Starbase Progress Notes: Week 14 (2022)

ElluFB

Forever locked into The Pool
Frozenbyte
Joined
Sep 6, 2019
Messages
249
#1
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Hello everyone, here are the progress notes of the week 14 of 2022!

This week's progress notes show all the major features, additions and improvements currently in the works. The features have been roughly divided into categories, and in the beginning, we list both new and recently completed items from the past two weeks. We hope that you enjoy these snippets of the Starbase development!

Please note that the "Progress Notes" are different from the Starbase "Patch Notes". Progress Notes are snippets from the development team and what has been worked on during the previous week, and many of the features might not be present in the current or upcoming builds of the Starbase Early Access. Some features, especially in the design portion, can be subject to change as the development continues.

Note: due to upcoming Easter holidays, the progress notes for week 15 will exceptionally be released on Tuesday 19th April instead. Happy Easter!

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Starbase Progress Notes: Week 14 (2022)
April 4 - 8

Below we have listed the different states, and an explanation of what that state means in terms of development process.
Design: first phase of development
Art: done after designing of the feature, but can be done either before, after or at same time with programming.
Programming: programmer implements the feature based on design
Configuration: feature is technically done but a designer needs to configure it
QA: feature is technically done but needs testing. May happen before or after configuration.
The weeks marked in the "Time in development" column show only the active development weeks during which the feature has been worked on and include all phases of development. The time is rounded up to weeks, so in other words, if one day has been spent on a feature during the week, it still counts. Therefore, please treat the week counter as a rough estimate only.

Completed
Feature Description State Time in development
Chatlog feedback when entering anti-gravity zones Players receive messages in the chatlog when entering and leaving anti-gravity zones. ✔️ 3 weeks
Anti-gravity zones for player Moon Bases Adding anti-gravity areas to player Moon Bases. The anti-gravity area will be the same size and shape as the base's Safe Zone. ✔️ 6 weeks
Renaming ship blueprint save slots Allows players to rename their blueprint save slots by clicking the slot name. ✔️ 3 weeks
"Disable lens flare effect" option An option to disable the new lens flare effect in game has been added to the settings. ✔️ 2 weeks
Improved carrying animations Various carrying animations have been modified and improved, making carrying look more natural. ✔️ 4 weeks
Ship durability update The collision damage to ships has received several tweaks. For example, the first impact collision damage has been reduced by a lot when the ship is going under 25m/s. ✔️ 2 weeks
Updated heat mechanics Updated mechanics for various devices, ship weapons and generators generating heat and becoming overheated. ✔️ 14 weeks
Access to all halls during a siege Players are now able to access all halls of a station during a Siege, regardless of their affiliation. ✔️ 1 week
Siege scheduling mechanics Mechanics for initiating the siege. The defending station can set their preferred time slots for battles, from which the attacking party must choose their window to attack. ✔️ 15 weeks
Capture gameplay Mechanics and visuals for the capture gameplay. When a siege begins, both the target station as well as the attacker's Capital Ship become capturable for the other side. Capturing proceeds one area at a time towards the center of the structure. The HUD and other visuals will indicate if an area is capturable and who is currently in control. ✔️ 16 weeks
Siege win condition & aftermath To win the siege, one side needs to have control of all participating structures, meaning both the attacking Capital Ship as well as well as the targeted station. When the battle is over, Safe Zones will return after a short delay and the warzone with its limitations will disappear. ✔️ 10 weeks
Siege Terminal Similar screen view as Capital Ship Fast Travel Terminal, where a Capital Ship can initiate a siege battle. ✔️ 14 weeks
Siege HUD During siege battles, the HUD shows e.g. the area capture progress, siege related timers and all siege participants. ✔️ 10 weeks
Reconstruction Machine for stations A new station version of the Reconstruction Machine. To be able to use it for respawning, you need an Endo Kit, and the machine should be connected to a generator for electricity through a Supply Conduit network similar to Capital Ships. ✔️ 8 weeks


