I just came back to visit the moo3 forums and saw a link :)

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Journier · #1 Post by **Journier** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 2:35 am

Before i say anything I have read about 10 of your threads so far, and I am pretty much dazzled by the work you guys have done, well done.

Now i have been a big fan of space games like, Starships Unlimited, moo2,pax imperia 2(let down), imperium galactica not all of these are turn based. some are actually a mix of turn and real time.

Now question.

Will you guys be able to maybe make the game have an ability maybe to check or uncheck the ability to have starlanes and not have them? I personally never was a fan of "star lanes" rather have things able to fly all around the universe instead of being constricted to just starlanes and if u try to go offroad you get denied by moving extremely slowly :/

Since I read a post that starlanes are not implemented yet, maybe you can always keep the idea around?

Thanks for brightening my hopes for the space genre.

iamrobk · #2 Post by **iamrobk** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 2:48 am

From what I hear, no starlanes can't be done due to the way the AI will think or something like that.

Journier · #3 Post by **Journier** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 3:03 am

oh ok

didnt read that anywhere

Never really liked the entire idea anyways, no real purpose for starlanes anyways

space is 3dimensional use it!!

utilae · #4 Post by **utilae** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 3:11 am

Though it is uncertain, the modifiable manner of freeorion may mean that starlanes could be optional by setting the speed of the starlanes to be the same speed as open space. There has been discussion, but no decisions that I know of, of whether starlanes will be optional.

skdiw · #5 Post by **skdiw** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 4:47 am

I would like to get an official word on starlanes. It is my understanding that starlanes will be in the game, but whether all stars will be connected or whether there will be options as to how many and how long starlanes will be are still unanswered. In any event, the AI should be able to handle a galaxy map with or without or partially filled starlane maps. Starlanes should be just a factor into AI's algorithm, and not a sole mean as to where AI can go.

PowerCrazy · #6 Post by **PowerCrazy** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 8:51 am

Starlanes are useful for an AI as far as setting "rules" of travel and engagement. Since we are using Djork or someones algorithm it allows us to make a very efficent travelling AI. Now of course the AI can functino in a starlane less environment but instead of having sparse matricies mulitplied together it will be Large packed ones. which will be MUCH slower. multiplyign a 500x500 nonsparse seemingly arbitrary matrix together will be a drain even on fast processors. That doesn't even take into account all the other factors it will have to take in.

In a word YES, the option for no starlanes will be there. BUT the AI won't be refined and optimized for such a universe, thus its performance and challenge will be erratic...

PowerCrazy · #7 Post by **PowerCrazy** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 8:51 am

blah double post

Aquitaine · #8 Post by **Aquitaine** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 3:19 pm

The option for 'no starlanes' will probably not appear until after v1.0. At least, I am not going to request that the programming team develop a 'no starlanes' AI until then; it is entirely possible that once we make our first round of news outlets (probably not until after v0.2) that we could get a large enough team that someone can work on this.

I agree (in as much of an official capacity that I can) that this option needs to make it in someday, but for now, that feature will not make it into the official release until after v1.0.

There are a bunch of threads on this subject; the original discussion was lost with the old forums, but I think we rehashed a lot of it on one of these boards.

skdiw · #9 Post by **skdiw** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 4:59 pm

So, can ships go offroad? What about partially filled starlane maps?

That Guy · #10 Post by **That Guy** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 5:06 pm

Though it should be an option to be turned on and off, I think you should have afew island systems, that are hard to get too, but have the best planets. I was really mad when I discovered how useless neutron stars are in MOO 3.

Journier · #11 Post by **Journier** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 3:25 pm

i felt the same way as you did guy.

i saw these things out in nowhere where you could travel to.. then i visited every one of them on a map and didnt find jack... sorta made me mad, why put something in the game if you arent going to use it.

Daveybaby · #12 Post by **Daveybaby** » Sun Feb 08, 2004 6:50 pm

There probably was going to be something there originally, and like so many other things they got cut in the mad ruch to release something. Shame they didnt tidy up properly first.

luckless666 · #13 Post by **luckless666** » Sun Feb 08, 2004 7:18 pm

Heres a way to explain starlanes:

Look at Babylon 5. They use starlanes in the form of 'Jumpgates'. When their jumping, they have set routes in hyperspace to follow in the form of beacons (created by an unknown race many thousands of years ago to track stable routes). Deviating from this course will likely mean you get lost forever in hyperspace. You can use the same basic principle to explain away the use of starlanes.