Difference between revisions of "IAmA"

Latest revision as of 05:49, 6 April 2015

KeenSoftwareHouse

Brief Summary

IAmA was a Q & A Session put up on Reddit by the developers of KeenSoftwareHouse on Friday, September 5th 20:30 20:30 CET (11:30 PST) for one hour. It however was extended by an additional 30 minutes. The community was given the opportunity to directly ask questions, and receive answers in real-time from the developers. An estimated 8,000 people joined in the conversation during the session.

Introduction

Quoted from KeenSoftwareHouse on Reddit^[1]

Hello Reddit,

We are Keen Software House, developers of the video game Space Engineers. We are here with a few members of our team and we will be answering your questions about our sandbox game, Space Engineers, starting at 11:30 PST (20:30 CET). Answering your questions will be mostly Marek Rosa (CEO) – answering as KeenSWH - together with Ondrej Petrzilka (lead programmer), Tomas Rampas (lead artist) and Cestmir Houska (programmer). These are some links as proof that it’s really us :-) http://mirror.keenswh.com/Pics/KeenSWH_IAmA_Reddit_9_5.jpg. post on our Space Engineers Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SpaceEngineers/posts/328913713955597, and our Space Engineers Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpaceEngineersG/status/507166713524527107

We will be answering for approximately one hour since we start. We will do our best to reply to as many questions as possible, but please forgive us in case we miss some of them. This IAmA is about Space Engineers, so please try to stick your questions to this as much as possible.

Fire away!

Note: Space Engineers is a sandbox game about engineering, construction and maintenance of space works. Players build space ships and space stations of various sizes and utilization (civil and military), pilot ships and perform asteroid mining. You can find more info about Space Engineers here: http://www.spaceengineersgame.com/about1.html

Q & A

• KeenSWH = (Marek Rosa - and sometimes other staff)
• OndrejPetrzilka =(lead programmer)
• CestmirHouska = (Programmer)
• TomasRampas = (Lead artist)

General Questions

How far (as a percentage) would you say you are through development?

• Posted by: Madchef1975

One thing that impresses me so much about Space Engineers is the speed at which you are developing the game (compared with similar games) How far (as a percentage) would you say you are through development?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

This is hard to say... I would say that we have 50-80% of what we wanted to have in the game. But since we got new ideas every day (we were expecting this), plus the community wants new stuff, ... it's kind of impossible to say where are we right now.

What feature has been the biggest pain-in-the-ass to develop so far?

• Posted by: PhonicUK

What feature has been the biggest pain-in-the-ass to develop so far? And which planned feature do you anticipate being even worse?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

The hardest one to implement was probably the destruction/deformation feature... but it wasn't pain in the ass... it was a lot of fun ... actually, multi-player is a "hard" feature... takes a lot of time to debug and optimize

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

If I were to speak for myself, I'd say that the biggest challenge is working with the GUI and not getting mad. We just have a homebrew library for it and often we want to use it in a way that we didn't anticipate when first creating the library.

Apart from that, I'd say that no in-game feature is a real pain-in-the-buttocks. Especially programming new blocks and new features is always fun and rewarding. Nothing feels better than working hard on a new feature for that week and then reading the "Best update ever!" comments under the update posts!

Are there any plans to implement a campaign with story and missions?

• Posted by: LolosArt

Are there any plans to implement a campaign with story and missions?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

This is a very good idea we are considering

What's your favourite creation/constructive glitch you've found in the community?

• Posted by: EikeSky

What's your favourite creation/constructive glitch you've found in the community?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Yesterday I saw a max speed "hack" - you can move faster than our limit by setting up and launching a rotating structure which would accelerate you above the limits

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

I love the glitch where you can destroy almost whole asteroid with few explosive components

What's your favourite type of pizza?

• Posted by: twerktle

What's your favourite type of pizza?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Just the standard one, ham, cheese, pepperoni... nothing fancy :)

Will we (the PC users) also get XBOX One or PS4 controller support?

• Posted by: DeeSnow97

Hello Keen SWH! I heard you are making an XBox One release, so you definitely remake the controls with gamepad compatibility. Will we (the PC users) also get it? It would be fun if we could control ships with an XO or PS4 controller while building them with mouse/keyboard... (Sorry if anybody asked the same question, I haven't had time to read them all)

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

I'm not sure about transferring the features from the XBox One to the PC, but you can be sure about one thing: We will never make compromises in the designing of the PC game because of XBox.

