EMPFAQ

• Elite Multiplayer FAQ
  Apr 02 2009 08:15 AM Elite Multiplayer Frequently asked questions
  
  Q1:What will the requirements be?
  A1:The requirements havent been decided yet, at least until the basic game is complete and tested and we start to enter the Beta testing phase Currently the game requires 64Mb of RAM and a OpenGL 3d card capable of 640x480x16bit graphics and soundcard. As for the processor requirement we do know as yet. This is on top of your windows requirements.
  
  Q2: When will it be released?
  A2: Im afraid its a 'Done when its done' the main reason for this is I hate missing deadlines and its easier than saying it will be out on the x of y month. Rest assured its very much still in development and when its in a playable state it will be released to the masses.
  
  Q3: Can I be on the Alpha testing team?
  A3: No not at the moment, Alpha team is now closed as we have enough people for testing purposes. When the game hits Beta it will be released to the public for testing.
  
  Q4: Will Elite Multiplayer server require a 3d card like the Alpha 2 test?
  A4: I am recoding the entire server side to use its native GUI rather than the 3d system that Alpha 2 used. This mean the answer is no, Elite Multiplayer will require a 3d card for you to play in the game but to host a server you can host it on practically anything.
  
  Q5: Can I help you write Elite Multiplayer?
  A5: At the moment the coding team behind Elite Multiplayer is Satanic Dreams and Timo Suoranta (of GL Elite fame, he helped with the scanner system).
  
  Q6: Will Elite Multiplayer be a Massively Multiplayer Online game?
  A6: I intend to have upto a maximum of 64 players (This will be adjusted depending on how well the system goes), I also intend to have NPC (Non-Player characters) filling the gaps.
  
  Q7: Can I fly all the ships in Elite?
  A7: Most of the ships from PC and Amiga versions of Elite will be in there the only ones you cannot fly will be the Thargoid Mothership, and the Worm landing craft.
  
  Q8: Can I be a Thargoid?
  A8: You most certainly can . The only downside to being a Thargoid is that you cannot trade with anyone you cannot change your ship and the only place to get fuel is at the sun (scooping) also you are a Fugitive and cannot pay off or change your wanted status. Bonuses include Thargon drones, Fuel scoop, ECM and Jump anywhere for 1t of fuel.
  
  Q9: Can I join INRA?
  A9: This has not yet been decided, I have toyed with the idea of allowing players of Elite rating to join INRA, Police or other factions within the Elite universe we will have to wait and see.
  
  Q10: Can I change ship?
  A10: You can change your ship within the game, I was initially making the game with a fixed ship selection you get what you start with but I have since added the selection system so you can purchase a new ship in game. To stop cheating your starting ship is free and costs nothing this also means it has no trade-in value whatsoever. Thargoids CANNOT change their ship at all.
  
  Q11: What happens when I die?
  A11: When you die in Elite Multiplayer you will lose all your cargo (its cast into space) and you are transported back to the station you were last at also your bounty is reset as well. This will also happen to quitters who just try to crash the game and drop out.
  
  Q12: Is there still bounties on peoples heads?
  A12: There is a bounty system that caters for player piracy this simply means if you attack first and kill your quarry your bounty will be increased. This is also worked out against your Elite rating so the higher the rating the more bounty on your head. Thargoids ALWAYS have a 50.0Cr bounty on thier heads this is also adjusted with higher Elite ratings too.
  
  Q13: Can I have a clan?
  A13: Another thing thats undecided, the simple answer to this is its probably going to go in at some time along side the Stance system.
  
  Q14: What is the Stance system?
  A14: The Stance system operates as follows everybody in the game starts Friendly to everyone else, if you decide to change the stance to hostile is upto you but be warned they will be notified of this change. If you are both Hostile then your weapons will affect each other. Dont worry NPC's are not affected by the Stance system and can quite happily blow you away without any questions
  
  Q15: What is Blitz/Blitz+/Blitz Max/PureBasic?
  A15:Blitz is a lightning fast language created by Mark Sibly check out the Blitz website for more information. Purebasic is another lightning fast language that creates smaller executable files and is also cross platform, we are currently getting a 3d engine together to get the whole thing off the ground the networking is together in PureBasic so we can bring you the best experience ever.
  
  Q16: Will the source code be with the next release like in Alpha 2?
  A16:The simple answer to this one is no, there is probably some versions floating around the Internet but it will not be released from here and all versions you find are not supported by Satanic Dreams
  
  Q17: Who holds the copyright for this game?
  A17: The copyright for Elite is still with Frontier Developments Ltd and Ian Bell, the source code for Elite Multiplayer is copyright to Satanic Dreams and Timo Suoranta.
  
  Q18: Do you have permission to make this game?
  A18: I have emailed both parties who created the original Elite and have recieved positive replies from them, as long as I dont make any money from the Elite Multiplayer game they are happy to let it go ahead.
  
