Newcomer saying Thank You, Also with a Few Thoughts

[Geredis]

Hey,

Just thought I'd come by and say that so far, I'm loving the game. It's a very nice change of pace from some of the other strategy games out there, and I've found it quite easy to get lost in, as it were. I only just noticed that it seems that 7.3 is the latest official update, but that the patchign seems to have gotten up to 7.19, so I'm patching right now. WIsh that the game would be a little clearer that the 'official' patch you get from teh launcher wasn't necessarily teh most up to date one...any news on when 0.7.19.X will be fully pushed as an official patch I wonder?

Also, are there any plans to let us create our own programs?

As it stands, we only have 2 space planes for instance, and while I know more (STS and Buran, and later SSTO programs) will be coming in the future, but to help bridge that gap between generations are there plans to let you build your own new ones? Say a space-plane variant of Mercury or Gemini...I know that for one of htem there were conversions planned for them, so something like that would be a nice possibility.

Additionally, a way to repurpose old platforms that are no longer being used would be nice: maybe like taking Agena and converting it into an proto-space station or long-duration module or something to that effect, not unlike how old Apollo and Saturn components were turned into Skylab.

Or a situation where, say, experience with moon probes means that probes to Mars or elsewhere start from a 'better' reliability or the like, or cross-development where working on one Lunar program also has minor effects on all lunar programs?

Now, I know a lot of these here delve strongly into 'what-if' territory, and this game is anchored quite firmly in the real, with plenty of drawing-board or otherwise scrubbed/cancelled programs letting us chart different, but still rather real, courses in the space race. But I wonder if there's any plans to let us deviate even further and truly chart our own, with our own programs and the like?

Of course those are just a few thoughts of what I'd love to see going ahead...but in the meantime, keep up teh good work, I'm loving the game so far and look forward to seeing how this evolves. I've been on a bit of a tear when it comes to these games: and between this, KSP, and Race to Mars (which has been disappointingly slow in its update speed), I think I'll be satisfied for the near future...and indeed, this very game here might be my go-to game if it keeps impressing me as well as it has been so far.

[jimmyPx]

Wait until you start playing the latest version of the Beta (0.7.19.4), it is like a totally different game. They have put a ton of work into this and the NASA and USSR race to the moon pieces are almost there.
Some of the "what if" ways to the moon are in there--for example this weekend I landed on the Moon in a Gemini Direct Ascent vehicle. [:)]

They are calling this stage 1 and then there will be a stage 2 with the Space Shuttle and Space Station and a stage 3 which is a Race to Mars.

Play the new version and see what you think.

[Geredis]

Jim,

Thanks, and I have updated and been playing the 0.7.19.4 patch, and loving it so far. Been finding it a lot of fun, I just gotta get better at the whole managing my team stuff: I always thought I was making decent time/progress, until I look at the actual date clocks nad realise that I'm launching my satellite (Explorer, so I can use a cheap light rocket instead of an overbuilt launcher) in early '60 usually and not putting a man up until nearly '66...which of course means I'm doing terribly, since I often put too much focus on the space plane (usually the X-15 due to it not requriing a rocket), and often end up killing 3/4 of my astronauts (and thus make my mission control people depressed) while trying to get the badges out of the program.

Speaking of programs: is there any reason (aside from the possibility of using them to trickle in additional prestige) to keeping a program open past the success of one of each of the launch profiles?

[Nacho84]

Hello Geredis,

Apologies for the late reply and welcome to the SPM forums! Glad you like the game [:)]

ORIGINAL: Geredis

Hey,

Just thought I'd come by and say that so far, I'm loving the game. It's a very nice change of pace from some of the other strategy games out there, and I've found it quite easy to get lost in, as it were. I only just noticed that it seems that 7.3 is the latest official update, but that the patchign seems to have gotten up to 7.19, so I'm patching right now. WIsh that the game would be a little clearer that the 'official' patch you get from teh launcher wasn't necessarily teh most up to date one...any news on when 0.7.19.X will be fully pushed as an official patch I wonder?