New
Feature Description State Time in development
Damaging docked Capital Ships during a siege Players will be able to damage and destroy docked Capital Ships during a siege. At the moment, they are in an indestructible state while a battle is happening. QA 1 week
Ship safe zone settings The Safe Zone settings of a ship will be available in the Ships tab under the hosting section. Players will also be able to choose specific default settings to all of their ships from the Settings menu under "Ships & Safe Zones". Programming 1 week
Social, chat and player relation colors and icons The goal is to standardize the colors and icons when communicating player relations or social status in game. The same color and icon will be used to tell the same relation in chat, HUD or other menus. For example friend is always light blue in any situation. Programming 1 week
Using EBM functions while holding a weapon When in Easy Build Mode, players will be able to remove pieces using M2 or F to select copies of pieces, while holding a weapon inactively. Programming 1 week


Moons
Feature Description State Time in development
Moon Base BM improvements Improving the Build Mode of moon bases further. For example support for snapping placement of objects, and polishing the support plinth building logic. Programming 6 weeks
Minable moon rocks Rocks found on the moon surface are also mineable by players. Programming 2 weeks
New mining materials for moons Moons in the universe will get unique ore distribution profiles and often their own unique raw materials. Often moons will also have their own unique raw materials. The moon belts and the moon ground may have different ores and they pose their own challenges when mining. Design & Configuration 30 weeks
Moon city apartment rental Allows renting units from the city towers. Art assets for the first set of modules are finished, and the next step is support for renting and creating apartments inside the towers. Design 17 weeks
New moon terrains and geometry New looks from new assets like rocks and from new textures for the moons. Currently working on planet landscape concepts and new rock assets. Art 17 weeks
Moon terrain generation & customization Development tools for creating different terrain types to enable a lot more variety to moon terrains. Programming 26 weeks
Moon base degradation The Moon Base will start to degrade and eventually get destroyed if it's no longer supported by its support legs. This can occur if the base suffers damage in a siege or if the support legs or modules are removed, leaving the base without proper support. Programming 6 weeks


Capital Ships
Feature Description State Time in development
Capital Ship access page Access controls for choosing who can access Capital Ships and for example control and build on them. Programming 3 weeks
Capital Ship flyby audio Audio system for the sounds of Capital Ships fast traveling. Programming 5 weeks
Capital Ship expansion minimap A "minimap" in the UI for Capital Ships in the Build Mode to visualize available build area expansions for the player. Design 5 week
Capital Ship fast journey start Players can embark on a fast travel journey quicker, without charging, but this comes with the downside of a slower travel speed. Design 5 weeks


Siege
Feature Description State Time in development
Warzone interactions The warzone forming in the beginning of the siege causes the Safe Zones of both the attacker and the defender to get disabled. Restrictions are also placed on any civilian Capital Ships within or close to the warzone. Programming & QA 12 weeks


Spaceships
Feature Description State Time in development
Ownership and Salvage Deeds Selling spaceships in the Auction House or through personal trade by using no-cost items called Ownership Deed and Salvage Deed. The Ownership Deed can be used for selling despawned ships in storage, and the Salvage Deed for unstored ships anywhere in the universe. Programming 11 weeks
Hacked Deed Stealing spaceships with a new craftable item called a Hacked Deed, which allows temporarily claiming a spaceship outside of the Safe Zone as long as the owner isn't present. Programming 4 weeks
Test Fly Deed A no-cost item that can be used to let other players test fly your ship in the test mode, for example when trading ships. Design 4 weeks
Blueprint chips Allows storing blueprints for trading or manufacturing. Chips can be either secure or non-secure. The secure chips can only be used for manufacturing, while content from the non-secure chips can be further edited in the Ship Designer. QA 9 weeks
Drive-in designer Ships with non-secure blueprints, or with blueprints owned by a player, can be flown back to a Ship Designer for updates, and the existing ship is used to cover some of the manufacturing costs. Programming 8 weeks
New binds menu for ship quick binds Replaces current pilot seat binds menu with a new, much more versatile system Design 14 weeks
Casual Mode for Spaceship Designer An option to toggle between the current Advanced Mode and a new Casual Mode, which is similar to building with modules like in the Build Mode. Automated welding after snapping has been implemented as an option. Programming 6 weeks
Ship Designer Decal Tool improvements Several improvements to the Decal Tool in Ship Designer, for example support for seamless decals and more precise movement options. Programming 2 weeks
Ship insurance Accessible in the Origin stations, ship insurance makes it possible to recover some of the losses from a broken or lost ship. You get different kind of compensation depending on your ship parts and their level of damage. The old ship becomes decommissioned and can be claimed or looted by other players. Design 2 weeks


