FTL Flight Paths a.k.a "Whaddaya mean I can't go that way?"

General discussion about the game.
Maze1125
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Re: FTL Flight Paths a.k.a "Whaddaya mean I can't go that wa

Postby Maze1125 » Sun May 20, 2012 12:16 pm

I have to disagree with it being a sensor upgrade. I feel it doesn't make any sense.

You already know where every star is (and, as a consequence, how far each star is apart) and how far your ship can travel.
So there's no new information a sensor upgrade could give that would allow you to calculate which stars you can travel between any better than you already could.

I think a simple mouse over for each star is the best solution.

That said, maybe there could be a sensor up-grade that would allow you to see stars that you couldn't before, like brown dwarfs. Thereby opening new paths through the system, and new possible encounters.
soratidus999
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Re: FTL Flight Paths a.k.a "Whaddaya mean I can't go that wa

Postby soratidus999 » Mon May 21, 2012 6:52 am

actually, theres a extremely high possibility you DONT know where every star is exactly, a preliminary sensor sweep may only be approximate locations
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Maze1125
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Re: FTL Flight Paths a.k.a "Whaddaya mean I can't go that wa

Postby Maze1125 » Mon May 21, 2012 8:55 am

I don't think that makes much sense either. For two reasons, one in game and one physics based.

1. The distance between the stars doesn't get adjusted as you move through the sector. If it were just an estimate then they would change as you visited them and you got their exact location. As things stand, you can work out which stars you can travel between beforehand by simply putting a ruler up against the screen. It makes no sense that we have to do that physically, rather than the ship board computer working it out for us.

2. Stars are giant balls of fusing plasma in a sea of nothing, as such their exact locations are very easy to deduce, there's nothing in the way, nothing to obscure the data, no ambiguity at all. With our current level of technology we can map the entire galaxy, even other galaxies. Really, if we ever have FTL travel, we should have reached a point where we simply have in-built maps of all the stars, with no need to actually detect them before we know where they are.
soratidus999
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Re: FTL Flight Paths a.k.a "Whaddaya mean I can't go that wa

Postby soratidus999 » Tue May 22, 2012 8:43 am

Stars are giant balls of fusing plasma in a sea of nothing


yeah.... and plasma does some weird shit

the galaxy is a strange place - nebulae, planets, just plain noise... anything can fool or mess with even a sophisticated scanner

and btw no we cant map the entire galaxy, we have mapped a tiny section of the orion arm (local arm) of the galaxy, we have little to no data on the other side of the galaxy - only enough to guesstimate the shape of the milky way
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Maze1125
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Re: FTL Flight Paths a.k.a "Whaddaya mean I can't go that wa

Postby Maze1125 » Tue May 22, 2012 10:26 am

I didn't say we had mapped the galaxy, I said we can map the galaxy.

Pick a star, any star, and we have the technology to pinpoint its exact location. That's all you need to map the galaxy.
This, however, takes times. The primary reason being that we have to take two readings of the star, one when the Earth is on the opposite side of the Sun to the first. Which is why we don't have the entire galaxy mapped yet.

If, however, you have the technology to jump between stars, then the time wait becomes irrelevant, as you can just jump to a neighbouring star to get the second reading from there. There is absolutely no reason that a civilisation that has FTL travel wouldn't have an entire map of all the fusing stars in the galaxy they were in.

And, no, plasma does not cause any kind of interference. There's just too little of it in the universe for it to do that.
Yes, there are things that can cause interference, but we're quite able to account for those things, and plasma is not one of them.
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Matthew
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Re: FTL Flight Paths a.k.a "Whaddaya mean I can't go that wa

Postby Matthew » Wed May 23, 2012 4:23 am

I think maybe it'd be worth pointing out one small fact about the game. Technically, you're looking at a "Beacon Map" not a map of stars :). Beacons were created by the intelligent species of the galaxy and placed to aid in FTL jumps and calculations. They're haphazard in their placement, and not created by one organized group. A beacon could even be flat out in the middle of nowhere, no star for light-years, though it's rare.

That being said, the way the paths work is unrelated to any physical reality about the universe. It's been a game design decision up until now that the paths are hidden. We generally work in creating a game first, and then worrying about trek-speak afterwards to explain it.

I personally enjoy that you don't know exactly how many jumps it will take to get between A and B, or if it's even possible. It adds suspense to the game, and makes your path decision more of a risk if it's not absolutely clear the beacons are close enough to jump between. Changing how this work has been discussed, and if we do make any changes the most likely scenario is that we'll include multiple types of sectors (some that function like the current ones, and some that are easier or harder to navigate). Sensor upgrades has also been discussed as a possibility. Thanks for the ideas :)

-Matt
Matthew Davis, Subset Games Developer - If you're looking for tech support, you'll get help faster emailing directly, contact info here
soratidus999
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Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2012 11:18 am

Re: FTL Flight Paths a.k.a "Whaddaya mean I can't go that wa

Postby soratidus999 » Wed May 23, 2012 1:16 pm

happy to help!

thanks once again for doing such great work!
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