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[Retro]

Heck, break out the Hypercard if you're so inclined.

Man, I haven't thought about Hypercard in years. I used to make little adventure games in it all the time, simple stuff of course since I was like 9, but still pretty fun. And yeah, I learned a bit of Hypertalk to get things to work.

This means I have programming experience? Every time I've tried my hand at anything beyond HTML or basic Java scripting, I've felt like I'm learning Japanese from a guy who only speaks German.

 

[Twinduct]

Well if anything, alteast they'll put a higher priority in being able to separate item,universe, character updates.

At least here there can be civil discussion about a disagreement on what actually 'beta' means. Steam forums & Twitter makes this place looks like a damn tower of druids.

 

[shysaursoft]

This means I have programming experience?

More than most, anyway

 

[Retro]

So what is the eta on the wipe for the original wipe?

I asked on Twitter, Reddit doesn't know either.

More than most, anyway

I've always figured I was one of those people who just don't 'get' how to code, and even my brief flirtations with Hypertalk were pretty basic. I'm terrible at math too, so it just never seemed like a path for me.

But this! This changes everything!

Spoiler

Not really.

 

[Artadius]

Their community manager on SomethingAwful admitted that they need to word their Steam page a bit better:

I'm talking to the rest of the team about sticking some more relevant "How the Beta Works" info up in the Steam store or the launcher.

To be fair, though:
http://playstarbound.com/how-the-beta-is-going-to-work/
http://playstarbound.com/coming-in-a-few-days-sorry-for-the-delay/

Not to mention stuff on Twitter/Facebook/IRC/the forums etc.
But yeah, I agree that we should make our Steam page more clear.

 

[aY227]

[12.10.13][10:39] <Tiy> do you want to hear what the bug was
[12.10.13][10:40] <Tiy> so
[12.10.13][10:40] <Tiy> in the old system
[12.10.13][10:40] <Tiy> static weapons (ones you craft)
[12.10.13][10:40] <Tiy> had a "level" setting
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> but then in this update we got rid of leveling
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> and set the damage by hand
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> and that worked great
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> we tested it all night
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> looked great
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> then at the LAST MINUTE
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> before release
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> a bug caused it to read its old level
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> again
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> so
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> now the top level in the game = 10
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> and these swords were set to level 35
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> and such
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> PLUS
[12.10.13][10:41] <Tiy> they had higher base damage
[12.10.13][10:45] <qazqazqaz> Tiy, any plan to hotfix craft weapons?
[12.10.13][10:46] <Tiy> yes
[12.10.13][10:46] <BeastMachine> WHEN is patch fix coming D:
[12.10.13][10:46] <Tiy> coming real soon

http://www.reddit.com/r/starbound/c..._for_weapons_coming_real_soon_per_tiy_in_irc/

 

[Dinosaur Tamer]

It would be nice if we laid off the snide, the inflammatory, and the implied superiority/inferiority comments.

Sorry, but "Beta is no excuse for <insert something I dislike>, because DUH" is not a valid argument. His posts were pretty ridiculous.

I get that people get frustrated over character wipes. Losing your progress is always frustrating. Arguing semantics you clearly don't understand is hardly a solution, though.

It's a small team working on a relatively ambitious project. They warned everybody in advance. It's a Beta/Early Access version of the game. Just deal with it.

 

[fluffydelusions]

So basically no point in playing again until the next wipe? Sucks but whatever. This is early/access beta and then they even said it was likely toon wipes

 

[KKRT00]

One thing is to feel annoyed by the wipes but at this point you're just shit posting and spreading FUD, seriously. It is 2 wipes in a 24 hour time period and both wipes are related to a completely new system of armor and damage.

Both were not need and both could be avoided, if game was tested prior by few decent players.

As i said before, they need to apply GGG testing methods, where patches are alpha tested by group of dedicated players and devs in cooperation.
This wipe would not happen if they would do that, i'm 1000% sure.

---

You know, I've been in dozens of alphas and betas over the past fifteen years, and balance issues aside Starbound is one of the more complete and stable "betas" I've ever played

Please name me those games that had more problematic alphas/betas. I'm really curious.

 

[arts&crafts]

I found a huuuge

Spoiler

Prison with tons of inmates with guns trying to kill me but they kept dropping crappy swords and hammers. Got about 40 "stims" from the prison but thats it, still EXCITING!

 

[Agkel]

So basically no point in playing again until the next wipe? Sucks but whatever. This is early/access beta and then they even said it was likely toon wipes

Sounds like it will be today, so hopefully not much of a wait.

Back to game discussion, I found that the OpenGL option gave me a few extra fps but it still stutters every now and then when new monsters come into the screen or I'm moving in one direction real fast.

Also something Ive been wanting to post since day one but I always forget. You can do facial expressions with the direction keys. So you have 4 expressions total. Remember to cry for your fallen comrades while spelunking!

 

[Ferrio]

Wow people haven't been in a true beta in such a long time they forget what it's like.

 

[fanboi]

Both were not need and both could be avoided, if game was tested prior by few decent players.

As i said before, they need to apply GGG testing methods, where patches are alpha tested by group of dedicated players and devs in cooperation.
This wipe would not happen if they would do that, i'm 1000% sure.

---


Please name me those games that had more problematic alphas/betas. I'm really curious.

Jesus dude, you are, after a couple of days availability, naming this the most problematic? Just stop. If this persist for a couple of weeks, then yes, you have a point.

Also, I think some people are mistaken this studio for an "AAA" studio (aka a lot of cash) and not an indie developer.

They don't have the time or resources to do a "correct" testing with 80 dedicated testers with test managers and whatnot.

They are doing the second best with their resources, crowd sourcing. This make it possible for them to realize a extremely ambitious project with minimal cost and minimal cost for you, the consumer.

 

[Morokh]

Playing around on the first planet I think I saw more creature diversity than in my entire play time before, this is very good !

 

[arts&crafts]

Jesus dude, you are, after a couple of days availability, naming this the most problematic? Just stop. If this persist for a couple of weeks, then yes, you have a point.

Also, I think some people are mistaken this studio for an "AAA" studio (aka a lot of cash) and not an indie developer.

They don't have the time or resources to do a "correct" testing with 80 dedicated testers with test managers and whatnot.

They are doing the second best with their resources, crowd sourcing. This make it possible for them to realize a extremely ambitious project with minimal cost and minimal cost for you, the consumer.

I agree, it is a team of a few people working 20 hours a day, they are doing there best.

 

[Technosteve]

Both were not need and both could be avoided, if game was tested prior by few decent players.

As i said before, they need to apply GGG testing methods, where patches are alpha tested by group of dedicated players and devs in cooperation.
This wipe would not happen if they would do that, i'm 1000% sure.

---


Please name me those games that had more problematic alphas/betas. I'm really curious.

Battlefield 4

Company of heroes 2

 

[NoirVisage]

Playing around on the first planet I think I saw more creature diversity than in my entire play time before, this is very good !

that's good to hear, watching vids I was seeing a lot of pokeymans with squirrel tales and and smiley bipeds, and little else.

 

[VandalD]

I found a huuuge

Spoiler

Prison with tons of inmates with guns trying to kill me but they kept dropping crappy swords and hammers. Got about 40 "stims" from the prison but thats it, still EXCITING!

Same here. Just found it.

Spoiler

It's an all woman prison. First one I've found.

 

[Retro]

Twitter:

Starbound &#8207;@StarboundGame 17s

Today's update MAY not require a character wipe, but we will need to do at least one more character wipe in the future. @kyrenn says sorry!

Their community manager on SomethingAwful admitted that they need to word their Steam page a bit better:

Why don't we have a community manager? Have you been to the SA forums? They're really something, alright... something awful.
Oh wait, I just got that!

Spoiler

No, not really.

 

[Ezra2680]

And I'd like it if people didn't whine like entitled brats, but we can't all get what we want. Besides, my statement was 100% true. Surprisingly so: you'd think more people would have done rudimentary programming in highschool computer science? A little Pascal, some Delphi? Even some Visual Basic would suffice. Heck, break out the Hypercard if you're so inclined.

My statement was mostly jest anyway. No need to be upset.

I didn't have any programming classes even offered in high school, so may be a lot of people in that boat. I'm a software developer now, but that's against the point.

To the topic, it is entirely possible that systems are not in place yet to only update the items, and doing a wipe is much faster and easier than trying to implement that right now.

 

[Raticus79]

Request for everyone:

If you find cool stuff on your starting planet, please post the coordinates and the planet name! They'll probably still work after future wipes.

 

[demidar]

Battlefield 4

Company of heroes 2

If I bought Battlefield 4 for $60+ I would be fucking pissed.

 

[Capella]

So after the wipe I'd like to jump on the Gaf server but should I play a bit of SP first before going in or would I be fine just starting in MP?

 

[Flambe]

The industry practise of making the "Beta" little more than an early access demo for preorders is to blame for the sheer level of entitlement going on here. Besides, if you dont like having your hard work destroyed, you're going to be in for a bad time when someone on GAF server finds your hidden base and is feeling malicious.

This self imposed down time gives me time to work on the GAF Crafting Bench mod anyway.

I totally thought of it first, so nyahhhh

If you had it before day 1 of early access then sure ;P No biggie it is a great name

 

[Ferrio]

So after the wipe I'd like to jump on the Gaf server but should I play a bit of SP first before going in or would I be fine just starting in MP?

I'd suggest doing the initial quests up till the beacon. Should only take like 10 minutes.

 

[Retro]

So after the wipe I'd like to jump on the Gaf server but should I play a bit of SP first before going in or would I be fine just starting in MP?

At least get enough coal to get yourself offworld, because the first thing that happened on the last GAF World was everyone stripped the planet of trees and easy coal deposits, making it difficult for people to get off the ground.

 

[shysaursoft]

I didn't have any programming classes even offered in high school, so may be a lot of people in that boat.

That was a bad assumption on my part. I grew up in South Africa, public schooling, and even pre-1996 my highschool, all highschools really, offered basic computer science. And my highschool was a pretty bad one.

Then I come here to the US, look at even small-town schools like Clarion, PA, and they have *amazing* computer labs with excellent courses. So I just assumed this was the standard.

 

[Mengy]

Please name me those games that had more problematic alphas/betas. I'm really curious.

Off the top of my head, betas that I've been in from much larger dev studios where the games were initially far worse off than Starbound currently is:

Starfleet Command I & II
Master of Orion 2
Longbow 2.0
Falcon 4.0
European Air War


By contrast, Starbound honestly plays very polished so far. I haven't even encountered a crash or a graphical glitch at all yet, and it's core features seem for the most part done to me, sans numbers balancing.

 

[HappyBivouac]

Both were not need and both could be avoided, if game was tested prior by few decent players.

As i said before, they need to apply GGG testing methods, where patches are alpha tested by group of dedicated players and devs in cooperation.
This wipe would not happen if they would do that, i'm 1000% sure.

---


Please name me those games that had more problematic alphas/betas. I'm really curious.

They need to do whatever the hell they decide to do, and if you don't like it, don't buy an early access game.

 

[cheststrongwell]

So many tears.

 

[lol51]

from IRC pastebin: http://pastebin.com/de7hb7HH

Changelog for v. Frustrated Koala 10/12/2013

Hi guys, so last night we pushed the major balance update. We'd tested it for hours and at the last minute a bug crept in that broke crafted weapon damage, making them crazy overpowered.

Hence the name of this version.

That's been fixed. It was an interesting bug. The old leveling system used a "level" specified
in each swords configuration file. The new system no longer uses "level", instead each sword is hand balanced. The bug that crept in at the last moment reenabled "level". Given that they are now unused, levels weren't changed from their previous values that went all the way up to level 100, and now that the game is leveled up to 10, they were massively too powerful.

Also..

- Uranium, plutonium and solarium now work as fuels
- You can now REALLY craft a grappling hook
- Boss balance has been tightened even more
- Platinum armor is now unlocked on tier 5
- You can now 'recapture' pets
- some more fixes

More coming really soon!

 

[demidar]

Hope the new fuels are more efficient, ever since the tree-burning module in my engine broke I've been marooned longer than I would have liked, chasing down coal then using it to make torches to chase more coal.

 

[Capella]

I'd suggest doing the initial quests up till the beacon. Should only take like 10 minutes.

At least get enough coal to get yourself offworld, because the first thing that happened on the last GAF World was everyone stripped the planet of trees and easy coal deposits, making it difficult for people to get off the ground.

Alright, I guess I'll stock up on on a few others things too to get started. Thanks!

 

[arts&crafts]

What is the hotkey for L/R? I have a dagger and shield equipped but dont want to click on it everytime.

 

[Taffer]

x to equip your L/R items, z to toggle which hand they're in (if you have 2 one-handed items).

 

[arts&crafts]

x to equip your L/R items, z to toggle which hand they're in (if you have 2 one-handed items).

sahweet thanks

 

[stump sock]

lol @ the updated OP

so I'm coming in a bit late here, the current status is "wait for the patch to fix the patch?" that's an earnest question, not a complaint.

 

[CornBurrito]

Played a tiny bit. Combat seems vastly improved. Actually enjoyable now. Charging speeds aren't insane so bow is useable.

 

[Zabant]

Party at the planet core!

GAF server is fun.

 

[Enduin]

lol @ the updated OP

so I'm coming in a bit late here, the current status is "wait for the patch to fix the patch?" that's an earnest question, not a complaint.

Only in so far as the new patch MAY require another character wipe, though it may not, hopefully they'll let us know soon. So it could be safe to play now or it might not. The game is totally playable if you just want to mess around and not get attached to anything.

That said we know for sure is though that this won't be the last character wipe we will see during Beta, so take that as you will. However this imminent patch fixes things we are still gonna lose everything again at some point down the road. It's just the nature of the Beta Beast.

 

[Einbroch]

The issue with the wipes is that nowhere on the Steam page, at least when it was first released.

I have no issue with their being wipes. If I knew, I wouldn't have bought the game and would have waited until launch. I know betas have bugs. I know it can crash. I know it can be unbalanced. But these wipes may have completely turned me off the game forever.

I played around 15 hours of this game only to have it all wiped away. I don't know if I want to play this anymore. If I played an RPG and had the first 15 hours of my game erased due to a save glitch or something, I likely wouldn't play it again, at least not for a long while.

They should have been more clear up front to the casual player. I fear that my interest in this game may be completely gone now. Ever since I learned about the wipe I haven't launched the game once. Again, I have no issue with wipes. I have an issue with not being told on the store page before purchasing.

 

[VandalD]

Hope the new fuels are more efficient, ever since the tree-burning module in my engine broke I've been marooned longer than I would have liked, chasing down coal then using it to make torches to chase more coal.

It's become a better idea now to find a solar system with a ton of planets so that you can minimize the fuel usage. Ores are pretty damn plentiful though, at least in tier 1. On the server, we were digging through tar and just finding gold and silver everywhere. That planet is massive too. I think it took about 10 minutes to walk all the way around.

 

[dark_inferno]

Im not having too much fun with the new update. Armor is useless somehow (I dont know if its a bug or something) and all planets are Level 1.

 

[Retro]

What is the hotkey for L/R? I have a dagger and shield equipped but dont want to click on it everytime.

You can, in addition to hitting x, also hit the currently active hotbar slot's key to switch as well. It's very handy for rapidly switching from one weapon to another, I keep a firearm on 3 and can then hit 3 again to switch to my melee weapon in the L/R slot.

 

[Ferrio]

The issue with the wipes is that nowhere on the Steam page, at least when it was first released.

I have no issue with their being wipes. If I knew, I wouldn't have bought the game and would have waited until launch. I know betas have bugs. I know it can crash. I know it can be unbalanced. But these wipes may have completely turned me off the game forever.

I played around 15 hours of this game only to have it all wiped away. I don't know if I want to play this anymore. If I played an RPG and had the first 15 hours of my game erased due to a save glitch or something, I likely wouldn't play it again, at least not for a long while.

They should have been more clear up front to the casual player. I fear that my interest in this game may be completely gone now. Ever since I learned about the wipe I haven't launched the game once. Again, I have no issue with wipes. I have an issue with not being told on the store page before purchasing.

Well, good luck!

 

[stump sock]

Only in so far as the new patch MAY require another character wipe, though it may not, hopefully they'll let us know soon. So it could be safe to play now or it might not. The game is totally playable if you just want to mess around and not get attached to anything.

That said we know for sure is though that this won't be the last character wipe we will see during Beta, so take that as you will. However this imminent patch fixes things we are still gonna lose everything again at some point down the road. It's just the nature of the Beta Beast.

Yep, I played a bit pre-patch and had fun. I don't mind the wipes, but I'd rather not start over tonight to be wiped tomorrow, which is why I asked.

 

[Morokh]

The issue with the wipes is that nowhere on the Steam page, at least when it was first released.

There was always a mention of it being an early-access game with a link to a page that explains what it means -> TLDR : Shit can happen.

Just wait for at least phase two of the Beta, there will definitely be more than enough content added to spark that little flame of interest you might have lost

 

[Walshicus]

Party at the planet core!

GAF server is fun.

Is temperature only a concern when it's cold?

 

[Einbroch]

Well, good luck!

 

[Kadin]

Anyone else have random problems with not being able to warp back down to your planet? I experienced this before the update and still experience it now. I'll go to warp and it just keeps warping me back to the ship instead.

Sometimes it works, maybe 2 out of 5 times. Known glitch or am I doing something wrong? Just started a new character after the recent update.