Stations and (Easy) Build Mode
Feature Description State Time in development
Stations Player-made stations, the first iteration. Programming 33 weeks
Build Mode HUD Ship and station Build Mode gets consistent HUD that has buttons for most of the operations as well as some controls tooltips. Programming 10 weeks
New modules for station, moon base and Capital Ship building Designers and artists create together new blocks, furniture and single items for stations, moon bases and Capital Ships. New station blocks will also include more decorative elements. Most furniture comes pre-assembled. Art & Configuration 28 weeks
Improved Factory Halls Building various factories inside stations, bases and Capital Ships by utilizing Factory halls and additional features. For example, with the upcoming blueprint projector and its additional tools, a ship building factory is possible. Most recently, support for pipes and cables inside Factory Halls has been added. Programming 38 weeks
Hangar Halls Hangar Halls can be used for ship spawning and despawning, as well as for ship repairing and the Ship Designer by adding different terminal modules. The hangar becomes occupied when a ship gets inside, stopping others from entering. Programming 14 weeks
Station blueprints In-game blueprints for stations and Capital Ships, so that they can be fixed in the game world for example after siege battles. Design 3 weeks
Station clusters Station cluster is a group of stations that form a special, large Safe Zone that can span several kilometers. Via clusters, it's possible to control bigger areas and for example set Safe Zone rules and taxes to mining and trading. Design 3 weeks
Object style selection While building, players can easily scroll through the different modules of the same type and the upcoming decoration styles for them without having to open the crafting menu or storage. Programming 6 weeks
Chosen object count UI When in build mode, an icon will appear above the default horizontal hotbar in the center of the screen, displaying the currently used object and the amount of it left in the storage. Programming 1 week
Claiming resigned stations If a player enters the area of a resigned station, they will get a pop-up notification that allows them to claim the station for themselves. Programming 3 weeks


Devices, machines and tools
Feature Description State Time in development
Furnaces to create alloys Alloys are a combination of two or more materials. Alloys usually have better stats than single ore materials, and for example the Capital Ship frames and hulls are both built from alloys. In addition to the raw materials, furnaces require also a lot of energy and sometimes special conditions or a certain type atmosphere dust cloud. Programming & QA 26 weeks
Blueprint Projector Casts a blueprint for manufacturing, or just for fun, from a blueprint chip. For manufacturing purposes a number of other devices are needed as well, such as a 3D printer and an item spawner, and of course a ton of energy. Programming 13 weeks
Recycler Tool Equippable tool (previously known as the Salvage Tool) that can turn any object into nuggets of ore, which can then be salvaged into crates. Makes it effortless to make the most of e.g. abandoned ships while exploring the universe. Programming 8 weeks
Refueling tools V2 Tank refill tools that can be used to fill the Liquid Exorium Tank, Hydrogen Tank, or the Haderite Propellant Tank of a Capital Ship. Initial, single-use versions are already in the game, and the next step is making the tools refillable like other resource containers. Programming 7 weeks
Grid displays Bigger screens made possible with new grid displays, where the grid containing the characters can extend beyond the boundaries of the physical screen. Basic functionality is now finished, with new visuals and other polishing in the works. Some additional features are also in the plans. Programming & QA 9 weeks
Device overheat VFX Visual effects for different devices, such as generators, overheating. Art 2 weeks


