Starbase Progress Notes: Week 2 (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 2 of 2022!

This week's progress notes show all the major the 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 nearly the whole holiday period. 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.

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Starbase Progress Notes: Week 2 (2022)
January 10th - 14th

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
Military type Capital Ships To participate in siege, a civilian Capital Ship needs to be turned into a military model. Military capital ships are capable of initiating and taking part in siege battles. ✔️ 6 weeks
Integrity check: Outer shell A separate integrity check for checking the outer shell, or the plating, of a Capital Ship while in the Build Mode. ✔️ 3 weeks
Display effects for several tools and weapons New feedback display for several tools and weapons to give more feedback to the player when using them, for example about ammo count and charging. ✔️ 6 weeks
Placing multiple objects in (E)BM Allows easily placing multiple pieces of the same module or single item in rows when building by holding down the placement button. ✔️ 3 weeks
Quick select for modules in build mode Pointing at a module in game and pressing a specific hotkey spawns a new module of the same type for quicker building, if those types of modules are available in the player's station storage. ✔️ 2 weeks
Free-form snapping for build mode An easy way of placing and attaching modules on top of surfaces. ✔️ 10 weeks
Updated tutorial structure Refactored tutorial structure that is divided into main quests, secondary quests and dismissable hints. A Factory Hall tutorial has also been added with the update. ✔️ 10 weeks
New billboards New set of billboards in different shapes that can be used as decorative elements in EBM. ✔️ 3 weeks
New extendable lamps New set of extendable lamps that can be used as decorations in EBM. ✔️ 2 weeks
Polished pickaxe animations Pickaxe stand idle aim animations, stand and crouch versions have been polished. ✔️ 1 week


In-Progress
New
Feature Description State Time in development
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 2 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 1 week
Heat sinks Large devices that can be used to store great amounts of heat produced in a ship with relatively high transfer rates. Design & Art 1 week
Interact UI New UI elements to guide players when interacting with items in the game-world, such as the pilot chair. Design 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 both grid and snapping placement of objects, and polishing the support plinth building logic. Programming 3 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 27 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. Art 14 weeks
Moon terrain generation & customization Development tools for creating different terrain types to enable a lot more variety to moon terrains. Programming 20 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 flying by. Programming 5 weeks
Capital Ship destination visualization Visualization to indicate the spot where a fast traveling Capital Ship is about to arrive. This is to alert other players and let them know that they should vacate the area quickly, since staying within it when the Capital Ship fast travels there is lethal. QA 4 weeks
Capital Ship Dock orientation visualization Capital Ship Docks gets an orientation indicator similar to Ship Designer to show where the center of the dock build area is and which direction is front and up. Programming & QA 4 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 4 week
Capital Ship creation confirmation A confirmation pop-up about creating a new Capital Ship when entering an empty Capital Ship Dock. Programming 1 week


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 9 weeks
Capital Ship and station size classes Capital Ships can initiate siege only against stations of the same size class. Programming 6 weeks
Siege timeslot mechanics Mechanics for initiating the siege by choosing a timeslot for the attack. The defending station is able to change their preferred timeslot for battles. Programming & QA 10 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 layer at a time towards the center of the structure. Visuals and effects will indicate if an area is capturable and who is currently in control. Programming & QA 10 weeks
Teams and outsider players Players other than the original attackers and defenders can pledge allegiance to either team, and then help them in capturing areas for their victory. Captured areas have all access rights temporarily removed so that any other players, who have chosen to stay unaffiliated, can raid the warzone. Programming & QA 7 weeks
Siege aftermath When one side fills the win condition for a set amount of time and siege minimum time has passed, the siege ends. Design & Programming 7 weeks
Siege Terminal Similar screen view as Capital Ship Fast Travel Terminal, where a Capital Ship can initiate a siege battle. Programming 6 weeks
Siege HUD During siege battles, the HUD will show e.g. the area capture situation, siege time and victory countdown. Design & Programming 3 week


