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Features in Limit Theory

#1
Hi all, I'm Doomknight.

I encountered Limit Theory back in November of 2013 while looking for other space-based games. I was amazed at how great the game looked back then and have been following the Josh's Development updates since then. I find his development of Limit Theory to be quite inspirational with the potential benefits in the longterm for procedural generation of content.

As I have been only following those updates, I feel I may be a bit out of the loop for other features that are going to make it into the game but just haven't been mentioned yet in the Limit Theory monthly updates. So, without further ado, can anyone tell me if these features will be making it into the game (A yes/no answer will suffice, but if you want to give a more detailed response please do)?

NOTE: Restructuring List! (If someone doesn't agree with my naming scheme for the topics just mention it)
NOTE 2: If Josh wishes to confirm / deny any of these that would be most helpful to change some of the maybes and probably(s) into yes or no(s).

Questions Answered:

Ships:
Spoiler:      SHOW
Q: Will there be Jamming equipment to prevent the use of Missiles and/or scanners or communications equipment?
A: Maybe

Q: Will there be mini-jump drive equipment that will allow us to make short-ranged jumps (ie the Riker Maneuver) and cover great distances quickly?
A: Maybe

Q: Will ships need to charge up their jump drives / warp drives (or w/e they are called) before they can use them?
A: Maybe

Q: Can we hack into enemy ships in general? (ie take control of a ship that isn't ours)
A: Unlikely

Q: Can we mask our identity of our ship to make it seem like we are an ally of a faction when in fact we are an enemy (very useful if pirating)
A: Maybe

Q: Can we teleport resources off of another ship (ie pirating a freighter)
A: Maybe

Q: Can we drain the energy supplies from other ships?
A: Unlikely

Q: Will starship carriers exist in this game?
A: Yes

Q: Will larger capital ships have drawn out explosions (like those in Tachyon: The Fringe) or blow up at about the same speed as smaller ships?
A: Yes

Q: Will larger capital ships have massive explosions with shockwaves (due to the size of their reactors going critical; ie a Warp Core Containment Breach of a larger ship) or just go "poof"
A: Maybe

Q: Will larger capital ships produce debris fields when destroyed, possibly with large enough chunks that a smaller ship could hide behind for cover?
A: Probably

Q: Will there be a ship technology that will allow us to "phase" through solid objects for a short period of time? (ie "noclipping")
A: Maybe

Q: Will there be EMP / Ion-based weaponry designed for disabling ships or starbases for a limited amount of time?
A: Maybe

Q: Is there a "hard limit" on the number of hardpoints a ship can have? Can you upgrade an existing ship to have more hardpoints?
A: Probably

Q: Will ships have regenerating shields?
A: Yes

Q: Will ships have regenerating armor or will they need to visit a station to get repairs done?
A: Maybe

Q: Can larger ships split apart to create multiple weapon platforms for combat scenarios (ie the Enterprise where it seperates the Battle Bridge from the Saucer Section to create two ships essentially)
A: Highly Unlikely

Q: Will there be counter-measures to missiles, such as ECM, or Flares?
A: Probably

Q: Do lasers and pulse lasers travel at the speed of light, and thus hit targets from ridiculous distances away?
A: Maybe

Q: Will there be stealth systems that will make it hard for enemies to detect you unless you are firing or excessively using thrust?
A: Maybe

Q: Will there be cloaking systems that will make it hard to see an enemy, but not necessarily hard to target it with missile locks or find it via Scanners?
A: Maybe

Q: Will there be Mass Drivers / Railguns / Gauss Guns, in the game?
A: Yes

Q: Will different weapon types be more effective in certain scenarios? (ie Lasers are best against shields, missiles best against hull, etc...)
A: Maybe
Space Phenomena (Planets, Stars, Etc...):
Spoiler:      SHOW
Q: Black Holes
A: Maybe; Rare Occurrence.

Q: Various types of stars (ie Dwarfs, Supernovas, Pulsars, Neutron Stars, etc...)
A: Maybe; Rare Occurrence.

Q: Various combinations of stars (ie Blackhole with a Star, Binary Star Systems, Three Star Systems, etc...)
A: Maybe

Q: Comets
A: Answer Unknown

Q: Giant Flaming Meteors
A: Maybe, but highly unlikely.

Q: Wormholes
A: Yes

Q: A "center of the galaxy" place which is filled with Black Holes
A: Maybe, but highly unlikely.

