What is this
Every Thursday, I will share a dev diary about what we've been working on over the past few weeks. I'll focus on the interesting challenges and solutions that I encountered. I won't be able to cover everything, but I'll share what caught my interest.
Why am I doing it
I want to bring our community along on this journey, and I simply love writing about things I'm passionate about! This is my unfiltered dev journal, so please keep in mind that what I write here are my thoughts and will be outdated by the time you read this, as so many things change quickly. Any plans I mention aren't set in stone and everything is subject to change. Also, if you don't like spoilers, then don't read this.
Space Engineers 2
VS 1.5 - Modding for SE2
This Tuesday we released VS 1.5 - Modding for SE2!
It was a big update because it allows modders to change the game just by modifying data. Modders can add new blocks, change existing blocks, textures, character models, skybox, sound and music, and other things.
I think our modding technology is quite amazing, because it's all data-driven. We released a HUB and Editor where you can do it all in WYSIWYG mode (with validation, templates, etc.), and your changes are validated—reducing the chances of breaking things. And it’s all Blender compatible - a very important thing for me, making the 3D modeling for SE2 accessible to everyone.
Thanks again to the team who delivered the Modding—it was really a big project and will serve the SE community for the coming decades!
VS2 Planets and Survival
This is our main priority right now.
SE1 didn't have an explicit meta loop, and this was a benefit (it kept the game pretty open and people focused on what they wanted to do) but also a disadvantage (some players actually want clear objectives and a visible success metric).
I feel pretty good about the final meta loop we designed:
- your goal is to colonize Almagest, sector after sector
- you see your colonization progress on the Colonization Map — the whole Almagest, sectors, planets, GPS locations, etc.
- you colonize sectors by completing contracts/missions
- contract types: engineering, exploration, mining, and in the future, combat too
This gives the ultimate purpose and end goal: Colonize Almagest. Everything will converge to this singular goal — and it's visual, tangible, and easy to understand and communicate. It's an end goal you can reach within a reasonable amount of time. And the game doesn't end there — it can continue in open-ended freestyle sandbox mode. You can keep building or just complete more missions.
I am interested in your feedback, so please leave your comments!
VS3 Water
We are going through the final planning stages for VS3 Water — what still has to be implemented gameplay-wise, not just the water tech for VS3. Of course, water will be released after VS2 Planets and Survival, but we are working on them in parallel.
Help Shape the Future of Space Engineers 2
We’d love to hear from you! We’re running a short poll to get your thoughts on the direction of Space Engineers 2, and your feedback will help us prioritize.
🗳️ Please take a moment to fill it out: https://forms.gle/TUP4MZ9VA3Nd1j7P6
Thank you for being part of the journey!
Space Engineers 1
The SE1 team is hard at work on the Advanced Survival update, and the release date is getting closer…
Do the sectors have to be completed in order or is a non-linear approach available?
ReplyDeleteSectors are connected through a fast-travel network that guides the general progression order. However, players will still have some flexibility in choosing the path within certain branching points.
DeleteFor example:
- After completing Sector A, the player unlocks both Sector B and Sector C
- The player can choose to complete either Sector B or C next
- Completing either one then unlocks access to Sector D
Another thing is jump drive - you can use it to travel in any order, but only to unlocked sectors.
That was a really short survey. I hold off until now because I enjoy the community of se1. I wanna try making mods but I'm especially looking forwards for multiplayer servers . I'd rather have it before planets and water, but I can still have fun with multiplayer on se1 so
ReplyDeleteReally cool to read about how the survival loop is supposed to look like. I think it's the best when sandbox games add some goals for players to achieve and don't meddle too much with how they achieve them.
ReplyDeleteI really hope there will be tools (modding or simply in game) to create our own custom star systems with sectors and fractions within them so that after finishing up with the Almagest system we can go and play in systems created by other players.
Hi Marek, have you ever considered adding some form of aerodynamic blocks or capabilities to the game? I loved making fixed and rotary wing aircraft in SE1 using "Digi's wing blocks for atmosphere", it would be so cool if it were ever in vanilla!
ReplyDeleteYes, I have. One day we will definitely make it part of the game.
DeleteWould be cool if the colonisation system could be modded so that you could play territory conquest in multiplayer PVP
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of survival loops and such - I feel like an RTS-like loop would be incredible for replayability.
ReplyDeleteIf it becomes possible, having AI NPCs that collect resources in the world, who build ships as if they were players, who create bases in the world, and use those bases to attack the real player, who then has to defend themselves and fight back to remove that faction, it's just an awesome infinite loop of NPCs building up power, fighting you, which makes you need to constantly engineer solutions to them attacking, go on your own offensive missions, etc.
In SE1 there's the modular encounters mod, this is good, but it doesn't feel like the NPCs have real presence. They don't have a home base, like the player does, they don't collect resources that actually have to be transported back to their base for them to build larger. NPCs that can do this would give a game that feels like you're playing against real players, in multiplayer. Like Rust, and how alive that game remains, despite being nothing more than building bases and shooting guns. It's the competition aspect that keeps people coming back. "Will I be able to defend this raid!".
