Progress Update

[Howard Day]

No - I think the order just got mixed up. They still are still arranged in the same order of power as the sprites at the top of the page. Sorry about that - I din't notice that it had gotten mis-aligned till I wrote the descriptions. I was hoping no one would notice.

 

[Death]

Wait... you were hoping no one would notice a small detail like that in a group where people do pixel-by-pixel studies of screenshots just to find out, say, the designation of the Hellcat V?

 

[Howard Day]

Yes, I'm an idiot. I believe we've established this already.

 

[Unregistered]

hey when does this wc movie come out?

 

[Howard Day]

Umm..movie? This is a game. As for when you'll see it...I'm hoping before April, but we've absolutely got to get these content creation tools right the first time, and I don't know how much more time it will take. It may take longer. Just don't get your hopes up anytime soon. Expect it to be a month or two off, and then be pleasantly surprised if we manage to pull it off early.

 

[AD]

before April...

April? That soon? I know jason is working on the engine but you really think that implementing all the missions and story will go that fast? Or is this some kind of playable beta? (Or have you delayed the tech demo some more?)

I don't think that would be an april fools joke I'd be able to handle.

 

[cff]

Its not even a beta. Just an engine preview. Look at stuff, thats it. No playable parts. At least this was the last info. Full game is at least a year away IIRC.

 

[Howard Day]

That's correct - the part I'm talking about would be the tech demo. It's not completely unplayable - we let you spin around the ship, fire your guns, launch you missiles, afterburn, etc - it's basically our way of showing code process. You've seen a ton and a half of art process - programming is harder to show off. That's what the first demo will show - that we actually have a viable engine and a good foundation on which to build a game. No april fools jokes here, folks. We'll be just too busy to put anything like that together.
I take no joy in pushing the tech demo back further...but it has to be done.

 

[Sonic TH]

Deadlines only stress me out and make me want to give up or avoid it altogether. That's why I like dev blogs, they just say "nothing happened this month" or "we just got this cool thing working" but don't force you to worry about "when when when".

 

[Shere Khan]

please tell me, Howard, will the tech demo be silent, or do you have some sounds implemented?

oh, and about the "when"... forgive me guys if I presume too much on behalf of the whole crowd, but I suppose the majority of the community knows how to wait for "when it's done". we've been loyal to the WC universe for 16 years now (damn I'm getting old) - and no one will have a fit if the demo, or indeed the game, takes some more time to look perfect. come to think of it, waiting for Christmas is as much fun as getting the present

 

[Nob Akimoto]

I kind of had a minor question, would the length of gun barrels affect the performance of a gun in any way?

For example Hornets seem to have much longer laser barrels than the guns on the Hydra, or for that matter there were general differences in barrel length in WC1 fighters. I know there weren't any differences manifested in game, but might that be an interesting thing to model?

 

[AD]

I kind of had a minor question, would the length of gun barrels affect the performance of a gun in any way?

For example Hornets seem to have much longer laser barrels than the guns on the Hydra, or for that matter there were general differences in barrel length in WC1 fighters. I know there weren't any differences manifested in game, but might that be an interesting thing to model?

I don't remember if pioneer will implement destructable weapons a la WC1, but I guess the bigger the gun, the easier it would be for it to be shot off.

 

[Howard Day]

I kind of had a minor question, would the length of gun barrels affect the performance of a gun in any way?
For example Hornets seem to have much longer laser barrels than the guns on the Hydra, or for that matter there were general differences in barrel length in WC1 fighters. I know there weren't any differences manifested in game, but might that be an interesting thing to model?

Ah, yes - good question. The answer is that there is no operational difference between the guns - range/damage and speed are all identical. The only real difference is visual - the Hornet just wouldn't look right with little stubby guns on it. You will be able to blow the guns off, and yes, the bigger they are, the better targets you'll have.

The demo will have sound. We're wokring on getting the music ironed out right now. the gun/weapon/afterburner/damage sounds are all pretty much completed.

 

[Unregistered]

I know it's a push to go this route....but what are the chances that once this game is completed that you remake the original Privateer with this engine?

 

[Peidu]

Considering there's already two Privateer Remakes, Privateer: Remake, and Privateer: Gemini Gold, I'd say it was unlikely.

 

[Sonic TH]

I have a question:

How many writers/mission designers are working on this? And if so who are they?

Or is it too early for a story yet?

Hmm, guess I had three questions...

 

[Cam]

I don't remember if pioneer will implement destructable weapons a la WC1, but I guess the bigger the gun, the easier it would be for it to be shot off.

If Pioneer is true to the spirit of Privateer, then it too, would have destructable weapons (and other components!). In Privateer, if you got heavily shot up, your equipment would be listed in the damage report and when you landed you would have to have them fixed.

 

[Sonic TH]

You could also lose your jump drive and be stuck in a system with no shipyard. Too bad there were no floating junk yards in privateer to salvage parts from.

 

[Ijuin]

I believe that being stranded in a system will be less frequent than in Privateer since all of the human-inhabited systems are supposed to have at least one base that you can land at and resupply. It's only in Kilrathi or unexplored territory that there would be nothing.

 

[Dundradal]

What Gar doesn't have a small little outpost in that part of space anymore? Gar survives, he always survives...