ROVERSE DEVELOPMENT NEWSLETTER #17

Hello everyone! Welcome to the seventeenth issue of the RoVerse Development Newsletter, where we keep you updated on the progress we've made over the past week!

This week we've been focusing on the scripting side of the project in our efforts to get the Dogfight Alpha ready for official public release as soon as possible. A lot of features have been added to our flight system since the pre-Alpha, the latest of which being smooth realistic strafing and bullet convergence based on the objects the cursor is over. Before the Alpha is ready to be released publically we want to ensure it's stable and polished so you can most accurately see how RoVerse will not only play but also look visually, this includes engine trails, projectile particles, shield impact effects, animated gun turrets and of course, satisfying ship explosions!

In the Dogfight Alpha you'll be playing rounds of team deathmatch between red and blue teams, however soon after the public alpha release we'll be adding more modes such as FFA, CTF and last man standing. Further in the future, there'll even be a juggernaut mode where one player spawns as a capital ship and everyone's objective is to defeat them, there may also be a team version of this mode where each side has one capital ship player with the objective of destroying the enemy capital while protecting their own.

On the building side of development, we've got another new ship finished, belonging to the super high tech ship line which make extensive use of hover technology resulting in extreme agility but very thin hull.

The military outpost (which doesn't have thin hull!) has also seen expanded development, this progress being the factory module:

We've also got a sneak peak for you of the unique pirate outpost which is built into the rock of the environment it is constructed within to camouflage the base from lawful patrols:

With the majority of the outpost types constructed, we'll be just about ready to upload a brand new Guide to RoVerse developer diary video about player-built stations/outposts over on our YouTube channel. So expect to see that in the coming days!


Each week we compile a Q&A section here whenever there are any new questions posted on the RoVerse Community group wall, so be sure to join if there's something you'd like to ask about RoVerse:

https://www.roblox.com/Groups/Group.aspx?gid=2948290


Q1: Will we be able to live modestly or expensively normally in our own houses under the rule of an empire if we want to? 

A1: In the initial release of RoVerse your lifestyle will be shown through the value of the clothing you wear, the ships you fly and if you're the ambitious type - the stations/outposts you own. In future expansions we absolutely plan to add living quarters on all public stations that the owners can choose to rent out to players for weekly payments, these will come in three grades - Standard Accommodation, Economy Residence and (for the high-rollers) Penthouse Suite.


Q2: Say a RoVerse gang/pirate group gets big enough to turn into an actual faction with a star system - will it be allowed to be implemented into RoVerse straight-up if it is active and original enough? Like, the people working under that gang/faction have never known or seen anything outside of RoVerse and formed everything within it - could they prosper like that?

A2: Most certainly! If a sub-faction becomes so influential, organised and well equipped that they can maintain a powerful grip on the star system they reside in, they'll then be allowed to create their own group on the ROBLOX site and be registered as an official faction of RoVerse with that star system as their home territory on the galactic map.


Q3: Can factions hold players prisoner (and that player can possibly escape)?

A3: Funny you should mention that, as it's precisely what we have in mind as one of the expansions! Once ship interiors and multi-crew have been added to the game, we'll be implementing the feature of brigs on ships and prison stations. These will be used primarily by law enforcement for criminal punishment and by bounty hunters for contracts that are to be brought back alive. Players that have been locked in these holding cells will have rare opportunities to escape, however it will take both skill and a bit of luck without a friend to break them out!


Q4: Will some planets have rings made out of ores you can mine?

A4: Indeed they will, all asteroid fields will contain ore though the fields with the valuable minerals will be rarer.


Q5: Will all players have a skill system similar to GTA 5's levelling system of certain traits? eg. flying, shooting, etc.

A5: We don't want to make RoVerse too much like MMOs where the winner in a fight is determined by who has grinded for the most points or researched the most qualifications. One of the things that has made ROBLOX special is how the combat relies on a player's own skill and knowledge of tactics to gain the advantage rather than their character having a number that restricts them to a certain level of ability. We want to continue that tradition by allowing players who have invested more time into RoVerse to gain access to cooler ships and more expensive equipment but not in a way that leaves newer players at their mercy. A new player would have as fair a chance as anyone else to be victorious, they just need to understand the ship they fly and how use it correctly.


Q6: Will there be a tech tree or some sort of research that players can undergo with a minimum time limit depending on how many stations and outpost are assigned to the project (ex. 1 week for developing a new scope or gun or a year to design a brand new destroyer or whatever.)

A6: Yes, clan factions will use their stations and resources to research new levels of technology to make available for sale at their station equipment outfitters. The speed of this technology research will depend greatly on the players in that faction keeping their economy strong, which also gains profit for the traders and miners who do so. This makes civilian jobs almost, if not more important than military jobs, as a faction's navy can only be as strong as the economy that funds it. The technologies that research unlocks will benefit the players of that faction greatly, however they will be specifically designed so they make the player's experience more enjoyable and comfortable with a fair trade off rather than only positives giving that faction an unfair advantage over other less-developed ones (for example, researchable technologies might be: more effective mining drills but they use more fuel, larger cargo hold upgrades but they lower engine performance, or higher damaging guns but they fire slower).

---

The Dogfight Alpha is right around the corner and this week we've spent a lot of extra time on scripting it, so keep your eyes peeled for any future word on a definite release date!

See you out in the black, pilots!