Just my suggestion :) No idea how hard that'll be to implement, but I can't help but think it'd allow for SO much replayability, and engineering opportunity.
Hello. I am interested to know more about the missions to progress in the colonization map.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of this meta loop, thats really what I missed in SE1.
I think that in addition of the contract examples you mentioned, the "build infrastructure" unique mission would be fun. like "build a satellite with a radar faced to planet" or "build a comfy base for 10 NPC on Verdure".
There is another thing that I wonder by reading your blog: The water physics seems very far pushed. if it was just for boats and submarines, i feel this is overkill but it looks like you want aqueducs and dam being part of the main gameplay
Water physics – Yes, we’re pushing it really far. Most of it won’t directly impact gameplay… but we’re fully committed to realistic environmental simulations and interactions. That’s why we need to reach a certain level of fidelity.
DeleteIn other words: if our water worked in some situations but broke or felt unrealistic in others, it would ruin immersion — and both players and we would be disappointed.
I'm still not sure why modding support took priority over things like survival and multiplayer. Don't get me wrong, mods are nice to have in sandbox games. I just think any mods people are going to make right now will be limited because the game does not have basic features yet.
ReplyDeleteHow am I going to make a modded planet if we don't have planets yet. How am I going to make a more fuel efficient hydrogen thruster if we don't have proper hydrogen/conveyoring systems yet. I really believe if you polled people about what they would have wanted first, survival and multiplayer or modding support, the majority would have chosen survival and multiplayer.
1) The reason was that we needed to set up the modding infrastructure as early as possible, so all assets and content created later — both by us and the community — would be compatible with it.
Delete2) We have around 30 programmers working on SE2 and VRAGE3, but only 3–5 of them have been focused on modding over the past few months.
3) VRAGE Hub and Editor are also used by our artists and designers, so these tools need to be in good shape — not just for modding, but also to support the development of Planets and Survival.
When will modding expand to actual code? Making and mixing blocks is fine, but the best mods are those with innovative new concepts, and getting modders learning the new mod and VRAGE3 API early would certainly help jump start that part of the ecosystem.
ReplyDeleteI second this comment
DeleteWater is looking great!
ReplyDeletevery sad, no information about programmble block in SE2 again, will it be?
ReplyDeleteIt’d be great if we could make hydroelectric dams
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for survival and I'm waiting to start playing SE2 until it comes out. Its how I started SE1 and I enjoyed the challenge, discovery, mystery, and learning curve that came with it.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I would like to see with the colonization progression is also a natural increase in difficulty the farther you make it. Having to find rarer resources, greater threats to your base/character, more or new npc factions to make enemies with or befriend, and mission choices that can jeopardize your relationship with other factions. For example you can do a short and easy mission to progress a bit more quickly but it will come with a great cost to your reputation or you can grind a bit more for better distribution of reputation and rewards. If you dont pay mind to your reputations then it may make colonization harder in different sectors by missing out on certain missions/contracts.
Those are just some of my ideas and you have probably already put thought into many of these decisions. I think any additions to the sense of progression for players will help keep them engaged and make for a more rewarding experience so I'm stoked this is on your agenda (:
Best Wishes!
Toad
Regarding the survival progression. One thing I like in games, and would hope you consider as well with missions/quests is non-linear progression with quests.
ReplyDeleteWhat I mean that it can be easy to stumble over things, or build a station naturally for yourself while you just explore the game by yourself. It would be really nice if the game recognises this. Like if you were to find a particular thing, that a quest would have send you out to find, you get a quest saying "you found X, maybe someone is interested in this". That way you can't stumble over the quest later and have to find that thing again. Or if you need to build a station that the game recognises existing structures and just tells you what to improve, or NPC directly saying "I wanted to ask you to build X, but it seems you're already ahead of me. Very well done. Lets go straight to the next task at hand..."
Also, I know this is vague, but don't be too narrow with some requirements. I can't name an example because it's been a while, but some games set goals for players and have very strict ideas how to achieve them which kinda dampens the fun. Like build a bridge, and you're required to build a very narrow idea of what a bridge is. No hanging bridges, no viaducts, just a straight plate over the valley. Guard-rails? Nope, failed the quest.
Hy Marek, have you thought about adding orbital mechanics? I enjoyed playing Martin Schweiger's Orbiter Space Flight Simulator, before I started playing SE1. And I love playing SE1, but feel that it lacks more realistic physics like Orbiter had. Either way thanks for a great game.
ReplyDeleteRelated to the survey: is there any chance multiplayer can be added sooner if there is enough demand? I already own SE2 and it’s fun to mess around and see the progress, but even once survival and the other cool mechanics are added, I don’t see myself playing it as much as SE1 until there is multiplayer.
ReplyDelete