Q: Various types of planets (ie Frozen Ice Planets, Terrestrial Rock Planets, Terran Planets [earth-like], etc...)
A: Yes

Q: Moons and/or Multiple Moons
A: Yes

Q: Orbiting Satellites in orbit around a Planet
A1: No orbiting mechanics
A2: Maybe Satellites

Q: Systems without Asteroids / Asteroid Belts in them?
A: Yes

Q: Systems without Nebulae in them?
A: Yes

Q: Will we ever find (as a rare occurrence) of a planet sharing its atmosphere with another planet or moon?
A: Maybe

Q: Will we ever get to watch a star go Supernova?
A: Maybe

Q: Will we be able to find systems without stars in them? (ie Maybe a system that is simply one big nebula or a system with a few planets but no star because the star went supernova and is now gone)
A: Probably

Q: Can stars produce Solar Flares?
A: Maybe
Gameplay Mechanics:
Spoiler:      SHOW
Q: Will there be a way to fool our opponent's sensors with false sensor readings? (ie if the Scanner can pick up specific signals and identify them as this or that, could you make your opponent think you were something else, like say a space station compared to a freighter?)
A: Maybe

Q: Can we "accidently" warp-frag enemies or allies when coming out of warp? (think "tele-fragging" in First Person Shooters)
A: Unlikely

Q: If Asteroids could be destroyed, do you think one could bore a hole through an asteroid and use it as a tunnel?
A: Unlikely

Q: Can we hack into enemy missiles and turn them against the one who originally shot them?
A: Unlikely

Q: Will there be a black market for stolen goods acquired via pirating?
A: Maybe

Q: Can we fly into a star and blow up or will we not be able to get close to a star?
A: Maybe

Q: Can we get cooked by a star (if we can visit one) if we get too close to it?
A: Maybe

Q: Can we fly into a planet and blow up, or we will automatically land at the nearest base?
A: Yes

Q: Can a starbase launch fighters to defend itself?
A: Yes

Q: Will we be able to hide near a star thus hiding us from sensors?
A: Yes

Q: Will we be able to hide near a magnetic pole of a planet thus hiding us from sensors?
A: No

Q: Can a starbase build fighters on the fly?
A: Yes

Q: Can a starbase call for help, meaning that it will get reinforcements?
A: Yes

Q: Massive Orbital Stations, Battle Moons, or even Death Stars.
A1: No orbital mechanics
A2: Maybe (answers are unclear)

Q: Planet Destroying Weapons (ie Death Stars, Planetary Annihilation Asteroid Smashing, Planet Buster Bombs, etc...)
A: Highly unlikely.

Q: A "quick" travel system, similar to how World of Warcraft does it (ie You pick a destination, and your ship automatically makes the appropriate jumps system to system until you reach your intended destination, allowing a player to go "AFK" while their ship travels across several star systems to get to where they want to go)
A: Maybe

Q: Building your own Space Empire, by controlling fleets and planets and economies?
A1: Yes to controlling your own planets.
A2: Answer Unknown for the rest.

Q: Conquering entire planets?
A: Yes

Q: Surveying Planets for resources, artifacts, or possibly enemies (Surveying such as that done in Mass Effect 2, but moreso in Freelancer)
A1: Highly unlikely
A2: You can however scan asteroids for resources.

Q: Sending landing parties to planets / moons to do exploration of a planet's surface?
A: No

Q: Sending boarding parties to enemy ships / space stations?
A: No

Q: Can asteroids be destroyed?
A: Maybe

Q: Will there be a complex targetting system implemented (such as the one in Tachyon: The Fringe) that tells the player where to guide their shots so that they hit the target?
A: Maybe

Q: Will smaller ships blow up if you collide them with each other if of the same size?
A: Yes

Q: Will capital ships blow up if you collide them with other capital ships? Would smaller ship collisions destroy a capital ship?
A: Yes

Q: Will there be Jump Inhibitors in systems that would prevent ships from Jumping/Warping out of the system, so in a battle situation it would mean that the enemy would not be able to flee from the system, but allied ships could. (something like how Sins of the Solar Empire does, which is a planetary structure that prevents ships from leaving until the Jump Inhibitor is destroyed; great for setting up ambushes that your opponent cannot flee from)?
A: Probably

Q: Can you destroy Warp Tunnels / Warp Gates / Gates for Travel Lanes? (Why would you want to do this? Reasoning = To cut a system off from potential reinforcements if attacking it, to destroy a planet by destroying its economy [ie Trade Embargo], or because you can)
A: Probably

