community evolving

[Charlie Beeler]

I think the influx of new people was mostly because someone posted a link to this game and the relevant FAQ and wiki on the Dwarf Fortress forums, describing it as "DF in space" essentially. I like the analogy. Both games are hard to get into but wonderfully rewarding and complex.

Either way, I'm glad that this game is picking up. It really doesn't deserve to languish as a cult classic.

I don't know about it being a "cult classic".  It definitely has it's roots in one though.  

[Mikeck]

Well, I am a new player who heard about this from "wargamer" forums. I know many others did as well. I can only speak for myself of course, but I have no interest in asking Steve to change this game one bit...I have never.even made a recommendation.  Please understand that this game is as amazing as it is complex. We may ask ignorant questions but it is done out of love for this game and a desire to learn...many are questions that seem basic..

For example: I couldn't figure out how to load a mine into a freighter.. I searched and coukdnt find anything. Turns out that when I built mu freighters, they went to the "shipyard" TG and therefor, couldn't operate on their own. This "mistake" seemed obvious to some but for those learning the game, it was.not obvious.

I for one find everyone on this forum to be very helpfull and I would never ask that the game be "mainstreamed"

[ShadoCat]

Either way, I'm glad that this game is picking up. It really doesn't deserve to languish as a cult classic.

I agree.

Attrition is inevitable.  If a game (or any group) isn't constantly attracting new blood, it will slowly wither until it's down to two or three old farts talking about the good old days.

[Decimator]

If people are continually asking the same questions, that means the information isn't easily accessible.  Three things can help with that.  An updated wiki(I'm very new and still learning, or I'd do it myself.), an IRC channel clearly posted where users can go to ask questions, and more tooltips(where the tooltips currently exist, they are extremely helpful.)

[Journier]

If people are continually asking the same questions, that means the information isn't easily accessible.  Three things can help with that.  An updated wiki(I'm very new and still learning, or I'd do it myself.), an IRC channel clearly posted where users can go to ask questions, and more tooltips(where the tooltips currently exist, they are extremely helpful.)

What more does the wiki need? I began running out of idea's for major area's, and ran out of time.

I ran through and gave the Wiki a fairly large update a week or 2 ago.

[Decimator]

If people are continually asking the same questions, that means the information isn't easily accessible.  Three things can help with that.  An updated wiki(I'm very new and still learning, or I'd do it myself.), an IRC channel clearly posted where users can go to ask questions, and more tooltips(where the tooltips currently exist, they are extremely helpful.)

What more does the wiki need? I began running out of idea's for major area's, and ran out of time.

I ran through and gave the Wiki a fairly large update a week or 2 ago.

What I can remember being frustrated over is trying to figure out how research works and not being able to find the information easily.  Another is that I was trying to figure out what I was doing wrong when I was building research labs but not getting more research labs in the research tab (what I think I was doing here is building partial research labs by accident, but I don't have any way of knowing for sure)  I'm sure there's more that I've forgotten.  That one might be better served by an IRC channel though.  IRC helped me a lot when I was bludgeoning Dwarf Fortress into submission, and I think it would help a lot for Aurora as well.  I'm sure there's more stuff that I had trouble with, but I forgot what it was as I encountered shiny new stuff.

The other thing I'd like to see is a detailed tech tree that lists what each technology unlocks, and what the unlock is good for.  As it is, I have to guess, such as what path I need to follow to get mass drivers so my colonies can send minerals to eachother?  I'm guessing that its under projectile weapons?  I don't have the spare research labs to get there yet, so I haven't been blindly researching.

I also think the tutorial does a small disservice by having players start with the advanced start.  It felt overwhelming to me, and I did much better being able to do one step at a time via the conventional start.

[Father Tim]

What I can remember being frustrated over is trying to figure out how research works and not being able to find the information easily.

Select a topic, select a scientist, choose a whole number of labs (from 1 to max), 'Add Project', await results.

Another is that I was trying to figure out what I was doing wrong when I was building research labs but not getting more research labs in the research tab (what I think I was doing here is building partial research labs by accident, but I don't have any way of knowing for sure)  I'm sure there's more that I've forgotten.  That one might be better served by an IRC channel though.  IRC helped me a lot when I was bludgeoning Dwarf Fortress into submission, and I think it would help a lot for Aurora as well.  I'm sure there's more stuff that I had trouble with, but I forgot what it was as I encountered shiny new stuff.

The user base of Dwarf Fortress is orders of magnitude greater than that of Aurora.  I seriously doubt enough people would join an IRC channel to make it useful.  Certainly I'd expect a better result from asking questions in the The Academy section of this board.

The other thing I'd like to see is a detailed tech tree that lists what each technology unlocks, and what the unlock is good for.

Aurora doesn't have a 'Tech Tree', it has dozens of 'Tech Vines' - it's all quite linear.  Ninety-nine percent of it is:
Tech  ---> improved version of Tech for double RP ---> etc.

Engines use a variant:
reactor ---> engine  --> improved reactor ---> improved engine ---> etc.

