Hello to all SC 3.4.1 version is out. My observation so far is this. The missions around Hurston are in and so far working. Just made 7k doing a mission ala FPS style shoot em up. Had to deal with surface to air fire before I could infiltrate the facility. Mercenary, bounty hunter quests pay up to 3850 credits. Delivery missions pay varies but generally from 500 - 3800 credits. Seems the beginner stuff is fairly balanced (My opinion, based on comparison to 3.0). Every mission I have tried works so far.
The bugs are still there, but not as bad as they have been. My cockpit canopy randomly opens and closes from time to time. Mostly everything seems to be working, except trading and probably mining as well. Hope they turn it back on, I have a cargo hold full of medical supplies.
Bugs abound, as expected, but the core features and tech to support those features is coming along nicely.
Missions are fun, assaulting an underground bunker is exciting!
I love the direction and the momentum. Now we just need the Flight Model worked out, the remainder of NBC and OCS put in place, armor and shields reworked for larger ships and a balance pass on weapons and THENā¦I would say we have enough to call it a game. Not the content mind you, but enough base features to make it something worth playing.
To put a dissenting opinion out there, my experience with the game has been nothing but misery. Most of that misery is due to the extreme number of bugs I encounter, to the point where after about 3 hours of āplayā, I have not completed a single mission. Crashes, wierd bugs, kiosks randomly deciding not to give packages, frame rate issues, you name it Iāve hit it I want to like this game, donāt get me wrong, but I personally would not recommend getting it unless you are either A) very confident in your luck or B) have a very high tolerance for alpha product bugs. Iāve tried every released public build since 3.0, and not enjoyed any of them. Hereās hoping for 3.5 being the magic one for me.
I doubt 3.5 will be much better as it will be a major change to the flight model and in that it will affect many other systems directly and indirectly.
I am sorry to hear you have not had positive experiences in the past year since 3.0 was released. That is almost hard to believe but then I think of the state of the game in 3.0, 3.1 and even 3.2 and I remember how nasty the PU was. It did get a bit better in both 3.3 and 3.4 but there are certainly still bugs that can make it frustrating to say the least.
I always advise anyone getting involved at this stage of the development to be cautious in their participation. It is an alpha level development. True Alpha, not the typical āwe care calling this alpha to get it in front of people as some type of publicityā releases that we see so much today. They are still creating many parts of the core game, and in doing so they are iteratively progressing through stages of each feature.
So I would agree with your recommendation, do not get in now unless you are comfortable with an alpha level development. It is raw in many ways, and yet refined even in some others. But where it is raw is typically a pain point that makes the experience extremely frustrating. On the flip side, when you get that glimpse of what the game will be by having loads of fun even when playing in the bug infested PU today, it is quite rewarding.
What? A major change to the flight model? Again?! Say it isnāt so!
This is why I donāt playā¦well that, and not burning out. If I donāt play at all in 2019 and maybe a little in 2020, Iāll not have āmissed outā on anything IMHO. Iām just too old and impatient for bug testing these days.
Not just a change to the FM, it is completely rewritten.
This is one of the presentations you didnāt go to at CitCon (you were with TZ I think)
They are returning to a mains focused flight. Think Asteroids how you point in a direction and thrust with your main thruster in the forward direction, then can spin around and face other directions while still moving along the initial vector.
This is very different from what we have now which tried to do too much thinking for us in flight.
Also they are getting rid of Afterburner and Pre and making it so that your landing gear is not tied to your throttle controls.
Instead we will have a limiter that can be set to a specific amount of thrust. Say 40% max thrust is the limiter. Then as you move your throttle up and down it give thrust between 0 and the limiter max, in this case 40%.
So if you wanted to have Pre like mode you would set your limiter to maybe 10% thrust and now your throttle will move between 0 and 10 percent as you go from 0 throttle to 100 throttle.
Kinda hard to describe without images or video but well worth the time to go back and watch the CitCon video on the flight model changes.
I am hoping ETF testing on the FM starts soon because many of us want to get a LOT of time in refining the changes and making them something positive for the game.
