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
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
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
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
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
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