  Q19: Is this Elite 4?
  A19: No, Elite 4 is a seperate game by Frontier Developments Ltd
  
  Q20: How much of Elite will be in Elite Multiplayer?
  A20: The first release of Elite Multiplayer (Alpha 2 thats no longer available) had a trading system, ship equipment purchasing system and all the galaxies. I want to add NPC's and a few other bits to this list =)
  
  Q21: What ships will be in Elite Multiplayer?
  A21: There will be all the ships that were in the PC and Amiga version of Elite
  
  Q22: Why are some of the ships on your list different from those in Frontier/Frontier First Encounters?
  A22: The main reason for this is these are the original Elite specs or as best that I could get for them.
  
  Q23: How will ship purchasing work?
  A23: The ships value calculation is ( ( Capacity +Turn Arc ) *50 ) + ( Battery *100 ) + ( Pylons *250 ). So for example a Cobra Mk III which has a capacity of 20t and a turn arc of 8 a battery of 150 and four missile pylons would cost 17400(Cr). Trade ins from the first ship you start with will get you no credits so if you want to change you have to earn the credits for the ship then change, all subsequent ships will have a trade in value.
  
  Q24: Why is there no Frontier/Frontier First Encounters ships or ArcElite etc ships?
  A24: I do not have the models or specifications from ArcElite for those ships and the ships in Frontier/FFE are not Elite ships there are some in Frontier from the ol' Elite days.
  
  Q25: What game modes will there be?
  A25: The server program allows you to be able to turn on and off the following options:
  NPC's - this will turn on/off the NPC's in the game.
  Player Thargoids - with this off the Thargoid invasion ship will not be available on the players ship select menu, also any Thargoid players will not be allowed to join the server.
  No new accounts - this means the server is now a closed server, no new accounts will be permitted by the server program.
  Classic Elite - This is one for the die hard Elite fans, classic Elite mode means there is no ship selection, no ship purchasing screen and each player gets a shiny new Cobra Mk III, three missles, 7.0ly of fuel and 100.0Cr . It makes Elite Multiplayer exactly that original Elite just with other players
  
  Q26: Can I run my own server?
  A26: The Elite Multiplayer system will allow you to have your own server (the server program will be included in the final release), as I do not have the bandwidth or server space to host a constant universe 24/7. The only server requirement will be that you are signed up to the forum, we have this requirement to stop people hosting games and using the connections to that server to try and hack someones computer.
  
  Q27: Are you hoping to beat Elite 4?
  A27: No definately not, I am awaiting Elite 4 like every Elite fan should . Elite Multiplayer is just my take on Elite, ever since the Amiga days (and the speccy days before that) when I first had Elite in colour I always wanted to play it multiplayer with me mates as wingmen etc. Now I have a chance at coding a multiplayer version so me and me mates can play it why not.
  
  Q28: Why is it taking so long?
  A28: Well you cant rush perfection. The Elite Multiplayer timeline goes something like this:
  2001-2003: Prototyping in Blitz3d, this went well and Alpha 2 was released to the masses but didnt support loads of players (networking was a bit squiffy).
  2003-2005: More prototyping testing different nework models to see what would be best for Elite Multiplayer, I went throught LOADS I will tell you. DirectPlay, BlitzPlay and loads of C++ ones.
  2005-2008: Testing BlitzMax to see how well that would do 3d, loads of testing
  2008: Changed to PureBasic but the 3d on that was 'well below' par to be honest.
  2008-2009: Back to BlitzMax with Minib3d, this works quite well and I have been coding ever since.
  NOTE: Also in this period LOADS has been happening on a reallife front too, I got married in 2007. I now have two daughters Clio born in 2005 and Amber in 2008, Jacob was born in 2006 but sadly is no longer with us. I have also moved to Surrey from Brighton ~40 miles.
  
  Q29: Why Satanic Dreams and not EdzUp?
  A29: The reason I joined Satanic Dreams is some projects it is much better to be part of a group and not a lone coder, I have been part of Satanic Dreams for ages but I had a seperate website. After a while the website moved to be hosted by Satanic Dreams then finally it seemed logical to me and Lucifer[SD] to merge the two groups. EdzUp will still be my alias and I will still release the odd thing now and again from EdzUp but all of the big games will be released from Satanic Dreams, and no Satanic Dreams is not some sort of cult
  
  Q30: Why is the alpha team now closed?
  A30: Well the short answer to this is that we signed up loads of people to the alpha team and got nothing back from them so now the alpha team is internal to Satanic Dreams and its only a small bunch of us once the game hits Beta we will be releasing it to the masses to test and report errors etc.
  
  Q31: What networking system did you use?
  A31: I have coded my own networking system for the entire game, it has been asked if I use a prebuilt one like BlitzPlay, ENet, GNet or some such thing. This isnt the case I have coded one of my own systems to handle all the backend networking, we also have SDNet for all networking lobby requirements.
  
  Q32: What are you doing with PureBasic?
  A32: Well PureBasic is a very powerful language and like BlitzMax has good and bad points, I am looking to see how good the 3d engine is compared to what we are doing now. Unlike Max however Fred is always open to suggestions and if they are good they will be implemented. What I want to see if we can do anything with the Max engine we have (which is very complete) or move to PureBasic with its OGRE engine.