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Rogue System -- Space Sim


bfeld

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Hello simmers,

 

I was wondering that I couldn't find any thread about Rogue System:

http://www.fingerscrossedinteractive.com

 

It's a space simulation project in pre-alpha stage (it was already called DCS:Space by someone, think it was on youtube). Features include:

 

  • High fidelity Newtonian physics
  • A fully clickable 3D cockpit with TrackIR support
  • Complex interdependent ship systems
  • An intense, story-focused single player experience
  • Dynamically created, physics-based universe (or galaxy arm, as stated on the homepage)
  • Dynamic AI behavior, giving control input to the ship as the player does
  • Advanced communications to carriers, etc for engine start, starting and landing permission
  • ...

There are some WIP videos, which cover all the features mentioned above. The programmer is quite active, there's a daily development update in the registered forum section (the information is also gathered in the non-register part). Since there are not many people on the forum and I feel a little lone, asking questions, I thought I should do some advertisement ;). Seems to be very promising, so check out the homepage!

 

Cheers bfeld

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But kinda not very realistic, one can imagine that in such a space age even simplest ship will be able to start from one button press. At least you don't need to control circuit brakes for radio and stuff with old-school retro switches.

 

User interfaces evolve! Look at modern F-35 cockpit, it looks more futuristic than such space ship.

 

Anyway, wish luck to this project!

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  • 2 months later...

Hello,

 

there is an interview with Rogue System's developer Scott Juliano on SimHQ. Kickstarter campain is likely to start in February. For those who don't want to read the whole interview, here are some nice excerpts for simulation enthusiasts:

 

Doug: So Rogue System is designed for the “hardcore” audience?

Scott: Some YouTube comments from one of the early development videos were "Is this DCS Space?" and "looks like Falcon 4 meets Freespace". I’ve seen similar references elsewhere, too. These are accurate statements.[...]

Doug: Can you give an example of the type of fidelity you’re trying to achieve?

Scott: The best way to answer is to give an example of how all the ship systems function and fail together. Everything I’m about to tell you actually works right now, by the way, in various states of completeness. You’re in combat. A missile explodes near your ship and you take blast damage that degrades the engine’s cooling ability. The damaged engine now does not provide proper coolant pressure for other systems, which in turn causes them to start overheating. This increase in temperature not only begins to damage each affected system, but it also increases the internal temperature of the ship.

This increases the ship’s radiation footprint, making it stand out more against the solar background clutter and an easier target for RAD-sensing trackers. It also causes the environment system to work harder in order to keep the ship cool enough for the pilot. The increased workload of the Environment system can damage it to the point that it can’t maintain internal temperature, in which case, depending on where the ship is located, the pilot could eventually freeze or bake to death.

Now, back to the heat-damaged components. Depending on the type of systems affected the player could shut these down in order to prevent further damage. If not, these have the possibility of failing completely, igniting an electrical fire (if they’re in an oxygenated compartment) or even exploding.

Either way, their lack of function in turn affects other systems, such as shortened communication range because the tracking system can no longer lock the antenna on to a distant target. If they do suffer a critical event such as a fire, this can spread to systems in the immediate area (system component locations are also tracked), thus spreading damage to systems that weren’t even on the engine’s coolant bus.

At this point the pilot character may be starting to panic. Their heart and breathe rate increases, causing them to use more and more precious oxygen, which is also being burned away by the fire. Both the pilot and fire are creating higher levels of CO2, which in turn can overwhelm the CO2 scrubbers (assuming this a humanoid race that requires O2 and expels CO2). The situation is disintegrating very quickly – high levels of CO2, low levels of O2, excessive heat, fire, failing systems, limited comm range, etc. If the player can get it all under control they can call for help. If not, they either leave their ship by various means, or die with it.

Really looking forward to this sim!

 

Cheers, bfeld

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I'll give the designer of this a lot of credit. I was slightly involved with the "Diaspora" project in terms of voice acting over at http://www.hard-light.net which is based on Battlestar Galactica. Most people doing space sims just want that intense feeling of combat and Freespace 2 was/is by far the best combat space sim ever.

 

However, 10 years on...it feels like a toy. They still only use "shields/weapons/engines" for settings in ships but there is something even more important and that is that targeting/radar systems don't function even remotely realistically because they work perfectly all of the time(unless they are programmed not to, for a specific mission.)

 

Even with Apollo 13 when the capsule ran into trouble they were able to completely rework the start-up sequence to save the crew. This system-by-system mentality is what makes simulators realistic instead of fantasy.

 

I think the way the designer is tackling this is a much, much better way of handling space simulators and I think having lots of options in the cockpit makes a lot more sense than NOT having them.

