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They have put up the source code on github, so anyone can go take a look. I think that’s pretty awesome to do (on top of reaching out to us directly).
After watching the trailer, I have to say I'm pretty hyped to give this one a go myself. The lighting and the ship graphics are quite stunning! The main thing that needs work is what looks like the in-ship cockpit view, as it looks so bland compared to the rest of it, where's all my shiny futuristic buttons and consoles?
Here’s what the developer had to say about it:
Gwennaël ArbonaLinux support today should not be an issue at all. Everyone can now use reliable, off-the-shelf engines that work on pretty much all platforms. In our case that's Unreal Engine 4. We work as a team of two - a gameplay developer using Linux, and a content developer on Windows. In two years of Linux development, we only had a few issues - quality inconsistencies, different behavior in the anti-aliasing method, different mouse behavior. We also found the engine's performance to be slightly less good on Linux, probably because of driver software lagging behind Windows. Most of the time though, all the work we do on one system works like a charm on the other one.
On top of that, we also feel quite lucky to have open-source software at out disposal. Ask artists in the game development industry what kind of tools they use : most of the time, they will start talking about a proprietary modeling software with proprietary extensions that work with a proprietary engine. Unlike the mostly open-source powered software development field, art is usually the realm of closed, expensive tools.
Blender has been a serious alternative for years, with excellent modeling, unwrapping and baking tools and out-of-the-box support for most game engines. It even comes with tools you wouldn't suspect, like a video editor. The entire game was modeled on Blender, the video trailer above was built with Blender. It's a very powerful tool.
We also work with Git, CMake, Qt and other life-changing software, so Blender is hardly alone there.
They plan to release the game on Steam in Q2 next year and they have already passed Greenlight. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
We're doing a realistic flight model, so fully Newtonian with clever flight control. You don't have a speed limit, you can turn independently of your direction, and so on. Heat has an effect on the engine's efficiency. It doesn't play like KSP at all though, it's much more action-oriented.
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Good job to the developers, and I look forward to supporting the release of the game.
It would be awesome if the developer had a form of blog or something where he/she discusses what obstacles they encountered while developing for Linux on UE4 and how they overcame those obstacles and perhaps how they approached development choices (like what middleware to use). I guess a sort of DevDiary to help other developers choosing to develop using UE4 on Linux.
It would be awesome if the developer had a form of blog or something where he/she discusses what obstacles they encountered while developing for Linux on UE4 and how they overcame those obstacles and perhaps how they approached development choices (like what middleware to use). I guess a sort of DevDiary to help other developers choosing to develop using UE4 on Linux.
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We do have a dev blog over here. We did't talk about Linux issues though, mostly because we didn't have any ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
One of the Linux bugs we had was that UE4 wrongly required OpenGL 4.3 at launch in early Alpha builds, instead of the OpenGL 3.2 we actually needed. As described in the article, we also have small behavior differences on rendering and player input, but to be honest it's a minor topic.
By the way, that was Vivaldi ! :)
One of the Linux bugs we had was that UE4 wrongly required OpenGL 4.3 at launch in early Alpha builds, instead of the OpenGL 3.2 we actually needed. As described in the article, we also have small behavior differences on rendering and player input, but to be honest it's a minor topic.
By the way, that was Vivaldi ! :)
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Quoting: PublicNuisanceHopefully they plan a DRM free version
Well it is open-source, so... Duh. :)
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Quoting: BeamboomQuoting: PublicNuisanceHopefully they plan a DRM free version
Well it is open-source, so... Duh. :)
I'd just like to correct this : the game's code is open-source, the full game isn't. Basically we're trying to be as open as possible while still selling the game on Steam (and possibly GoG). So the sources are available, it won't have DRM, people may be able to rebuild the game to mod it - but technically the game isn't really open-source.
It's a bit weird, I know.
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Stupendous Man Dec 13, 2016
Quoting: Stranger... You don't have a speed limit ...Not even the speed of light? ;-)
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I feel you need to take my cash now ok.... good
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Lordpkappa Dec 13, 2016
Great to see it on linux, but it's not my genre.
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Wow, very interesting. The Linux platform needs more space sims, absolutely. At the fear of pigeonholing, this looks more in the vein of the prior X3 (or as someone else mentioned, Pioneer) in that the main focus is on the economics and trading, rather than combat and exploration (like Elite Dangerous). I can't wait to buy and try. Best of all good things to the developer, who seems like they're already quite far along.
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Quoting: Stupendous ManQuoting: Stranger... You don't have a speed limit ...Not even the speed of light? ;-)
Hi, I'm the other developer !
No, there is no hard coded limit for speed in Helium Rain, the physics are fully Newtonian. However, even if most details in Helium Rain are far more realistic than others space opera games, it's not a simulation game like KSP. So we made some trade-ofs to keep the game fun.
All the piloting action take place in small range around a point of interest, we call that a sector. A sector would be, for example, a 15km radius around a big space station. Space is huge, so travel between sectors takes days and are processed in a turn-based time scale. As there is nothing to see far away from the point of interest, when you are too far from the center of the sector, the game assumes you accidentally exited the sector and puts you back in there at a lower velocity. So the maximum velocity is defined by your ship's acceleration and the sector radius.
Still, with a fighter you can reach very high velocities, more than 1000 m/s, but there is no reason to try it, other than fun. Even if ennemies won't be able to hit you, you won't be able to hit them back, and collisions become much more dangerous.
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