RoVerse Development Newsletter #73

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

It's been a wonderful few weeks with a lot of new features released perfect for developers, and in our case, for creating fantastic effects that make our game that much cooler.

And so, our developers have been hard at work performing advanced scientific work on the applications these new features have.

First up, the 100k stud clipping distance expansion. While for most maps currently on roblox, extending the clipping distance past 5000 studs in any direction won't make too much of a difference. But in the space genre, this has always been a problem. You'll be flying along in your ship and suddenly, a giant planet appears out of nowhere! Then you crash into it and explode. But now, with an expanded distance, you'll be able to see as far as you want, in any direction! We had tried to solve this problem by scaling down ships, and working on an object-to-surfacegui script to fake things past the view distance, but with this update, we'll have to fake it no longer!

So in our final release, you'll be able to see as far as you want, and with Morgan working on our amazing star system generation scripts, you'll be able to see everything in each system, from the stars to the asteroids, to any capital ships warping in! There are still quite a few benefits to keeping ships scaled down significantly, so for now, that will remain a feature of the game.

Also newly released this week, was the glass material. While still a bit buggy, this material offers some unique features that we might be able to use, most importantly the lensing effect. Ved has done a few tests that look quite promising.

​In other news, Skinny has continued his work on a large Cargo cruiser ship, designed to carry as much cargo as you or your faction needs.

And RobustTitan has taken over work on the Industrial Outpost Interiors from Galbotrix, with some new details to spice up the layouts a bit.

Progress on the Dogfight Alpha Capital Update is progressing exceptionally well, with lots of new features getting coded in daily. This week saw the implementation of the Radar Gui that Idyllic has been scripting, the Chat gui, the Health, Shield, and Speed display, and the rest of that lovely UI Ved designed a few weeks back ported over and polished up a bit. There have also been bug fixes on a number of fronts, from ship selection to combat, as well as the addition of ship trails and new, updated sound effects.

We're excited to see the rest of the game come together in the coming weeks, nice work to TheFurryFish and SmellyPencil!

​​This is just about your last chance to sign up for the Dogfight Alpha Tournament. Sign up with a team of your friends and prove who's the best pilot in the galaxy. You can find the form here: 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17KKApFQwTK-EW0uWbNQlWvq0i7OXem1Hf4YVh4SVOn4/viewform?edit_requested=true

We should be announcing the date or dates of the battle soon, so don't wait too long!

Each week we compile a Q&A section here whenever there are any new questions posted on the RoVerse Community group wall or in the Community Discord Server. Be sure to join if you have any questions about RoVerse:

ROBLOX Group: https://www.roblox.com/My/Groups.aspx?gid=2948290
Discord server: https://discord.gg/npxBGwJ

Q1: Will there be implemented mysteries ingame by the developers for extra fun and adventure?

A1: There might be! And it wouldn't be much fun if we went and told you about them...

Q2: Will there be limits on how many sub-factions can be created?

A2: Starting up a subfaction won't be as easy as picking a name, there will be a significant cost to creating a new subfaction, to make sure you have the resources to succeed, and the dedication to lead a group of people to victory, either economic or otherwise. 

Q3: In this RoVerse community server, will there be new chats or maybe a whole new server only for the game which could, perhaps, be composed of a Trade chat so people can make offers, bounties, job employments ads and things like that?

A3: Upon release, the Community server will receive a full overhaul in preparation for a new purpose - supporting a larger community, with functions for trade, hangouts for different groups, and so much more!

Q4: Assuming a faction decides to withdraw from RoVerse a few months after game release for "x" reason, how would the mods handle it? Choose a random subfaction which occupies the territory and set it (if they're willing) as an official faction or simply remain unclaimed?

A4: In the unfortunate case of a faction deciding that RoVerse isn't for them, we'll probably let the course of 'nature' take over. Each week they lose a system to invading forces, get pushed back to their origin system, and eventually Capital planet, until they meet their doom. If the members then decide to completely give up, that faction will never resurface. We might keep the capital city ruins around as a landmark, but they won't return.

Q5: Will there be points of interests scattered around the map that could be related to a faction's lore but serve no purpose whatsoever? Like for instance, an ancient battleship wreckage, an abandoned space station, a hidden underground facility. Those points of interests would of course contain logs or things to collect which would explain a faction's lore or what happened in the location they are in, and maybe even make references to other events that happened during the faction's past?

A5: We want a faction's presence to be a part of the wider galaxy, making RoVerse more than just a giant empty space game. We'll definitely work with factions to include monuments from their lore with a few restrictions, to better immerse the player in a giant galaxy where things actually happen.

Q6: Will system expansions be a thing? Such as 6 months to one year after release, we'd get a bunch of new systems added to the game, maybe a whole new cluster. If yes, how will they be implemented? Since simply throwing them at the corner of the map wouldn't be fair, maybe put a neutral area for transition to a new galaxy or an undiscovered area?

A6: In the eventual case that a system expansion is necessary, we'll have more firm details on how exactly an expansion would work, but we'll look into expanding the map with more interstellar systems, systems in new arms of the galaxy, or perhaps a whole new level above or below the current plane. We'll just have to see!

Q7: How will exploration work? Will all information be known in advance when a fleet gets into a system or will you have to scan planets, survey them, maybe make maps of them or something?

A7: Exploration will be an important part early in the game, for factions looking for specific mineral locations or which systems to invade and capture, what sources an enemy has control over. We've been thinking about including some sort of science vessel that's purpose is to scan objects to determine precise information, rather than just relying on what players report and see. And making maps of planets seems like a fun little task to do, especially if you can sell the data you've collected, or hide base locations on a faction planet.

Q8: Will Vaktus ever talk in the Discord again?

A8: Probably only if he's really needed for something. He's a very busy man.

Q9: Can a ship owner customize their ship to their liking?

A9: We have a whole host of features planned for customizing ships, from naming it after your favorite ship from history, to changing colors and textures, to changing weapons and consumables equipped. Each ship should, if the owner puts in a bit of effort, be completely their own. And there's always the option to start a subfaction and submit your own ship designs, or pay a subfaction to do it for you!

Q10: How will attacks work when no one is present to defend?

A10: Faction system defense takes place on a regular, predictable, weekly cycle, so that a faction can marshal their forces and defend it at a variety of predetermined times, to either successfully defend, or fail and lose their star system. Outposts and bases on the other hand, as territory controlling devices and defensive positions, are open to attack for a longer length of time. We're still nailing down the details, but it will probably be most of the time, to all of the time. You'll need to have a few friends around to defend them, and they will be heavily protected by weapons systems, but don't leave them unattended for too long.

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​​You can support us by joining our Community Group or Discord server! So far, the community has been absolutely amazing, supportive, and very friendly. We are very appreciative of all the support you guys show us!

If you want to catch any of our developers streaming, you can always follow our official Twitch channel here!

Any fans of the science fiction genre on Roblox can join the Science Fiction Genre Discord and find other fans and developers like you.

Remember, we are always looking for new, talented builders, scripters and artists! If you’d like to help us you can always get in touch with us through RoVerse_Official on the ROBLOX website, or by contacting an Administrator in the community Discord! Don’t worry, we don’t bite!