Q: Do only smaller ships need to use Warp Tunnels / Warp Gates / Gates for Travel Lanes? (ie somewhat like how Tachyon: The Fringe does it where larger ships can jump to systems without the Tachyon Gate while smaller ships require it)
A: Yes

Q: Will we be able to encounter two AI empires clashing on a field of battle? (ie neither empire controlled by you)
A: Yes

Q: Once in a Warp Tunnel, can you get pushed out of it, or will you simply travel to your destination? (ie You enter a warp tunnel 2 seconds before the warp tunnel is destroyed, so you travel 2 seconds in and the warp tunnel gets destroyed)
A: Maybe

Q: Can missiles hit an object and "bounce" off it, if it hits it at the right angle?
A: No

Q: Once you "anger" an enemy, will it be able to constantly detect you no matter how well you hide? (similar to how in most games where if your "stealth" is blown, the enemy knows where you are at all times even if you escape them and hide behind a corner that they didn't see you hide behind)?
A: No
Last edited by Doomknight on Thu Oct 23, 2014 11:20 pm, edited 18 times in total.
Post

Re: Features in Limit Theory

#2
Welcome to posting, Doomknight.

Most of these questions seem to be about what comprises a sector. I'm sure more active and well-read members will be able to correct my answers below where appropriate:

1) Unconfirmed

2) Not explicitly

3) Probably

4) Unconfirmed (I'm inclined to say no). One obvious question regarding this is whether or not the orbit of the comet would be modelled.

5) Probably not, but no reason it can't be modded in I guess.

6) I believe this is the mechanism for jumpgates, unless I'm profoundly misunderstanding something somewhere

7) I feel confident in saying no here. This game won't model galactic structure in any meaningful way, much though I for one would love it to.

8) Yes.

9) Yes.

11) Space stations yes, but not in a modelled orbit.

12) Pretty sure there won't be.

13) This is essentially equivalent to an autopilot system right? Unconfirmed, if so.

14) Yes, but planets will not be controllable on release - that's set for a post-release update.

15) As above

16) Not really, but there is a surveying system for asteroids, used to determine resource type and abundance.

17) No

18) Probably? (Back me up here guys)

19) Yes, depending on the procedural generation algorithm

20) Yes. I imagine this and (19) would be easily accomplished with modding, if not.
Post

Re: Features in Limit Theory

#3
  1. rare objects are rare, josh said basically "maybe at some time, but first get the game working
  2. we've already seen some different stars, neutron stars (which are the same as pulsars...) fall under rare objects
  3. already confirmed somewhere iirc
  4. dont know, have read something about those in a similar thread to this one, but nothing definite iirc
  5. seen too much 60's sci-fi? Theres no such thing as burning meteors in space
  6. they are the primary interstellar way in LT :roll:
  7. again, rare objects are rare
  8. wish granted, was on the table from the beginning
  9. whats the difference between a moon and a small planet next to another one in game terms? :roll:
  10. no orbital mechanics, realistic planetary physics or anything related to it
  11. quantitative difference is quantitative, they are just big stations. Build them if you like, nobody's gonna stop you
  12. nope, too much gameplay problems for that bit of fun
  13. you can just order your autopilot to fly you to your target
  14. did you read more than "space sim" in the description of LT?
    Spoiler:      SHOW
    LT Kickstarter Page wrote: Command a Fleet ... Or Many.

    When you've acquired enough wealth, hire other pilots and purchase more ships. Customize and outfit your fleet with whatever weaponry and equipment you desire, then fly alongside your armada in combat, or send them off to explore, trade, or conquer while you attend to other affairs. No restrictions are placed on the number of ships that you can own. A wealthy player can play the game much like an RTS, achieving victory from afar.

    Build Your Empire.