And a handful of techs have no prerequisites and no upgrades:
Asteroid mining modules, terraforming modules, troop transport bays, etc.

As it is, I have to guess, such as what path I need to follow to get mass drivers so my colonies can send minerals to eachother?  I'm guessing that its under projectile weapons?  I don't have the spare research labs to get there yet, so I haven't been blindly researching.

None.  Unless you do a conventional industry start, in which case its ... (checks) ... none.  Well, Trans-Newtonian Research but that's a given.

I also think the tutorial does a small disservice by having players start with the advanced start.  It felt overwhelming to me, and I did much better being able to do one step at a time via the conventional start.

A conventional industry start is the advanced start - 'advanced' meaning more difficult.  The standard (ie, TN start) provides the player with pretty much everything they need to perform all the basic actions of the game, whereas a conventional industry start requires the player to build/research/discover everything from the ground up, and thus unable to do almost anything right off the bat - a situation that almost all new players find extremely frustrating.

What I mean to say is that with the standard, TN start you can still do 'one step at at time', whereas with a conventional industry start you must, and can only do 'one step at a time' - and if you don't do the right steps, in the right order, you're screwed.

[Journier]

since i knew this community was still small, i started the steam group for questions etc, seems to be working out so far.

IRC really sucks with small communities. a single purpose IRC server with small communities = very empty, very much.

Luckily steam has 5000 different uses for different games, pretty useful for small community to use.

[StratPlayer]

Well, as another new user, I can only say that Aurora is one of those things that I just happened to stumble across on my way to looking up other things.   And it was like kicking over a rock and discovering a huge pile of gold.  Totallly unexpected and thrilling.

I'm still very low on the learning curve, but I'm trying to do all I can to learn as much as possible about Aurora.  I've gone through the tutorials, I've dug through the FAQs, and I'm wading into the fictional AAR's to try to get up to speed.  This lis exactly like the type of game I love -- I'm an old SFB fan, who most enjoys deep TBS and 4x games, especially space-based (Mo2, SMAC, GalCiv2), with some old-school RPGs thrown in -- almost the exact mix that seemsto describe Aurora.

I think one of the challenges -- or at least intimidating elements -- that a new player sees is also the pace of the upgrades.  Please note that I'm definitely not complaining about it -- it's a huge benefit and shows the dedication, involvement, and committment of Steve to make the game continually improved.  But it does add another level of complexity to a noob -- reading about something in a tutorial or AAR and then realizing that it no longer applies because it was changed at some point before the latest release.

For this reason I'm purposely trying to work with v4.94 simply because it most closely matches the tutorial threads.  Once I figure that out pretty well, then I'll upgrade to 5.0x.

But so far, I'm really enjoying the game and am very grateful to Steve and this community for creating and supporting this.  In just a few days playing around with it, I have already gotten my money's worth for the game many times over.    

Yeah, that's another amazing thing about this game: All this depth and fun and it's freeware?!?!?  :not-worthy:

[sloanjh]

I think one of the challenges -- or at least intimidating elements -- that a new player sees is also the pace of the upgrades.

Old players run into this too - at least I do.  It really hurts to have to give up an old empire that you've grown to love because a new version came out with stuff you want to use and the DB aren't compatible.

I have already gotten my money's worth for the game many times over.    

ROFL!!!

John

PS - "Come see the violence inherent in the system!"

[Steve Walmsley]

Help! Help! I am being repressed

Steve

[waresky]

Help! Help! I am being repressed

Steve,an older Traveller gamer as me,tell u: "i love this smeg,damn!!!"..
 

[praguepride]

On the flipside, those of you who enjoy Aurora should check out Dwarf Fortress, it's "Aurora for Middle Earth" :roll:

[AndonSage]

I don't know if these boards had an influx just recently, but I got here from a comment in a thread about Distant Worlds, which was just recently released by Matrix Games.

One of the reasons I like Aurora so much is that it's like playing the Starfire series by David Weber and Steve White. I absolutely love military science fiction (I <3 Baen   I would think a Tutorial on this subject would cut down on a _lot_ of questions.

I don't know who runs the AuroraWiki, but it could use updating with current information also. And that requires someone who knows the game mechanics very well, as well as any new changes. Even the Aurora program itself needs updated. For example, in version 5.02, the Planetary Sensor Strength says "Each additional Deep Space Tracking Station on a planet beyond the first will increase overall sensor strength by 25%," which is no longer true. I think more tool tips and better descriptions could also help cut down on newbie questions. I spent a long time just trying to figure out how to increase the Level of my Deep Space Tracking Station. There was nothing that just said "number built = Level."

Anyway, I'm trying to do my part by keeping notes of all the questions I've had as well as their answers, or at least the threads with the information, and hopefully I can update the Wiki myself in a couple weeks.

[Steve Walmsley]

I don't know if these boards had an influx just recently, but I got here from a comment in a thread about Distant Worlds, which was just recently released by Matrix Games.

One of the reasons I like Aurora so much is that it's like playing the Starfire series by David Weber and Steve White. I absolutely love military science fiction (I <3 Baen  

Steve