Will there be dedicated server software for linux?

• Posted by: swehunter2000

Will there be dedicated server software for linux? At the moment i only have linux servers that are running 24/7 and would like to run a SE server on that machine.

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

There's few obstacles which would consume a large amount of time, so we're not considering it anytime soon. At some point we'll start working on other platforms and this is when linux support will be added.

How much progress have you made with physics optimization?

• Posted by: xilandro

How much progress have you made with physics optimization? I'd like to think I've got a pretty decent PC (6 cores, 16gb RAM) but I still have issues when two large (Size, not just 'Large Ship') ships collide, or one collides into an asteroid, or a meteor hits, etc..

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

With physics it's hard, we won't be able to make it fully smooth all the time; especially with complex objects colliding. There's few tricks in our sleeves to make it faster, but it takes a lot of time. We can improve multithreading, that will help a lot on your PC :) We're also planning to improve large ship collision performance.

Is there a roadmap of how the game will evolve that we can see?

• Posted by: Th3MadPanda

I want to start with, this is one of those games you wanna play a lot in like on years time when it's more complete! Questions, Is there a roadmap of how the game will evolve that we can see? Because there are a lot of features that I want and I feel there is no point telling you until you've told me what you want with the game, since it yours.

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

There is no definite roadmap, just a design document with some core ideas that will most probably be implemented. That said, a lot of features that we added to the game were not planned, but were rather added because the community wanted them (solar panels, wheels, pistons). So, what we want with the game is just a basic outline - after all, it's our game as much as it is yours!

When will you add whitelist/password etc on servers?

• Posted by: Th3MadPanda

When will you add whitelist/password etc on servers. Because right now it's kinda pointless to start a server when any random person can enter and ruin all your hard work! :(

This might be one of the best games I've ever played!

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

Regarding the server whitelists: you can currently blacklist the most annoying griefers in the dedicated server settings. Or, if you want whitelists, you can achieve that by setting the Steam group ID for your server to a group where only your friends are.

In survival, will purpose be given, whether that be npc's , more harsh environment, or even a thriving marketplace?

• Posted by: ollyoliver

As much as i love building ships and creating structure i feel that at one point there becomes a slight purposeless aspect and not much to do with what you've created, just wondering what the sort of future is going forward in respect to what purpose we will have in the future, whether that be npc's , more harsh environment, or even a thriving marketplace?

• Answered by: TomasRampas (lead artist)

We are glad you and others enjoy SE. The purpose for players now, can be playing maps that somebody else created and set a goal to achieve. Since last update, you can set timer on warhead up to 1 hour and create a mission where somebody must raid a station within this time. There can be many more scenarios that can use sensors as triggers and warheads as time limit. We also plan to add more features that will help players create intersting levels for others to play.

What are your plans for the eventual state of game worlds?

• Posted by: Naosyth

What are your plans for the eventual state of game worlds? Currently there isn't much exploration to be done beyond just looking for various ores. Will you be adding planets or procedurally generated asteroids? I've personally always wanted to build a base in a super dense asteroid field!

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

Yes, we've started working on large worlds this week. Goal is to make nearly infinite world with huge amount of asteroids.

What was the most difficult part about making a game with so many variables?

• Posted by: djlewis12152

What was the most difficult part about making a game with so many variables?

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

It's very complicated to make everything scalable so that even very large universes run with a decent framerate. We have this sort of inside jokes here that when we desing something in the game for a certain scale, there is always someone who comes up with a creation that exceeds the scale a thousand-fold, just because they can.

Is there a plan to expand the G and mod menus?

• Posted by: ExfutureGod

One question is there a plan to expand the G and mod menus?

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

Speaking of the G-screen, you can look forward to a slight re-design in the nearest future. We want to make it a bit less confusing than it is right now.

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

Yes we are working on the screens to fit the needs of community. The amount of blocks and mods is way more than the G screen can carry now, so a new concept of G screen is on the way.

Can we ever expect support for animated skyboxes?

• Posted by: TheGallow

Can we ever expect support for animated skyboxes? - should be self-explanatory, I think it would be awesome to see the stars twinkle, or a solar flare, or anything actually happen in the background.

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

As far as I remember this feature was in Miner Wars, it could work in SE as well, good idea

Are you planning to keep being awesome?

