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[Roboboy33]

the ETA is sunday. and couldnt the shield be very thin and thick?

[HLBeta]

One of my constant complaints with space station 13 was the lack of even the most basic of damage control measures in the event of a blowout. What do the devs have in mind with regards to preventing or controlling catastrophic blowouts? Similarly, where does one go about obtaining an atmosphere? Are we looking at mining for gases or some kind of ship construct that magically exudes the stuff?

Are there any plans to limit the size of ships or would it be possible to build a mining ship that can just swallow planets whole for processing in transit to the next site? I've got this mental picture of some kind of crazy space pelican that just scoops up planets in its voluminous maw.

[Yolan]

What do the devs have in mind with regards to preventing or controlling catastrophic blowouts?

To the extent that players can design and build their own ships, it is up to them to build in fail safe systems. I'm assuming the devs will provide the necessary material for such systems, for example sensors that can detect air pressure\oxygen levels. Players could design ships in sections and place sensors in each. If a section starts to decompress you get a warning. Maybe you have a way to automatically lock down doors, or maybe you do it manually. Doors could probably auto-lock if there is no atmosphere on the other side, requiring the rigging of an air-lock for going on space walks. I.E. no accidentally opening the door to outside and blowing all the air out.

Similarly, where does one go about obtaining an atmosphere? Are we looking at mining for gases or some kind of ship construct that magically exudes the stuff?

Unlike minecraft (at least in its current form) blockade runner will have NCPs, factions, space stations, etc. You will be able to purchase necessary material for ship construction and maintenance, rather than being a one-man industrial base.

Are there any plans to limit the size of ships or would it be possible to build a mining ship that can just swallow planets whole for processing in transit to the next site?

Realistically there are memory limits on how big you can make a ship (I bumped into such limits last night trying to make a 1800 meter diameter circle - keep in mind this limit will keep expanding with code improvement), however the game as of yet does not artificially restrict you in any way. This may change with the bringing in of warp fields? etc. for interstellar travel.

[Viken]

@Roboboy: There will probably be ways to modify the shields, sure, but the devs have yet to let loose any such information regarding how they plan to do the shields.  All they've said is that they're going to use Liquid Cubed algorithm; which leads me to believe that after you place shield emitters on your hull, that the sheild will act like a liquid, coating the blocks around it.  More emitters, the faster overall coverage will be and the thicker the shields will become, able to take more damage at the expense of requiring much more power.  That way, you'll be able to physically tell the damage you've done to the sheilds, as the coating on the hull blocks start to dim and crack and finally disapear completely under your attacks.

@HLBeta: One of the things made clear early on is that space is dangerous, space is deadly, and if you run out of air, you die.  The devs know this, and we all know it.  Systems like bulkheads, air purifiers, system-shutoffs and emergency repair systems could possibly be all included to help keep the players alive once they've messed up or gotten beaten half to death by someones plasma cannons.  When and how these things actually go in is still up to the devs.

At the moment there aren't any restrictions on size, although the game engine (as of W16) has problems loading massive entities longer than about 600 blocks (600 meters), found thanks to Yolan.  The W19 code, on the other hand, Gabriel was kind enough to test when I asked him, and said the range had increased to about 1200 meters in length, 300 meters in depth, and 300 meters in height before the system couldn't load the entities again.  Mind, there will be personal limits do to how much RAM your computer has.

Also, the Warp Cores will be one of the few artificle limits on ship size.  A single core won't be able to transport a 'Planet', as it were.  As for using multiple cores... we'll just have to see how it all falls into play, yes?

Edit: Okay, I was mistaken.  Gabriel was just kind enough to inform me that what you can save/load should be nearly infinite now, while what you can actually build is limited by your RAM.  Gabriel's computer konked out at 1600 meters long, 600 meters wide, and 300 meters deep.

[KaelGotDwarves]

Posting to follow.

Spoiler: Also (click to show/hide)

[Xinvoker]

I feel like there's too much hype about W19 and (without knowing anything special) people are gonna end up disappointed. But hey, fingers crossed!

[Yolan]

I feel like there's too much hype about W19 and (without knowing anything special) people are gonna end up disappointed. But hey, fingers crossed!

All we can do is wait and see. 

They have been putting in a lot of long days recently, and I get the impression the team is pretty energised and excited to be putting everything into BR now that the SCvsWC mod is finished.

[Roboboy33]

They ended up having technical problems and the ETA is now monday. I've been thinking about how easy it'll be to destroy a ships  power line and sabotage there systems, or to cut off the shields power, or just fire at the bridge's windows. Defense will play a big part.

[HLBeta]

just fire at the bridge's windows.

Sorry, but if you're actually using windows in a mission-essential area you deserve the resultant catastrophic blowout.

[Yolan]

just fire at the bridge's windows.

Sorry, but if you're actually using windows in a mission-essential area you deserve the resultant catastrophic blowout.

Yeah, battle star galactica's bridge made a lot more sense in that way. That said, we could be talking about crazy strong windows that are made of a material far superior to glass. It is a SF setting after all. Then you can add shields on top of that. You could even have thick blast doors installed to drop over your bridge windows if you engage in serious combat. Player design is the key of course.

[Vattic]

You don't really want windows even if they are extra strong. I suppose they might be OK if they block out all unsafe radiation otherwise you'll end up with blind crew from all the nukes going off / lasers / other bright weapons.

[monk12]

Has it been mentioned whether the pilot has to rely on sensors/viewscreens, or if they'll fly the ship from a third person style perspective?

[Yolan]

Has it been mentioned whether the pilot has to rely on sensors/viewscreens, or if they'll fly the ship from a third person style perspective?

Sensors and viewscreens will be available.

[HLBeta]

Has it been mentioned whether the pilot has to rely on sensors/viewscreens, or if they'll fly the ship from a third person style perspective?

Clearly the proper solution is to line the exterior of the ship with tiny, windowed cubicles. Load a single redshirt into each cubicle and have them shout information back to the heavily shielded, windowless bridge.

[Viken]

Space windows = Cheap man's death.  Its been something talked about, and while small windows or portholes may be possible, they won't be protective as a solid hull would be.  In this, its StarWars vs. StarTrek.  The viewscreen for the Enterprise was a large projection on a solid wall, instead of being a large window from say, the Millenium Falcon.

Plus, I'd rather the enemy not know where my bridge is during a combat situation.  A big-oh window sorta gives it away, doesn't it? An internal bridge, on the other hand, is much more protected.