Yes, I see what you mean and I apologize for the confusion. When we started the Early Access Program (EAP), we were pushing an update every week through the auto-updater tool, but this proved to be unsustainable since the patches need to be build by the folks at Matrix Games and the whole process takes a while. That's why we decided to switch to a mode where some of the patches are released via the auto-updater tool and some others via the FTP. The easiest way to be up to date is to grab the latest patch from the FTP and install it on top of your existing installation. All the patches are self-contained, so by grabbing the latest one you'll have everything you need.

That being said, we're planning to release another "official" (i.e., via the auto-updater tool) soon and, in a few weeks, we're going to remaster the whole installer, as the existing one is unnecessarily big.

ORIGINAL: Geredis
Also, are there any plans to let us create our own programs?

As it stands, we only have 2 space planes for instance, and while I know more (STS and Buran, and later SSTO programs) will be coming in the future, but to help bridge that gap between generations are there plans to let you build your own new ones? Say a space-plane variant of Mercury or Gemini...I know that for one of htem there were conversions planned for them, so something like that would be a nice possibility.

Yes. At some point we started shipping our own "Master spreadsheet" along with the internal tools we use in order to create the game database, but then we stopped bundling those files in the installer. If you're interested, let me know and we'll start bundling them again.

ORIGINAL: Geredis
Additionally, a way to repurpose old platforms that are no longer being used would be nice: maybe like taking Agena and converting it into an proto-space station or long-duration module or something to that effect, not unlike how old Apollo and Saturn components were turned into Skylab.

This one is a bit more difficult, because it requires a change in the UI and in some of the game's core mechanics.

ORIGINAL: Geredis
Or a situation where, say, experience with moon probes means that probes to Mars or elsewhere start from a 'better' reliability or the like, or cross-development where working on one Lunar program also has minor effects on all lunar programs?

At the moment there's a reliability transfer mechanic that grants you an extra initial reliability when you buy a mission component for the first time, depending on the current reliability level of other related components.

ORIGINAL: Geredis

Now, I know a lot of these here delve strongly into 'what-if' territory, and this game is anchored quite firmly in the real, with plenty of drawing-board or otherwise scrubbed/cancelled programs letting us chart different, but still rather real, courses in the space race. But I wonder if there's any plans to let us deviate even further and truly chart our own, with our own programs and the like?

Of course those are just a few thoughts of what I'd love to see going ahead...but in the meantime, keep up teh good work, I'm loving the game so far and look forward to seeing how this evolves. I've been on a bit of a tear when it comes to these games: and between this, KSP, and Race to Mars (which has been disappointingly slow in its update speed), I think I'll be satisfied for the near future...and indeed, this very game here might be my go-to game if it keeps impressing me as well as it has been so far.

Feel free to post your suggestions here at the forums. Sometimes it takes a bit longer for me to reply, but rest assured I read everything and that lots of the suggestions that have been made since the EAP started actually made it into the game. Unfortunately, some ideas can only be implemented by performing very deep changes in the code, UI and database, so what we do is keep them in the back-burner for a possible expansion or sequel.

Cheers,

[shaunchattey]

I've just done two or three full playthroughs, of which I lost them all. Some would say this is a bad thing about the game, being a massive fan of BARIS; this is a genuine boon to the game in my opinion



One thing I needed:
Mass training. PLEASE! I want to be able to train groups or everyone not assigned at once. It is EXTREMELY tedious to constantly have to go down the list of obeseonauts to train their fitness.

The ability to filter/rank people by skill would be very nice too. I just cannot be bothered to look down the list of potentials for good skills in this or that, If I need a flight director, I want to be able to search potential recruits for said skills.
[I know most of this is planned, but these are my thoughts after a few playthrougs of the latest version]

Other than that, I'm loving all the graphs, I'm loving the objectives on GSA campaign, I'm loving the difficulty on the easiest level...


One other thing: I would like a screen which shows ALL OPENED PROGRAMS and all the researchers. Rather than clicking two or three times to see rockets or programs.

[N_Molson]

Welcome Geredis,

Thanks for your suggestions and have a nice stay here [:)]