But I get what you are saying. Not everyone likes bug testing and unfortunately there are many backers who do not understand that is what they are signing up for right now. They come in looking for a playable game and get a bug testing application. Then they bitch and moan all over the forums about how the game is going to fail if CIG doesnāt fix their bug of choice immediately!
For me, bug testing is fun. But if you cannot say the same then it is best to do exactly what you are doing, sit back and wait.
For me, at least, the FM demonstration and getting hands on stick experience with it were the highlight of the event as a whole. (Well that and meeting you fine gentlemen )
I like the new model, at least I like the way it felt on those demo systems. I got a good 30 minutes on it and was pretty happy. Still need to test the feel for atmo-flight though.
I am really looking forward to getting my hands on the new FM too. I picked up a pair of t16000mās months ago and theyāve been sitting in their boxes ever since. I figured there was not much of a point learning to fly dual stick until they had the flight model more finalized. Getting that right is going to be an essential aspect of SC. I know it will go through numerous iterations though, much to the dismay of many. I have really enjoyed seeing SC grow and evolve over time and it is a blast to be an active part of it. I am happy to wait as long as necessary for CIG to get everything right.
If they do this one right, and from what I see so far it seems they are on the right track, then this should be the last major change to the FM. Everything from here on should be minor adjustments and balancing.
And kudos on the dual 16kās, those are great sticks for the price. I use one for my left stick and have been very satisfied with it.
If all goes well I will be replacing it with my TFCS throttle though, as dial stick will not be necessary once the FM is corrected. Or at least that is my hope.
So for me it will be warthog right hand TFCS left hand until I can afford the warthog throttle. That will be a nerdgasm day for sure.
I love the sound of it, and I love the fact that I didnāt learn the other method(s) so I can say āI remember whenā¦ā Most of this is tongue in cheek, I honestly donāt care, Iāll play the game when itās closer to launch and back my own way
Iāll continue my current pattern. Poke at the latest point release with a ten-foot pole, see if I can tolerate it, and if not wait until the next point release The bugs have to leave me alone eventually.
As long as they release Squadron 42 in a semi-decent state Iāll be a happy camper.
I expect SQ42 to be in much better than a āsemi decentā state.
They are shooting for a AAA release, nothing less. Now that saying that means much these days with the state of most games at release. But I think CIG wants to show that a crowd funded game with enough talent and money behind it can put out games as good or better than the competition.
No one would fault them if they came out with something slightly below the level of games today but I think they would fault themselves.
SQ42 is also going to have full ETF testing as well, though I will not be participating in that. I am fully willing to bang on SC with every patch and help make the PU an amazing game world but I want SQ42 to remain a mystery and a surprise.
I agree. The key will be if they avoid āearly releaseā nonsense to put out poor quality. Itās my hope that they formally beta test it, call it a beta test, and when they release it that itās 100% complete and shiny.
That is the plan right now.
As it stands development is feature locked and complete as of Q1 2020. Then we start official Beta which is currently scheduled to last 3 months with a 3 month option to extend. Obviously if they need more time for Beta they will take it but they are not planning on more than 3-6 months right now.
So there really is no question of āWill it meet the standards of other AAA games?ā
It will surpass the standards of other AAA games.
SC 3.4.1 version is out. My observation so far is this. The missions around Hurston are in and so far working. Just made 7k doing a mission ala FPS style shoot em up. Had to deal with surface to air fire before I could infiltrate the facility. Mercenary, bounty hunter quests pay up to 3850 credits. Delivery missions pay varies but generally from 500 - 3800 credits. Seems the beginner stuff is fairly balanced (My opinion, based on comparison to 3.0). Every mission I have tried works so far.
I want to like this game, donāt get me wrong, but I personally would not recommend getting it unless you are either A) very confident in your luck or B) have a very high tolerance for alpha product bugs. Iāve tried every released public build since 3.0, and not enjoyed any of them. Hereās hoping for 3.5 being the magic one for me.
)