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Post by three3pryme on Jul 16, 2015 9:42:30 GMT -5
lets just hope in beta testing that this is responsive.
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Post by Space Borders on Jul 16, 2015 11:42:54 GMT -5
This is just texturing, has nothing to do with responsiveness. Same engine behind it. Regarding the overall game performance, it should greatly improve.
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Post by Space Borders on Jul 16, 2015 12:38:48 GMT -5
Still have to update the look of the radar / mini-map, then all the long-press icons that pop up, which are A LOT, for all the different ship powers and the strategic mode. Also, the power and upgrade icons in the space dock could use some updating.
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Post by three3pryme on Jul 16, 2015 13:57:18 GMT -5
but didnt you switch game engines? for the new ships and a few other things?
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Post by Space Borders on Jul 16, 2015 16:44:55 GMT -5
Nope, the game engine is still the same, it's part of the game itself actually. What I did is make changes to the rendering module of the engine, as well as a few changes to the Sparrow Framework, for better performance. This however does not in anyway interfere with the UI module, so no need to worry.
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Post by three3pryme on Jul 16, 2015 18:13:35 GMT -5
Ok! But are we ever going to have to swap engines in case something major is added like a bunch of new things. (skirmish mode ). also what does the strategy button do again? EDIT: Never mind im pretty sure its the star button from before
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Post by Space Borders on Jul 17, 2015 4:07:08 GMT -5
You can't swap engines, it's the core of the game, on top of which everything is built. It's like the foundation of a building. Even skirmish mode would be built on top of it, not side by side, or into it. Anyway, this is getting off topic. Let's focus on the UI instead.
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Post by three3pryme on Jul 17, 2015 9:40:31 GMT -5
aunderstood
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Post by Space Borders on Jul 17, 2015 17:23:16 GMT -5
I'm almost done with the UI. It was truly a lot of work, especially while programming a lot in parallel. I hope you like it. Though I reused lots of the original icons, I think it looks much better still. At this point, let me explain a little bit about how the harvester and tac. fighter are used. In the image below a resource asteroid has been long pressed. You can see that the harvester has a green "MINE" label, meaning that it can directly launch from the mothership and mine. If you click an empty spot while the harvester is docked, it will show you "LAUNCH", just like the fighter in this image. This allows you to launch it, without actually targeting any object yet. Once the fighter or harvester is launched, you can at any time long press targets or resources respectively, to start an attack or to start harvesting. If you long press an empty / unrelated part of the screen while any of the two is launched or "at work", you will find that it says "DOCK", so you can recall them. Easy, right?
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Post by Space Borders on Jul 17, 2015 18:40:35 GMT -5
Just played Breakdown (aka Fragmentation) and it was a really nice experience. It felt like finally everything was coming together. The cool new HD graphics, the new AI, the new background scenery, the performance improvements that took many days to accomplish and caused lots of headaches, the new special effects, the new UI etc. etc. To me it almost felt like I'm playing a different game. I absolutely can't wait to see what Yann is going to do to the alien ships. He wants to use bugs (insects) for inspiration, which I think is a great idea.
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Post by three3pryme on Jul 17, 2015 19:07:53 GMT -5
lol i saw he uses bugs on facebook ! but anywho they still look nice! This is like a total re-decoration update if i say so myself!
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Post by acbirkland on Jul 19, 2015 9:37:43 GMT -5
Is there a date set for the possible release of the update?
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Post by Space Borders on Jul 19, 2015 14:49:02 GMT -5
I wish I could say for sure. There is always something being worked on, all the time. This causes the game to be in a permanent "alpha" state, so it's very difficult to release even a beta version. If the game would be released as it is now, even as a beta, it would cause some trouble. However, since I've promised a beta, I will try to patch up the last few changes and prepare one. Sorry for the delay, but I can promise you that everything humanly possible is being done to get this game ready, by both Yann and me.
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Post by acbirkland on Jul 19, 2015 16:06:29 GMT -5
One idea for the update though, after you update, make sure you save some screenshots of the old graphics so you can compare them on the App Store to help show people the amount of work you're putting in and that you haven't abandoned the game, in addition to showing how far it's come.
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Post by Space Borders on Jul 19, 2015 16:51:22 GMT -5
Oh for sure, I have tons of screenshots, but I don't think putting the old ones along with the new ones on the App Store, will have much meaning for those who don't know the game. However, a link could be added in the description that links to a thread in the forum, showing the transformations the game has gone through since it's first release in 2011.
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