Is this really supposed to be the demo

[timias]

Until yesterday I never heard of Star Shatter(You need to slap your marketing department until they start doing their jobs).
I read the review on Gamespot They gave you a rather low rating, but I was still intrigued because it sounded very in-depth.

Then I downloaded the demo..... (if this is supposed to be a BETA then ignore the following)

When you play a combat game, you expect to see the combat actually works.
#1 All weapons do absolutely nothing to enemy ships. I see explosions, but they don't get damaged they don't die. What the heck
#2 I got frustrated during a capital ship fight I did everything I could and finally decided to ram the other capitial ship. first time I did it I clipped right through the ship, and it didn't even take damage.
#3 So now I get bored and do ground attack missions. The stupid bombs did NOTHING to the cooling towers.

Tell your investors, which are obviously the ones who forced you to release a unfinished product, that quality is more important than quantity
Tell your designers/programmers to test their code BEFORE they add another cool feature, and test the same code again AFTER they have added the new feature.

-For the non-programmers who read this. This is why game companies shouldn't let a bean counters drive their release date

[John DiCamillo]

Welcome to the Starshatter forums!

The problem you are having with the 3.9.0 demo is quite unusual. I don't recall hearing anyone report this particular bug before. I assume you were playing single player, is that correct? Can you give me a little more information about your computer and the gameplay and control options you selected?

Just to clarify the situation, Destroyer Studios is an army of "almost one". I am the sole member of the company. There is no marketing department, no investors, and no bean-counters (except my wife [;)]). If you are still interested in trying to play the demo, I will do everything I can to help you get it working properly.

Thanks,

[Mr.Frag]

You set friendly fire to 0 effect? I seem to remember that made all weapons do nothing in the demo.

[DamoclesX]

Ya, odd, ive never had that before either, I can see how that would be frustrating lol

[timias]

Thank you for your response.

For an army of almost 1. I am very impressed.
As you can see I thought that it was a team of programmers working on this project.

I will retry the demo with the appropiate work around, and re-evaluate it.

[timias]

After playing the demo the second time, I must say that it is much better when you can kill things.

This game has a amazing level of depth.
I can think of quite a few things that would enhance it

Is there an expansion pack planned, or what status of development is the game in.

In other words, are you taking requests/suggestions, or would they annoy you. Ex: That dumb $#&$& flamer, if he thinks he can do it better let him write his own dang game.

[Marc von Martial]

or what status of development is the game in.

Available.

[timias]

ORIGINAL: Marc Schwanebeck

or what status of development is the game in.

Available.

That is obvious, but as with any software package you don't simply release it and say hey guys I am now completely done since it went gold (hence patches). In some patches new features are added, in addition to making bug fixes. And sometimes the code is considered finished, but the developer makes an expansion pack.

Maybe I worded the above question, wrong let me re-phrase it.
What is the future plans for the product?

[John DiCamillo]

ORIGINAL: timias
Is there an expansion pack planned, or what status of development is the game in.

In other words, are you taking requests/suggestions, or would they annoy you.

As some of the others have pointed out, Starshatter has been released for retail purchase. That means it is "complete" in the sense that it is an entire game with no critical bits missing, and that people can play it from beginning to end and have some fun. It does not mean that the game is cast in bronze forever unchanging, but it does place practical limits on the scope and frequency of any changes that may get made.

At the moment, my main focus is on correcting as many critical bugs as possible, and enhancing AI and gameplay in small ways to improve the overall quality of the game. There is a 4.0.3 patch in test right now that will hopefully be available in a week or two. I have also started work on a more ambitious project related to the game, but I won't be ready to talk about it for a while. Not until I can see how it is going to turn out.

Requests and suggestions from people who have played and enjoyed the game are always welcome. There are many good features that have been added to the game over the years due to overwhelming player demand, and I definitely take player and reviewer ideas into consideration when I'm planning future development. That doesn't mean I'm going to implement everything you ask for, but I'm not the type of developer who will get pissed at people just for asking.

[Melkor]

I'm not the type of developer who will get pissed at people just for asking.

Like that Battlecruiser guy...

[koldar]

ORIGINAL: John DiCamillo

Welcome to the Starshatter forums!

The problem you are having with the 3.9.0 demo is quite unusual. I don't recall hearing anyone report this particular bug before. I assume you were playing single player, is that correct? Can you give me a little more information about your computer and the gameplay and control options you selected?

Just to clarify the situation, Destroyer Studios is an army of "almost one". I am the sole member of the company. There is no marketing department, no investors, and no bean-counters (except my wife [;)]). If you are still interested in trying to play the demo, I will do everything I can to help you get it working properly.

Thanks,

John,
I tried PMing you but received an error once I sent it so I will post it here too. I am also experiencing a problem when I set the Friendly fire damage to 0. When I do this, I am unable to damage anything - friend or foe. I just thought I would let you know. The only difference is that I am playing the full retail version of the game (4.0.2). Thank you for your time,
Josh

[Pheonix Starflare]

I think this is a currently known bug, but I'm not sure. I was under the impression it was a version or two ago and has since been fixed.

[DamoclesX]

ORIGINAL: John DiCamillo

ORIGINAL: timias
Is there an expansion pack planned, or what status of development is the game in.

In other words, are you taking requests/suggestions, or would they annoy you.

As some of the others have pointed out, Starshatter has been released for retail purchase. That means it is "complete" in the sense that it is an entire game with no critical bits missing, and that people can play it from beginning to end and have some fun. It does not mean that the game is cast in bronze forever unchanging, but it does place practical limits on the scope and frequency of any changes that may get made.

At the moment, my main focus is on correcting as many critical bugs as possible, and enhancing AI and gameplay in small ways to improve the overall quality of the game. There is a 4.0.3 patch in test right now that will hopefully be available in a week or two. I have also started work on a more ambitious project related to the game, but I won't be ready to talk about it for a while. Not until I can see how it is going to turn out.

Requests and suggestions from people who have played and enjoyed the game are always welcome. There are many good features that have been added to the game over the years due to overwhelming player demand, and I definitely take player and reviewer ideas into consideration when I'm planning future development. That doesn't mean I'm going to implement everything you ask for, but I'm not the type of developer who will get pissed at people just for asking.

said project better involve spec and bump maps!!(shakes fist)

[John DiCamillo]

ORIGINAL: koldar
I am also experiencing a problem when I set the Friendly fire damage to 0. When I do this, I am unable to damage anything - friend or foe. I just thought I would let you know. The only difference is that I am playing the full retail version of the game (4.0.2).

Yup, you're right: I thought that one had been fixed, but it is still broken through 4.0.2.

It is fixed in the 4.0.3 patch.

[John DiCamillo]

ORIGINAL: DamoclesX
said project better involve spec and bump maps!!(shakes fist)

Well, as I said, I'm not ready to talk about it.

But since you mention it, I did add specular maps in 4.0.3.

[John DiCamillo]

The effect is kind of limited - Starshatter doesn't let you specify both the specular power and intensity, it derives those parameters from the two specular bit flags in Magic. Let me know if you think it is worthwhile or not:

[Pheonix Starflare]

Cool!

However, methinks we need to get you a new graphics card, milo. You of all people should be able to run SS so that it looks prettiest.