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Q+A Madness - January 2018

TectonTecton
in Questions and Answers
Hello everyone!

Thought I would spend the afternoon answering any questions you may have about Starmourn! Feel free to post up comments and questions below and I'll do my best to answer them!

I'm sure the #1 question on your mind is "When are we opening?" - Soon! Most of our for-launch mechanical systems are all coded up now, but there's still a lot of content still to create before we'll be ready to launch. So when we're comfortable with how everything is looking, we'll start getting people in to play!

Let's see those questions!

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Comments

  • GrootGroot
    After the initial release what sort of RP events are you thinking of hosting? I can't wait to make a name for myself as the guy who showed up that one time for that one thing!
  • TectonTecton
    I doubt there will be any massive-scale events right after opening, mainly because we'll be very busy with tweaking and fixing things, but the lore is such that there's a lot of avenues to pursue, and we're always receptive to player-led RP!
  • GrootGroot
    I don't remember if this was asked or answered, but will there be Guides established before or soon after release? I was a Guide in Achaea for several years and i'd be interested in doing it again if the opportunity came about.

  • VillanoxVillanox
    How would you go about salvaging your ship if it was destroyed in battle? (Thinking of Achaea ship salvaging)
    Will you always have a 'backup' ship?
  • TectonTecton
    Groot said:
    I don't remember if this was asked or answered, but will there be Guides established before or soon after release? I was a Guide in Achaea for several years and i'd be interested in doing it again if the opportunity came about.

    We have guides created, yep! 
  • TectonTecton
    Villanox said:
    How would you go about salvaging your ship if it was destroyed in battle? (Thinking of Achaea ship salvaging)
    Will you always have a 'backup' ship?
    You can purchase insurance for your ship, in which case, it will be ready to go when you're downloaded into your new body
  • XiruXiru
    What’s your favorite class, presently?
    Vote for Starmourn! Don't hurt Poffy.
  • TravelerTraveler
    Are there going to be more city-type orgs eventually, or just the three? Sorry if this has been asked already. I find myself musing about how different relationships may be formed or how they will work out, such as Song vs Ascendancy, or law vs crime.
  • TectonTecton
    Syaja said:
    What’s your favorite class, presently?
    Tough one, I love the kill chain and instakill for BEASTS where you quite literally rip someone in half over your head.
  • TectonTecton
    Traveler said:
    Are there going to be more city-type orgs eventually, or just the three? Sorry if this has been asked already. I find myself musing about how different relationships may be formed or how they will work out, such as Song vs Ascendancy, or law vs crime.
    No plans, but if the situation calls for it, I'm sure we would add more!
  • BandusBandus
    Tecton said:
    Villanox said:
    How would you go about salvaging your ship if it was destroyed in battle? (Thinking of Achaea ship salvaging)
    Will you always have a 'backup' ship?
    You can purchase insurance for your ship, in which case, it will be ready to go when you're downloaded into your new body

    Will "mods" on a ship be replaced as well under insurance? If they will be, will they at lease lose durability/be damaged so that eventually they get destroyed and players have to buy new mods? 


  • TectonTecton
    Bandus said:
    Tecton said:
    Villanox said:
    How would you go about salvaging your ship if it was destroyed in battle? (Thinking of Achaea ship salvaging)
    Will you always have a 'backup' ship?
    You can purchase insurance for your ship, in which case, it will be ready to go when you're downloaded into your new body

    Will "mods" on a ship be replaced as well under insurance? If they will be, will they at lease lose durability/be damaged so that eventually they get destroyed and players have to buy new mods? 


    All the ship systems will be restored to the pre-destruction specs, including mods. Mods will decay through time and use though.
  • TravelerTraveler
    How many worlds (planets) will we be able to visit, at launch?
  • CenCen
    edited January 2018
    Will there be a universe map available, so one can get an idea of where one is in relation to other things?

    (And I am speaking here of a map that shows the various systems and their planets already brought up on the wiki. I've already seen the general one on the website.)
  • CenCen
    Aside from civilizations, will there be other organizations of some sort that players can join? If so, will such be available from the start or will it come later on?
  • TectonTecton
    Traveler said:
    How many worlds (planets) will we be able to visit, at launch?
    We're aiming for 80 - 90 at the minimum, more if time permits. Naturally, building will continue post-launch!
  • TectonTecton
    Cen said:
    Will there be a universe map available, so one can get an idea of where one is in relation to other things?

    (And I am speaking here of a map that shows the various systems and their planets already brought up on the wiki. I've already seen the general one on the website.)

  • TectonTecton
    Cen said:
    Aside from civilizations, will there be other organizations of some sort that players can join? If so, will such be available from the start or will it come later on?
    There will be player clans, which are generally free-form organisations that could range from a family group, to a drug smuggling ring, to a trade federation. We've got some more ideas for an additional organisation type that is a little more conflict-oriented, but we'll see if that makes it for launch!
  • XiruXiru
    What keeps me from flying out into the vastness of space never to be seen or heard from again??

    More seriously, how good are my navigation systems gonna be? 
    Vote for Starmourn! Don't hurt Poffy.
  • TectonTecton
    Syaja said:
    What keeps me from flying out into the vastness of space never to be seen or heard from again??

