More details on upcoming Asteroids update!

You'd be on point if they didn't release other content as well. It really isn't as if they've sat at home eating donuts and talking about how they can keep postponing asteroids. They also have a smaller team since launch and some other projects they had to dedicate at least some time to.

I, for one, think that the craters maybe could stay in for asteroids, or maybe add them to nukes It is nice to have a large guaranteed one-hit-kill zone and nukes don't provide that, and as mentioned, it's great to see sections of the world become unusable. In the KS trailer the asteroid wiped out the planet, which was amazing to see, but have you guys considered that maybe asteroids do local area damage and planets and planetoids (moons) render the whole planet ruined as in the trailer? More variety this way, if it's feasible!

Also @cola_colin you seem VERY excited

Bah Humbug, how dare you snipe me!

We really should get asteroids as crater creating weapon that makes planet surface smaller and is "almost ultimate nuke", without destroing entire planet. I would really not want to destroy whole planets no matter what I throw. Sure, planets can destroy other planets, but let asteroids be their own weapon on smaller scale, not copy paste of throwing planet. We need both options if you are going to make it like this. Please Uber.

Edit. some people well dissapointed in progress, Im dissapointed in one thing, UI. HTML did not really worked well, even if it is more moddable. Valve showed lately that you can make fast and responsive UI that is also moddable. PA UI is not fast, nor responsive. Its clunky, its 30 fps in menu, its laggy. I doubt Uber will fix that anytime soon or even change entire UI, but I would be happily suprised if they did. I think PA needs good UI that is FAST.

@rivii from what I'm reading the new thing added by asteroids is the ability to build maps where additional celestial bodies spawn in at (hopefully) user defined intervals.

This might sound easy, however the game is set up to build the planets / system and the start and run from there, so this is in fact non trivial.

If it functions like that, it is also interesting in that you could for example have a 30 minute window of 'smash free' time, with the asteroids entering the system late game as a stalemate breaker. I can see that being fun, as it would equate to a significant change to the battlefield, leading to an arms race to get to the new resource.

They've also stated they want to rework the smash effect so that a smashed planet looks more like the idea in the kickstater trailer (i.e. covered in cracks and lava).

What I dislike about the new idea is that by removing the 'crater' game play we are simplifying the end game somewhat and it also strikes me as removing some of the differentiation between planet smashing, the new asteroid smashing and the annihilazor. That said, I could accept a 'smash destroys everything on the planet but the planet remains in system' approach, especially if the damaged planet can be recolonised after a smash. This leads to all sorts of game play opportunities and means players can make use of smashing multiple times. In that instance I can also accept the 'smashed' planet not having a crater on it, so long as it looks suitable scorched and damaged.

Either way, I'm happy to reserve judgement until I can test this out in PTE.

Also @rivii you are aware that Uber recently released 'resume anywhere from replay' using chrono cam? That is a serious bit of software engineering there, so they have been working hard on stuff (just not multi player focused stuff).

Could do a 2 step system where one smash kills everything on the surface, and the planet becomes a lava hellhole with very high lava levels, and the second smashes the planet into a non-spawning asteroid belt.

EDIT: But im stoked either way, lazers be damned!

Thanks for this update on your design process!
Personally, I would like if Uber would consider a differentiation between asteroid and planet smashes,(@cola_colin already pointed out the rationale behind those thoughts). But (<- and this is the large but) only if there is a visual distinction between asteroids and other planets.
To be clear if a asteroid just looks like a small moon, and behaves like a small moon (e.g. you can build all the structures you can usually build on a planet, and/or you can build mexes, etc...), I wouldn't want a difference in smash mechanics, because this would just cause confusion.

To the people who reacted to me, Yes I know very well what they have been working on which is my no means a small feat. A replay from anywhere in timeline is complicated and a very nice addition.

But I also really hope you understand that in the same time they could have set up the asteroid spawning in PTE with no new graphics and just planets to test it out and hear our idea's before having to do double / triple work.

Also a team never works on 1 thing at a time. The programmers made the chroco feature and save stuff. That left enough time and room for designers and artists to do their fair share of work.

