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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

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Author Topic: Starsector 0.8a (Released) Patch Notes  (Read 639465 times)

gozer

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #195 on: December 16, 2016, 12:31:27 AM »

I am going to have to heavily disagree on that. The original trailer shows a quick glimpse of the game and what you can expect, the music is fitting and the over all video has pacing to it and while short it does get the message across in an efficient manner.
The fan made trailer has music that makes me cringe because it's as overused as linking park in naruto AMVs, and while certainly it does spend more time showing off combat, it doesn't really give that much overview of the game.

the biggest "problem" I have with the official trailer is that it simply doesn't show gameplay (certainly not for the combat). The last 20 seconds of trailer that shows combat are way too short cuts (22 seconds of total combat coverage, split into 7 different cuts), always only showing extremely short clip of ship(s) firing one salvo and then there is cut and trailer jumps to another scene that again only shows one salvo etc. The fan trailer shows much longer combat scenes, giving much better impression of how the gameplay actually looks like ... and also shows the user interface (in my opinion a good thing, this is what player will be seeing in his game, not the "staged" cinematic shots without UI)

and the fan trailer not giving better overview of the game (map, trading, etc) is simply result of many of these things either weren't in the game 4 years ago or were a lot more simplified compared to todays version. Here the official trailer is in a bit of a though spot thanks to the fact that it tries to show a lot more things in only third of the running time (the fan trailer simply shows combat because back then the game was almost entirely about combat ... or things leading directly to combat and not much else).

Official trailer is good, but tries to show too many things in too short time. Here the fan trailer would be way more effective in convincing me to try to find more info about the game and check it out (my VERY subjective opinion, I'm sure plenty of players will disagree with that). Or maybe in (distant) future there could be 2nd trailer (combat trailer?), showing more combat with longer scenes and UI displayed ... and maybe also showing the ship customization in a little more detail.
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Questionable

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #196 on: December 16, 2016, 05:44:17 AM »

the biggest "problem" I have with the official trailer is that it simply doesn't show gameplay (certainly not for the combat). The last 20 seconds of trailer that shows combat are way too short cuts (22 seconds of total combat coverage, split into 7 different cuts), always only showing extremely short clip of ship(s) firing one salvo and then there is cut and trailer jumps to another scene that again only shows one salvo etc. The fan trailer shows much longer combat scenes, giving much better impression of how the gameplay actually looks like ... and also shows the user interface (in my opinion a good thing, this is what player will be seeing in his game, not the "staged" cinematic shots without UI)
A games trailer should not be about just one aspect of the game, neither should it cover it in-depth. It should instead give a brief overview of the entire game, set the pace and tone of the game and spark your interest. After which if people are interested they will look up another trailer, a letsplay, a combat trailer or something like this which is what I watched after the official trailer.

and the fan trailer not giving better overview of the game (map, trading, etc) is simply result of many of these things either weren't in the game 4 years ago or were a lot more simplified compared to todays version. Here the official trailer is in a bit of a though spot thanks to the fact that it tries to show a lot more things in only third of the running time (the fan trailer simply shows combat because back then the game was almost entirely about combat ... or things leading directly to combat and not much else).
Ah, I see, still the game has more to it than just combat these days so it counts.
I guess if your statement would be "we need a trailer that highlights the combat in addition to the primary trailer" then I would fully agree, people love having more info on stuff.

Or maybe in (distant) future there could be 2nd trailer (combat trailer?), showing more combat with longer scenes and UI displayed ... and maybe also showing the ship customization in a little more detail.
Sure, a trailer that shows off the combat more, is good, but as a secondary trailer, not as the primary.
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Fandanguero

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #197 on: December 16, 2016, 07:17:44 AM »

Yeah!
Yeah! Skipped last update, but this one should take me back once again. Waiting for 0.8a
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ChaseBears

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #198 on: December 16, 2016, 07:19:36 AM »

IMO, I do feel the official trailer should lead off with combat, or go into it very early. It's the most polished and visually appealing aspect of the game, and the best way to hook people's interest.  Afterwards the depth of the game outside of combat can be shown.  
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If I were creating the world I wouldn’t mess about with butterflies and daffodils. I would have started with lasers, eight o’clock, Day One!

David

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #199 on: December 16, 2016, 08:51:07 AM »

I think game trailers are an interesting creative undertaking, and one I've participated in producing quite a few times, so I'll comment on this in-depth.

First, know your goal: A game trailer isn't for players who play the game already. It's for potential players who may buy the game. And it's got to fit into about 90 to 150 seconds "because that's the way it is", short-form video is the expectation and tradition. Doing video documentation of the depth of a game mechanic is irrelevant to the requirements of a first-sight trailer compared to simply expressing how the game feels. (Diving deep into combat would, however, be appropriate for a supplementary promotional video if such a thing was desired. Some studios find video production really easy, some don't. Alex isn't a guy with native video skills and neither am I, so any video marketing is non-trivial effort/cost due to going through an outside contractor.)

Right, so you've got two minutes to show what the game is about. The most straightforward approach to doing this is to hit on the so-called "game verbs". In other words, explain what you - the player - does in the game. EXPLORE. TRADE. DESIGN. FIGHT. You know, all the good stuff. And show how it feels to do it. Note that there's a very important distinction between expressing "how it feels" and "show exactly how it works in comprehensive unedited real-time documentation". You simply can't do the latter because there's no time and it destroys pacing; the rhythm of watching a 2 minute video and playing an N hours game are completely different. Again, if you want to show the latter in comprehensive form, a valuable and worthwhile move, then that goes into a supplementary video about gameplay.

Indeed, combat is the aspect of Starsector that is the most exciting and shows itself off in video the best so it's got to be the climax of the video. Cruising around planets also looks pretty good, but it's not particularly given to exciting moments like landing a spread of Reapers home on an enemy capital ship. So by necessity the other features come first then the combat scenes build to a climactic explosion last. It's just so structurally easy and powerful to do it that way given the material at-hand.

To review, a primary promo trailer must:
  • Be short and to the point
  • Express how the game feels
  • Show the major game verbs
  • Build up an exciting arc to a climax and release that tension in a way that makes the viewer excited about the game

Any primary promo trailer for any game (that doesn't have an enormous presence/marketing budget to do something different) will more or less follow those points. Supplementary trailers may be made that focus more on some sub-point, like a particular game verb, or character, or deep look into an aspect of gameplay. But those all come later, if at all.
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Dri

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #200 on: December 16, 2016, 12:56:52 PM »

Heh, all too often trailers are very carefully tailored to create situations that would almost never occur when played normally. Just look at all of No Man's Sky trailers—they created special assets and scripted events just for their trailers!
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Gothars

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #201 on: December 17, 2016, 04:39:49 AM »

To review, a primary promo trailer must:

Something that I often see, that is missing from this trailer:

- Good sounding (out of context) quotes from the press
"...very compelling. I’m keen to see more." - RockPaperShotgun
"...depth and variance..." - Eurogamer
"...a ton of longevity and depth..." TotalBiscuit
(all real quotes btw)


- Name dropping disguised as listing "inspirations"
 "Inspired by Mount&Blade, Mechwarrior, MoO2 and of course No Man's Sky!"
No idea if this could run into legal trouble, though.


Or ideally a combination of both.

It might seem a bit cheap, but from what I observed it works really great for getting people interested. Especially the name dropping engages people emotionally as "game verbs" never could. Although I'm not sure if it helps to sell the game or just gets them talking about those old games :D
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Questionable

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #202 on: December 17, 2016, 06:28:07 AM »

Gothars, I am not sure if you are being sarcastic or not, since the things you are mentioned are treated with despise by many people who are not new to the gaming industry.
People hate quotes by somebody they don't give a *** about. People hate No Mans Lie and it's one of the lowest rated games on steam. I mean y...you are being sarcastic right?
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Dogthing

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #203 on: December 17, 2016, 11:05:55 AM »

and of course No Man's Sky!"

I've finally decided to stop lurking this forum, but only to say this post almost had me
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Alex

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #204 on: December 17, 2016, 11:10:16 AM »

Quality work, Gothars.
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Abradolf Lincler

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #205 on: December 18, 2016, 12:52:24 AM »

How much have you changed the apogee... don't hurt my baby
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Originem

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #206 on: December 18, 2016, 01:22:04 AM »

Well I have a QUESTION.
Will you fix the bug that beam has, like the wired charge time, wired fire at full charge?
The weapon's progress bar is always wired when is forced to stop.
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Jude

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #207 on: December 18, 2016, 03:51:45 AM »

- Good sounding (out of context) quotes from the press

I rather like what Toby did with the Undertale steam page, in that he went to 10/10 reviews and found the worst part.
Spoiler
[close]
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Alex

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #208 on: December 18, 2016, 11:04:46 AM »

How much have you changed the apogee... don't hurt my baby

Haven't nerfed it yet. <pats nerf bat>


Well I have a QUESTION.
Will you fix the bug that beam has, like the wired charge time, wired fire at full charge?
The weapon's progress bar is always wired when is forced to stop.

I'm not quite sure what you mean, but I think so, yes, as I do remember fixing a beam weapon bug that sounds like it could be this. And I seem to remember you PMing me about it. So: not 100% sure, but I think so.
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Abradolf Lincler

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Re: Starsector 0.8a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #209 on: December 18, 2016, 03:24:28 PM »

How much have you changed the apogee... don't hurt my baby

Haven't nerfed it yet. <pats nerf bat>


oh god...
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