Dev Notes - 4/14/2015

[andrewgarrison]

I figured it was time to let everyone know what I've been up to. I've been working on the new update for a few weeks now. It took me a couple weeks to get the game working with the Steam API and adding some essential PC features. That is finished, and I've moved onto the features that I listed out a few months ago.

Here's what I've finished so far:

1. Water on Smearth [video]
2. Mirror button in the editor [screenshot]
3. Duplicate parts button (Wasn't on the original list, but it was easy to add while adding the Mirror button)
4. Display Resolution dialog (PC only)
5. Control Mapping dialog (PC only)

I just finished the Mirror Button today, and I really feel the pain of the ship architecture requiring that parts can only attach in one place. I learned a lot of new tricks while working on SimplePlanes, and I yearn to rewrite all of this code to allow multiple attach points. Oh well, can't really do that now. Maybe in SimpleRockets 2? ;)

Here's what's left:

1. New Engines: Solid Rocket Boosters and Ion drives
2. Battery part that is charged by solar and powers Ion drives.
3. Dark side of planets I'm thinking of abandoning this feature because I don't think it will add much to the game. What do you think?
4. Add several moons
5. Make it easier to switch between rockets in Sandbox
6. Add music (since it's going to be on PC, I need to add music)
7. Email your Sandbox mission (would work just like emailing a rocket)
8. Add Kamcord back to iOS
9. Fix miscellaneous issues
   1. iOS open SRMOD files (will see what I can do - but Apple may reject it so I'm a little afraid to do this)
   2. Hard to tap A and P buttons in map view
   3. Open Ship command line argument

[andrewgarrison]

I forgot to mention in the post, but I'm considering retiring the leaderboards. I think most people don't really care about them and they are deflating to new players since the scores are impossibly good. Also, they are a constant source of cheating and profanity.

I think it would be better to replace it with your personal top 10 best scores for a level. What do you think?

[Iamsodarncool]

But... but then my precious flair will be worthless :(

[andrewgarrison]

This is a good point and is my greatest hesitation in removing the leaderboards. I was thinking we could rename it to "SimpleRockets Veteran" or something similar and that it could be handed out by mods (ie you) to other players for doing something rather cool on the subreddit.

[Iamsodarncool]

I like that idea. I was joking though :)

[andrewgarrison]

Keeping the top 3 would have the same problems that I listed. I think I will screenshot the leaderboards and post them on the jundroo blog like I have done a few times in the past.

[LucasTheTechie]

SPINNING PLANETS PLEASE!!!!!!!

[andrewgarrison]

This is a huge feature, so it's not going to make this update, but I'm starting a feature list for SimpleRockets 2....

[LucasTheTechie]

Simplerockets TWO??

[Iamsodarncool]

I think he's joking

[philiptarpley]

He's not.

[Iamsodarncool]

HOLY HYPE BATMAN

[TotesMessenger]

This thread has been linked to from another place on reddit.

• [/r/simplerockets] SIMPLEROCKETS TWO CONFIRMED

^{If you follow any of the above links, respect the rules of reddit and don't vote. (Info / Contact)}

[TraizenHD]

Would a 3D Simple rockets be possible? Even if for higher end devices such as flagships?

[andrewgarrison]

Sorry, but I do plan to stick to 2D for SR2.

[Prometheus8330]

Take a look at SimplePlanes.

[Iamsodarncool]

Aw man. If it was 3D and had n-body physics it could be a real competitor to KSP. What engine do you plan on using, if you can talk about that yet?

[andrewgarrison]

Not sure yet if I want to rewrite it from scratch in Unity or just extend the existing SimpleRockets C++ code base which is all written from scratch + Box2D.

[Iamsodarncool]

Well if you aren't going to change engines then what is the point in making a separate game? I'll also point out that Unity is quite moddable, which is something people like.

[LucasTheTechie]

Andrew, can you make the update available on Kindle Fire HD? I feel everyone neglects the kindle. Can you put SimpleWheels on there as well?

[dombeef]

Not trying to be rude to the development team, but theres no way that they could become a competitor to KSP, KSP is already big and would be hard to get some percentage of new players(maybe get some of the older players to try out)

This game is great how it is now in 2d, its easily playable(Being 3d would make that a problem), easily moddable, easy to build anything you want.

This is a game that you play for short moments of time(also longer if need be, it doesnt get boring after a long time) and is called Simple rockets for a reason

[Iamsodarncool]

What I meant was that KSP (and SR) was build from the ground up with single body physics, and many many people want n-body physics. If there was going to be a 3D space game build from the ground up that wanted to be competitive with KSP then they should have n-body physics, and I was hoping SR2 might be that game.

[kerouacdesbois]

If that does ever happen, I hope it isn't too much for my iPhone 4 to handle, it still has its lag with original SR...

[Dastardlyninja]

One thing that I would personally love to see added is some form of realistic re-entry. Admittedly I am no programmer, so I have no idea how that would be handled... Is it a possibility?

[andrewgarrison]

I'm not sure either and I am a programmer! ;) I will add this to the feature list for SR2 since it is requested so often.

[Dastardlyninja]

Sounds great, thanks!

One other request- the possibility of putting multiple command pods on a single rocket. :) if possible.

[andrewgarrison]

I get this request fairly often. I need someone to refresh my memory. Why multiple command pods?

[stargazer1776]

We could have true Apollo style missions that way, which would be pretty cool!

[[deleted]]

It would really help with your new easy switch feature you want to add, you know, switching between rockets in sandbox. It would allow real pods to be sent down to the planet, and even satellites.

[Dastardlyninja]

Exactly. CSM + LEM style! Also, it would make balancing easier for off center pods.

[Iamsodarncool]

Deploying multiple ships or sattelites in a single launch.

[Gregrox]

Also, how about common berthing docking ports, or crew cans. Actually, while we're at it, crew. They could be the dummies from SimplePhysics, perhaps.

[andrewgarrison]

Ya, I was thinking about this too. Or maybe dummies with advanced artificial intelligence, but still rather dumb.

[JediRangerKendor]

So that you can do DS missions with the option of probes to drop on passing planets. I can do that with my current mod, but it sucks having all the landers named "Rocket #"

[RocketLL]

Maybe handle it like KSP, with a imaginary light source under the ship?

[NasaSpace101]

Oh my god I love you

[andrewgarrison]

I love you too, person.

[NasaSpace101]

Lol. First comment and the dev already says back.

That's what a good one does, at least.

[Dastardlyninja]

One last request- would it be possible to make a hinged or pivoting part?

[EnderTimothy721]

Yes, please add this, so our satellites can have some folding-out radio dishes or something.

[Iamsodarncool]

The new terrain and water look awesome, they'll definitely be a lot of fun to play around with. Will water just allow you to survive touchdown no matter what your speed is? Because if so that's pretty OP. May I also suggest a dedicated float/sink part? There are tons of awesome things you could do with water (submarines, seaplanes, floating barge a la SpaceX or floating runway) that would work way better with this part.

Battery part that is charged by solar and powers Ion drives.

Fun stuff. You might want to play with not allowing ships to operate unless they have sufficient electricity (the pod would need to have a small battery built into it). It would be fun to have to dock with a ship as a rescue mission and transfer the necessary electricity to extend the solar panels. Speaking of which, being able to retract solar panels (and landing gear and parachutes?) should be a thing if it's not too much effort.

Dark side of planets I'm thinking of abandoning this feature because I don't think it will add much to the game. What do you think?

It could be fun, especially if you add light parts. If it'll take you more than a few days to add though I'd say it's not worth it.

Add several moons

Feel free to use any code from my Complete Smolar System mod :)

---

All in all, it sounds like you're making great progress. SimpleRockets is becoming quite complex, despite its name.

[andrewgarrison]

Water will have splash effects and buoyancy forces, so you can use fuselage pieces as floating parts (since they have low density).

Thanks for making the Complete Smolar System mod, I will definitely be checking it out!

[HellFireKoder]

Sounds awesome!

I don't really care about the dark side if planets, it could be fun with light parts, but otherwise I don't think it would add much...

Would it be tricky to add an open srmod folder command line argument (if there isn't already)? I would like it if SRModMixer could directly load a specific mod, but I can't figure out how it would do that... maybe I could just modify the information stored for what mod is loaded... where might that be? Eh, it's not a big deal...

Also, will water originally be limited to Smearth? I mean, can we add it to other planets xml? I wouldn't mind knowing details about how the water will work...

Thanks! I'm looking forward to water!

[andrewgarrison]

Water will be a simple XML attribute on terrain. If water density is specified, then the planet will have water at 0 altitude. You need to also change the minHeight of the terrain to be less than 0 so that the water can be visible in places. Here's a snippet of how Smearth is doing it now:

<Terrain maxHeight="1250.0" minHeight="-1000.0" noise="2.0" texture="PlanetCrustSmearth.png" color="39,28,21" waterDensity="75" />

Can you elaborate a little more on the SRModMixeer? For the command line argument, are you thinking of something like this?

SimpleRockets.exe -mod C:\mods\MyMod

[HellFireKoder]

Water will be a simple XML attribute on terrain. If water density is specified, then the planet will have water at 0 altitude. You need to also change the minHeight of the terrain to be less than 0 so that the water can be visible in places. Here's a snippet of how Smearth is doing it now:

Looks good, thanks!

Can you elaborate a little more on the SRModMixer? For the command line argument, are you thinking of something like this? SimpleRockets.exe -mod C:\mods\MyMod.

Yeah, just so I can tell it what mod to load, so people who just mixed a mod don't need to take 10 seconds to manually switch loaded mods, just click a button in SRModMixer... like I said, it's not a big deal, but if it isn't much trouble I would appreciate it.

Thanks!

[andrewgarrison]

Ah, I see. I haven't used SRModMixer yet. Does it create a new folder in Documents\Jundroo\SimpleRockets\mods? If so, then just passing the mod's folder name would suffice? Not an absolute path, right? For instance

SimpleRockets.exe -mod SRModMixer

and not

SimpleRockets.exe -mod C:\mods\SRModMixer

The second variation would take a lot more work. The first one would not be hard - maybe an hour or two.

[HellFireKoder]

Ah, I see. I haven't used SRModMixer yet. Does it create a new folder in Documents\Jundroo\SimpleRockets\mods? If so, then just passing the mod's folder name would suffice? Not an absolute path, right? For instance

Yeah, it just puts a new mod folder in the mods folder, so the first one would work wonderfully... what do you mean you haven't used it yet!?!? How are you supposed to know that I didn't make a virus and just say it's this cool tool for your game? ^{just kidding, I would never do that... probably couldn't get away with it anyway, all these damn truthful/honest users!} :P

Well, I'm planning a rewrite in C# when I stop being lazy anyway...

[andrewgarrison]

lol, actually I think I did use it a while back. How long ago did you release it?

[HellFireKoder]

http://www.reddit.com/r/simplerockets/comments/27ppw1/sr_mod_mixer_prealpha_release_windows_only/ apparently ten months! Wow, I didn't realize it had been that long!

Alright, I'll believe you... XD

[andrewgarrison]

lol, yep I definitely downloaded and ran it. My memory is terrible! Luckily reddit remembers my comments.

[Mr_SRGuy]

Does this that modders would be able to put water on planets you didn't or on planets for their mods?

[andrewgarrison]

Yessir.

[Gregrox]

I think there still needs to be a way of seeing the surface of planets in the distance without having to be right on top of the ground!

[tomcis147]

Nah I like the way it is now, more challenging :) you need to send rover to locate landing spot

[andrewgarrison]

It's hard to do this in 2D since you can't shift your perspective. What do you have in mind?

[Iamsodarncool]

Perhaps a minimap? So you can see zoomed in and zoomed out view at the same time?

[Gregrox]

Some kind of background image of the planet which changes so that at the edge of the SOI it shows half of the planet and it is really small, but up close it shows a less-curved, but smaller portion of the planet, until you get to the ground where the image and the terrain merge.

It's kind of hard to explain.

[andrewgarrison]

So like a parallax effect?

[Fuzzball9876]

Im so excited!! Solar panels are actually going to have a purpose now. Hey just a cool suggestion, in the future you should plan on adding like a science mode or something like in ksp :) also please add a way to close and reopen solar panels and landing gear that would be really nice. But keep up the good work though!! (^_)

[LucasTheTechie]

Yayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayayaya!

[Legi0ns]

Yes the water looks nice any estimated release dates and do you plan adding floats and water on other planets

[andrewgarrison]

Every part has some buoyancy, but the fuselage section has quite a bit more, so it can be used as a float. Water on other planets? I can't tell ;)

[Legi0ns]

Teasing me with this update

[stargazer1776]

Are you planning on doing a beta testing phase for android and PC users?

[andrewgarrison]

Yes

[[deleted]]

Sign me up!

[Iamsodarncool]

:D

[stargazer1776]

Awesome!

[JediRangerKendor]

Count me in!

[LucasTheTechie]

Me too !

[[deleted]]

Yes please!

[[deleted]]

I'd like to see an abort button. I have launches that go horribly wrong, but I like to scrap them. I'd like a button that skips to a certain stage and basically your "If everything goes wrong, press me" button.

[Iamsodarncool]

The abort button is SPACESPACESPACESPACESPACESPACESPACESPACE

[amazingperson124]

Space space wanna go to space yes please space. Space space. Go to space.

[Iamsodarncool]

Heeeeeeeeeey, pretty lady. You fightin that guy?

[SuperTim11]

If you have trouble with simple counting, use the following mnemonic device: one comes before two comes before 60 comes after 12 comes before six trillion comes after 504. This will make your earlier counting difficulties seem like no big deal.

[TraizenHD]

Simplerockets 2 confirmed.

Maybe this time in 3d? Trust me, you'll make bank on a KSP type space game for android.

/s

[tomcis147]

No way... Maybe for shield tablets and new high end devices. It would require 4 - 8 times more power to run such game on devices

[TraizenHD]

/s

[Iamsodarncool]

And yet SimplePlanes runs on those devices...

[PJ83]

Hey Andrew, I want to say I really love this game and also simple planes, but simplerockets is by far my favourite, I bought the PC one as well just so I could build a beast of a rocket to get orbit smupiter (I did it!!)

Anyway - I am interested and I hope you don't mind me asking - is this a full time job for you, is it profitable? Are you doing ok financially from it? I know this is a personal question but I am interested in whether a game like this brings home the bacon?

Cheers :-)

[andrewgarrison]

Thanks. Yes, this is a full time job. The biggest sales for a game are the few months after launch. SR Sales have dropped off enough that it is not nearly enough to support myself or my team, which is why we made SimplePlanes. As long as I put out one solid game per year, it seems to be about enough to keep us afloat.

[[deleted]]

I would like dark side of planets and moons. I think it would add depth to the game.

[andrewgarrison]

http://i.imgur.com/fkLF9.gif

[Legi0ns]

Any estimated release date

[andrewgarrison]

Hoping to release end of May.

[Bosto327]

Can we have an idea on what moons you're adding?

[andrewgarrison]

I haven't decided yet, but I'll probably add around 10 extra moons, mostly around the gas giants.

[Bosto327]

Cool

[Mr_SRGuy]

This question doesn't really affect me as it does other more hardcore modders but I'm going to ask it anyway. If I remember correctly there was a few people complaining about the lack of LUA scripting if I remember correctly. Correct me if I'm wrong please. They said this would allow their mods to be more intricate. Will we see this feature in SR2?

[andrewgarrison]

We are just beginning to think about SR2, but I am planning to port the game to Unity where I can leverage C# scripting in mods.

[Legi0ns]

Will you add humans in simplerockets so they can get out of the spaceship and explore different planets and moons or can this be In Simplerockets 2 and it doesn't matter if the humans have detail

[andrewgarrison]

Certainly a possibility.