Now I also do know that they must be working on a new IP where the designers and artists have their priorities now. (Uber wont live long without a new IP comming up)

All in all they made the PTE to test stuff but only use it for balance tweaks or when testing big new things allready far in developement.

The big problem I have here is that, again, they anounce something new, and we all have a very different opinion as in Community vs Uber. This has happend before (Wrecks anyone?), is happening now, and will most likely happen in the future aswel. They listen to us, but bring it to PTE too late for us too discus it.

They have announced the new IP already... it's called 'Wayward Sky' and is a VR game aimed at Sony's new headset for the PS4 (it looks like a nice game actually). I think it's really good that they are still pushing for new features on PA at all, given a large chunk of the team will be working on the new game. Most companies would be in 'bugfixes only' mode at this stage.

I agree they *could* have talked to us earlier about this, but @jables has also stated they want to trial this out with us in PTE, which I think also has the option for changes to things if necessary (although that would require some form of consensus from our end, and as you point out that is not usually the case- design by committee is a fast way to get nothing useful done at all).

Oh missed the announcement of Wayward Sky. Anyway i'll refrain from this topic for now. I made my points clear and tbh. I don't expect much from asteroids anymore. A nice tiny addition to the game nothing more nothing less thats what I expect. If it's more, awesome. If it's not than, I told you so.

Man what has got into you lately?

Took a step back from PA to work on my own games, play other games and was generaly burn out with PA. Came back (because I still love the game) but now with a much less biased view and a much more realistic one.

On a side note.. When full mods support releases somewhere in the next 5 years I might start modding the environment.

That's all fine man, all I'd say though is that a 'less biased view' is not the same as giving feedback in a very negative accusative fashion.

Nothing wrong in stating what you'd like to see from Asteroids and how that differers from the proposed implementation, just keep it constructive. After all, Uber are under no obligation to continue adding features to PA, so asteroids are likely going to be a modest addition, I'll take that over them dropping support any day.

no more craters? not even small ones?

i dont like the "smash everything" idea...
annihilaz0r? fine, planet vs planet? fine, moon vs planet? fine...but asteroids?
i was hoping for them to be larger "nukes", stuff that hurts but wont destroy the planet completely.
also...if they respawn...i would see that as a balance flaw.
planets and moons are limited, but when there are unlimited asteroids, you could just...well...destroy everything.
matches will be very boring from that point on..."rush for the asteroid"...
i think when asteroids fully destroy planets, i wont play it anymore and wait for the next rts instead :s

Im cool with the total annihilation asteroids.

But I would be nice if the planets didn't disappear into vapour.

From what I was reading, asteroids would:
1: Be an option for map makers (so still possible to make / play maps without them)
2: Spawn based on some user defined variables (e.g. spawn after 30 minutes). That way they can be used as stalemate breakers in the event a game gets to that point (not uncommon when you have 2 or more fairly balanced planets).

I don't think they need be deal breakers even if implemented in the way proposed...

Orbital noob. L2Orbital.

But in general, yeah. Give a man a small moon and he will live there in peace, forever and ever. Amen.

Exactly the movie I was talking about, I'd love to see this effect!!

And for the what happens discussion, my view would also be:
planet + planet = big boom and byebye.
Asteroid + asteroid = smaller boom and byebye.

Asteroid + planet is that from the video, kills everything but rebuildable afterwards, realisticly speaking atleast (look at the video, that difference in sizes!!) But I'd be totally fine with a better crater effect and nuke like asteroids as well for more differentiation purposes This would require pathable craters though, or as Colin mentioned an effect that translates to nogo zone.

i still would like to have that size dependant .. small steroid = large nuke
big steroid = planet kill
planet = double kill ?

I'll add my voice to the choir here asking for asteroids be different from planets.

Asteroids use current system, planets old one.


I don't care if this would require an extra month of work, please make it so. (and I seriously doubt it'll take an extra month)

Really again?
The realistic amount of potential energy a small rock has when it falls down into a gravitational well of a 4 km sized celestial body.
But hey, what do I know? Uber, make it awesome!