• Posted by: Identitools

Are you planning to keep being awesome?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Yes sir :)

What community creation has surprised you most?

• Posted by: Kingdombragg

Love the game, it's stolen many hours of my life. I found [Space Jenga] on the Workshop the other day so what community creation has surprised you most?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Probably the mechanical ones... moving robots, wheeled things...

A some point, are planning to slow down, stop adding features, and focus on fine turning the game?

• Posted by: MrSuperGuy6

I know that Marek Rosa has said that there is the potential to keep updating SE indefinitely but at some would you want to/do you plan slow down and stop adding new features and focus on fine tuning the game and fixing bugs to eventually release SE as a full game? If so or not, why? Also if this isn't the current plan are you, have you been and do you think you ever will be satisfied that SE is complete and doesn't anymore features, fine tuning or bug fixes?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Yes we want to "finish" the game at some point, but there are still some feature that need to be finished before we can look on the entire game and start finalizing it.

Are there any plans for different game modes?

• Posted by: whtml

Are there any plans for different game modes?

One thing that i'd love to see is a survival type game in which you have to try to survive on a constantly moving ship (generation ship?) with all sorts of hostile environment being randomly generated around it.

You'd still have to mine and stuff but return to the ship before it's a certain amount of distance away from you, otherwise you lose. You could even have high scores with how many kilometers people survived.

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

That's a good idea! I would love to see something like that myself! I can promise you that I will try to constantly convince the others in the team to make it happen :-)

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

Yes we do have plans for game modes. The idea with generation ship is great!

When you started to develope SE, did you expect the outcome?

• Posted by: TheMRC

When you started to develope SE, did you expect the outcome? Are you satisfied with your current userbase/player numbers?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

We didn't expect the reception and the community will be so great. of coursed we prayed for it :) also I must say that SE game is better than we envisioned: things we were not sure we can make are working well, there's 10x more features than we hoped for, etc.

What are your future plans for Keen Software?

• Posted by: TheMRC

What are your future plans for Keen Software? Not SE, but do you have plans for other games you'll might work on in the future?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Yes we have crazy plans... we will inform you when time comes.

Do you plan to add another mode into the game, aside creative and survival?

• Posted by: TheMRC

Do you plan to add another mode into the game, aside creative and survival? (maybe a campaign with mission objectives to fullfill, a story driven enviroment or special scenarios for hardcore players that want a challenge)

• Answered by: KeenSWH

We plan to start adding some new scenarios

Could you add a small ship cock pit like a bicycle seat?

• Posted by: mkmecon29

Could you add a small ship cock pit like a bicycle seat? I'd love to make some tiny ships like this Arc runner from the movie Titan AE.

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

I don't think it will be in the vanilla game, but there is nothing that prevents this from being created as a mod.

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

It is a great idea. The community can already create such cockpit as a mod and share it. Now you can create any cockpit for large and small ships.

Are weekly updates going to continue for the foreseeable future?

• Posted by: Bishma

Are weekly updates going to continue for the foreseeable future or will we eventually see a slower more beta like release schedule take root?

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

We like the challenge in the weekly updates as much as the community loves the thrill they get from them when they're released. There's no reason to start updating the game less often, at least for the foreseeable future.

Will you add Oculus Rift support?

• Posted by: Wilko343

Will you add Oculus Rift support?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Not any time soon... at least not until their technology is sickness-free and widely available to public

What inspired you to make this game?

• Posted by: PhD_frisky

What inspired you to make this game?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

LEGO Technic

• Answered by: KeenSWH

LEGO

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Being a programmer...

• Answered by: KeenSWH

NASA

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Space

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Life :)

Are you planning on any new projects, and if so are you planning to hire any new generalist/technical programmers?

• Posted by: Poweti

I was one of the first on the space engineers forums and to purchase the game. I'm so thrilled at the progress you guys are making! I actually have a two - fold question about the studio. Are you planning on any new projects, and if so are you planning to hire any new generalist/technical programmers?

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

Good programmers are always welcome. You can send us an email with your skills and experience to jobs@keenswh.com

Do you guys have a demo I can try?

• Posted by: deilpo

I'd love to try to the game but I'm not sure if my PC can run it. Do you guys have a demo I can try?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

No we do not have a demo. But if you do not plan to build huge ships and would rather try constructions of some sort or small ship designs than you do not need a high end computer. The needed performance is often based on what you wish to build.