Combat
Feature Description State Time in development
Combat balance Started with damage reduction for the Tripod Autocannon and continues with new materials and weapon progress from the Tripod Autocannon onwards. The latest adjustment has been made to the Tripod Railgun to make it similar to other Tripod weapons. Programming 15 weeks
Armor balance Enhancing the attributes of some armor materials in relation to balancing out combat. Design & Configuration 6 weeks
Resurrection with endokits Allows players to resurrect others by using their endokits. Programming 3 weeks
Ball Turret The ball turret is a secured gunner position that can be used with gunships, stations, and Capital Ships. Art & Design 5 weeks


Other
Feature Description State Time in development
Cosmetics Allows painting of weapons and armor, and adds a lot of new armors. Enables cosmetics shop. Art 22 weeks
Decorative hologram projectors New kind of hologram projectors with various themes, for example plants, that can be used to decorate your stations and ships. Art 4 weeks
More tutorials New tutorials for new features. Currently working on, for example, a Moon Base Tutorial, Capital Ship Dock tutorial, and a guide to siege. Design 12 weeks
Inventory V2 Completely overhauled inventory system. Allows stacking items, accessing containers directly, improved sorting and searching functions, etc. Programming 46 weeks
Item crates Allows hauling items in crates. This is included in the new inventory system. Programming 52 weeks
Company and personal storage access Access controls for company and personal station inventory. Companies can give access rights based on ranks, and both companies and single players can set their preferred rules of access for any individuals or for example friends. Design 2 weeks
New Fast Travel VFX New visual effects for using the Fast Travel gates and for Capital Ship fast travel. Art 4 weeks
HUD menu buttons Buttons for different menus (such as the inventory, crafting, CV, etc.) are added to the HUD in an editable box similar to the quickbar. Programming 2 week
Priority snap points for single items Priority snap points for certain single items to improve their usability and make them snap in correct orientation regardless of player position, for example for YOLOL chips snapping into YOLOL racks. Programming 6 weeks
Interaction UI New UI elements to guide players when interacting with items in the game-world, such as the pilot chair. Design 1 week
New player CV A new logic and format for the player CV, which will include for example a new player rating system, player tags and medals. Design 7 weeks



Gallery

Starbase_furniture_deco_panel_set_1.jpg Starbase_furniture_deco_panel_set_2.jpg Starbase_industrial_interior_test_build.jpg Sb_smart_casual_deco_paneling_a.jpg

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Zarenno

Active endo
Joined
Jan 14, 2022
Messages
26
#4
Well now that siege is mostly onto QA, checkmark, I would like to see a move to radiation tracking, or at least their current plans for it. I feel like its going to be one (if not the most) important feature in any players day to day in pvp zones.
 
Joined
Mar 7, 2022
Messages
40
#6
I'm glad that sieges are working pretty well overall, and now I'd like to see enhancements to stations to provide reasons to siege in live.

Also, please please please bring the Recycler Tool to PTU and then live quickly, as it would make salvaging so much better.
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2021
Messages
11
#8
With the salvage deeds are we going to get any ui indication of where the ship is at, or is it going to be 100% up to the players to try and remember where the wreck is located at?
 

Kenetor

Master endo
Joined
Aug 9, 2019
Messages
326
#9
Why do we need apartments???
everyone's been asking this since they started, we've never got a straight answer

Also why do we need a casual ship designer??? It’s not too hard to learn.
because as evidenced by a multitude of people complaining about how difficult it is, some people do infact need one. ships aside, it can also be seen as the foundation work for anything EBM related to be in the designer, so stations and caps, and that is desperately needed.
 

Lukas04

Active endo
Joined
Feb 8, 2020
Messages
42
#11
Well now that siege is mostly onto QA, checkmark, I would like to see a move to radiation tracking, or at least their current plans for it. I feel like its going to be one (if not the most) important feature in any players day to day in pvp zones.
There still isnt a real reason to do PvP, so i feel like Radiation Tracking makes no sense so far.
There is also still a lot left for sieges and anything related to them.
Having Sieges would suck if we dont even have the ability to Blueprint Stations and Capitals and the ability to efficiently repair them.
 
Joined
Apr 11, 2022
Messages
1
#12
Why do we need apartments??? Also why do we need a casual ship designer??? It’s not too hard to learn.
I think the point of the apartments is for the city to be a hub for players to interact outside of origin stations without the risk of pvp. Although, 100% agree that work should be focused on some more of the major tasks at hand then small things like apartments, casual ship designer, etc.
 

