Dangerous: Null Space

Wow, missed all these questions. Sorry! I'll have to make sure my settings notify me of responses.

We've been mostly involved in making space combat work well, so the planetary and ship boarding mechanics will likely be an update after release. The plan for it is eventually to have atmospheric entry like you see in the Evochron and later Elite games.

We do have an inertia toggle button that lets you turn in space and shoot backwards. It turns off the inertia dampeners, so you continue drifting in the same direction also similar to Elite and Evochron. And we have dogfighting mechanics in place, but it's taking a lot of effort to properly balance. Unlike a game like Galaxy on Fire 2 (GoF2) where all the ships have roughly the same speed, in Dangerous you can equip modules that make you go very fast. While ships average in the 100-200 meters/sec in speed, with the right modules, you could go over 1 km/s. That makes dogfighting very difficult without some sort of computer aided aiming. Imagine adding dogfighting to EVE Online--that's the magnitude of the problem we're trying to tackle.

Where this dogfighting is currently used to good effect is in mining asteroids. You fly around the belt shooting the asteroids with your laser which your tractor beam automatically collects. We think it's a bit funner than EVE or GoF2's mining mini-games, closer to Space Miner: Space Ore Bust except in 3D. And of course, we have automated turrets and guided missiles which will likely be the predominant combat style.

The game currently has 33 solar systems connected by stargates, so it's huge. And there is persistent storage at each space station. You can park multiple ships and leave things in any station. It has a skill system with a skill tree. You earn experience in combat, and also from making trading profits. The space combat is reminiscent of EVE Online except we've streamlined it quite a bit, and made it much more cinematic. We have lots of different camera modes to let you see the action from many vantage points. The programmer and I come from a theater and indie film background, so cinematic presentation is super important to us.

As for R&D, you can buy different ships and have them make trading/combat runs while you do your own thing as in the X3 games. You can actually follow them in their route and help them out. It has a living universe, so you can follow other ships as they go about their life mining, patroling, trading, etc. There are dynamic quests that happen in space, like when a ship breaks down and asks for assistance. Of course, you won't know if it's a trap until you decide to help. There are currently over 600 autonomous ships most belonging to corporations or factions. You could just sit in space outside a station and watch them come and go, all with a purpose. Not sure if it will make the initial release, but the plan is to allow player-built space stations that serve specific purposes like in X3.

While we'd like to make a universal app, we're planning on releasing for the iPad first. The game has over 600 ships that move around in space independently, so it really needs the memory and horsepower that the later generation devices have. So that complicates things a little, and it may mean "Dangerous HD" is released first. This will give us time to ensure that it runs smoothly on the mobile devices.

Thanks! We can't wait to have players try it. Sean Beeson has composed over 20 unique tracks for the game, and I don't mind tooting Sean's horn: the music is epic and could easily work for a theatrical cinematic release.

One of the other things we're also very proud of is the AI. Since ships can be configured very differently with over 60 modules like webber, ECM, sensor jammer, warp jammer, etc. there is an amazing amount of complexity to combat. Unlike in EVE Online where they throw blobs of enemies at you, we have fewer enemies that actually use their modules intelligently--to heal friends, properly move into range, flee, etc.

We're going to release some artwork and a gameplay trailer very soon.

 

Hey guys, we've got a couple of new things to share.

The Dangerous (Original Game Soundtrack) is now available on iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dangerous-original-game-soundtrack/id461036179

NOTE: Touch Arcade does something funny to that URL that won't let it load, so you'll have to copy it by hand to see it. Copy this: itunes.apple.com/us/album/dangerous-original-game-soundtrack/id461036179

You can preview the 22 awesome orchestral tracks composed by virtuoso composer Sean Beeson. We both think it's some of his best works to date. And to my knowledge, this is the largest soundtrack ever for a mobile game. (Check out his site at www.seanbeeson.com)

We also created a new gameplay trailer that shows more gameplay footage from the game:

Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel

Some info on the near-final game:

* We've adapted and simplified the combat from EVE Online including missile and turret models, ECM, sensors, signature radius, etc. There are over 60 modules with different tech level tiers. There is a skill tree to spend your XP. Note that this is a single-player game.
* Each ship has unique bonuses such as increased missile damage or increased range for remote repair modules. No ship is useless. Some missions are better flown in smaller interceptors while others can be completed in battleships.
* We've added our own enhancements such as unguided lasers and direct manual flight including toggling the inertial dampeners. This lets you continuing flying in one direction and turn the ship around to shoot. Manual flight is also the way you mine asteroids for ore, or you can equip an auto-miner.
* You belong to one of many corporations/factions in the game
* You will be able to gather wingmen, one of whom can always fly by your side. They will follow you through warp and stargates as you explore. The wingmen have different ships and skills, so choosing the right one to augment your current ship and skills is important. We have advanced AI that knows how to handle ships equipped with any number of modules.
* In addition, you may recruit corporate pilots who will fly specific trade routes in ships that you equip. They fly regardless of whether you're in space or not.
* There are 33 solar systems and over 600 ships flying around in this living and open universe. You can store your ships and modules at any station that lets you dock. Each system has a security level that determines the goods and dangers found there.
* You can take on jobs for specific corporations in their stations, like escort, transport, destroy, etc. You will increase your standings with that corporation by doing so, and also lose standings if you attack them. Certain corporations will convey bonuses if you become a trusted ally and others will unleash mercenaries on you if you become their foe.
* There are dynamic quests that happen such as repairing a broken down ship. Be wary in case it's a trap.

Note that some features may change before release. We'd like to conduct a limited beta. Interested people with experience in EVE Online and X3 should send email to [email protected]. Please tell us about your experience with beta testing and EVE Online/X3/other space games. The game will release for iPad and iPhone soon, but the beta will probably be conducted via a web browser version. We have created a website for the game at: http://www.whoisdangerous.com

Thanks,
Linh

 

I don't know if it is in the realm of possibility to one-up X3's complexity and interface.

We moved UI elements around for the small 3GS screen real-estate, but it is a little cramped still. Part of the reason for this is all the situational awareness that is shown in the Contacts list on the left. You get to see what other ships have equipped. Some or all of this can be hidden.

In the following screenshots, you'll see we have 8 high-slot active modules equipped to give you an idea of the flexibility of the module system. Most ships will likely only have 3-4 active modules, so more of the action won't be occluded by the UI.

Since the plan is to release for iPad first, this gives us time to fine tune the interface for smaller devices. We might be able to add an auto-hide feature to some UI elements. Feel free to float some suggestions.

Here are some beta screenshots.

I'll explain some of the buttons which make navigation a snap:
F)ollow selected ship at 500 m range
O)rbit selected ship at current range
K)eep at distance selected ship at current range
I)nertia Dampeners toggle

transit/dock button is the arrow pointing to the craft) appears depending on context
warp/enter gate button is blue and has concentric circles) appears depending on context

The sliders on the left control thrust if you're flying manually, or the distance selector if you're using an autopilot.

The 8-button row is the high-slot. Starting on the left: laser, two small turrets, two light missiles, heavy missile, remote armor repair, energy vampire
The two buttons below that is the medium slot: recharge shield and webber.

You can play the whole game using the autopilots or fly manual or a combination of the two. You can play on the bus using the touchscreen to steer, or use tilt if you're at home.


3Gs


iPhone 4


iPad 2

 

Those are some good ideas though I'd like to see what people's reactions are after beta-testing/playing the game. Probably makes more sense for the 3GS since the iPad has lots of room. We current have a toggle between the iPhone and iPad layouts, but letting the users adapt templates by moving buttons around will likely be a future update.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

We're hoping to submit to Apple within the next 60 days... Keeping our fingers crossed.

@zombiesmoke: Sorry, you must have missed an earlier update--we're dropping the on foot portion temporarily while we make the space portion as fun as possible. With just 2 guys, it was not possible for us to do both and have a deep and quality game. But we are definitely going to add that in a future update. I'm considering doing a Kickstarter project to get that part, and possibly a multiplayer update added sooner rather than later.

Currently, we're adding in cloud saves, so you'll be able to load the same game from whatever device you're using (iPad, iPhone, Android, PC, Mac, web). We're also working with a new 3D artist and hope to update the 3D models in the game to give an even more unique, gritty, and "large" feel to everything.