Forums!

After a bit of a delay, we now have forums open for players!

http://www.thefarreachesofspace.com/forums/

No need to register, just sign in! your user name and password is the same as your user name and password for the game login.

So post away. questions.. ideas. .models and graphics..

and just like anything else, you have any I ideas, then post away!

Udate 1.0.22.. Stations

Stations are in!

Stations are capable of repair of any ship, of a lower technology level AND if they fit in their bay..

A station will repair a ship items in order:
1)hull
2) engines
3) shields
4) scanners
5)weapons
6) misc items.

how fast they repair a ship is dependent upon their technology level. there's currently two in the data base, with more to follow soon!

this update also adresses the command of multiple selected ships. .when they can dock, visit planets, and they can now even claim derelict ships..

More to follow shortly!

Enter Triarii Guard.

One of the challenges in developing a free form game like this is creating a challenge for all level of players. The Noobs need somewhere they can learn.. The more advanced players need somewhere they can shoot it out.. Conquer and rule.

We always knew how we would do it, but didn’t know when
In our first pass at noob protection, we made law abiding planets aggressive. .that is now removed, and replaced with the Triarian Guard..

Basically, in the starting, center sector, if you try shooting someone else, the guard won’t like you.. tell you so, and give you a warning.. If you decide (foolishly) to proceed with your attack.. the Guard will do a number on your ship. Not pod you, but cripple it, and render it harmless..

Of course, there’s plenty of space where the guard don’t show up.. to see where the guard are known to operate, open options, show space controlled by Governments.. anywhere in green, is a no shooting zone!

And who are the guard?
One of the last Functioning remnants of the great empire, the Triarian Vexil was the preferred ship of the Triarian Guard. These ships keep the peace and protect the space that was once known as empire. Not a ship worth crossing
The Vexil is pictured here

New Features, and New Menus

On Friday we snuck in an update that addresses a few issues that have been bugging the development team..

The right click menu was becoming messy, and did not cleanly address many of the new features.. So, we reworked it! Give it a try, and let us know what you think.

As part of the changes.. Towing, was removed as a menu item.. Now you can tow any ship, by simply docking with it.

NOW FOR THE REAL FUN: Names are now shown on the map

F2 Shows ship names, their owners, and other details
F3 Shows Sun Names
F4 Planet Names
Enjoy and please keep the comments coming

Your DirectX is current, but what about Direct Sound?

Your DirectX is current, but what about Direct Sound?
We’ve heard from a few users having issues installing the last build or two, and a re-occuring theme comes up.. their directX is current, but, after some investigation we figured out their Direct Sound drivers were out of date..
Update them by clicking here

Far Reaches Updates! (1.0.3.10)

First the News..

Yes. you can get the news.. who bought what. .who collected a bounty.. Who had there ship smoked or even ended up in a pod!

go to the news tab and see what happened in the last 24 hours.
or you can go here...

http://www.thefarreachesofspace.com/smreg/newspage.aspx

Don't mind Nothus smoking his own ships.. he was helping with the big update!


YOU CAN NOW CONTROL MULTIPLE SHIPS SIMULTANEOUSLY!

All you have to do is highlight them.. how?
left mouse button click, hold it down, and drag across screen.. let the mouse up, and all ships circled (that you own) are now selected..

the selected ships will appear on screen on the left. the total count selected, their names, and their registry numbers.. Green Means the hull is at 100%, yellow, some damge. Red. means the hull is almost ready to fall apart.

Most Right Click Mouse Commands are now wired to effect all ships.. To test, Nothus zoomed all the way out, grabbed 22 ships, and told them all to head to the same planet.. and they did.
with a single command, they all targeted the same abandoned frigate.


Instruction window is also Connected to selected ships. if you have multiple ships selected, open the instructions dialog. .it will tell you at the top if you are instructing one ship, or a bunch.. Ok, or apply effects all selected ships.


to unselect ships.. just left click once anywhere on the screen.

To get your update. .Close Down Far Reaches if open, and then Restart the game.. you will be automatically be connected to the update.

or you can always go to the site.

http://www.thefarreachesofspace.com/index.htm

Last, and not least. Weve improved some icon images.. if you would like to make sure you have the latest, be sure to click the "replace graphics" checkbox on the login.