J.D.

Veteran endo
Joined
Aug 16, 2021
Messages
199
#13
There still isnt a real reason to do PvP, so i feel like Radiation Tracking makes no sense so far.
There is also still a lot left for sieges and anything related to them.
Having Sieges would suck if we dont even have the ability to Blueprint Stations and Capitals and the ability to efficiently repair them.
there is a reason to pvp, because pvpers want to do so. I swear, this pve crowd is constantly trying to silence pvp. Ive never seen any pvper in this entire community try to make pve go away. some people just want to combat. We can salvage parts anyway. they have already created a towing beam. But, again, you and other pve players dont get to dictate what the rest find as viable gameplay.
 

Distuth

Active endo
Joined
Sep 8, 2021
Messages
27
#14
there is a reason to pvp, because pvpers want to do so. I swear, this pve crowd is constantly trying to silence pvp. Ive never seen any pvper in this entire community try to make pve go away. some people just want to combat. We can salvage parts anyway. they have already created a towing beam. But, again, you and other pve players dont get to dictate what the rest find as viable gameplay.
Uh. I think he was referring more to an economic reason, rather than just because it's fun.
 

HenryFXP

Guest
#15
Factory Halls and Furnances... 6 and 10 months in development... they surely will be godlike and splendid with such effort right???
 

Kenetor

Master endo
Joined
Aug 9, 2019
Messages
326
#16
Factory Halls and Furnances... 6 and 10 months in development... they surely will be godlike and splendid with such effort right???
be thankful these are in active development, the blueprint projector hasn't been touched in 29 weeks!
 

Tomasz

Well-known endo
Joined
Aug 21, 2021
Messages
63
#17
It took them 3 weeks for Chatlog feedback when entering anti-gravity zones .
This is something so simple as checking if one boolean is true , and anothe rboolean is false + writing simple text message on chat - which is already completed feature.
So it pretty much took them 3 weeks for 1-3 lines of code.
Something like armor rework could take thousands of lines,Lets say 1-3 thousands.
That is 19-60 years of work.
They are planning long time before leaving early acess ^ ^
 

Lukas04

Active endo
Joined
Feb 8, 2020
Messages
42
#18
there is a reason to pvp, because pvpers want to do so. I swear, this pve crowd is constantly trying to silence pvp. Ive never seen any pvper in this entire community try to make pve go away. some people just want to combat. We can salvage parts anyway. they have already created a towing beam. But, again, you and other pve players dont get to dictate what the rest find as viable gameplay.
My dude, ive been doing a lot of PvP in Starbase in my playtime. I really enjoy it as its pretty fun to fly Ships in SB, there just isnt any ecological reason to do it, as Distuth mentioned.
I prefer PvP that has its advantages and disadvantages, not something that youd only use for trolling, even though thats fun at times too.
Salvaging parts is only really worth it in my experience if you fight against other PvPers since their ships have good parts, but by the sound of it, you wouldnt seem like the person that would fight against people that are actuall threats lmao.

I rather have them finally integrate some good hotspots in to the game for PvP before they focus to much on something that people without balls would use to just annoy noobs.
 
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pavvvel

Veteran endo
Joined
Aug 31, 2021
Messages
222
#19
Every time I read the developer's reports, I scroll through this whole huge list in the hope that there will be an improvement in mouse- controlling of the ship........... I sincerely do not understand why most of those things that are currently in development are more important than fundanental ship control options.......?
.
And unkillable capital that cannot be tracked will completely kill PVP and the economy...
 

Tomasz

Well-known endo
Joined
Aug 21, 2021
Messages
63
#20
Every time I read the developer's reports, I scroll through this whole huge list in the hope that there will be an improvement in mouse- controlling of the ship........... I sincerely do not understand why most of those things that are currently in development are more important than fundanental ship control options.......?
.
And unkillable capital that cannot be tracked will completely kill PVP and the economy...
It is false.You cannot kill what is already dead.
 
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