i'm not sure if this is the right section of the forum to post this topic, but as you can guess it apppears to me to be adequate.
Also forgive me my bad English, specially because this post is quite long
As a hobby developer i love the possibility to program in LUA IG. That said i encounter so much frustration because of limitations that are currently IG.
I searched the forums and Discord to see if i can get answers to my questions, but in the end nothing helped me. so i'm here
I'm not posting here to rage about those limitations, but as i'm engaging a fairly high amount of time in realizing things i wonder if this work will not get useless after some future updates.
So i'm coming up with some questions about future features of DU LUA.
Before diving into LUA details let me give you the understanding i have of the vison DU has.
For me DU is a root level sand box where players will build and realize the content and environnement. DU call itself a game where players will build civilisations.
with the current balance and the scale of building things like civilisation, or even more humble let's say a town, it requires a lot of time to gather, transform and build. And that is the easy part. The more difficult job is to make a project appealing in order to seduce players in joining. From then you need to manage, organise, control, and plan things.
Again at the scale we are talking about you'll probably have dozens of players and as much tasks to manage. Thus you will handle huge amounts of data and communication.
That's the point were i want LUA join the party.
Event Calendars, accounting of players activity, Task management, Statistics, just to list some
In the current state those thing will not be possible because of missing API features and existing restrictions.
So here a list of things that i'm interested in knowing if they will find somehow a way into the game or if it's already known that they are a no go
System
Will there be a GUI API that allows interaction (mouse and/or keyboard handling) on screen elements, HUD ?
Will there be a documentation about rules for CPU overload evaluation ?
Will the LUA code size limit stay or change ?
Will the screen element content size stay or change ?
Will player accounts be IRL verified ? i mean will we be able to detect multi account players ?
Data Storage
Will there be some client side storage ?
Will there be some server side storage ?
Will there be some évolutions of the IG Databank in terms of storage space and APIs like CRUD like sql) ?
Messaging
Will there be a way to send messages to another player in a hidden system channel reserved for LUA messaging ?
Will there be a way to post send messages to chat (all default channels and private channels) ?
Will there be a way to interact from LUA with a server on Internet like a discord or web server ?
Will receivers / emitters have some more features like private communication vs broadcasting ?
Core API
Will there be a way to see the size (XS,S,M,L,XL) of an element ( getElementSizeyId(id) ) ?
Will there be a way to modify link between elements ?
Will there be a way to interact with RDMS like adding or removing people/orgs in Actors, elements in Tags ?
Will there be more ranks in orgs and will there be a way to edit memberships from LUA ?
Will it be possible to gather more data from players API like orgs memberships and/or talent tree ?
Will it be possible to rename elements ?
IG Storage
Will there be a way to get the container inventory ?
If yes will there be a way to get the owners (claim) for each item stack ?
Industry
Will there be a way to set recipe?
Will the be a way to set the amount to craft ?
That's the most important for me that i remembered during posting this.
I'm sure i missed a lot of questions that are important, like all the piloting related stuff for example.
i Wonder what you guys are thinking about my questions and hopefully those skilled in other LUA IG mechanics add their question if they feel like me
In principle I have nothing against the ability to hide things, or put in dampening fields to hide the electro magnetic signature of electronics and machines. However I also think that doing so should have a penalty, for example when the dampening field is on then you cant trade in the nearby market, or communicate with people/machines outside of the field - after all you are trying to be stealthy and comms gives away your position.
Note: You already have the ability to build underground bases, so that ability is already there.
Secondly, to be really stealthy, you would not have a base force shield, to do so would advertise the fact that you are there. If you have either the force field going you should be able to be seen from space when someone first enters orbit.
As far a beacon objects, nopes. If you set down a territory unit that identifies you as the owner of that land - think of it as a land deed, or mining rights deed etc. People will know you are there simply because they can quickly, electronically, look up who owns what from the 'planetary land register'. So to be truly stealthy you just dig a base without any territory unit - with all the risks that go with doing that......
Keep in mind that territory units generally will be to expensive for solo players to purchase, land ownership will generally be a group thing
As far as PvP I believe there should be some form of anonymity and potential cloaking - but only up to the point that base sensors, and/or players see you - then your name bubble etc should be shown. (There are many threads on this subject - the search tool above is your friend )
So, for the most part, you can already do 80% of what you want in DU as it is
Disclaimer: All ideas are based on the publicly available info, not under NDA.
