DW2 FAQ/QnA megathread - Ask your question here!

[Ranbir]

I remember in DWU someone modded a gravity well so that you needed to reach the edge of the star system to initiate hyperjump. Can this still be possible? (emergency warp perhaps we can exclude)

[arvcran2]

ORIGINAL: sinbuster

Just a repost from the reveal thread:

I noticed in galaxy creation that there was no option to choose your own research speed as in DW1. Will this be an option at release? (I like playing at the slowest tech speed possible).

Yes.

[Nilma]

Do the currently non-playable races appear in the game as other empires or do these races just on independent worlds?

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Miletkir
Glad to help. This above is the result of that teamwork with Galaxy227. It makes sense to me to keep the FAQ and questions threads together since the first grows from the second, but if you think it's better to split, I don't mind. I'm fine with curating the FAQ, but I'm sure Galaxy would be on board too. Unfortunately we can't both edit the same post [:'(]

Ok, thanks to you both! I'll go ahead and pin this one then.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Jon Micheelsen
[questions graphics/code]
How moddable is the rendering going to be?
Shader code exposed?
Are material definitions going to be scriptable, inputs like texture counts flexible, variables like game time exposable etc. globally defined, or are they case by case exposed?
Is the render passes for, for instance post processing scriptable?
[questions end]

In the initial release, honestly not sure. I'm going to have to bring these questions to Elliot and have a chat, so a response will likely come later once we're ready to talk about modding a bit more. I do expect we'll release a modding guide before release, as we did with Universe and I'm sure some modders will also join the beta to start figuring things out and seeing what they can tinker with.

Regards,

- Erik

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: arvcran2
Is there support for auto-pause? Especially in term of enemy, new resource, new colonize-able body, and essentially any important event that would alter an empires efforts requiring immediate attention such as war declaration, new faction encounter, etc ...?

Auto-pause is built into key events/messages (not very many) and whenever you go into a full screen view to do something (those are very few in DW2). Other than that, we leave the decision on when to pause up to you.

Regards,

- Erik

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: RogerBacon
Buy, Build, and repair independent ships.

In the video I saw players now have options to buy ships instead of building them. Also, there were options to build and repair independent ships. Does this mean we can now sell ships to the independent empire and make money that way?

In my mod I made it so pirates could buy ships from independent worlds and I thought about making something deeper like this but never got around to it. If its in DW2 that would be great.

We've had discussions along these lines in terms of expanding on independents and pirates further in the future, but I don't expect this to be in the initial release.

With that said, in DW1 independents really were just targets to send colony ships to and a pretty simple mechanic. Now they are really a bit more like minor factions in that they can have multiple levels of trade and you need to invest in diplomacy with them to get them to really like you and accept joining your empire. Alternately, you can invade and conquer them in, but they do have some ground defenses, so bring a decent invasion force if you choose to try and keep a garrison there until they are fully assimilated (the rate of assimilation varies by species now).

They can still (if the option is on) potentially grow into empires as well, if they are left to their own devices for long enough.

Regards,

- Erik

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Rising-Sun
Good infos up there, this should get them attention before asking or making a topic. Now what i am concern is that, how big is the research trees? In DW1 was pretty small, so i had to make the tech cost much higher for large map.

It's bigger than in DW1, but not twice as big. There are more "border" technologies that include parts of two other trees and for the weapon trees each is significantly more self-sufficient than in DW1 as well. You are not forced to research many different weapons if you prefer to focus in one weapon technology area, for example. Most weapon trees, with a few specialized exceptions, can cover all your needs.

It's really an expanded and combined DW1 tree with more options and a huge amount of extra potential and fallback paths to allow for the variable paths/blind playstyle (which is now the default) for those that are up for it.

Regards,

- Erik

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Cataflam23
Please tell me, there is any limit how many battleship you can build and use in a single combat?
For example there is any limit for buildig x destroyer or entering x destroyer in the same system etc?
If i want to build a huge fleet with hundreds of ships and send all to attack 1 system it's possible?

There are no hard limits on how many ships you can build or use in any one battle. The practical limits on this are based on your in-game economy and how many ships it can support as well as how many resources those ships require. Both of these are moddable if you want to play with very inexpensive ships just to get more in a fleet. The real-world limit is what your computer can handle in a single battle with reasonable performance.

Regards,

- Erik

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: SirHoraceHarkness

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

ORIGINAL: SirHoraceHarkness
Will it be possible to put it in as a modding function and let the modders flesh it out with assets at some point? As long as it works they can do all the rest.

No, adding an entirely new way of moving around the galaxy would be beyond something that I would expect can be modded, though I guess you can never say never given how creative some modders are.

I think you misunderstood me. Was meaning can the function be added to the game at the code level and then opened for modders to use? That way only the actual code needs to be written and all of the time consuming art assets etc can be done by modders.

Adding in some functions for modders to use that are not specifically used in your vision of the game can certainly make it far more enticing for the big mod teams to become interested. But no huge hurry as the big mods all recently finished their final releases in the last year or so and everyone is taking a long break.

We're far enough along that I expect we're not really making any big feature or modding changes between now and release - just making sure everything that's in there is working as it's supposed to, properly balanced and tuned and that the game is fun and rewarding. The beta feedback will help a lot with that and I'm sure there are a ton of bugs still to find and fix.

