I have been reading the various updates etc regarding the current progress with the development of this game and it strikes me that the AI seems to be the most neglected area?? The game is almost unplayable without this and in my view thats where all of the development should be concentrated on.......all of the images/voiceovers/new races etc can be left until this is complete especially seeing as there are already plenty to fill the game! Obviously if i'm missing something please fill me in!

Well, Mike can only do so much at a time
Maybe he's already working on it while he waits for .Net 4.0 - plenty of time until March

Mike HAS begun development of an AI. But it's an area that isn't his speciality and he's got BIG plans for what he wants to do with the AI. The problem is *how* he actually makes that AI. It's just going to take time i'm afraid.

I'm also hesitant to invest much time in the AI until the rest of the game is mostly in place. New features are likely to be revised several times, and it'll save time if I don't have to rewrite the AI code over and over again.

So do we stop calling her pre alpha when she has an AI?

Another reason to define what the program will have and will not have in it. If it is nailed down, Mike can start AI. Bashir.

I'll start writing a thread for features to be added as soon as you lock it down then.

When you say "Experimental Stuff" are you referring to experimental stuff for BOTF2 or another project? Just curious.
Lovin the time line. We're here for ya.

The genetically engineered Bashir

Can't wait, I hope we will see the list soon



Plain and simple Vjeko

Mike, it might be a good idea to set your goals and features ASAP, since those will do more than anything to keep development on the straight and narrow. Discrete features and objectives may change with time, but as long as a main goal or theme is in place, you'll always know when to spend that extra day on something and when to just scrap it and move on.

Best of luck to you! A great project, and very much looking forward to the final product.

Mike I think Star Trek Supremacy is awesome. I am a long time fan and a adved strategy gamer. I am more than looking forward to a AI and combat system. I may have missed it somewhere in the thread but I got two questions for you.

#1 Will there be Species 8472?
#2 Can you or Will you make it so minor species like Ferengi Tholian and Gorn can take systems as well and have territory?

Keep up the great work I am on the edge of my seat anticipating the release.

Thx for the answers. Now if I may I have a few more. I did some looking into the other major races more and more and I was wondering about a few more things maybe even give a small idea.

#1 Shouldn't the Negh'Var be the top echelon for the Klingons
#2 Would you consider putting in the Hutlet Class "Carrier" for the Cardassian's it is a massive and powerful ship?
#3 What about the Avenger or Vanguard class from STO. They are sweet in design. And would be a great addition to the Starfleet repitwa.
#4 Have you thought of being able to build Transwarp conduits as a station?
#5 Will the Borg be a non-playable race but still be a major race and expand like any other? Or will u keep it as an event, and make them able to start assimilating worlds at a certain stage of the game?

Keep up all the good work the anticipation grows

I have found a bug in the game. I cannot build with the Federation ship Construction II, I keep getting an error msg. Thought I would let u know. I must be blind b/c I couldn't find the bug report area. I am just tired I guess.

Thx for answering all my questions so far I appreciate it.

I don't mean to be asking so many questions but I do have another. I know you are tired of hearing from
me.
I am not an expert on coding and all that I know a few things but I am no where in your guy's league. I was wondering why can't u create a simple AI for now and add onto it as you go. What I mean is wouldn't it be possible to create an AI with simple diplomacy, empire building directives and a simple combat auto-simulation? Just thought I would ask oh and I love all the minor species in the game, but may I ask why you left out the Garidians?

In order to demonstrate the game at the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention efforts are being directed at making the game playable. Diplomacy, espionage and combat without the 3D combat engine are the priority items for now. When these elements are in place the game will function with multiple human players. Then we can run a demonstration of the game being played. Once we have these elements in place it will be possible to code an AI that uses diplomacy, espionage and combat elements that are currently lacking.

Look across the forums. You'll see i've been answering questions for six years and i'm still doing it. I guess i'm a glutton for punishment.

As Kenneth said, the AI isn't being worked on because we have other priorities. Supremacy is being presented at the Trek convention in Vegas in August, and Mike plans to release the next major update there. The AI just isn't part of those plans, because we don't *want* to have a simple AI at such a major event - it could actually subtract from the game if people start playing it against a sub-standard AI. But if we instead make the game much more multi-player-capable, we should have a more rounded game - and that's what we're doing.

The AI is coming, it's just not coming with the next update.

As for the Garidians, we've got a set of rules that we abide by when deciding whether they make it into the game or not. Yes, we've got hundreds of minors, but there are a few that we've actually had to reject:

1) The race must have been explicitly named within an episode or film. Therefore they must be canon. Races that are only identified in books or have not been named explicitly cannot be accepted.

2) At least one individual of the race must have been seen AND there must be an image of that individual available that is of acceptable quality.

3) They must come from a planet or star system that has been explicitly stated in an episode or film. Again, locations that are only identified in books or have not been named explicitly cannot be accepted.

4) The minor race must have a personality trait, technological capability, biological capability, unique trait, philosophy, religion, work ethic, unusual planetary phenomena, etc. etc. that could be used to create a unique special structure for that race.

5) The more information available regarding the minor race, the better.


I have to admit, i've not personally heard of the Garidians, so I did a Google. The only information I could find was on Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki. Straight away this makes it unlikely they will make it into the game, since they are non-canon. This is further reinforced by the fact that it's stated that the Garidians are from Star Trek: A Final Unity, which is a PC game. This means the source material itself is non-canon, so we're unlikely to include them.

On the subject of whether various different ships or races will make it into the game I'd direct anyone to the primary mod site for Bridge Commander- http://bridgecommander.filefront.com/

That game was launched with only about 5 Federation ships. In time members created all the older ships like Mirandas/ Excelsiors etc, then all the other random starfleet and alien ships, after a while they started uploading versions of classes that were already in the original game- just cos their versions looked so much better. Now, you can literally download and use any ship that's ever been so much as hinted at in Trek, as well as several hundred that haven't. There are proabably about 30 standard Galaxy classes of various levels of quality, not to mention Borg modified versions, AGT future versions, USS Venture phasers on nacelles versions etc etc etc etc.

You can literally go in, find a ship you like, download it and play with it. That's exactly how I see this game going in time, after the game is finalised the mods will start to come in, individual ships to use, replacement versions of the original shiplist, Babylon 5 universe, Star Wars universe...... It'll be the same for races I'm sure, and if nobody else creates a download for your race I'm sure someone will talk you through how to do it.

Me, I'll have a vanilla version for multiplayer and my very own version with a ship added here and a building taken out there..... I certainly wouldn't orry about whether you can play with a certain class of ship.


Edit- Someone really needs to get in contact with this Rick Knox guy.... http://bridgecommander.filefront.com/fi ... alaxy;4104

We will have a playable version for multi-players first.
That being the case it would make sense to have
a way for players to link up. Without a lobby one
option would be .
If you download and install teamspeak 3 you could
advertise your game here and link to your
password protected channel.