Where can we find a progress update? I check all the game info topics, but can't find any "progress" threads. Just want to know:

- How far along the game has come
- What's being worked on currently
- What's being worked on next
- An estimate of game completion

MOE can go into more detail but here is the short version.
We have a playable complete set of major race ship models for the combat engine. We are a few models short of a full set for the minor races. We are well into random event and structure image content. Val and others are working in their free time on that. That is still going to take some time.

A new feature to game play is being developed by Slim, .Iceman and MOE. I can not say too much about this as we have been asked to keep it secret. Slim, a professional artist with game and comic book experience, is developing original artwork to function in this subsection of game play.

The combat engine coding work is on hold while CDRwolfe finishes up school. Mike's coding is also on hold until things lighten up in the economy and he has more free time. I would guess that a true alpha playable version of the game would be out this time next year. That is just a guess. The more help we get the faster it will go.

I apologise if the information on the forums doesn't appear up to date, treker-. I sometimes forget that not everyone is on the forums as frequently as me and so find it harder to find information on the game.

Here's a few things on top of what Kenneth said:

Actual programming work on Supremacy has stopped completely since the May update was released. This is because Mike's boss stole every waking moment he had from him to do his real job. Mike has told me he plans to escape his bosses evil clutches in early September. He hasn't given me a definitive date on when this will be, however. In a positive sign though, Mike has had enough time over the last few days to make some random thread and PM replies. Before he left, he was planning on creating a brand new editor, and we discussed some new game features as well - including the one i've hinted about lately but have also been sworn to secrecy about so can't say anything definitive.

CdrWolfe has been busy with his university studies and hasn't been able to do much work on the combat system. He recently posted that he now has some free time to begin programming again and is looking to convert the combat system to XNA. I'm not entirely sure what this means, but I do know that Strings' Combat System and Strings' Model Viewer programs were both XNA-based and are extremely high quality, so this could potentially be a very good thing indeed.

The new feature that Kenneth referred to is different to the feature that Mike swore me to secrecy about. It's a feature that we actually only decided to work on yesterday, and Mike has given his blessing to it. It's a feature that i'm excited about, and i'm pretty sure a lot of people that play the game will like it too. Slim is an artist that recently joined our project and his previous work is frankly gorgeous. We're lucky to have him on board. He will be providing the artwork for the new feature that myself and .Iceman will be working on, but he's a bit of a perfectionist and doesn't want people to see his work until it's close to complete. The new feature itself is therefore also being kept secret until that time.

As Mike will be returning soon, he will likely post about some of his plans or at least send me an update to post about, so keep an eye open for this information. It will either be in the Supremacy download thread or in a separate post, especially if he releases an actual game update. If this happens, i'll probably also post a news item on our Site Portal.

With regards to XNA, the reason it may be converted is that simply the current engine i use Irrlicht though very good is now no longer being developed. I use the C# .Net version, now i could change it to use the C++ version which is vastly superior and continually updated however this brings its own problems on compatibility with MStrobels game and also my knowledge of C++.

By switching to XNA I beleive it would allow integration into MStrobels game easier, you would more likely find others able to help, and I would imagine MStrobel would be more confident in terms of the Engine as it is MS based well developed i imagine and would most likely easier to integrate then my current one.

Switching over code wise shouldn't bring to much in terms of problems I hope, in fact it allows me to completely restructure the architecture of the combat engine which is probably sorely needed.

One danger I can think of is if certain behaviours / functions present in the Irrlicht engine are not present in XNA, for example is use methods such as a ParticleNode or ParticleEffector, which allow me to do certain special effects. These are already developed for Irrlicht and easy to use, It might take me time to write my own ones in XNA. However my hope is that such basic pieces of code are already established in the XNA community.

Regards Wolfe

I've sent Strings an email for you, Wolfe. I raided his registration addy from the admin panel hehe. Since Strings made those two programs in XNA, he might be willing to return and provide you with some help. I'll let you know if/when he replies. Fingers crossed.

in case you do the switch, could you keep an old version of the Irrlicht.NET code in case someone wants to transfer it to the C++ version of Irrlicht for use in bote?

You can track my work on Supremacy by reviewing my code check-in comments on CodePlex. I've actually gotten a decent bit of work done the last couple weekends, but it's not checked into the public code stream yet, so those updates don't show up.