Hello, so one of my biggest concerns with the voxel building tools so far, is the lack of support for curved shapes. I really think it would be sad to see an amazing game like this, filled with only Minecraft Box spaceships. Because curved shapes are so impossible to make. So here are a few basic additions I think could really improve on the current voxel building system. I know, more advanced voxel editing are planned like being able to edit control points, and a Voxel Element Library for more complex shapes. But, there are other, more simple things I think that can be done to get curved shapes into the game sooner rather then later. So, the basic idea is to make curved voxel shapes easily available so players would be encouraged to build none box shaped ships and constructs. I did some artwork to help illustrate my ideas. Please feel free to discuss and give feedback on this thread in the comments. Ok, So lets dive right into it.
These pictures are examples of designs that can be made with these shapes.
Starting Primitives
So, there are several shapes to begin with when using the voxel deploy tool. Here are some important primitives I suggest should be added as voxel brush shapes. Those shapes are Oblate Sphere, Prolate Sphere, Cone, Torus, Elbow Joint.
Why these shapes?
The reason I chose these shapes is because they are nearly impossible to make with with the current tools. An even with advanced editing options, they would still be difficult to get right. So it seems like a no-brainer to have these shapes as starting primitives for the voxel brush. It would make it much easier to start creating curved shaped constructs, and encourage more creative designs.
This picture is of the voxel shapes I think should be added to the voxel brush tool.
Voxel Shape Options
So the next thing is an a expansion on the voxel shapes, by adding parameters before/after the shapes is deployed. For example, having an option like size, and diameter of the TORUS shape before/after you deploy it, or option to set how extreme the elongation is on the SPHERE or CONE before/after you deploy it, and even maybe set the angle of the Elbow joint. So, the way I imagine it would work is, when you select a starting primitive shape, shortcuts like arrow keys, numbers keys are used to set the value of the shape options, then you can deploy it as normal. Also, having an option box that would stay on screen as long as you're using that shape could work too, so that you can continue to change options and deploy new shapes.
This pictures give an example of what changing the options would look like on each shape.
Bevel, Fillet, sharpen edge tool
So, we currently have a tool that allows builder to smooth edges, but to expand on that idea, I think we should also have the option to Bevel, Fillet, or sharpen edges as needs. The issue is that most times the smooth tool does not give the desired result, or maybe you only want to bevel an edge but not smooth it, or maybe you want some edges with a fillet and some edges sharpen. I imagine it working exactly like the current smooth edge tool, except you would be able to Bevel an edge, Fillet an edge, or Sharpen an edge.
This pictures below illustrates how the tool would effect the edge. This is the current smooth tool.
Scale Axes
I think this is a simple, but vary important option that needs to be available. Basically we have the option to scale the size of voxel primitives, but we should also have the option to scale voxel primitives on a specific axis (X, Y, Z). This I think would definitely add greater control to create the desired shapes, as well as enhance the freedom of creativity.
Hollow Primitives
So, this thought came to me last minute, but I think its something that shouldn't be overlooked. The ability to start with hollow voxel primitives. Either a voxel brush option to deploy hollow voxels, or solid, and set the wall thickness, or have hollow voxel shapes as a standard starting shape to choose from. I know that there is an option to cut out voxels using primitives shapes, but the main issue is that cutting out voxels gives a very ugly looking result, most times the edges don't look right at all, or you need a hard edge but the cut out has a rounded edge with a messy texture. Also, hollow primitive shapes would improve the speed, and ease of use when building constructs. Especially when working with curved shapes. Trying to hollow out a curved shape would be a nightmare, so starting with a hollow shape would be great.
Voxel Elements
So my last suggestion is in regard to Voxel Elements. Novaquark mention in this DevBlog that will have a Library of detail, or complex voxel shapes that players could use in their constructs. They mentioned a spiral staircase as an example. Well, here are a few shapes that I think should be included in that database of Voxel Elements.
Pictures of suggested Voxel Elements to add to the Voxel Library.
I know that a voxel point cloud editing system is in development, list on trello Here. That will really open up lots of possibilities for builders. But, in addition to that, having a variety of voxel brush shapes to start with is still needed to give builders alternative options, because sometimes doing things one way just may not work out how you need it to, so having other ways to create shapes is a big help.
I think that covers the general ideas I had. My overall goal is to see more spaceships and constructs that aren't just limited to boxed shapes, and enable creative builders to really unleash their imagination. An I feel adding additional shapes to the Voxel Brush tool would be a good way to accomplish that goal. Please feel free to give feedback in the comments.
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