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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.
It looks very nice. I'll probably buy it.
And great to see there is a developer really using Linux while others don't even bother to try the Linux build on a spare machine.
As a developer I've worked for companies that claimed out loud that supporting Linux is too hard but then all developers were using Windows. Having at least someone willing to work on Linux makes all the difference.
And great to see there is a developer really using Linux while others don't even bother to try the Linux build on a spare machine.
As a developer I've worked for companies that claimed out loud that supporting Linux is too hard but then all developers were using Windows. Having at least someone willing to work on Linux makes all the difference.
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Chuckaluphagus Dec 13, 2016
Quoting: StrangerWe're doing a realistic flight model, so fully Newtonian with clever flight control.Whee! Thank you, I do love a good Newtonian model in a space sim. Independence War I and II are favorites of mine.
The game looks interesting, and I haven't had a new space sim to play in too long. I'll be happy to see this come out next year.
Will you be looking for beta testers prior to release?
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Quoting: GuestQuoting: razing32Was that Mozart or is my knowledge of classical music off ?Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, Winter I!
I like this album of his :D.
Gah...
I was thinking it might be Vivaldi also.
Should re-listen to the seasons.
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1. These people seem really cool.
2. More game developers should go with great classical music soundtracks rather than competent-or-worse original music.
3. I love the way everything sort of glides past . . . but it makes me feel like, is there some way to get it to play the Blue Danube?
2. More game developers should go with great classical music soundtracks rather than competent-or-worse original music.
3. I love the way everything sort of glides past . . . but it makes me feel like, is there some way to get it to play the Blue Danube?
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Quoting: razing32Was that Mozart or is my knowledge of classical music off ?It's Vivaldi. I believe it's even one of the Four Seasons, but I can't remember which one.
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Quoting: StrangerQuoting: 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.
Not weird at all. Richard Stallman himself says that it's reasonable to copyright art and so forth for games, because art and stories and such are a different kind of thing from, say, recipes and computer programs.
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Quoting: NiavokQuoting: Stupendous ManQuoting: Stranger... You don't have a speed limit ...Not even the speed of light? ;-)
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.
Huh. So, you can't accelerate to relativistic velocities and drop solid slugs which will strike enemy installations with massive energy yields? Um, just as a random for-instance.
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Quoting: Purple Library GuyHuh. So, you can't accelerate to relativistic velocities and drop solid slugs which will strike enemy installations with massive energy yields? Um, just as a random for-instance.
No.
But in Helium Rain bullets don't just deal constant damages. They have a mass and an muzzle velocity but the damages depend only on kinetic energy at impact (for inert bullets). So the velocity of your ship and the velocity of your opponent have an huge impact on damage. Bullets fired when crossing an enemy ship at high velocity deal a lot more damage than bullets fired when chasing.
Here is the code :
https://github.com/arbonagw/HeliumRain/blob/master/Source/HeliumRain/Spacecrafts/FlareShell.cpp#L265
4 Likes, Who?
Quoting: Niavokin Helium Rain bullets don't just deal constant damages. They have a mass and an muzzle velocity but the damages depend only on kinetic energy at impact (for inert bullets). So the velocity of your ship and the velocity of your opponent have an huge impact on damage. Bullets fired when crossing an enemy ship at high velocity deal a lot more damage than bullets fired when chasing.
Wow, newtonian based physics for flight AND combat !?
That will for sure be really innovative in a space opera game. Hopefully the realism won't take away the fun.
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Chuckaluphagus Dec 13, 2016
Quoting: NiavokBut in Helium Rain bullets don't just deal constant damages. They have a mass and an muzzle velocity but the damages depend only on kinetic energy at impact (for inert bullets). So the velocity of your ship and the velocity of your opponent have an huge impact on damage. Bullets fired when crossing an enemy ship at high velocity deal a lot more damage than bullets fired when chasing.You can't see me, but I'm sitting here at my desk actually cackling with anticipatory glee.
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I like it! The only thing that worries me is the limited space around poi and whether that takes away realism ( for me, I appreciate everybody is different ). I will definitely buy this though! Newtonian bullets :-)
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Quoting: GuestBut... I wish they wouldn't say "PC". They say it _a lot_, even at github.
Well, it is for PC - Windows and Linux desktop computers. I'm not sure which term would be more accurate.
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Quoting: StrangerDeveloper here.
Hey PublicNuisance ! We will ship the game without DRM, so no worry on that front. :)
Then it should be possible to buy it on GOG. I don't like the crappy Steam software. Crappy software needed to enable using another software is DRM for me and others.
Glad to see someone embracing opensource in games.
Last edited by berarma on 16 December 2016 at 1:50 pm UTC
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Steam is much more easy to get on and has a bigger audience, so it's the obvious first step. We'd definitely like to ship on GOG too, though that is mostly up to GOG, as they do their own selection.
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: GuestCan you describe how you're working on the planets?
Planets are not interactive in the game, you can't land on them or even approach them. It would be cool to land on a moon, walk on it, mine it for resources - but that's also nothing like the game we have right now. We're heavily focused on strategy, trading, economy, and we felt like landing on planets was a huge development that didn't fit in the game's focus.
As you point out, some projects do stuff like this, but they're also long-terms projects from established companies or high-budget Kickstarters. We're just two guys :)
Last edited by Stranger on 16 December 2016 at 4:41 pm UTC
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Quoting: etamLooks like http://pioneerspacesim.net/ but with better graphics
This looks cool, I've never heard of it before your post, thanks! The development looks pretty active too:
https://github.com/pioneerspacesim/pioneer
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Shugyousha Dec 18, 2016
Quoting: StrangerQuoting: 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.
I think this is great and I will most likely buy it as well (couldn't find it on Steam yet though).
The publishing model you are using (Open Source code with proprietary assets) sounds to me like the best way of developing games in general. At one point I was actually considering to offer a site where you can sell your game's assets and that allows for easy integration with the source code at another location. So people buying your game would download all the needed assets from the online site as soon as they bought the game....
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