Progress is a good thing.

Strings just replied. Woo! He's not dead!

He disappeared because of the affliction that plagues us all: real life. He says he hasn't done any XNA programming since he released his combat system though, and is now rusty, especially since XNA has undergone three revisions/updates since he disappeared. He's willing to come back though, but is going to try and swot up a bit on XNA before he returns. He also said he'll try and contact you on AIM, Mike.

He's also pleased that I posted his Combat System and Model Viewer programs. He certainly wasn't expecting that they would still work even after XNA's three updates. It would be nice if aspects of his Model Viewer could be merged into Supremacy. I'd like to be able to see rotating models of ships in the Trekpedia...

What's the big secret: away teams, boarding parties? hehe...

Anyway, what I really want is to see the AI improved and by that I mean I'd like their behaviour to more closely resemble the actual parties. I hate how in BOTF everyone is super-aggressive and I frequently end up at war with everyone with no hope of peace, fighting for survival (on EASY.)

I think the Romulans should be passive, passive-aggressive: concerned with their own affairs, won't really fight unless they can win, and generally expand away from others if possible. Less interested in friendship and more in neutrality.

Klingons should be aggressive, but only if it's worth it. They should show affinity for anyone who is honourable and good in combat (so maybe a lot of combat success and honourable dealings and the klingons like you, whereas being a dishonourable bastard makes them your enemy? )

Ferengi should be a minor race anyway (which I think you've done.)

Cardassians: well I don't know much about them. I guess they would be more aggressive than the Romulans and less honourable than Klingons but not impossible to deal with.

I just hate how in BOTF they all act the same and basically everyone becomes your enemy unless you bend over backwards to their demands all the time.

The work I've seen done so far blows my mind. I can't wait for a finished product!

The secret is secret. Mr. Abrams understands you need the mystery to hold peoples attention.

It is more in my nature to assume everyone here is part of the development team. I would like to share all. Those developing the new game feature, however, have worked on professional game development and there it is on a need to know basis only. Sorry.

Yes, an AI is going to be a major step forward and take a good deal of time. It will set up predictable action from AI run major races.

Your take on the Romulans sounds like a good one. They would only rush in if you or a minor were weak enough.

The Cardassians, especially in the original game, used a lot of espionage to achieve their ends. They seam to choose enslaving a minor race over alliance in the empire. The Klingons might respect a minor race enough to make an alliance if the minor was not weak and passive.

The Dominion was something of a substitute for the Borg. The warriors were more drones than individuals. A relation with a minor race would be one of total control as the end product of alliance or invasion.

I feel the say way as Kenneth; I want to shout about the features we're developing and post threads and news items about them, because they are totally new features that aren't in BOTF but are an exciting and logical extension to what you can do in that game. But we're working with a professional on them and he's personally requested secrecy until he achieves perfection. He's like the Borg when it comes to seeking perfection, but his work just screams quality so trust me when I say the wait is going to be worth it.

The BOTF AI is terrible for two reasons: BOTF was rushed, incomplete, and untested before it was released; and AI programming was still in its infancy back then. Things have come a long way now; programming languages are far more efficient, complex, capable, and advanced than they were, much more processing power is available to process the code, and we've got over 4000 forum members to playtest the game every step of the way.

As you can understand though, it's going to take a very long time to program it. And even then, when the AI is first released, it won't necessarily work in the way that we hope; it will be down to players to report any weirdness or uncharacteristic actions so that Mike can then tweak the AI and get it working as it *should*.

Yes, the Ferengi are a minor race, albeit one of the best minor races in the game. Not only do they have multiple special structures with large bonuses, but they get a pretty good home system, a strong fleet of ships, lots of ship designs, and they may even be able to build stations. (We haven't finalised that idea yet though) Their weakness to bribery will be both a godsend to those trying to acquire them, and an annoyance to those that try to hold on to them though. The Dominion have taken the Ferengi's place as the fifth playable empire, but I imagine people will likely end up modding the Ferengi so they are playable again. Chances are i'll probably end up teaching people how to do it in the first place.

I have always thought that the Ferengi would do an excellent empire as a sixth major race.

maybe Kazon or Borg but Ferengi as major race is killed on this forum few years ago, sorry mate

Supremacy + Editor = mod.