(Tomas Rampas)

There are small dented blocks randomly everywhere when I play my map, what is this?

• Posted by: Jynx2501

Just about every time I play my my main map, I find deformed blocks in very random places. They will be heavily dented or the texture will be dragged on for several blocks. A few touches with the welder will fix it up, but its gets annoying as there never seems to be a cause. What is this, and do you know what I'm talking about? Sorry I don't have a screenshot right now.

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

If you found a way to reproduce it in a reliable way, we'd be very grateful to get a bug report from you. Right now, I can think of a few possible causes - asteroids, debris from collisions that took place elsewhere, thruster damage, collision with parts of the ship that are attached via rotors or pistons, damage from stray bullets or missiles...

Do you have access to any metrics from Steam about the playerbase?

• Posted by: Kingdombragg

I get the impression from the forums that there's a wide age range playing SE. Do you have access to any metrics from Steam about the playerbase and if so do you have an idea of what percentage are active on Reddit and the KSH forum?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

We don't have age stats from Steam... only from FB. It says 40% are 18-24 years old. 24% are 24 to 34 years.

What do you think about FTL drives in space engineers?

• Posted by: WalperCZ

What do you think about FTL drives in space engineers?

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

Probably not in the vanilla game (because as far as our current scientific knowledge goes, they're not very feasible), but they should be pretty easy to implement using mods in the future

Will the sensors be able to do more than one action in the future?

• Posted by: Krolitian

Will the sensors be able to do more than one action in the future, and also have delays between each of the actions to create a fully automated system with only one sensor?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

There will be delay/timer block quite soon. We would like to add more slots to sensors (not just two) and mark them with "IN" and "OUT". You'll be able to make fully automated system with one sensor and few delay blocks.

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

Yes, we are working on more settings for the sensor that will allow multiple actions.

Do you plan on adding pressurization and food to the game?

• Posted by: PetiteTrumpetButt

I'm here on the account of my boyfriend who doesn't have a account, he loves your game very much and I have to pry him off of it sometimes. He asked, "Do you plan on adding pressurization and food to the game?"

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

Don't feel bad for your BF being addicted to Space Engineers. Some of us also have girlfriends and we are addicted to the game so much that they sometimes have to pry us off work :-)

Pressurization is something we are considering and we are also observing the community thoughts on it. But it isn't on the list of the immediately planned features. As for the food, it probably would just distract from the main aspects of the gameplay, which should be creating stuff in space and cooperating or competing with other people. But hey, I'm sure someone will make a food mod once the scripting is out!

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

Hi and say hello to your boyfriend. We are happy he enjoys the game so much. For now we focus at the construction and engineering part of the game. Pressurization and food is not the top priority at the moment.

What's you best memory about a gaming community or clan you've been a part of?

• Posted by: RCvie

What's you best memory about a gaming community or clan you've been a part of?

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

I'm not really a clan person, but as for my favourite games of the past, I really enjoyed Quake III Arena, Transport Tycoon (and more recently the OpenTTD clone) or Dune II.

Will this game have some heavy optimization?

• Posted by: David184

Will this game have some heavy optimization? (sorry if i replied too late)

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Yes, we are optimizing incrementally

Marek, will you come to Hamburg/Germany for a cofé with one of your biggest fans?

• Posted by: Asatyr2014

I´m Asatyr from Germany. For the Survival part of the game. Will you implement Lifesupport Systems for Ships and Spacestations?

To Marek: will you come to Hamburg/Germany for a cofé with one of your biggest fans? =)

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Hehe, we are considering to go to Gamescom (Cologne) next year. So if this goes through, then we would like to meet with everyone who can come visit us :)

Gameplay

What is the current plan for in-game programming?

• Posted by: arkandy7

What is the current plan for in-game programming? Is the team looking at a more drag-and-drop style for those unacquainted with languages, a more traditional style, or a hybrid system?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

More traditional text-style programming, we are working on it right now

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

There will be traditional style and later maybe block-style programming. Each block will have it's function and you'll be able to connect them together.

What kind of PvE interactions with the world do you have planned/want for the future of the game?