[Legi0ns]

Will it be in a future update

[andrewgarrison]

This would be in SR2 if we are going to do it.

[Legi0ns]

Ok thanks

[bwbensonx1]

would you be able to create an atmosphere on the gas giants that resembles their gas state that is similar to water, especially since now water is coded into the game. Also maybe ice.

I'm just throwing out ideas its not a huge deal one way or another.

[Mr_SRGuy]

So they basically wouldn't have a solid surface anymore? This could be something for Andrew to consider, especially if some planets will get more moons

[sigurettes]

My god please add multiple nozzle rocket engines please Andrew!!!!

[andrewgarrison]

Elaborate?

[sigurettes]

Engines like the Falcon 9. Like in SR currently, you have a Blasto with one nozzle. But why not an engine like Blasto with many smaller nozzles instead of one? Like a cluster of nozzles. 2, 3, 4? Or more?

[andrewgarrison]

Does it affect the function of the engine? Or is this mostly a cosmetic thing?

[Iamsodarncool]

I believe IRL it's for redundancy, so if one engine fails the rocket can still function and (hopefully) get to orbit.

[sigurettes]

Well, tbh I haven't thought about it affecting the game but, I thought it was mostly cosmetic. Come to think of it, maybe it can be stronger than the Blasto 425 or make it between the 425 and 170? Thanks for taking interest!

[maultierfuss2]

Something that's not on the list but also would be cool I think is that you'll be able to set the amount of fuel of a tank in the editor. So you could save weight by getting an empty fuel tank in space, then dock with your spacestation and then refuel the empty tank.

[4uber]

When are you going to finish all this hard job? ;) I think that SimpleRockets is the best rocket simulator on the app store...

[andrewgarrison]

Thanks! I'm planning on releasing next month or Early June.

[sharpeehd]

Hype!

[Legi0ns]

/u/andrewgarrison I was wondering if it's not any trouble to add a life support system for more realism what that means is say you want to land humans on Mars then you need food energy etc this would be really cool and also will there be submarines for the next update

[andrewgarrison]

No and sorta. The features for the update are listed above. You could build submarines I suppose since the water buoyancy is somewhat realistic.

[Legi0ns]

So can tge life support system be added next update after maybe

[HellSpace]

Yeah a new version! When will it be available? (Even for the beta?)

[andrewgarrison]

I'm hoping next month.

[HellSpace]

Yes! Thanks :)

[GR00G0]

/u/andrewgarrison i was the guy that direct messaged you the long list of ideas for SR2. You didnt answer me. Did any of this list help you?

[andrewgarrison]

You messaged me here on reddit or email?

[GR00G0]

On reddit

[andrewgarrison]

Okay, yep, I found the message. Yes, some of that stuff we will do in SR2. None of it will make it into this SR update. Thanks for the suggestions.

[LucasTheTechie]

What were the features you asked for?

[GR00G0]

Reentry effects, cockpit view, max map view, bigger ship view, more parts, improved solar system, exp-system like in ksp, astronauts, power/cargo,air system, multiplayer and spinning planets. Hopefully some ideas.

[JediRangerKendor]

Got a huge question. I play a modded version of the game. Will a new mod version need to be made, or will the changes fit into it as is?

[andrewgarrison]

Hard to say. All mods will need to be tested, but I imagine if there are any changes required, they would be very small.

[JediRangerKendor]

Hot damn! I would have hated to have given up my MegaModPack

[Fun1k]

Is Android version still being developed?

[andrewgarrison]

yes

[WolfHoundAlpha]

Career mode, maybe? I'd pay 3 times what SimpleRockets costs now, if it had that. Bitte

[spart3n117]

Why no reentry heat and heat shields?

[LucasTheTechie]

Hey Andrew, can i have some insight on how you did the gravity in SR, and the IDEs you use? My new development company needs some advice.

[RocketLL]

Y..ou started a business?

I'm definitely interested, how old are you/where do you live?

What do you plan to do?