RIP preloader and ready button.

I don't like the systems where you are immediately forced into something, I have had experience with that system that the game launched before I could look and set up at all the parameters. How about a system where when you join you are not considered ready unless you press, but the host can force ready you after 60 seconds the host can force ready you.

I would also like a temporary fix for the preloader in the form of "lock game" button (if that doesn't take more time than fixing the preloader itself). This would lock the number of players and the system you are using thus allowing the preloading to begin. Like already said on the stream, I'm limited to less than 1000 radius moon biome solo planets vs AI to play the game now, and even then I usually load in after the game has started.

Something like this might be a good idea and an improvement over the old "wheel".
But players who join the game need a way to check their settings and stuff before the host clicks ready. The way it is now people can end up in a game without ever having fully seen the settings.

When I can select commander and colour ahead of joining, and the game list has all the information about size, type and orbit of planets, who is on what team, etc. THEN you may take my ready button away.

By removing the ready button what happens is you launch the game, then I bail from the game because I find you have six planets but no moons.

+1
We could get rid of the "generating planets" screen - keep the lobby visible and allow people to continue chatting, but lock the system settings. The UI would show the "generating planets" text in the lobby screen. That way people would still have time to check out the system and get ready, plus the wait time would feel shorter.

I don't think we can prevent the game from starting. We can not show the loading screen. But we have no further control

Of course that was fairly annoying. The new Lobby is a neat improvement.

But right now if the player who created the game leaves the lobby, no one else has the faculty to start it. This brings in some confusion, also because there is no way to know who created the Lobby in the first place. Unless via chat.

I've seen people a bit confused the other night, and some Lobbies were just dead ends.

Kick that player. Better to not start at all than to start with someone who is AFK.

It's the reason you give a lobby host the ability to kick, so people like that don't waste time

Question: how much work has to be done before preloading is back in? Can I expect in within 2 or 3 patches?

Also, is "kick" removed or just not implemented yet?

this is SO true