Next patch: Missile Spam

Hey guys sorry for the delay I have been working hard crunching numbers, etc for the next patch and didn't want it to do it half a**. This post is going to be about the design choices made when creating the missile system for this update. So while it's been delayed I can let you know when and what it will include as well. 

Release is scheduled for the 23rd so next friday and will include a missile designer that will continue to grow as time goes on.

Design Considerations:
When creating the missile system I wanted to focus on two things: fun and realism. This is a tough balance especially as some players prefer to have more realism as to them that is fun, versus others prefer a more casual style both are valid but catering to them both is next to impossible. So instead I leaned into my niche and focused on what made realism fun without overdoing it too much. You don't need to understand the weapons in the same way one might have to for say something like Nebulous Fleet Command. For example the below image is cool from a design perspective it's also insanely difficult to remember all the different mechanics and how they interlock. So my goal was to provide the depth of customization of something like NFC but with a layer of abstraction to hopefully make it easier for players to learn. A easy to learn difficult to master style system with a learning curve more akin to steep hill rather than a cliff face.

Man isn't that a beatific system though

After starting to find that balance I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted players focus on, which was: Mass, staging, terminal velocities, guidance, a super simple ECM/ECCM system and payload capability.

These different systems would allow me to balance the different designs and to not have a one size fits most situation, and if I so choose in the campaign I can lock off certain parts behind progression. With these in mind I started coding my missile designer starting from the top level (UI) and working my way in so that I could understand what I wanted to show to players (no point in saving engine nozzles if players can't influence them). From there I worked created example missile blueprints to load in to ensure what I had in mind worked the way I wanted and then slowly I've added the ability to edit and change the different parts.

An early screenshot

While there is still a lot to do the basic functions are in and create missiles based on the settings provided in the blueprint

Current state of the missiles with a simple chase mechanic