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Q+A Madness - May 2018

Hey everyone!
That time again where I'll be answering your questions about all things Starmourn. Post your questions below and I'll answer them ASAP.

To head off the obvious one:
Release date: We're finishing off the final coded systems and getting things ready! We've got a bit more content stuff to power through, but things are getting very close! We're hoping to have some more info about alpha/beta in the near future.

We sent out some teasers in the latest Iron Realms newsletter, giving some details of what we're currently working on. If you didn't get a copy, you can check it online HERE

Have at it, folks!
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Comments

  • I'll start us off!

    Tecton, out of all the coded systems that have been implemented, which one is your favorite and why?
  • Bandus said:
    I'll start us off!

    Tecton, out of all the coded systems that have been implemented, which one is your favorite and why?
    One of our original systems actually. I'm most excited about our combat and targeting system for mobs/npcs/denizens, pretty much every ability can be used against mobs! Unlike the other IRE properties where you might get 2 - 3 abilities to use in when bashing, you can use your entire toolkit! Some mobs will even allow instakills to be used against them!

    I know I've covered this one before, so of the ones I haven't spoken about, the new org conflict system has a lot of potential, with factions being able to fight over ancient Ta-deth technology for various rewards and public supremacy!
  • How do dead BEASTs get their exosuit back?
  • Khargal said:
    How do dead BEASTs get their exosuit back?
    This is just handled automatically, as it'd be too much of a pain to be defenceless while you go and attempt retrieval!
  • how u mine 4 fish?

    "They are elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty."
    — Oscar Wilde


    "I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before."
    — Margaret Atwood

  • edited May 2018
    Kestrel said:
    how u mine 4 fish?
    From orbit, with laz0rs.

    ETA: If this is a serious question about the presence of a fishing skill, no, there isn't one!
  • edited May 2018
    Bunch of Fury questions.
    1. Do you buy kithblade or get one from kithsmith Marud?
    2. How many stances are planned?
    3. Will there be Planetary Diver instakill move?
    And bunch of common questions:
    4. Will there be tutors for every class or one for all?
    5. Will there be space rats or butterflies?
    6. Will there be space Lodi?
    7. Why did we not hear from Aurelius for a while?
    And some meme questions:
    8. Where is Waldo?
    9. Where in the world is Carmen San-Diego
    10.  How to patch KDE2 for FreeBSD
  • Khargal said:
    Bunch of Fury questions.
    1. Do you buy kithblade or get one from kithsmith Marud?
    2. How many stances are planned?
    3. Will there be Planetary Diver instakill move?
    And bunch of common questions:
    4. Will there be tutors for every class or one for all?
    5. Will there be space rats or butterflies?
    6. Will there be space Lodi?
    7. Why did we not hear from Aurelius for a while?
    1) Buy/find.
    2) 7
    3) Nope!
    4) There are battlemasters, which are the class-specific tutors that are generally easy to access from any of the factions. We also have support for generic tutors, which we may use, but we like the thematics of the battlemasters quite a bit!
    5) Nope!
    6) There are areas aimed at newbies, yes!
    7) See above!
  • Kestrel said:
    how u mine 4 fish?
    Actually, yes, we know about resource gathering in space, but will non-bashing resource gathering on planets be a thing?
  • Malash said:
    Kestrel said:
    how u mine 4 fish?
    Actually, yes, we know about resource gathering in space, but will non-bashing resource gathering on planets be a thing?
    No plans to, no. Manual labor? sheesh, that's so last millennium 
  • What armor do all non-BEASTs wear?
  • Khargal said:
    What armor do all non-BEASTs wear?
    Varies by class! Currently it is this:

    Engineer = Medium
    Fury = Light
    Nanoseer = Medium
    Scoundrel = Light


  • I should add to the above, armor isn't just one piece, you'll have armor for head/torso/arms/hands/belt/legs/feet.
  • Are there going to be weapons available other than the class-specific ones, possibly with learnable/purchasable proficiencies?
  • edited May 2018
    Malash said:
    Are there going to be weapons available other than the class-specific ones, possibly with learnable/purchasable proficiencies?
    Not for launch, we really want to focus on the class mechanics and thematics. If we were to launch generic weaponry, they wouldn't anywhere near as effective as class abilities, fwiw!
  • Why nanoseers are medium? They are mages after all
  • Khargal said:
    Why nanoseers are medium? They are mages after all
    With their toolkit, that's the level of protection we felt they would need :)
  • Khargal said:
    Why nanoseers are medium? They are mages after all
    They'd have to be reasonably technically adept, though, to keep the whole glove/nanoswarm system working. Given that, why wouldn't they invest in tech-based protection like an engineer might have?
  • Well, you have a point, And Scoundrels with Furies need light armour to move freely
  • Tecton said:
    Khargal said:
    What armor do all non-BEASTs wear?
    Varies by class! Currently it is this:

    Engineer = Medium
    Fury = Light
    Nanoseer = Medium
    Scoundrel = Light


    Also, BEAST suit is considered heavy armor then and no other class (not introduced yet) will be ever able to wear heavy armor, right? Also, can you give some examples of light and medium armor so we could see a difference
  • OK, three much more serious questions:
    1. Is class combat balance important to devs? Theoretically, should all class be equally good at PvP/bashing? Or is there likely to be a 'best at bashing', 'best at PvP', 'best at utility' class? For example if I play a Scoundrel, and I'm good at it, should I anticipate to always lose against an equally skilled BEAST unless I get the jump on them?
    2. Multiclassing! Will we have it at launch?
    3. Do you have any plans to hire builders in the foreseeable future? Like, for $$$?

    "They are elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty."
    — Oscar Wilde


    "I'll take care of it, Luke said. And because he said it instead of her, I knew he meant kill. That is what you have to do before you kill, I thought. You have to create an it, where none was before."
    — Margaret Atwood

  • This might be too general, but I’m wondering how you relate your game to Eve Online. What are the similarities? Where did you intentionally diverge from Eve’s approach?
  • Kestrel said:
    OK, three much more serious questions:
    1. Is class combat balance important to devs? Theoretically, should all class be equally good at PvP/bashing? Or is there likely to be a 'best at bashing', 'best at PvP', 'best at utility' class? For example if I play a Scoundrel, and I'm good at it, should I anticipate to always lose against an equally skilled BEAST unless I get the jump on them?
    2. Multiclassing! Will we have it at launch?
    3. Do you have any plans to hire builders in the foreseeable future? Like, for $$$?
    1. Class balancing is very important, we'll likely be devoting a bunch of time to that post-launch when we have a bunch of real life data too! No "best at pvp" or "best at pve", everything will generally be equal.

    2. Not at launch, no.

    3. Likely not in the near future.
  • Azor said:
    This might be too general, but I’m wondering how you relate your game to Eve Online. What are the similarities? Where did you intentionally diverge from Eve’s approach?
    Heh, I've never played EVE, to be honest, and I don't think Aurelius has either, but we have looked through their wiki and other data sources to see how they do certain elements when researching.
  • Khargal said:
    Tecton said:
    Khargal said:
    What armor do all non-BEASTs wear?
    Varies by class! Currently it is this:

    Engineer = Medium
    Fury = Light
    Nanoseer = Medium
    Scoundrel = Light


    Also, BEAST suit is considered heavy armor then and no other class (not introduced yet) will be ever able to wear heavy armor, right? Also, can you give some examples of light and medium armor so we could see a difference
    BEASTS are the only class that wear heavy, yes. Examples, you'll have to wait and see when the game launches :)
  • edited May 2018
    If BEAST suits are like other armor and come in parts, are individual BEAST abilities tied to having particular parts equipped (gloves for the stabby knife, for example), or will the whole suit need to be equipped to use any abilities?

    And if BEAST suits do not have individual parts, will you include something like a RAISE FACEPLATE command so I can have a drink without getting naked?
  • Malash said:

    And if BEAST suits do not have individual parts, will you include something like a RAISE FACEPLATE command so I can have a drink without getting naked?
    You'd just drink the drink - the faceplate would simply be ignored, or assumed to have been raised when you drink it. 
  • Malash said:
    If BEAST suits are like other armor and come in parts, are individual BEAST abilities tied to having particular parts equipped (gloves for the stabby knife, for example), or will the whole suit need to be equipped to use any abilities?

    And if BEAST suits do not have individual parts, will you include something like a RAISE FACEPLATE command so I can have a drink without getting naked?
    BEAST suits are basically a frame that your heavy armor parts go on, so you'll upgrade the various pieces like a non-BEAST class would. As for your weapon loadout, the frame has small/medium/large slots, that have a variety of weapons that fit into each size. So you can change your loadout to your situation. 
  • Is there any exciting new development on spaceships (trade, combat, or anything else) after your latest update on the topic that you can share with us?
This discussion has been closed.