Pictured Above is the Polarian 500 Freigher

Version 1.0.3 is connected to the new server!

Starting last Sunday, we've been transitioning the game servers to a larger, more robust server.

and. .the new (delayed!) domain http://www.thefarreachesofspace.com/

During the transition, we may have had lost a player or two.. registered on one server, and then tried playing on the other. .if. you Ended up in an escape pod unexpectedly. OR could not log in in the last couple of days.. please try again, and report any problems back to me..

you can obtain the latest install here http://www.thefarreachesofspace.com/pub/FarReachesSetup.msi

or, you can fire up what you have, wait until it tells you there is an update. and follow the steps.

So, Whats Changed?

AI improvements!
The occasional Rogue Ship Bug has been fixed. If your Stance is set to aggressive, tha'ts not a bug, it's a feature. yes your ship will go on the offensive.. and attack per your settings!

also, some other AI improvements are currently in, mostly tweaks, and ships stuck in "override"..

Undock, is now available on the status menu.. Expect to see the menus cleaned up and redone, based upon YOUR Feedback.. .

Speaking of feedback.. KEEP IT COMING!

It's only with your help, with bug reports ,and feature requests that we'll get this game to it's potential.

thanks.. and enjoy..


Dan S
aka Sideovs

Recovering the Satellites!

New build of the game.. and the server is going to go down (briefly!) around 6pm EST (-5GMT) This will be version 1.0.2.72

what's in this update? A few fixes related to Missles, and the AI, and.. a new Class of Ships.

Satellites
What are those? well think of them as a ship, without an engine, or an extra cheap and small ship. Like ships, they have similar characteristics, but are often tasked for a specific purpose. The current crop in Data are nothing more then scanners in a thin shell. So. .want to spy on someone but not dedicate a whole ship? buy a satellite, and drop it off on the edge of their space. .

Yes, you can drop them off. as in you can load them in your cargo hold!
After you buy a satellite, right click on it, and dock. (on the more info button) after docking, right click again/and hit more.. your have the option of loading it in your cargo bay.

The Satellite will then appear in the status window, under other ship items.. want to release into space? highlight the item in the status window, and you'll have a launch button. .hit it, and you'll drop it off.

this of course opens the door to many possibilities in design.. Mines, armed defensive units, and the ability to launch smaller ships from cargo/storage..

The framework in place also allows for other non-ejectable ship items. including: repair modules, cloaking devices, and self destruct modules!

Any other ideas.. please.. pass them along.

Also, some of the ship models have been updated.. If you care to contribute, and are experienced at 3D meshes, please, give me a shout.

Well, off for a bit, but I'll be back later tonight. .and probably playing..

until then.. enjoy..

aka Sideovs

Let There Be Light!

Now for today's big improvments.. light, and shadows. The lighting routine had some issues on some machines, and really slowed down the Frames per second. .this has been correct, and now runs 95% as fast as flat lighting. For those of you not in the know.. when working in a graphics/directx type format, you can specify how things are lit. Ambient, basically means everything has an even glow. you can also specify light locations (like a sun). When you do, everything not in the direct path of the sun (like the dark side of a planet) is shaded accordingly.

you will of course have to obtain the latest copy (build 1.0.2.70) and be sure to check on download all graphics. some older meshes and models have models that will not reflect light properly.

The best way to obtain the latest is thru the home page.. http://specwareinc.amplex.net/sm/

if you have any of the old one click installs (from the site http://76.12.51.171/sm/publish.htm) UNINSTALL THEM! they are missing many features, and we've discontinued using this install utility.. Too many issues with different flavors of Windows, and browsers..

In other news, Missles had a little hiccup in them that limited their effectiveness when used against an AI or a ship who's player is offline. .that's been corrected. Thanks Squeak.. for putting your ships on auto attack.. it gave me an opportunity to "defend" my self.. and test out the code!

Pictured here.. is the a Gret-Tek Freighter, picking up a load of cargo

And here we go

It's published, and set to go. The Beta has gone live, and we're ready to add more players.

Intersted in giving it a shot? Follow the link to the right for all the info on registering, downloading and playing.

We have a couple of new exciting feautures planned: ship types, ship components, and more details for the planets.. until then, I'd Like to leave you with a screen shot of my current favorite ship, the Brechtol Destroyer: