Q+A Madness - Jan/Feb 2019

Secos

I'm kind of torn on the artifact thing.  We don't want the game to be pay to win.  Yet you want 1600 cr artifacts overhauled so they are more powerful, in effect catering to whales.  

So which is it?

You want strong artifacts (pay2win) or you want the game catered more to the masses?

Dorc

First off, I am not sure why you are asking me "which is it?" since I never posed the first part of your comment.

Second, I want all the artifacts overhauled, not just the 1600 credit artifacts.

Third, improving the quality of the artifacts does not have to be making them so powerful that they are buy or die, it is making them so people feel more inclined to spend that cash on them.

Fourth, like it or not, but it is the whales that keep the lights on in IRE and IRE knows that.

Qitorien

I'll be honest, I kind of like that the autopilot is not great. It rewards people who have the time/inclination to pilot manually. Even though I enjoy piloting manually I frequently autopilot currently when I don't feel like paying close attention. I like the balance that it takes a little longer to get where I'm going because of that. I wouldn't mind the autopilot being a little better. In particular, I'm thinking of when it hits that overcorrection loop for a long time...

Tecton

Vaughn said:

Could we get some more interesting artifacts or uses for credits added before the initial retirement window closes? I brought it up in the Artifact Ideas thread and believe it's important in general. Part of the hook of IRE games is being able to sell credits for in-game currency or earning in-game currency to buy credits, then wanting to come back to something you've invested in whether it's time or money. I believe that a lack of uses for credits could be detrimental to the game.

I realize you have a lot of other projects in the making and polish to add to the game, but I don't feel entirely incentivized to bring my retirement credits over. I will, because I have a positive outlook on the future of Starmourn (and there's literally a one-time window per character).  While I understand that you don't want to add anything that might effect the balance of the game, especially this early in its development, I honestly think you've been a tad too conservative.

One avenue in particular is to make multi-class purchasable. It's very regressive to not allow it. Being able to explore different options with the same character is very appealing in that, for some, making alts or quitting a class is very unappealing. There's a great variety in gameplay that people are missing out on. So they grow bored and log in less. All hypothetical, but I think there's truth to it. And yes, I know you said eventually, but c'mon!

Dorc said:

I would rather see the current list of artifacts be worth the price tag associated with them instead of bringing in more that may unbalance things...

So my question is: When can we expect artifacts currently available to get an overhaul so people feel like spending that 1600 credit price?

I'll answer these two together, since they're mostly the same question:

We'll be doing a balance pass and adding new artifacts in the near future (one of the next projects after our current ones)

Tecton

Just a quick note, I'll be wrapping this thread up at 23:59 GMT tonight - 7pm US EST/4pm PST! Please have any questions posted up by then to ensure they're answered!

Matlkael

I'm curious. Earlier today, there was a space fight between Song and Scatterhome that ended with massive lag for the whole game for a few minutes. What caused it?

Tecton

Matlkael said:

I'm curious. Earlier today, there was a space fight between Song and Scatterhome that ended with massive lag for the whole game for a few minutes. What caused it?

There was a loop in our "mobs defending other mobs" code that only presented itself when someone had a bunch of turrets deployed in the same room.

Matlkael

Oh! So it wasn't even us!

Tecton

Thanks for the great array of questions! I hope you all got the answers you were seeking!