Don't worry, they'll make it into the game one day. I'm sure you're not the only one that wants to play as the Ferengi again or some other race. I don't imagine there are are many Mizarians out there though.

Thanks for agreeing with me. I get my info/ideas based on what I've seen from watching the show. Even though I watched DS9, I don't really know how the Cardassians would act, other than hiding their true intentions/motives. That seems to go for the individuals, so I'm not sure about the people as a whole.

As for the Romulans they seem to want to conquer the galaxy, but are in no hurry. They are manipulative, but they are also reasonable and can be negotiated with. They would prove your defenses to see just how prepared you are for a war, instead of attacking (they did this all the time on the show - probe, but never fight.) They're patient and will wait until you are weak enough to conquer. After all, they aren't going anywhere...

You're right about the AI being underdeveloped. It's like, you want to be on their good side, pay their demand money. You want to be on their bad side, don't pay their demand money. Way too simple. I think the game should be more peaceful, only going to war when things really have not gone well. I know some people don't like that idea and for those people the Klingons or Cardassians are probably their best choice to play as. I just feel that nobody (except maybe the Klingons) would jump into a galactic war so easily. We're talking casualties in the hundreds of millions here...

I'd be willing to help any way I can. Even if it's just research and reference to help round out ideas and game plot/AI behaviour etc.

there was something I appreciated in BOTF. In fact, it was the diversity and speciality that each empire had:

FEDERATION: Research
FERENGI: Economy
KLINGON: War
ROMULAN: Espionage
CARDASSIAN: Subjugation

I was just searching this forum again and thought I'd take a look at my thread again. The last post was from October 2009. Is it possible to update this thread along the lines of my original post?:

- How far along the game has come
- What's being worked on currently
- What's being worked on next
- An estimate of game completion

A lot

Coding for Diplomacy and Espionage, Background Windows for Diplomacy and Espionage, 2d art for Structures, Text for random events, concept art for the pending second round of ship models, (help me out guys - what did I forget)

On hold for now is the 3D combat engine and an AI

I see it rolling out in stages with multiple versions over time. In the short term we expect a multiplayer version (where combat is not seen in 3D) by August.

Hey guys, there's been a major progress update for Allegiance, check it out here:

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=3524&start=0

For Supremacy, the content updates are far too many to mention. Seriously, the game is going to get a massive upgrade in terms of the structure images, and we've got some new planet textures and atmospheres too. Plus Zeleni has reworked many of the minor race insignias or created new ones from scratch. Then there are the hundreds of new ship models that Kenneth and Zeleni have been working on (But they won't be added to the game until the combat system is ready), and we've got some gorgeous background images for some of the new game sections, such as intel and diplomacy, thanks to TSS (Previously known as Slim).

I don't know if you've seen it elsewhere in the forums, but the next update is scheduled for release in August. Mike and Kenneth are going to present the game at the Las Vegas TrekCon, which is why the sudden focus on the Intel, Diplomacy, and Multiplayer aspects of the game. The update will be released at the convention so people can play against each other properly for the first time. Mike is also going to give a talk about the long development of the game, the challenges he's faced and overcome, and the community surrounding the game. So with any luck, we should get a double-whammy of people returning to the forums to download the update, and new people finding out about the game thanks to the great publicity of the TrekCon. August is going to be a great month for the community.

Can't wait. I hope they will take lots of pictures and post them here.
August is a good month for Supremacy (imagine that Worf said that).

That sounds really cool. TrekCon, wow. I wonder if that will also bring in more people to help work on the program.

We'd like to hope so, but we won't know until the TrekCon takes place. At the very least we'll get some great publicity, and that should help to bring more people to the forums. Even if we don't get offers of help, every person that tests the game and provides feedback is still doing a great service for us.

We're hoping that we might be able to do a recording of Mike's talk as well. Apparently there's a ban of some kind on video recording equipment, but we don't know if that extends to audio recording equipment. *If* we manage to set something up/smuggle in a microphone, we'll release the recording for download, or send it to Zach so he can include it in a Hailing Frequencies Podcast for the wider audience base.

Don't you have some Romulan spy cameras that you use in Tal'Shiar?

We cannot comment on such things. I'm sure the evil Klingon Intelligence forces would resort to such dastardly tactics though.

Too bad we don't have Evil Klingon Overlord of Evil