UMA sneak peak!

Switching to a custom mesh based system brought some extra work but also a lot of new options. Still, it would be nice to see the unity terrain system work as intended. If you have a Unity account please cast your vote spells here  

Damn, I've heard of slow development but this is something new.

I know we can't demand anything but... it really feels like you are slowly giving up, with all due respect.

News, updates, images, progress, plans, anything?

AngelO2 wrote:

Damn, I've heard of slow development but this is something new.

I know we can't demand anything but... it really feels like you are slowly giving up, with all due respect.

News, updates, images, progress, plans, anything?

I agree.
I haven't played this game in over 4-5 weeks, simply because there still needs a lot to be done and people are only exploiting the spaceship untill the database resset/sweep comes in, BUT I am checking almost daily to see if there any updates, because I do like this game and I want to play it.

But really, it has been almost 6 weeks now without any announcements?

AngelO2 wrote:

Damn, I've heard of slow development but this is something new.

I know we can't demand anything but... it really feels like you are slowly giving up, with all due respect.

News, updates, images, progress, plans, anything?

Thanks for the heads-up. I'm sorry for not announcing anything new on the forum and/or website. There hasn't been much (good) news to mention, sadly. Those who follow us closely on IRC always get the most up to date info, which was mostly about blocking issues recently.

I have been in-game after the Open Season events, to have a chat and also elaborated on some of the bigger issues we'd been facing. It would seem fair to give you at least a quick summary of the actual situation so I'll add that below. Please, do keep in mind we are 'just' two brothers working on this in our free time. We'd love to play it ourselves a.s.a.p and we're definitely not giving up...

- fixed: Terrain (chunks) and Tree performance (huge time consumer)
- fixed: Out-of-memory error on builds using asset bundles (headaches)
- fixed: Different smaller issues due to the above changes (prutt)

- wip: Implementing Unity pro features and optimized (terrain) shaders/textures
- wip: Database implementation. (2200+ queries p/s in a test setup)
- wip: UMA Armors / Clothes by participants

- todo: Rebake shadows on terrain after shaders/textures changes
- todo: New website and Techforum in preparation (found some help)

Thanks for the update. For most of us eager to see the new stuff it does help a lot

Ever considered getting some help? It seems to me that things are going pretty darn slow.

Wait... That makes me sound like an asshole   

*Ahum*

I am not talking in the '12 year old whining kid' kind-of-way, but as a mature observation due to the fact you guys are just unable to put any more time in it, which is 100% justified. I am just asking if you considered getting maybe one or two additional people to your team, or looking into expanding, or are satisfied as things are right now.


Meh, still sounds like I'm an ass...   

It's not rare that people getting into the business join freelance projects and ask for nothing in return, forums are a good start.

I love the game, but gets boring very quick since nothing changes for months.

AkiraOsu wrote:

Ever considered getting some help? It seems to me that things are going pretty darn slow.

Wait... That makes me sound like an asshole  

*Ahum*

I am not talking in the '12 year old whining kid' kind-of-way, but as a mature observation due to the fact you guys are just unable to put any more time in it, which is 100% justified. I am just asking if you considered getting maybe one or two additional people to your team, or looking into expanding, or are satisfied as things are right now.


Meh, still sounds like I'm an ass...  

Took this text from the interview that was done by the Entropia Planets Forum.

How many people are working on Project Ion and what are their jobs when it comes to the game?

Just the two of us. John is focused on managing the Unity project, (re)writing code and importing new assets. He knows how to work with Blender, GIMP and Audacity and used these to create assets that are currently in-game. Eddie has also created some assets, but his main objective is a smooth running website, database and (IRC) support. As the official spokesperson for the project he is also responsible for announcing (and packaging) the new releases and responding to interview requests. There are other people contributing in their own way with feedback, support and assets.


If anyone wants to help with the game, are you open of people joining the team?

There are already people helping the game forward and we regard every participant as part of the team. Their feedback is weighed heavily in our future development since we're players ourselves. We just have a bit more weight

AngelO2 wrote:

It's not rare that people getting into the business join freelance projects and ask for nothing in return, forums are a good start.

I love the game, but gets boring very quick since nothing changes for months.

All is done for nothing, not only by people like Kalamona, Schlumpfsack and Gabi or even more recently joined Tedjuh, but also by cool people like PigBenis with his reviews, Razor that arranged that interview and like that the list is long and growing every day. Did i mention Jelle and John already?

But about the game-play, i am sure that we are in for a hell of a ride, but not right after the upcoming release.
As far from talks and observations i understand we having a lot of testing to do and can by example not yet craft, since they planning that in the updates that are planned after the release.

AkiraOsu wrote:

...Meh, still sounds like I'm an ass...   

lol, I've seen sexier ways of offering help but willing to turn a blind eye.
Serious though, we need some nice clothing (soon) to fill up our freshly hooked up databeest.

Tesla Coil wrote:

...All is done for nothing...

Die kan je op twee manieren uitleggen