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Regarding the issue of channel 100, I have had channel 100 turned off for about four years now because I find nothing interesting or useful there. I suggest you try 11 or find a guild with people you can work with. 99% of my chat is in guild chat.
My high-end cellphone, for instance, has a GPU that's about twice as fast as the integrated unit in my Core i5 laptop.
So Inc, what would it take to get you guys to add the glowy ions back to ion storms on Android then? Lots of these newer phones and tablets could probably handle it...
The empty blue fog is boooriiiing
So Inc, what would it take to get you guys to add the glowy ions back to ion storms on Android then? Lots of these newer phones and tablets could probably handle it...
The empty blue fog is boooriiiing
So Inc, what would it take to get you guys to add the glowy ions back to ion storms on Android then? Lots of these newer phones and tablets could probably handle it...
The empty blue fog is boooriiiing
Every time we have to special-case stuff, and add fallbacks and whatnot, that consumes development resources. So, like.. maybe we add the Adreno 420 or NVIDIA K1 for now, but what about in six months when there are a bunch of other chips that can handle it? We have to profile those and then try and add them.
Or, we default it for everyone, and then get inundated with bad reviews because it's too slow on all the other devices.
Plus, regardless of device resolution, it's harder to see things on a small screen (phone). Blue spark stuff may be more visible than some other effects, but it does add a considerable overdraw cost.
Anyway, "maybe", but not the best usage of time at the moment, I think.
The empty blue fog is boooriiiing
Every time we have to special-case stuff, and add fallbacks and whatnot, that consumes development resources. So, like.. maybe we add the Adreno 420 or NVIDIA K1 for now, but what about in six months when there are a bunch of other chips that can handle it? We have to profile those and then try and add them.
Or, we default it for everyone, and then get inundated with bad reviews because it's too slow on all the other devices.
Plus, regardless of device resolution, it's harder to see things on a small screen (phone). Blue spark stuff may be more visible than some other effects, but it does add a considerable overdraw cost.
Anyway, "maybe", but not the best usage of time at the moment, I think.
Why not skip all that profiling and extra work and just add a checkbox like you have for full scene glow, particles, and other eye candy? Have it default to off for mobile.
That way we aren't in a situation like with the Intel/Mesa drivers, 4 years after you put in some GPU-specific thing that's no longer relevant and SandyBridge GPUs still got colored ice because shaders were disabled automatically.
That way we aren't in a situation like with the Intel/Mesa drivers, 4 years after you put in some GPU-specific thing that's no longer relevant and SandyBridge GPUs still got colored ice because shaders were disabled automatically.
We could certainly add an option, but that isn't "free" either, in terms of dev time. Plus, we do have to maintain the related shaders, if it eye candy that requires a specific shader. It is simpler and easier to maintain a fixed set of known effects.
But, yeah, I understand.. and you know I prefer giving people the option if at all possible. We'll look at it, but not really a huge priority right now.
But, yeah, I understand.. and you know I prefer giving people the option if at all possible. We'll look at it, but not really a huge priority right now.
Instead of making shit prettier to make up for the fact there's no content, how about create exciting new content so people don't give a flying fuck about the graphics. Economy, dynamic warfare, dynamic player interference with economy, are all things I want to see before prettier lights.
I for one welcome our new glowing overlords.
Yeah, likewise. The graphics have been a common complaint about this game for a long time. People often won't even give it a chance to be fun because they're obsessed with flashy graphics.
Keep up the good work, devs. :)
Keep up the good work, devs. :)
Instead of making shit prettier to make up for the fact there's no content, how about create exciting new content..
Kierky, I've already answered this in umpteen other posts. Game development is not the process of "do whatever is most exciting right now!", or at least that results in a lot of wasted productivity. If there's a desire for an artist to be able to create new content, he can work on that alone for awhile. But eventually there's a need to prototype things in an actual engine, and test visual trade-offs, and see how the performance is working, etc. This means having certain tools and functionality implemented before they're strictly needed by the game itself, so they can be used for development purposes. Once that's in place, then art can be generated in parallel, and resources can go back to gameplay and other areas in the meantime.
It also is a huge help for us to have a long "testing phase" on graphical updates, because we don't have a huge "Q/A department" who can just sit around looking for driver/GPU bugs. So the earlier we can start to get things out "in the wild", even in an optional state, the better.
Or, of course, I could scrap all graphical changes, just focus solely on gameplay, and then be laughed off of Steam and get a ton of negative feedback from people, as others have noted on this thread.
I get how it can be frustrating for existing players, but we are not just throwing darts at a board to pick what we work on next. We're trying to hit a particular goal of actually releasing a major "expansion" of the game, which requires a bunch of different kinds of long-term development to come together at the same time.
Kierky, I've already answered this in umpteen other posts. Game development is not the process of "do whatever is most exciting right now!", or at least that results in a lot of wasted productivity. If there's a desire for an artist to be able to create new content, he can work on that alone for awhile. But eventually there's a need to prototype things in an actual engine, and test visual trade-offs, and see how the performance is working, etc. This means having certain tools and functionality implemented before they're strictly needed by the game itself, so they can be used for development purposes. Once that's in place, then art can be generated in parallel, and resources can go back to gameplay and other areas in the meantime.
It also is a huge help for us to have a long "testing phase" on graphical updates, because we don't have a huge "Q/A department" who can just sit around looking for driver/GPU bugs. So the earlier we can start to get things out "in the wild", even in an optional state, the better.
Or, of course, I could scrap all graphical changes, just focus solely on gameplay, and then be laughed off of Steam and get a ton of negative feedback from people, as others have noted on this thread.
I get how it can be frustrating for existing players, but we are not just throwing darts at a board to pick what we work on next. We're trying to hit a particular goal of actually releasing a major "expansion" of the game, which requires a bunch of different kinds of long-term development to come together at the same time.