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The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 3:32 pm
by Solokeh
Question
I have been wondering how far mods can go in the Limit Theory engine.

I know that LTSL is extremely moddable, but will we be able to edit more in-depth functionality like AI and proc-gen without utterly breaking everything? I would love to have mods that totally convert LT into something other than a game, such as a visualization of how civilizations in the cosmos act like pathogens, infecting and repurposing star systems into factories for their offspring. Or mods that would break the performance, such as massive, planet-sized asteroids with cave systems, or even cities inside. Also planetary and solar physics. Understand these are mostly not "Gameplay" mods, but mods that use LT for some sort of alternate functionality. Anyway, I've not much experience with modding, so I don't quite know if these sort of things are possible within an engine as complex as LT's, so that's why I'm asking.

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 4:07 pm
by Flatfingers
Only Josh can give you an Official Answer, but I think I'm safe in saying the answer is "yes and no."

No, you're definitely going to break something if you tinker with the Limit Theory code in any meaningful way. :) That's a given.

But yes, in that the Limit Theory Scripting Language appears to be very robust, and that much of the functionality of the game has been moved out into LTSL scripts and data files.

So modders are certainly going to break things, but it looks like they'll have the power needed to fix many of those problems.

The real answer (again, though, not official) is probably close to "yes for many ideas, but some of the bigger ones might require a lot of work from talented programmers."

We just won't know how hard it will be to follow Josh's logic and apply LTSL's features until LT is finally in the hands of people who can talk about it in public.

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 6:08 pm
by Cornflakes_91
With the planet sized asteroids you couldnt break the physics, they are called planets ;)

Also josh has made more than planet sized stations without breaking anything ;)



And for the pathogen like civilisations:
Difference to core gameplay... where?

the only thing you could really break there would be with the sheer amount of ships, but not with the idea itself



The AI and PCG have been moved fully to LTSL, but changing it without breaking everything?
May i laugh.
Ha.ha.

Regardless of how robust the things are, when you mess with the robustness things break ;)

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2014 9:00 pm
by aspman
I'm think Josh commented at one point that LT (the game) was a mod in its own right and separate from "the engine". I cant right now scroll back through the devlogs to find the quote, but I do remember thinking "game engine development system for other non LT related PCG games" at the time.

If I am correct, and LT is just a mega mod, then I deduce you would be able to change pretty much anything.

But ^^ wise man speaks above me.

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 11:29 am
by Solokeh
Cornflakes_91 wrote:With the planet sized asteroids you couldnt break the physics, they are called planets ;)

Also josh has made more than planet sized stations without breaking anything ;)



And for the pathogen like civilisations:
Difference to core gameplay... where?

the only thing you could really break there would be with the sheer amount of ships, but not with the idea itself



The AI and PCG have been moved fully to LTSL, but changing it without breaking everything?
May i laugh.
Ha.ha.

Regardless of how robust the things are, when you mess with the robustness things break ;)
I'm new to LT, sorry if I miscommunicate.

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 1:17 pm
by Cornflakes_91
Solokeh wrote: I'm new to LT, sorry if I miscommunicate.
No... problem? :wtf:


the game itself is just a bunch of scripts and you can edit everything.

Ship designs
Research
Construction
station mechanics
Flight mechanics
Interfaces

Everything!

So the extent of modding LT is that you can build any space game you can imagine.

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2014 9:08 am
by Titanicus
Indeed. The amount of moddibility that Josh is putting into the game is absolutely wonderful. Thank you Josh. :clap:

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 12:15 pm
by Surface Reflection
Hello everyone, been following the progress for a long time now, but i did miss last half a year or so of updates.
Not a backer but potential buyer. Spent too much money and nerves and bloody disappointments on few other kickstarters before LT came up.

I wanted to make a thread but i guess i can ask here.

Is there any kind of human characters in the game or is it just ships?
If there are or some could be possibly made ... could some mechanics and stats be ascribed to them? kind of a say... rpg mechanics? :shh:
Is it possible (i assume yes) to make just one huge, "realistically sized" and realistically presented Solar system instead of a galaxy? I dont need landing on planets but they will make a nice background.

