Greetings, Commanders.
Today we’re sharing second batch of answers to your questions. This time we are posting a bit more, so we would cover a variety of different topics.
How big is the Starminer world/galaxy going to be? and how much of it is playable space.
Starminer spans three star systems - Sol, Lalande and Alpha Centaury. Together, that is about 25+ environments. We plan to keep expanding the universe post-launch with new content and locations..
Are there any AI adversaries within Starminer? I’m sure the enemies will become aggressive at some point with expansion but if we
learn, as a gamer, what point that is and maintain below that threshold, will we ever be aggressed? Or could we potentially not be
aggressed by staying within a reasonable safe bounds?
Now, the AI controls several high-risk sectors. If players enter these sectors, they will get invaded. There are also several instances of enemy outposts that are not aggressive from the start, but will attack if the player comes to close. We are still developing a sort of meta-AI system which will spawn enemy motherships on course to friendly sectors and, if left unchecked, enemy forces may expand into nearby sectors, creating dynamic challenges for players. Several attributes will contribute to the chances of this AI spawning, but it will mainly depend on how developed the player is and how much heat they output.
Will there be beyond end game goals? Or the freedom to set personal goals? An example is in Factorio where you can set a goal
to achieve a number of science per minute with mechanisms in place to effectively expand endlessly.
Definitely, players can set their own goals like in Factorio. For example, they could build gates in every sector to create a transport network, connecting all the environments. Or populate every sector with thousands of colonists. Throughout the EA we will also introduce a more dynamic mission system, which will generate missions according to the needs of different the NPC stations and factions scattered throughout the systems.
How much will Excel be needed to effectively play Starminer?
We are trying to keep this to a minimum, so hopefully - none.
Will there be a place to save ship 'templates', or will you need to custom build each ship? Will there be ship 'types' that restrict
the type of modules you can place (e.g. railguns or mining lasers are avaiable, but not both due to ship type)?
Yes, you can already save ship templates and recall them. We are also adding a backend which will enable players to share these templates.
Will there be unique / powerful modules / technologies as a reward for side quests and if so, are they persistent across
maps / locations?
Yes, there are certain unique modules planned for completing certain missions. We are still working on that.
Is there an incentive or reason you would want to build big/small? Why would you want to avoid one or the other in certain senarios?
Larger stations would generate a lot of heat and can also become unwieldy if not designed with some thought. But they can also be an all-in-one solution for various challenges. Smaller stations have lower heat ouput and can stay unbothered for longer. They are also faster and usually easier to maneuver.
Will we have options for setting ships to escort others or patrol areas?
Yes, there are frigate vessels that can patrol areas with custom-set waypoints. However, for now, the player-built stations or ships can not be controlled with auto-pilot (but we're working on it).
With paradox being the publisher and their past with other games how much DLC/expansions can we expect?
Too early to say. Right now, we’re fully focused on delivering a complete Early Access experience. Future expansions will depend on player feedback and interest.
How friendly the game will be to community modifications?
The modding system is not in place yet, but besides multiplayer, this is one of the features that is on top of our list to add as soon as possible.
Will there be Steam Workshop integration for sharing ship templates?
We are making a system which will enable players to share ship templates within the game. But we might also expand it to the Steam Workshop.
Will there be multiplayer content?
Multiplayer is something we’d love to add post-release, but it’s a large feature and will take time.
Wondering if there will be boarding and capturing hostile ships/stations considering crew and shuttles are already a thing?
We have discussed this in the past internaly and this feature is on the to-do list.
are asteroids immovable or just hard to push due to their mass? - Mor117
i would like to expand the question to ask about everything non-player related (Will we be able to move all non player created entities
such as stations, ships, vessels, etc that will be in the game), but specifically asteroids.
Yes, the asteroids are movable, there are also specialised modules for their transport. Everything in the game is movable if enough force is applied.
Will there be joystick/HOTAS/HOSAS support for directly controlling our ships?
Likely not at release, but this is definitely one of the features we'd like to implement.
What is your favourite feature/part of the game? Gameplay-wise and maybe if it's different, what was the feature you enjoyed coding/working on the most?
Gameplay-wise: creating unlimited stations and still coming up with new, interesting designs after all these years. From the coding perspective: refactoring existing systems and seeing them get improved. Also, the system for energy redistribution and tradeship behaviour (docking, moving) was very challenging and fun to implement.
Release when ?
We’re currently in the polishing phase. Once everything meets our quality bar, we’ll announce the release date.
UI praises - maybe address those in some way. Just that there will be more improvements
There will always be improvements to every parts of the game, including the UI.
dont you think there is so much help and UI?
The UI can already be tweaked and panels disabled. We are also working on more UX/UI improvements for release.
This game is right up my alley I have been waiting for it to come out for so long I actually forgot about it. Since this tutorial is coming out does that mean EA/release will be coming soon?
Somewhat - the Early Access phase is definitely coming. We’ll share an exact date once it’s locked.
And this it for now! Fly safe, commanders.