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I agree...

It's like the Dev is reaching into my brain and extracting exactly what I want from a space sim!!

 

This is a science fiction project, so I think the dev is well within his mandate to keep the pilot as busy/involved as he can...after all, isn't pilot workload the real draw card to the DCS series? (answer: it is for me!)

 

He's come up with some really nice science-fiction systems that ground it in the "believable"

 

My fav space game Iwar has some complex cockpit play, and systems management..I'll be very interested in how these guys deal with it.

 

ima gonna bullett point the features I think are cool:

 

- the SPU (APU) system also allows for an "emergency control" limited function set, much like Manual Reversion mode in the A10, ie if the primary flight control system is damaged (or before the primary systems are online yet!)

- The ship(s) have an inertial dampening system (called the Friction Induction System)...which can allow for a more "flight" like feel (turning , stopping etc), but it can be scaled and / or turned off which results in a Newtonian frictionless space.

- There's no magic jumpgates ...its point the ship and accelerate hard to navigate anywhere outside of local space (there is a Suspended Animation feature) ...

 

Anyway, one to check out if your into buttonology for sure!


Edited by nemises
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But kinda not very realistic, one can imagine that in such a space age even simplest ship will be able to start from one button press. At least you don't need to control circuit brakes for radio and stuff with old-school retro switches.

 

User interfaces evolve! Look at modern F-35 cockpit, it looks more futuristic than such space ship.

 

Anyway, wish luck to this project!

 

I cant see why that is necessarily the case...the F35 (for eg) certainly does not start up with 1 button press..

 

I think the Dev has gone the route of "keep the pilot in the aircraft" ....the systems are deep, but highly redundant.

Chances are there will be automation available...it's when the systems are damaged / degraded that the manual systems become crucial (again, just like in even the most modern current fighters)..

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  • 2 weeks later...

This looks really cool, I think this will tick a lot of my boxes for the perfect scifi game. It's unlikely, but what I'd love to see make an appearance in this, aside from the seemingly already-present ability to leave your ship and board a bigger one, is that neat render-to-texture technique that allows an interactive menu to be located on a touch-screen within the cockpit. If anyone's played Doom 3, you'll get what I mean. Those screens that brought up a cursor within the panel so that you could interact with it realistically, nothing connects me to my environment more than touch-screens that you can touch. It would also be realistic given the current trends with making everything into a touch-screen. I think such an interface would also make damage assessment simpler.

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This looks really cool' date=' I think this will tick a lot of my boxes for the perfect scifi game. It's unlikely, but what I'd love to see make an appearance in this, aside from the seemingly already-present ability to leave your ship and board a bigger one, is that neat render-to-texture technique that allows an interactive menu to be located on a touch-screen within the cockpit. If anyone's played Doom 3, you'll get what I mean. Those screens that brought up a cursor within the panel so that you could interact with it realistically, nothing connects me to my environment more than touch-screens that you can touch. It would also be realistic given the current trends with making everything into a touch-screen. I think such an interface would also make damage assessment simpler.[/quote']

 

Hi. With the admins permission I'm happy to answer a few questions here with regards to Rogue System. First, thanks for the kind words thus far. As to the interactive interface--the HUD display you see in the teaser videos (which I refer to as an EFD) is fully click-able (although the art and symbology are very placeholder still). In fact, the ship's main system controls are located there so you don't have to look down into the cockpit too much during combat. This same technique could easily be applied to more typical MFD-style displays. If this what you were referring to?

 

And yes, if the ship is large enough you can get up out of the pilot's seat (or whatever station you're currently working in) and move to other areas, as well as enter and exit smaller ships that are docked within.

 

Rogue System's goal is to be the "DCS of space-combat sims". That I've heard it described in this manner more than once is a great indicator for me that I'm moving in the right direction and what I take to be a huge compliment.

 

If the admins would rather a more detailed discussion of Rogue System take place over at our own forums I fully understand and apologize for the intrusion. Cheers...

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Thank you for the reply, it's interesting to hear from the developer. Is the EFD that holographic looking display aligned to the forward window? That is pretty cool actually, and probably better than my idea. There's just something I enjoy about pressing through menus on a glass screen rather than the MFD buttons around the perimeter. This is what I referred to in Doom 3

 

Are you receptive to outside suggestions? As it's my favourite genre I have had lots of ideas over the years about what could add to a cool game like this, as I'm sure others here do. I'm stoked to hear you can move about a ship's interior, that's been a long-time desire for me that some games have tried and few have succeeded at, and you know, interacting with terminals aboard the ship would be quite nifty if that Doom 3 technique were used ;) just throwing it out there.