I kinda have a amazing unbelievably great and completely insane imaginary vaporware idea but i would need to mod the proof of concept, if im to get any traction with it... so im basically wondering how much can LT do...
Been wandering that since the start of this project.



Also... just theoretically, as food for thought...

What if someone mods so much content that he or, more likely - they practically make almost whole game or substantial piece of expansion or some standalone mod of really high quality...
Would Josh and whoever is with him, consider maybe setting up some sort of way for those modders to earn some money for their efforts?
Im thinking of a setup of collecting the few rare best such big mods and then selling them in a bundle for some small amounts - as a way to support the best modders and Josh and LT? Money is shared with Josh since its his skill and programming that make all this possible, etc.

I already suggested this kind of idea to Larian studios but the whole thread devolved into idiotic screeching by trolls and morons.
As i said, just food for thought and i was clear that only a few of the best biggest mods should be considered for such a kind of official support setup.
All the rest would of course be as free as they usually are.

I am asking because i dont see many such modding communities thriving around and usually, the biggest and best mods are done by a team for years and years and because there is no real payback of any kind they usually disappear or never even finish what they're doing.

No im not asking for "my mod" at all. Thats just a vaporware idea.

tnx

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 12:46 pm
by Cornflakes_91
well, first i say: welcome to the forums :wave:

second: we had a very lenghty discussion about charging for mods in any form

linky link

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 1:03 pm
by Cha0zz
Welcome :wave:
Surface Reflection wrote: Is there any kind of human characters in the game or is it just ships?
No human characters, just ships.
Is it possible (i assume yes) to make just one huge, "realistically sized" and realistically presented Solar system instead of a galaxy? I dont need landing on planets but they will make a nice background.
Maybe, this would probably depend on the size of sectors and the size limits of the engine.

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 1:13 pm
by BFett
Surface Reflection wrote:Hello everyone, been following the progress for a long time now, but i did miss last half a year or so of updates.
Not a backer but potential buyer. Spent too much money and nerves and bloody disappointments on few other kickstarters before LT came up.

I wanted to make a thread but i guess i can ask here.

Is there any kind of human characters in the game or is it just ships?
If there are or some could be possibly made ... could some mechanics and stats be ascribed to them? kind of a say... rpg mechanics? :shh:
Is it possible (i assume yes) to make just one huge, "realistically sized" and realistically presented Solar system instead of a galaxy? I dont need landing on planets but they will make a nice background.

I kinda have a amazing unbelievably great and completely insane imaginary vaporware idea but i would need to mod the proof of concept, if im to get any traction with it... so im basically wondering how much can LT do...
Been wandering that since the start of this project.
In LT characters are seen as ships. Yes stats could be given to the ships, in fact Josh has already programmed characteristics that will influence what the AI chooses to do. It is possible to make a realistic size solar system, but it won't be in a realistically sized galaxy since LT is broken up into interconnected systems, each system being very large (64 bit digit).

I hope this helps. Welcome to the LT forums!

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 1:39 pm
by Surface Reflection
Yeah, thanks guys. That really quickly gives me coordinate points.

Ach... i need both characters and ships dammit. But ok, atleast now i know. Appreciate it.
As for mods idea, i cant read through that whole thread now but i see where the discussion went so ...whatever.

My idea is better then what i saw there and much more specific but i wont post it here anyway.
hm... just a thought, maybe mr. Parnell could earn some money by licensing his engine to other companies? Just throwing stuff out there...

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 1:41 pm
by Cornflakes_91
Surface Reflection wrote: My idea is better then what i saw there and much more specific but i wont post it here anyway.
why not?

here are many many armchair gamedesigners who actually think about what they do.

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 2:03 pm
by Surface Reflection
Well, that thread seems fresh enough to post it there instead of here where it would derail stuff.

Re: The Extent of Moddability in Limit Theory

Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 2:07 pm
by Dinosawer
Surface Reflection wrote:Well, that thread seems fresh enough to post it there instead of here where it would derail stuff.
Necromancy is encouraged here anyway. ;)