• Posted by: arkandy7

What kind of PvE interactions with the world (besides solely building ships and surviving) do you have planned/want to plan for the future of the game? Will there be special events or other ships besides derelicts to interact with?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

We have some plans but now is a good time to re-thing this part of SE strategy/future (because now all features that were planned are already in the game so we can look on them as finished... in other words, now we are much more skilled in designing PvE for SE than we were 1.5 year ago)

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

Recently we started to discuss AI in the team. When AI is available, it will be possible to make enemy bases, pirates etc.

Will the game have sectors?

• Posted by: arkandy7

Will the game have sectors (essentially multiple asteroid fields tethered together)? How will having larger maps with multiple fields work? Will they all be one map or will you 'jump' between sectors?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Hopefully we won't need sectors and the entire game will fit in one sector (no loading screen required when traveling)

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

We started working on large worlds recently. Goal is to make game world much larger, with huge amounts of asteroids.

In the long term, might we see an option to make sound effects behave in a "realistic" way?

• Posted by: RyuujinZER0

In the long term, might we see an option to make sound effects behave in a "realistic" way, namely only hearing the sounds transmitted through your ship and suit, placing greater emphasis on interior ambience rather than distant objects?

The concept was wonderfully demonstrated in SqueegyMackoy's mock up video some time ago and would be icing on the cake of an already immersive experience.

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Yeah, we are working on a "realistic mode" for sounds. you will be able to switch between non-realistic and realistic in the "world settings"

• Posted by: RyuujinZER0

That's great, I know a lot of people who'll be very happy to hear that. Thanks for the response :)

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Our great inspiration is Gravity movie :)

Will you ever make it so explosions don'T hit systems through armor?

• Posted by: viotech3

Will you ever make it so explosions DON'T hit systems through armor?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Yes we are working on the explosions, so that the armor does it's job

Will you ever change from Float in the Space Calculations?

• Posted by: KaneHart

Will you ever change from Float in the Space Calculations or do you have any kind of plans on making so that things don't start to shake apart when you get further then 10km from spawn?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

We are trying to find some workaround for the precision of floating point calculations. I hope we just found it this week... so if things go well, some people will be happy :)

What will be the maximum size of the scripts once we get programming?

• Posted by: gFleka

What will be the maximum size of the scripts once we get programming?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

This is hard to say right now, we just discussed it internally a couple hours ago... in-game programming will probably have some limits (so players won't kill the servers), but "modding API" should be quite unlimited.

Will you use a new block to implement programming, like Computer Block or AI Block?

• Posted by: gFleka

Will you use a new block to implement programming, like Computer Block or AI Block, and also if you do implement it that way will stacking multiple computer blocks enable you to have more powerful scripts?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Probably a new Computer Block... but these decisions tend to change during the actual implementation once we realize something we missed in the design

Will there be Planets later on in development and would there be procedurally generated content later on in development?

• Posted by: armedRaptor

Hey guys, absolutely loving the game, just two questions:

Will there be Planets later on in development and would there be procedurally generated content later on in development, E.G: different Asteroid fields, broken down space stations, broken down Ships of all sizes, abandoned fleets, etc.

• Answered by: KeenSWH

We can't promise planets or larger areas or increase in speed limit, but we are looking into this

How far have you got with the in-game programming feature and when it will be released?

• Posted by: JulMdama97

How far have you got with the in-game programming feature and when it will be released?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

We have working C# scripts, it will be released in several weeks; this will include in-game programming and mod-like programming. Currently this is one of the most important features.

Are you planning to increase the max velocity in the near future?

• Posted by: JulMdama97

Are you planning to increase the max velocity in the near future

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

Not in near future, main problem is bullet-through-paper problem which becomes more common with higher velocities.

Are you planning to add rails/sliders and 3d printers, if so, when?

• Posted by: JulMdama97

Are you planning to add rails/sliders and 3d printers, if so, when ?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

Yes both, currently it's mid-term plan, several months probably.

Are you planning to add more weapons in the near future?

• Posted by: JulMdama97

Are you planning to add more weapons in the near future ?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

We're planning to add slightly modified version of existing weapon quite soon; few other weapons little later. It will be similar to existing conventional weapons.

Can you list some planned features for survival?

• Posted by: JulMdama97

Can you list some planned features for survival?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

We have started working on large worlds with big amounts of asteroids

Are there plans to add the ability to upgrade one's suit, equipment or even machines to allow for increased abilities?

• Posted by: muss02

Are there plans to add the ability to upgrade one's suit, equipment or even machines to allow for increased abilities?

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

Yes, we'd like to add some sort of survival progress to the game at some point - tiered refineries and assemblers, better engineer tools, etc... This is why we added the possibility to modify the set of blueprints for the production blocks and added the Arc Furnace block, for example. We'll see where we'll go from there. A big inspiration, as always, will be the awesome community on the forums and of course the ever-imaginative modders.

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

We're not planning upgrades in vanilla game anytime soon, but mods should be able to do that once there's modding API. Now it's possible to make mods for production buildings (specialized, different tiers...).

Have you considered having multiple items in one grid space if they don't touch or only if their edges touch?

• Posted by: raviool

Have you considered having multiple items in one grid space if they don't touch or only if their edges touch? For example putting down a window and then a barricade or something else that doesn't touch the window/touches only its edge in the same grid space.

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

I actually had a bugreport from a guy who was upset because of windows detaching from the grid when their bounding boxes touched only by edges. It could probably be fixed by allowing the blocks to touch only at the edges.

As for blocks that don't touch at all - I'd vote for not allowing that because it would be way too confusing.

What sort of blocks are you planing to implement into the game later on in it's development?

• Posted by: SomeAristocrat

What sort of blocks are you planing to implement into the game later on in it's development?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

We're planning programming block and delay/timer block soon. Later we're considering big Gatling gun for large ship, maybe with explosive ammo, rail block.

Is there a possibility of there being planets, randomly generated with life?

• Posted by: Darthjord28

Is there a possibility of there being planets, randomly generated with life?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

Possibility of planets? Yes, a possibility. We're working on large worlds and one part of this is memory optimization for asteroids, it's nearly done. This should allow us to make larger asteroids which can be considered planetoids. Realistic planets with radius in thousands of kilometers...probably not, that would be very hard.

Will you add some sort of "oxygen level" mechanic?

• Posted by: tYn0_SK

Will you add some sort of "oxygen level" mechanic (Something similiar to FTL where you were able to kill boarders by venting out the oxygen)?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

Not anytime soon, but I thing once there's modding API, there will be air pressure mods.

Do you think game may become some kind of MMORPG?

• Posted by: tYn0_SK

Do you think game may become some kind of MMORPG? What's the planned maximum number of players on one server?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

It will be problematic, because of unlimited building possibilities. More ships and stations equals more network bandwidth and more CPU for game physics.

Planets. Are you planning to add them?

• Posted by: tYn0_SK

Planets. Are you planning to add them?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

Large asteroids would be possible. Planets with radius of thousand kilometers, hardly. At least not in same way as asteroids.

Do you plan going to NextGen Expo exhibition in Bratislava this year?

• Posted by: tYn0_SK

Do you plan going to NextGen Expo exhibition in Bratislava this year? If I remeber corretly you were there last year but I really didn't pay much attention to it, now I see the mistake I made :-/

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

I have no idea, maybe somebody else can answer this?

When will we start seeing development for the world/universe?

• Posted by: Backseat_Dog

When will we start seeing developement for the world/universe?

Will there be universe exploration? If so, will it be a procedurally generated universe maybe?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

We've started working on large world this week, we would like to create huge, nearly infinite worlds with large amount of asteroids. Yes, it will be procedurally generated.

What other major blocks/features are you planning on implementing?

• Posted by: Professor-Falken

Besides the Programing Block and the 3D Ship Printer, what other major blocks/features are you planning on implementing?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

Large worlds with huge amount of asteroids and fixed precision issues. We're also considering AI ships and player made scenarios.

Are you dead-set on keeping things as realistic as possible?

• Posted by: xilandro

Are you dead-set on keeping things as realistic as possible, or will we see some 'futuristic but still possible' tech in the future updates?

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

Realism-wise, we want to have the game as realistic as possible (of course, extrapolating the current technology to the future), while keeping the game fun to play and not too boring or too focused on bodily functions or such. As a good example, the gravity generators and mass blocks are not realistic at all, but they're simply so much fun to play with that we decided to keep them as they are.

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

We're trying to stay realistic. We know many people would like to see lasers, shields and teleporters. With modding API, it should be possible to implement these. We've helped few modders to add some of their mods and we're going to help them implement this if they're interested in.

Do you have any plans to make devices require regular maintenance?

• Posted by: xilandro

I'm a HUGE fan of having menial busywork. Do you have any plans to make devices require regular maintenance, even putting it into a config so those who aren't such a big fan of that can disable it?