A lot of modding support is already planned for this release and finishing that up will already take up what time we have realistically. We are certainly open to both more features and more modding support as time goes on, as with DW1.

Regards,

- Erik

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: ncc1701e
Can you change the camera angle (top down)? In the battle video, looks like it is fixed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_FOmhIYFyk

Can you see ships / planets on the map from any angle?

Yes, except not fully "under".

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: RogerBacon
What is the maximum time compression in the game? Still 4 times?

Yes and 4x works fine, though the final time compression settings are still being discussed and final optimization and beta testing will really determine where we end up. It's possible we may add more on the high and low end depending on how all that goes.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Webbco
[Ground battles/Planetary management]
I appreciate this is a longshot but could the new game engine allow for possible planetside developments in the future, either officially or through modding? I'm thinking viewing and interacting with colonies that are dynamic - see them grow and develop, position key buildings and garrisons, etc?

Right now, your planetary interactions are as follows, most all of these can be manually controlled or automated and are connected up to other parts of the game in different ways:
- Ensure a good supply of construction and luxury resources for good development and happiness
- Adjust tax rate to optimize income and happiness
- Check/manage corruption
- Adjust resource stockpile demands
- Set population policies
- Explore to maximum exploration level to find any hidden items/bonuses
- Place any artifacts for best results
- Recruit/manage troops
- Build/upgrade/manage facilities (these can affect almost everything from defense to quality to corruption, etc. The new administration facilities are an important corruption management and empire expansion tool)
- Built/retrofit ships and stations (though building on planets while sometimes necessary is more expensive and slower than building at spaceports)

Visually, as a colony grows in population and development, you also see more evidence of an advanced society (especially on the dark side where you can see the lights of your civilization).

As far as what you seem to be asking about, basically a "mini-game" where you have a planetary map and you're building on it, that's not something we plan to do at this time, but it's possible that could be done in the future if it's a playstyle we see requested by many. You'd have to make it easily automatable as I'm sure for many others it would also be too much to manage in the scope of a galactic empire.

Regards,

- Erik

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: sinbuster
I noticed in galaxy creation that there was no option to choose your own research speed as in DW1. Will this be an option at release? (I like playing at the slowest tech speed possible).

Yes, actually it's already in the game. If you take another look you should see the research speed settings in that video. I should also note that the goal is for the "normal" speed to be slower than in DW1, especially at higher tech levels.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Ranbir
I remember in DWU someone modded a gravity well so that you needed to reach the edge of the star system to initiate hyperjump. Can this still be possible? (emergency warp perhaps we can exclude)

There is still a gravity well facility in the game. The ability to influence hyperjumps comes down to two factors, HyperDeny and HyperStop. HyperDeny prevents jumping out within its range. HyperStop prevents jumping in or out. Each has a definable strength and range. Hyperdrives in DW2 now also have a certain level of HyperDeny "Insulation" so that sufficiently higher tech hyperdrives can overcome some lower tech level of HyperDeny.

Regards,

- Erik

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Nilma
Do the currently non-playable races appear in the game as other empires or do these races just on independent worlds?

No, only as independents. In order to be playable, they'd need much more work to add a full 3D ship/station set and full animated characters. It's certainly possible that modders may decide to make some of these factions playable post-release by doing that, but at release they will only be available as independents.

[Pocus]

Can you fully control a civilian ship, if you reeeaaally want this load of nekros stone to be delivered NOW with the utmost urgency? i.e. can you order a civilian ship to load a certain cargo then deliver it presto to another planet? You hinted more control on civilian ships, to which extent, to sum up?

I guess, if the editor has the same capacities as the DW1 one, that you could start a game as the human and redo the solar system from zero before playing for real?

Do hull variants have specifics that guide them through a role, like +10% evasion, +5% speed, etc. ?

[RogerBacon]

ORIGINAL: Pocus

Can you fully control a civilian ship, if you reeeaaally want this load of nekros stone to be delivered NOW with the utmost urgency? i.e. can you order a civilian ship to load a certain cargo then deliver it presto to another planet?

I seriously doubt it. I think the Bacon Mod has spoiled you.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Pocus
Can you fully control a civilian ship, if you reeeaaally want this load of nekros stone to be delivered NOW with the utmost urgency? i.e. can you order a civilian ship to load a certain cargo then deliver it presto to another planet? You hinted more control on civilian ships, to which extent, to sum up?

No, they still control themselves, but the AI running them is significantly more intelligent and you have much easier and more specific access to the desired stockpile levels at each location which they will pay good attention to.

I guess, if the editor has the same capacities as the DW1 one, that you could start a game as the human and redo the solar system from zero before playing for real?

Yes, pretty much.

Do hull variants have specifics that guide them through a role, like +10% evasion, +5% speed, etc. ?

Yes, most do have some innate bonuses as well reflecting their specialization. Stations for example effectively double the normal weapon ranges.

[ncc1701e]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

ORIGINAL: ncc1701e
Can you change the camera angle (top down)? In the battle video, looks like it is fixed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_FOmhIYFyk

Can you see ships / planets on the map from any angle?

Yes, except not fully "under".

Thanks, perhaps a quick video of it next time would be great. [:)]