us run!
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Re: The July, 2014 Devlog Discussion

#50
Eagle wrote:Hello there!

I'm 'Eagle', and I'm new to the forums, or at least, as in 'having an account'. I have been following Limit Theory for quite some time now, reading the daily Devlogs and, of course, watching the monthly updates! I am what you could call an 'observer' :think: ; I read a lot of topics and closely follow games like Limit Theory, but I usually do not activily participate in discussions and the like. This time, I made an exception though, because I just wanted to say that Limit Theory is just looking fantastic :thumbup: ! It did before, of course, but man did this update look nice! Thanks Josh! I just had to say that.
Hello, Eagle. Welcome to the forums. :wave:

It's always good to see enthusiasm for Limit Theory and I'm glad to read that you enjoyed the latest update. More and perhaps even better updates to come. :thumbup: :D
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Re: The July, 2014 Devlog Discussion

#51
Victor Tombs wrote:I don't mind cruising the forums invisibly, DW, I try not to spook other members while they are making valuable and perhaps game changing posts by standing, invisibly, in the wings. :D I detest people looking over my shoulder when I'm working. ;)
At 2000+ posts you must be working really hard on that invisibility thing. =P
There is no "I" in Tea. That would be gross.
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Re: The July, 2014 Devlog Discussion

#57
Fleet command, yay! Maybe this means he'll put some more work into the playability of dogfights, and take a glance back at my combat gameplay thread. :D (I'm not satisfied; the enemy AI isn't hard enough. :shifty: ;) )

And maybe he'll link it up to the regular AI stuff, and we'll the AI commanding fleets of ships. Maybe we'll see a massive battle the likes of which you only saw in Freelancer's campaign. :D
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Re: The July, 2014 Devlog Discussion

#58
Here's something that struck me about Josh's devlog for July 3, 2014:
Josh Parnell wrote:In June, I started an interesting paradigm of trying to hit one element of content, polish, and tech every day. Despite not achieving it every day, it was a good driving force and motivator that helped me spread my focus in an effective way. In July, I will do the same. This time, however, I'll focus on content, playability, and polish. The introduction of playability and dropping tech as a focus means that I'm shifting my focus more towards a playable game and looking ahead to the BETA release.
Playability, content, and polish -- in that order -- remind me of the three levels of the Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics model described by Hunicke, LeBlanc, and Zubek. I consider that to be a Good Thing.

Playability is the level of the game/human interface. In a game design sense, playability and mechanics are both concerned with the definition and implementation of the "verbs" with which players directly perform actions within the game world. These are low(ish)-level activities such as moving, shooting, trading, sensing, and building. When those core mechanics work correctly, and when they've been tweaked to a silky smoothness, you will have a game that feels highly playable.

Content is what's in the world of the game, and especially the parts of the game world that have active effects beyond just appearance. This is a reasonably close match for dynamics, which in the MDA model refers to designing the structure of the elements of the game that respond to player actions. Particularly for a game that relies as heavily on procedural generation as Limit Theory, I suspect "content" will in many cases be active (dynamic) elements -- objects and systems in the world that change state on their own and in response to player inputs. These are things like the game economy, NPC AI, colonies, asteroid-based resources, and object frequency emissions.

Finally, polish is about the feel of the game at a high level. We think of a game as being "polished" when, as we play, all of the pieces seem to fit together well, when everything we see and interact with makes sense in the overall context for that game. That's pretty much the definition of "aesthetics" from the MDA model. Polish is harder to specify as a list of observable features... but players know when it's not there, when the game consists mostly of separate bits of mechanics and content that don't all work together to create a unified, distinctive play experience.

I'm happy to read that Josh is planning to think in terms of playability, content, and polish because I think the best games are consciously designed and evaluated on each of the levels of Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics. (I include in that list the fourth and lowest level of Kinetics, which are the physical sensations you get when repeating the core gameplay loop of a game. Good developers make that core loop feel physically satisfying to do over and over again -- that "just one more turn" feeling in Civilization is an example of a highly refined Kinetics level.)

When Josh tests and hones Limit Theory on all these levels, he will be following the MDA prescription of making sure that his game is satisfying on all the levels with which players experience a game. Consciously assessing and improving dynamic content, playable mechanics (including the kinetics of the core gameplay loop), and polished aesthetics is precisely what I think has been emphasized in the best games of all time.

So I'm very happy to hear Josh thinking about Limit Theory in those ways, even if the terminology is a little different. I think that emphasis for the next few months will prove to be extremely useful in helping LT gel into a uniquely memorable and highly playable game.

In other words, I think there's no better way to optimize the fun of Limit Theory than to focus on playability, content, and aesthetics.

So: yay. :)
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Re: The July, 2014 Devlog Discussion

#59
So um, what you are saying is that while elite and SC may take "best space game of the year title, it will be limit theory that we will still be playing in 2025, even though LT 2 and LT 3 are out?
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Re: The July, 2014 Devlog Discussion

#60
It could... X3:R came out in 2005 and many people (including me) are still playing it on and off.
Even with several games following it, terran conflict, albion prelude and X rebirth.

It's very well possible that LT2 onward the game would have had more commercial decisions shaping it during development. So in ten years, LT 1 might be that one game they always come back to, for some people.
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