    Buy or construct buildings on planet surfaces as well as stations in space. Acquire mines, factories, trading outposts, and more. Set up production chains to build guns, munitions, or even new ships. When hauling goods for a profit gets old, why not try manufacturing the goods instead?
  15. unlikely in release, but definitely a thing
  16. maybe, but theres no definite on that right now
    (Where was done surveying in freelancer besides in the lore of the landable planets?)
  17. you'll likely do everything from orbit or with probes
  18. no
  19. why does everyone take the system generation take as final?
    the devlogs clearly state that josh is currently rebuilding them
  20. see #19
There is a BIG red link saying
FAQ up there, its mandatory to read
Post

Re: Features in Limit Theory

#5
Scytale wrote:
In his defence, there's also no such thing as friction in space the way Josh is implementing it. There are going to be many impossible things in this game =P
Theres a difference between gameplay decisions and just plain Retro with electric irons as armatures

Edit: stupid url tag refuses to work

Edit2:stupid wikipedia link
Last edited by Cornflakes_91 on Mon Oct 20, 2014 12:55 am, edited 2 times in total.
Post

Re: Features in Limit Theory

#9
Thanks for the replies.

As to the Giant Flaming Meteor, I was actually thinking about Red Dwarf in the episode "Psirens". Shame they don't really exist. I just figured that if a giant chunk of ice can float around space (space is hot, not cold; remember its a vacuum, so all that heat produced by stars doesn't just disappear, it has to be absorbed by something... usually a planet, or asteroid; also consider that Space Suits are insulated to keep the heat out so that the astronauts don't get cooked alive when outside the ship from background radiation) then an asteroid surrounded by nebulae gasses (ie an asteroid that passed through a nebula and was big enough to create its own "atmosphere" by snagging some gasses) that has combusted due to background radiation could be somewhat logically possible.

There is a form of friction in space in the form of space dust. Navigational deflectors would prevent them from ripping your ships in half, but you would think that the impacts would slow the ship down over time (not very quickly mind you, but an eventual drag). Also there is the gravitational field of planets and star that provides a small amount drag as well (if there was no drag, then planets wouldn't orbit a star).

No, I did not read that part, thanks for mentioning it CornFlakes, on the Space Sim.

Well, I only mentioned those two as Josh really likes Nebulae and really likes Asteroids (as they are in practically all of his videos and he mentions a lot how he likes them; I like them too but a change of pace would be nice), so its logical (at least in my mind) that if he likes them that much then EVERY system would have them so that he would be able to encounter them everywhere. A poor assumption on my part, yes?
Post

Re: Features in Limit Theory

#11
The gravitational pull is no drag :P

Its an acceleration that pulls things together
Doomknight wrote: As to the Giant Flaming Meteor, I was actually thinking about Red Dwarf in the episode "Psirens". Shame they don't really exist. I just figured that if a giant chunk of ice can float around space (space is hot, not cold; remember its a vacuum, so all that heat produced by stars doesn't just disappear, it has to be absorbed by something... usually a planet, or asteroid; also consider that Space Suits are insulated to keep the heat out so that the astronauts don't get cooked alive when outside the ship from background radiation) then an asteroid surrounded by nebulae gasses (ie an asteroid that passed through a nebula and was big enough to create its own "atmosphere" by snagging some gasses) that has combusted due to background radiation could be somewhat logically possible.
You know that nebulas have the average densitiy of high vacuum chambers in laboratories here on earth?

Also if such a chunk were to ignite it would be gone within days, at best weeks, reducing the chance to actually see one to about zero.

And if the meteor would be large enough to catch a noticeable atmosphere it would be a small planet

Luna has ~2 centimeters of "atmosphere", and its a pretty significant object
Last edited by Cornflakes_91 on Mon Oct 20, 2014 1:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Post

Re: Features in Limit Theory

#13
Scytale wrote:Sure, but there's no pretence that this game is hard science fiction. A flaming meteoroid or asteroid might be a little silly, but it's hardly outside the set of conceivable objects in the game =P
Yup.

Let's bear in mind that the physics of Limit Theory includes "drag" in space, no gravity, star systems as pocket universes, planets that neither rotate nor orbit their primary star, and visible wormholes (connecting star systems) through which spaceships can fly.

It seems unlikely that physical objects will fly through a planet's atmosphere (and thus "burn"), since even planets and asteroids won't move in LT.

That said, Graphics Josh might emerge from his cage to add some streaky particle effects to the sky of a planet that's considered to be inside an asteroid field. There wouldn't be any active gameplay in it, but it would be a nice touch for the immersiveness of the world of the game.
Post

Re: Features in Limit Theory

#15
Doomknight wrote:Its drag if its force is pulling an object moving in the opposite direction.
Regardless of the actual movement direction.

Gravity is a force with an effect direction invariant to the movement direction of the object.

Drag is always against the movement direction.

Gravity points towards the pulling object, regardless of the vector of the pulled object

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