[Official] Behind the scenes

[SupraRZ]

This game has got me hooked again...looking forward to new DLC ..
More ships the merrier med size ships need a hefty shield boost or at least a turret...
I would like to see drones get some love also docking fighters on carriers ..

[Sparky Sparkycorp]

More ships the merrier med size ships need a hefty shield boost or at least a turret...

The lack of turrets on M ships does feel like a problem for balance for me.

Katanas, Daitos more so the Xenon P, are really easy to out-maneuver and now it feels almost risk-free* since there's little-to-no return fire. Yet they're still balanced around being slow and large targets but they don't have substantially better main guns than S ships either.

Perhaps due to the extra time they spend turning, I feel like I take more fire from the wingman of my target if it is an S ship than an M ship. M ships take longer to kill but they don't feel more capable.

A turret or two might change that but seemingly without existing assets, that seems unlikely to appear soon. Perhaps a couple of guided missiles on M combat ships could help them counter faster targets instead. The Katana/Daito's V Launchers are a nice idea for shooting capitals/stations but AFAIK they shoot their own projectiles and damage themselves.


Edit: * Compared to AP/TC
Edit 2: Clarification to text in para starting "Katanas"

[Earth Ultimatum IV.]

Agree. Katanas, Daitos and the P too, need a buff. A serious one.
Tried purchasing 20 Katanas/Daitos once. Sent them against Reiver fighters. The pirates simply outmanuever them and the Katanas/Daitos aren't even capable of doing more shield damage than pirates recharge because they're too bulky to keep aim on the target.

Picked a few missions today and fought the Xenon Ps. They are too weak too. They may be larger and heavier than M/Ns, and may take a little bit more beating, but they barely scratch and are too bulky to keep aim at player.

On the other side, they're too weak to fight capships, and too bulky to avoid turret fire.
There's no practical use for Katanas or Daitos yet. Too bulky and weak to face smaller AND larger enemies.

But I really like the model of the Xenon P.
I hope that you keep it and have in the upcoming game too, would try out flying it.

[ezra-r]

regarding all those fighters, don't you guys have the feeling they are too small?

Maybe I'm too used to how even the smallest m5 looked in X... series, but in Rebirth, they are tiny, super tiny!

[Tamina]

Capitals and stations just got gigantic, seems fine to me. Only the Skunk has odd proportions to the rest of the universe.

[Magnu]

What's protecting ships from flares and radiation in Darned Hot Air but can't endure a few seconds in the exhaust of a cap ship?

[UniTrader]

What's protecting ships from flares and radiation in Darned Hot Air but can't endure a few seconds in the exhaust of a cap ship?

i think the comment for the price calculation in the classic X games explains this best...

Spoiler

Show

Its magic.™

[Aken_Bosch]

Well, the star is always there blazing, while you'll never know when someone will shove a giant-several-terajoules-level-engine exhaust right in front of your nose...it's not about the damage, but the effect of surprise

[spankahontis]

What's protecting ships from flares and radiation in Darned Hot Air but can't endure a few seconds in the exhaust of a cap ship?

Needs to be full of hazardous regions, I think that would suffice, or an extension you can only buy from mechanics in DeVries to protect against the suns rays.

[Tamina]

According to classic thermodynamics you need a higher energy potential to the energy level of the surrounding environment to get exergy in order to move those ships.

So the exhaust of capitals engines are either emitting way higher energy levels then the sun does or are emitting exergies different then the ones from the sun.
Shields of ships obviously can't handle the higher or different form of energy coming out of those engines.

Does that answer your question?
Can we now please concentrate again on important things like why sound in XR can travel through empty space or why ships don't have thrusters at the front and sides?
Guys! Those are the important questions for a game - a product where concept decisions are based to make fun for the customer rather then fulfilling any real purpose.
Why do Teladis call their ships like (probably since thousands of years extinct) birds from Earth; a long lost and forgotten, then found again, now lost again, planet from another race?

[vkerinav]

Why do Teladis call their ships like (probably since thousands of years extinct) birds from Earth; a long lost and forgotten, then found again, now lost again, planet from another race?

I believe the answer to this question can be found in phrases like 'Gangrene Chaser'. Though I've yet to come up with a good reason why anyone would want to catch gangrene, no matter their species.

A better question would be why we were given translations of the proper names for Split ships, but left with Argon designations for Teladi ones. I call fowl.

Sorry about that last bit.

[Ormac]

A better question would be why we were given translations of the proper names for Split ships, but left with Argon designations for Teladi ones.

Possibly because

1. Slimey, Green Lizardy Things are everywhere.

The fact that they're slimey and lizardy probably means no Argon has gone up to them to correct the record regarding ship names so we are stuck with Argon database designations.

Or

2. Because the Skunk is a unique prototype ship in Rebirth it has this odd computer database that does not conform to Rebirth Database Standards and so the Teladi ship records have information that is older than the highways and probaly wrong.

-- Ormac

[Sparky Sparkycorp]

The sound question is easy to address too

If our computers today are good enough to simulate with stereo sound the passage of significant objects (ships, weapon fire, stations) outside our ship, they will be tomorrow. Therefore 'sound in space' doesn't need to be interpreted as really being in space unless we want to do interpret it that way.

[pref]

Since radiation fades with distance squared, and you are 1m from the engine, while the sun is still millions of kms away you can imagine that a sensible engine output does more damage.

[mr.WHO]

A better question would be why we were given translations of the proper names for Split ships, but left with Argon designations for Teladi ones.

Possibly because

1. Slimey, Green Lizardy Things are everywhere.

The fact that they're slimey and lizardy probably means no Argon has gone up to them to correct the record regarding ship names so we are stuck with Argon database designations.

Or

2. Because the Skunk is a unique prototype ship in Rebirth it has this odd computer database that does not conform to Rebirth Database Standards and so the Teladi ship records have information that is older than the highways and probaly wrong.

-- Ormac

Maybe Teladi names, like their personal names are long, complex and hard to spell. Thus Split "Gangrene Chaser" is OK, but no original Teladi name.

[linolafett]

Here is the promised second ship. It will replace the Gigurums in Devries. This is the bulk variation.

[ external image ]

[BigBANGtheory]

looking good lino, those shaders adding nicely to the metallic look and feel of the textures

[Sparky Sparkycorp]

Nice! Reminds me of the Lepton and Onil

[mr.WHO]

Nice one! I like it more than OL one (but still both of them are waaaay better than Ugligurum).

@linolafett: Can you tell us if you plan to adress the general lack of frigates types at some point of the future? Both Balor and Stormvok are not exactly good general patrol ships.

[linolafett]

At the moment i do not have any additional ship building tasks.