 

But that stuff aside, I really like how the space physics look. Quite convincing from what I can see! On that note, I wonder if you've considered adding inertial dampeners to the array of systems? I've been playing a game called Miner Wars recently, and as it's comparable to Descent in many ways in that it has a lot of interior action; you can switch the dampeners on and your ship will cancel momentum when you remove power, making it easier to navigate tight spaces such as landing bays.

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Yes, the EFD is that forward-facing display, and indeed is an interactive holographic-like display. In the sim world it is actually mind-controlled by the pilot. But, we still have to click the mouse or other keystroke ;)

 

The type of display you're suggesting with that video is TOTALLY do-able with the interface system I've developed; and, in fact, you will work with a display like this, to get a quick overview of loadout and current condition, before you board your ship.

 

I'm certainly open to ideas as long as they support the core goal of providing a rich simulation of not only the ships, but the pilots in the cockpits who are, after all, probably the most important "ship system" of them all.

 

Our main system of "inertial dampening" is a system I call FIS (Friction Induction System). This generates a field around the ship that interacts with the particles that come in contact with it to create a form of drag, which causes a more atmospheric feel to flight. This system is adjustable and can be turned off.

 

Actually, during take-off and landing you have to use pure Newtonian flight. Remember that the "host" ship is moving (either in an orbit or of its own power). You have to remain "stationary" in relation to it, and the only way to do that is with unimpeded motion. Think of it more in terms of a fighter on a moving aircraft carrier--completely motionless in relation to the carrier but both are in fact moving in tandem.

 

We also have auto-pilot systems to help counter rotations and translations, again to provide a more atmospheric feel...

 

Cheers.


Edited by Michael Juliano
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Sounds wonderful! I look forward to the kickstarter going live, I've been waiting for one to come along and grab me enough to support it, looks like it has.

 

There was another thing I wanted to suggest but I'll have to draw something up to explain it.

 

Thanks again for the cool info!

 

Thanks in advance for your support. Cheers :)

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i believe this will be my second kickstarter ill spend on, and my first kickstarter for a game! i was going to kickstart Braben but this is much more appealing.

 

I realize that I am creating a rather niche take on the genre by introducing such a "hardcore" approach. But I also believe that it is a unique approach that will make the "gameplay" very rewarding, and set Rogue System apart from the "big boys" (even if on a global scale we share many of the same features). My audience will be smaller, and so the support of every interested person is of immense importance and will mean SO much to the project. So, again, thanks in advance for your support if you decide to pledge.


Edited by Michael Juliano
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It`s because of the very niche nature of it all that i will for the one person iam be more than happy to support this project. I hope others may see this too. It is is important enough especially around here given the similar aspects to our sim platforms here in terms of all things niche.

 

Means a lot a dev joining here too! certainly to me. these forums are at times frustrating yet never lacking interest through intelligence. Remarkable place at times.

 

ps iam a modder at heart, with an incredible fascination for light. so i might be bugging you about that at some stage :) Space and realistic light hasnt really been discovered yet in gaming. "Darkness is not the opposite of light, its the absence of light."- and its this sentiment im itching to see done well in a space sim... anyway good luck with it all.

 

I realize that I am creating a rather niche take on the genre by introducing such a "hardcore" approach. But I also believe that it is a unique approach that will make the "gameplay" very rewarding, and set Rogue System apart from the "big boys" (even if on a global scale we share many of the same features). My audience will be smaller, and so the support of every interested person is of immense importance and will mean SO much to the project. So, again, thanks in advance for your support if you decide to pledge.

Edited by Ali Fish

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

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ps iam a modder at heart

 

You might be interested to know (if you haven't already read this info from other sources) that Rogue System is FULLY moddable. There is nothing that I can think of (ships, trade goods, shaders, sound and visual FX, UI, you name it) that can not be modded.

 

You can, actually, set up a new data directory and have multiple, modded versions of the sim sitting side by side. In fact, one of the stretch goals for the kickstarter will allow me to hire a tools programmer to create proper community editors so we can release them immediately when we release RogSys.

 

Please feel free to make comments or suggestions on anything--always willing to listen :)

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Hi all. With your indulgence, I've uploaded the third and final January teaser to YouTube. This one shows early shield and missile effects, as well as an accelerated version of pilot reaction to G stress-in this case tunnel vision to unconsciousness. I had to accelerate the effect to fit the timing of the video :)

 

Cheers...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47NsseN4S8E


Edited by Michael Juliano
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Please take my money. :)

 

But seriously, what I've read so far sounds amazing, and the videos look awesome, too. This looks like one of the games I always wanted to play.

 

Be sure to make an announcement if you plan to go for a crowdfunding campaign. :)

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