• Answered by: CestmirHouska (programmer)

I don't think we'll be adding something that will require you to doo too much of maintenance, at least not to the extent that it would be the main aspect of the gameplay. That said, there is always the possibility (especially in the future with the scripting that we plan) that someone will create a mod that will do what you desire.

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

Except meteors, we're considering to add solar wind or solar flares, that will damage you ships and station unless hidden behind asteroid.

Any updates on programming blocks?

• Posted by: Naosyth

Any updates on programming blocks?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

In progress, first tests look promising. We have running scripts written in C#.

Will we ever be able to control the width/depth/height of the gravity generator's field in each direction?

• Posted by: TheGallow

Will we ever be able to control the width/depth/height of the gravity generator's field in each direction? Right now it acts as a radius, with 5m height extending 5m above and below the generator. I'd love to be able to say I only want a field from 1-5m above, would make my Escher ship a lot easier to build. That, or an offset on each axis for the same effect.

• Answered by: TomasRampas (programmer)

Since it is possible to set it for sensor, we might add it for the gravity generator as well.

Will we ever be able to control the width/depth/height of the gyroscopes in each direction?

• Posted by: TheGallow

Controlling gyro power per axis would be nice. I've some designs where it would be useful to limit a certain axis, but not others.

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

The settings for gyroscope could be quiet complex, will ask others about it

Can we get a "stop on impact" for pistons?

• Posted by: TheGallow

Pistons... can we get a "stop on impact" setting for these, kinda like how rotors don't instantly crush anything they collide with?

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

For the pistons you can use sensors now

Can we ever expect new tools?

• Posted by: TheGallow

Can we ever expect new tools? Like a painter tool so we don't have to middleclick with a vision obstructing block, or upgraded tools that are only built and not spawned?

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

not sure about the paint tool, you still need to select the block you want to paint, it could be shown in a different way tho

How about implementing a blueprint scanner?

• Posted by: TheGallow

Blueprints and rapid assembly - This is kind of a grand idea that a lot of people have had, but here is my idea on how it would work. Basically, (assuming survival) you assemble a hand held scanner that stores the block info (type, position, names, settings) into a blueprint chip. Then you can use that chip to place the unfinished ship into the game world (taking the appropriate starter materials from your inventory) and from there you weld it like normal, but as one giant block. Perhaps to make it a little more realistic, the unfinished ship could be have several areas designated so that welding that area finishes only the blocks in that area. The larger the ship (calculated by mass or squarefeet?) the more areas, requiring more moving around. Remember that scene in the beginning of the Star Trek reboot movie, where the Enterprise is half finished in drydock? That's the sort of construction I'm looking to have in game.

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

that is a great idea, we do have some concepts for blueprints but still trying to find the best way for assembly, thank you for your idea

Do you intend to add a way to label cargo containers with item sorting?

• Posted by: drdominic

Do you ever intend to add a way to label cargo containers so that you can easily sort you r items and possible in the future sorting may be automate by programming or other means?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

This is interesting idea. What about special conveyors which would serve as filter and transfer only selected types of objects?

Any chance of getting subsystem-specific cockpits or control panels?

• Posted by: WasabiBomb

Any chance of getting subsystem-specific cockpits or control panels, so someone can control guns while someone else flies, or engineering? I want to get my wife to play the game, and treating it like Starship Artemis would make it easy.

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

It should be already possible. If now, it's definitely something that we want to have in the game.

Are there any plans to add large procedurally generated (unlimited or limited size) worlds to Space Engineers?

• Posted by: Sinxar

Are there any plans to add large procedurally generated (unlimited or limited size) worlds to Space Engineers?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

This would be cool, so we are looking into this possibility

Is there a possibility of getting a player-built AI core into the game?

• Posted by: CapturetheBomb

Is there a possibility of getting a player-built AI core into the game? The new sensors offer an interesting twist, but don't do sequential tasks.

• Answered by: KeenSWH

In-game programming!

Are you guys planning on adding more guns to the game?

• Posted by: Kotekk

Are you guys planning on adding more guns to the game? And awesome game, keep going guys!

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

We have few concepts for new guns. The design is based on weapons that are already in the game, but have an improvement.

What are the current limitations for adding AI into the game?

• Posted by: FatLungs

What are the current limitations for adding AI into the game? Also can I help add AI into the game.