Spaceships
Feature Description State Time in development
Spaceship Registration Deed A carriable item that allows registering and claiming ownership of an unowned spaceship. Programming & QA 8 weeks
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 8 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. Design 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 week
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
Saving blueprints outside of Ship Designer Allows saving changes made to ship blueprints outside of the Ship Designer. Blueprints can be saved to three slots, and the updated blueprint can be used to repair the ship in the Repair Shop or with tools. Programming 17 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 13 weeks
Ships towing ships Allows towing other ships with a towing device. This makes it possible to carry discovered or broken down ships elsewhere for repairs, for example. Design & Programming 4 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 Easy Build Mode. Design 1 week


Stations and (Easy) Build Mode
Feature Description State Time in development
Stations Player-made stations, the first iteration. Programming 26 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. Design & Programming 5 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. Programming & Configuration 20 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 29 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 5 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 2 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 19 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
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 5 weeks
Bigger screens Bigger screens with extended features, such as grid displays and text panels. Design 3 weeks
Adjustable paint area size for Paint Tool Allows adjusting the size of the area that gets painted when using the Paint Tool. Programming 2 weeks
Updated heat mechanics Updated mechanics for various devices, ship weapons and thrusters generating heat and becoming overheated. Design & Configuration 4 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. Design & Configuration 10 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 2 weeks
Single part missiles and torpedoes New single-part missiles and torpedoes. Programming 4 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
Tripod Laser The set-up and animations for another new tripod weapon, Tripod Laser. Configuration & Art 5 weeks
Tripod Plasma Creating and setting up the newest tripod weapon, Tripod Plasma. Also visual effects for it. Configuration & Art 7 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. Design 15 weeks
More tutorials Next to be added are an inventory and quickbar guide, durability error tutorial, insurance transfer tutorial, and a guide to siege. Programming 7 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 46 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 1 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 fuel rods snapping into fuel chambers. Programming 1 week


Gallery

w2_orematerials_haderite_v2.jpg w2_orematerials_karnite_v2.jpg w2_orematerials_lukium_v2.jpg w2_orematerials_nhurgite_v2.jpg w2_orematerials_surtrite_v2.jpg

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Purchase Starbase Early Access now on Steam!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

XenoCow

Master endo
Joined
Dec 10, 2019
Messages
562
#6
It's looking like siege is in the last phase pretty much of development.

More importantly, ball turrets have begun the art phase.
 

Senkii

Well-known endo
Joined
Feb 18, 2020
Messages
87
#7
Those crystal textures look hot!
Still very much looking forward to ship deeds tho, hope they'll be ready for a first PTU release soon-ish :D
 

Thk

Learned-to-sprint endo
Joined
Sep 1, 2021
Messages
21
#9
I assume the secure chips will be non-copyable, so that said it might be nice to be able to upload personal in-world edits to the secure chip you received, like with the same three slots you can save to in world, so you can restore your personalized version in the case of your secure chip ship getting totaled. (losing a lot of hard work put into personalization can hit much harder than any credit loss)
(post 11 of asking for full (or just more) precision on the designer translation tool and rotation tool number readout and input boxes. Relative nudge would also be huge and a tolerable alternative) (yes this still bugs me greatly)
 

Zarenno

Active endo
Joined
Jan 14, 2022
Messages
26
#10
Three Questions:
1. Can we get an update on the radiation tracking of ships?

2. For station cluster safezones, when they are attacked - Can the attackers now attack and destroy the whole cluster in an all out war?

3. Armor rebalance, so that spamming the biggest pieces isnt the meta? Can we get like each plate to have small sections for armor protection values (so that we dont have GIANT PLATE meta and can have better designs?)
 
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AlexiyOne

Well-known endo
Joined
Feb 3, 2020
Messages
85
#11
Amazing progress notes!
I hope Refueling tools V2 bring ways of refueling ships besides capitals to allow the ability to refuel without having to craft refueled fuel rods, Heat sinks are I assume are having to be refueled like cooling cells(would like confirmation on this), Priority snap points for single items is something I have been wanting for a while when I am in traveling and want to refuel I usually have to turn the rods multiple times for them to be in fuel chamber and this hopefully will fix that. Looking forward to the rebalancing and capitals too. Great textures for the ores by the way!
 
Joined
Aug 4, 2021
Messages
2
#13
Keep it up and love to see the progress! Very excited for updates and reasons to draw friends back to the game.
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2021
Messages
5
#15
Thank you for the update, love the game! Great to hear there are a lot of features in the works. Are there going to be more video updates discussing the new features? I thought those were really good.
 
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