    More seriously, how good are my navigation systems gonna be? 
    Not all sectors/zones will be able to be traversed at launch, since that kinda limits future expansion - "hey, I flew through here last week and there wasn't a planet here", so you'll eventually hit a giant space nebula of pain  when you reach something that's not available yet.

    Navigating known space is pretty easy though, you'll generally be able to see what's around you, and if you're so inclined, autopilot to get there.
  • VillanoxVillanox
    Tecton said:
    Syaja said:
    What keeps me from flying out into the vastness of space never to be seen or heard from again??

    More seriously, how good are my navigation systems gonna be? 
    Not all sectors/zones will be able to be traversed at launch, since that kinda limits future expansion - "hey, I flew through here last week and there wasn't a planet here", so you'll eventually hit a giant space nebula of pain  when you reach something that's not available yet.

    Navigating known space is pretty easy though, you'll generally be able to see what's around you, and if you're so inclined, autopilot to get there.
    Kinda like Chops in Achaea?
  • XiruXiru
    Tecton said:

    Navigating known space is pretty easy though, you'll generally be able to see what's around you, and if you're so inclined, autopilot to get there.
    Autopilot! For when I'm lazy! I love this more already. 
    Vote for Starmourn! Don't hurt Poffy.
  • TectonTecton
    Villanox said:
    Tecton said:
    Syaja said:
    What keeps me from flying out into the vastness of space never to be seen or heard from again??

    More seriously, how good are my navigation systems gonna be? 
    Not all sectors/zones will be able to be traversed at launch, since that kinda limits future expansion - "hey, I flew through here last week and there wasn't a planet here", so you'll eventually hit a giant space nebula of pain  when you reach something that's not available yet.

    Navigating known space is pretty easy though, you'll generally be able to see what's around you, and if you're so inclined, autopilot to get there.
    Kinda like Chops in Achaea?
    Mechanically similar to the chop walls that block passage to unreleased areas, yep!
  • RolsandRolsand
    edited January 2018
    Do you think that all the classes are equally balanced? Will there be a lot of crowd control abilities in engineer? Will your vitals depend on your level, class and race  or will you be able to increase it with runes?
  • TectonTecton
    Rolsand said:
    Do you think that all the classes are equally balanced? Will there be a lot of crowd control abilities in engineer? Will your vitals depend on your level, class and race  or will you be able to increase it with runes?
    Theoretically, roughly balanced in terms of features. Combat itself as balanced, hard to say, lots of people come up with innovative strategies that can tip the scales dramatically. There will be a lot of adjustments over time. 

    You will have investible stat points, that are a product of your level, which is the main contribution to your various vitals and stats.

  • JeromJerom
    I can already guess the answer to that question but... can you tell us more about combat and how it will work?  o:)
  • SatomiSatomi
    It's been a while, so I may have already forgotten these answers, but:

    1. Will the BEAST eventually have different 'weighted' mech suits?
    I've been watching a fair bit of Anthem stuff, so to summarize what I mean, will there be a Light, Medium, and Heavy BEAST? Sort of like.. Weaponmastery in Achaea. (probably something in the far flung future, at best)

    2. Will combat be focused in a single room, despite props and elevation (barring relocation and other tactical stuff like that)? Or will there be a fair bit of ranged stuff too (room-to-room combat)
  • AureliusAurelius
    1. BEASTs might eventually have different weighted suits. I mean, I'd love to do that, and it's a natural thing to do, but I don't know how we'll end up prioritizing something like that vs the billion other possibilities for cool stuff.

    2, Combat's focused in a single room. There are ranged options, but they can just never really be dominant in a traditional room-by-room system. It's the nature of MUDs. It's really hard, in that kind of system, to provide an overview of the stuff around you (not just in your room) in a quick way that makes sense, especially when most MUD rooms have arbitrary exits, vs exits in all directions (even if some are blocked by walls or trees or cliffs or whatever).

    Also, in Starmourn, unlike other our other MUDs, combat is an explicit state, which gives us the ability to alter things like movement speeds when you're officially 'in combat.' 
  • IndiIndi
    GMCP? Will the game be leveraging gmcp from the outset?

    What are some of the biggest 'lessons learned' from the other IRE muds over the years?

    Which of.the IRE muds (possibly at particular points in time) do you think had the best pvp rules and/or methods of managing issues? (Achaea circa 1999 where there basically weren't any is not a valid answer... even though it kinda was the best).


  • TectonTecton
    Indi said:
    GMCP? Will the game be leveraging gmcp from the outset?

    What are some of the biggest 'lessons learned' from the other IRE muds over the years?

    Which of.the IRE muds (possibly at particular points in time) do you think had the best pvp rules and/or methods of managing issues? (Achaea circa 1999 where there basically weren't any is not a valid answer... even though it kinda was the best).


    GMCP will be in on day one, yep!

    Lessons learned... hrrm, tough one. Segregating and dividing people up into small pockets is probably a big one - you want your game to feel alive and thriving, which doesn't happen when people are spread too thin.

    The current trend in Achaea seems to be going pretty well, with the RP PVP mindset (which is similar to some of the other games)
This discussion has been closed.