• Answered by: KeenSWH

We haven't even started implementing AI into Space Engineers, we just wanted to focus on other more mechanical / engineering features first. But now it may be a good time to start with AI.

Are you going to develop the boarding and ship combat?

• Posted by: tHarvey303

Are you going to develop the boarding and ship combat, with more handheld guns and perhaps a machine that can allow you to board others ships, by grabbing on and drilling a hole? I love the game looking forward to final release!

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

Yes, we would like to improve the boarding. For example to find a way how to deal with interior turrets as an astronaut and many other things.

Why do these comets burn?

• Posted by: Solocov

Why do these comets burn xD

• Answered by: TomasRampas (Lead artist)

The comets burn because we believe players might enjoy the effect. If somebody does not like the fire, comets can be switched to nonefire.

Modding

Are there any mods that you liked so much that you want to make them permanently part of SE?

• Posted by: Professor-Falken

Now that mods have been released, are there any mods that you liked so much that you want to make them permanently part of SE?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

Yes, we have mod which we would like to get into SE vanilla, now we need to talk with its author, get his approval and release it in some update. Hopefully this will open gates for other mod creators.

Will we eventually be able to make mods that do more than just adding new blocks?

• Posted by: Naosyth

Will we eventually be able to make mods that do more than just adding new blocks? Like, will we be able to make a mod that recreates the 0G battle room from Ender's Game? Or add blocks that introduce entirely new functionality to the game? Or even just simple things like adding chat commands?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

Yes, with modding API it will be possible to add completely new functionality, even things like air pressure and later even food.

With the possibility of mod API's on the horizon, are you hoping to achieve a modding base like Minecraft has?

• Posted by: TheMRC

With the possibility of mod API's on the horizon, are you hoping to achieve a modding base like Minecraft has? Like almost complete overhauls of how the game is ment to be?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

yes, total overhauls would be great. Power to the community! :)

Will you be adding any additional weapons or modding support for weapons?

• Posted by: Viscereality

Will you be adding any additional weapons or modding support for weapons? Like small, medium and large cannons, more fixed weapons and auto turrets and maybe even torpedos and missile launchers? Even slightly future stuff like lasers and rail guns?

• Answered by: OndrejPetrzilka (lead programmer)

We'll add better modding support for weapons. With that it should be possible create small projectiles weapons (gatling guns), large projectile weapons (cannons, torpedo launchers, missile launchers) and maybe few other.

Would KSH be interested in opening communication between modders and developers for Space Engineers?

• Posted by: tyrsis

There is a lot of grass roots server mods coming out from players using Space Engineers Server Extender. (blueprints/shipyards, AI, warp drives, a whole host of other things that are coming out or already out for multiplayer dedicated servers.) Are you guys following any of those or familiar with the mods that come out for them? As one one of the devs of these extensions, I was wondering if you guys would be willing to open a line of communication with some of us in terms of maybe adding a few very small additions that would really help us in some ways (that would most likely take literally a minute to add)?

• Answered by: KeenSWH

We are amazed with all the mod ideas community came up with. Yes, we do follow the mods and try to think of what could be done to give the community better tools to work with. The open line is a good idea. But the opinion about what is easy to implement and whats not can be misleading. Sometimes it looks easy but is not due to various reasons. You can send the list of small additions to info@keenswh.com and add a note saying: Send to Tomas Rampas.

Page FAQ

I see some formatting errors

• Please PM me where the correction is needed ( Alouria ) on the KSH forum [-Click Here-], or if you have the skill required, you may fix it yourself.

Some question weren't listed

• Nearly all replies by KSH staff was listed within the Q & A. Some questions weren't listed simply for the fact they were already implemented features, or were already answered. Granted, many of these questions are similar. However, they still were answered by the staff in some detail.

Couldn't you organize it further?

• It's extremely difficult due to the volume of questions. The most simple solution that could be done was to sort it into 3 categories "General, Gameplay, Modding", and the questions were sorted accordingly. Some section listings had to be modified into a question, and/or changed a bit. However, the original question is still posted under each one.

Some questions in General, and Gameplay should be switched around

• Many questions both dealt with gameplay and generalization, they're in their respective categories because the question leaned more towards that concept.

References

1. ↑ http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2fkie6/we_are_keen_software_house_the_developers_of/?sort=hot IAmA on Reddit