Unstable Space is a content expansion for Torn Stars. It adds hidden jump routes to the cluster. These unstable jump routes may allow you to sneak past Customs Patrols and Pirates, but they can be very risky and can damage or even destroy your ships. Traversing or discovering these hidden jump routes will be the work of smugglers and explorers. Additionally, a new series of player ownable and minable asteroids will be scattered throughout the cluster. These asteroids will form the backbone of the mining career.
Now that we have almost unlimited ships for the player (about 7 for the US release, but more can be added thanks to the new Loadout) I recently realised that now we have a cockpit that doesn't always match the ship. In Eoc one cockpit sufficed, as every ship Cal flew actually had the same cockpit. How fortunate. Of course the cockpit was also just window dressing, as all the important info is stored on his helmet's hud. (0)
One of my favorite moments in I-war2 was when I switched to an outside view to examine my ship, and suddenly noticed the maneuvering thrusters. Such a great little detail, that really helped build the reality and believability of the simulaiton for me. In light of my recent work on maneuvering thrusters, I suddenly took it upon myself to tackle a little point about them that never really sat well with me. Namely, that the thrusters on the Dreadnaught Corvette seemed waaaay too small to be spinning it around the way they did.
So I quickly whipped up some new thruster nozels, a more powerful animation (simulating actual engine like thrusters, rather than jets of gas), some lighting and threw them together on a Corvette. Here is the result. Kinda cool, so I may just have to release it once our coding for Unstable Space is done (crosses fingers)
Video might be a little small, but hopefully it can get the idea across.
Time for another little article highlighting features in the Unstable Space Beta. Capsule jumping, at least between systems has been changed considerably. The original EoC cut scene has been transformed into a completely playable simulation, integral to the strategy of the reimagined Middle States.
Many changes have come with this new capsule jump sim. First, navigation has changed. You no longer use the Hat controls to pilot through an Lpoint. Instead you approach the lpoint, then hit tab to activate your navigator, Lori. She will then give you a choice of routes she can plot. This brings up the next change.
Capsule jumps have varying degrees of difficulty/stability. Detection and plotting of routes through more unstable routes will require better active sensors. If your sensors are insufficient you will not even see the route. If you can sense them, Lori will give you estimates of the degree of difficulty to navigate through them, based on their stability. The jumps will be defined, in order of increasing difficulty, thusly: Weak, Unstable, Dangerous, Deadly.
This is the second in a series of articles I will post prior to the much belated release of Unstable Space. It is mostly a rehash of a document I whipped up for internal use by the team. Additionally, the changes that were made followed goals and intentions that GrandpaTrout layed out in our original Rebalance document several years ago. However, in the process of attempting to reach the goals and intentions, a lot of fiddling was done. I will go over the changes made in this article, as well as some of the reasons behind the changes (if they were not the result of finding something that just 'felt right'). I will also include here some of the passages from that original Rebalance document that I took into account while working on the Rebalance.
Loadout, meaning the equiping, prepping and arming of ships prior to spaceflight, has been changed considerably in Unstable Space. In this first of a series of articles I will very briefly go over the changes, and describe how it is handled now.
Firstly, loadout is now referred to as 'Ship Fitting'. Look for the 'Ship Fitter' button in your ships menu, which is accessed as usual, via the 'o' key.
Secondly, ship fitting is no longer done inside a station (Lucretia's base). In fact, we no longer enter stations at all in Unstable Space. Ship fitting is accessed by docking with a station that has a Shipyard Facility. Shipyards, Naval Bases, Mercenary Bases and some Pirate Bases are the typical stations that have a Shipyard Facility and support ship fitting.
Thirdly, ship fitting requires the ship to be fitted to be docked at the Shipyard Facility of the station. If the ship is not docked, ship fitting options will not be available.
Fourthly, ship fitting can be conducted on the player ship, as well as any hired wingmen. To fit a wingmen's ship, simply order your wingman to dock to a station with a Shipyard Facility.
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