GasBandit
Staff member
Here's an invite URL to the Renntech discord server that should be good for 24 hours.
https://discord.gg/qREyAC
https://discord.gg/qREyAC
General Empyrion Thread
- Thread starter GasBandit
- Start date
Thanks. We may be in violation of rule 23 on Genesis, but I've been specifically building away from the green wall instead of toward it, so hopefully we're still 400m from it. It does say specifically not to embargo planets, so for now, until and unless Iceman updates the rules for 8.0, I'm going to stick to using these as base defense mines, not go mining someone else' system. Not even Eva's.
GasBandit
Staff member
So, in that discord, somebody had a good tip - subscribe to a blueprint like this -
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=843905921&searchtext=concrete
Then just use concrete blocks to fill it up, then switch to whatever you really wanna build and insert ingots. Save ya a lot of time on blueprints. And if your factory ever gets too full of concrete... just spawn it and start over
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=843905921&searchtext=concrete
Then just use concrete blocks to fill it up, then switch to whatever you really wanna build and insert ingots. Save ya a lot of time on blueprints. And if your factory ever gets too full of concrete... just spawn it and start over
GasBandit
Staff member
We're not alone on Mars. Soon after Gared logged off for the night, I found another player base, with active offline defense shields. I managed to sneak up close and see it is owned by LWS, the Lone wolves, a 2 player faction we are not allied with. So.. we might have to do something about that.
It works decently, but you have to have either a whole LOT of concrete blocks available and no stone dust in your factory if you want to speed up a long build, or you can use it to speed up one or two hour constructions with four or five stacks of concrete blocks.So, in that discord, somebody had a good tip - subscribe to a blueprint like this -
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=843905921&searchtext=concrete
Then just use concrete blocks to fill it up, then switch to whatever you really wanna build and insert ingots. Save ya a lot of time on blueprints. And if your factory ever gets too full of concrete... just spawn it and start over
GasBandit
Staff member
Hrm, the way he described it, a stack of concrete blocks should shave off 72 minutes from a build.
GasBandit
Staff member
Hrm. It's worth exploring.
In other news, it sounds like Iceman has started working on a new map layout for 8.0, and here's the loose mockup
Instead of Yaral-type planets, the endless resources will be in the asteroid zones (which will also be PvP) and will wipe twice daily (so that the morning crew doesn't bogart everything).
Here's hoping 8.0 improves asteroid mining a bit because it kinda sucks right now, but the good news is that means that CV mining turrets might be more useful. The rewards aren't as lucrative as an HV on Yaral but you can't fall in a hole and lose track of which way is up and never get out again...
When I've gotten my HV lost in a hole, I just dig, see which way the rocks fall, and point the opposite direction
GasBandit
Staff member
Aislynn managed to get herself in a real pickle last night. She started digging at about a 30 degree angle, to get at a promethium deposit, but as she got closer she angled down more and more, then lost track of which way was up, and then started digging back the other way, resulting in a large vertical "C" shaped cavern. It was kinda tricky even for me to get the thing out of, and I consider myself a bit of an HV piloting pro
GasBandit
Staff member
A conversation with Noodle2k1:
And here I thought Noodle might have actually been trying to do a compromise that made everyone happy... but no, it was just another scheme to let Noodle punish PvE players for playing the game the way they wanted to, and not the way Noodle wanted to.
The only thing that actually stopped it was it turns out that player-controlled alien core ship turrets still won't attack players in PvE zones unless manually controlled to do so. When Noodle discovered that, all interest in the alien faction was lost, and it was called off.
I've also noticed that all of Noodle's ideas basically are basically the desperate flailings of someone bored to death with the game trying everything they can think of to "spice it up" for themselves, the experience of the other players be damned.
And here I thought Noodle might have actually been trying to do a compromise that made everyone happy... but no, it was just another scheme to let Noodle punish PvE players for playing the game the way they wanted to, and not the way Noodle wanted to.
The only thing that actually stopped it was it turns out that player-controlled alien core ship turrets still won't attack players in PvE zones unless manually controlled to do so. When Noodle discovered that, all interest in the alien faction was lost, and it was called off.
I've also noticed that all of Noodle's ideas basically are basically the desperate flailings of someone bored to death with the game trying everything they can think of to "spice it up" for themselves, the experience of the other players be damned.
So, pretty much exactly what I figured from my first exposure to the admins on that server.
I'm done with Renntech. Come to Skillon and take whatever you want from it. Everything I've seen says "You live here at the admin's whim, and whenever they decide to fuck you, well, tough titty." And, hey, it's their world. They can do what they want. But I don't gotta play in it.
I'm done with Renntech. Come to Skillon and take whatever you want from it. Everything I've seen says "You live here at the admin's whim, and whenever they decide to fuck you, well, tough titty." And, hey, it's their world. They can do what they want. But I don't gotta play in it.
GasBandit
Staff member
Think you could check out the other two servers I listed, and see if they're any better? I'm seeing some things going on behind the scenes of Renntech that are making me think the launch of 8.0 might be a good time for GBI to make a clean break and start over on a new server, since we're going to have to start over anyway no matter what.
If you're really that fed up with PvE players, don't allow PvE on your server. But don't allow PvE, try to draw in players by posting on the official server description that there's no PvP Admins, and then set everything up to screw over PvE players because you're bored and/or want their resources. Besides, how many pristine PvP planets have we come across, so far? Surely Noodle can't have run out of all of the resources she needs to build whatever she wants, since Kiki is almost never touched, Mars was only looted by one other faction for its Pentaxid deposits (Pentaxid!), and Genesis was just ours. Dave hasn't found anyone else on Unsullied except for AI aliens, and I haven't even seen another faction aside from the base on Mars. It does sound like someone who's just bored and looking for a fight to relieve the boredom. If she wanted to do that as a server wipe event, that would be one thing. To want to do it a month out, and then be pushing hard for the most important resources for mid- to late-game play available in PvP only areas is a really shitty attitude, and I like PvP.
That being said, I'm still having fun, so unless Gas leaves Renntech before the wipe, I'm fine to stick around as well.
That being said, I'm still having fun, so unless Gas leaves Renntech before the wipe, I'm fine to stick around as well.
GasBandit
Staff member
You're exactly right, it has nothing to do with resources. It's about Noodle wanting to attack PvE players, because stomping kittens is what noodle loves, and noodle is insanely bored.
Remember this lovely bit of candid commentary that we lost in the wipe?
This second part is noodles alluding to the incident in which enough zirax NPCs and drones were spawned on one of Shadows' bases as to actually wreck it. But he's a sap. It DID nearly get Iceman to rescind Noodle's admin status, however.
But I think if Noodle2k1 was going to get booted out of the admin team, it would have happened years ago. Note that this is an old entry for Renntech in the Empyrion Servers website database that got deleted, and then a new entry was made for Renntech a few months ago, with comments disabled.
I don't know if I plan to jump ship before Alpha 8 though, that would just mean having to start over twice, once now, once when alpha 8 hits stable branch.
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Dave
Staff member
GasBandit
Staff member
That's where I got the data for the other two servers I posted as possible alternatives.
GasBandit
Staff member
The going rate on server rentals seems to be $1-$2 per user slot per month. That's typical of most game servers, I suppose, but it's one thing for a 6-player Killing Floor 2 server to run 8 to 10 bucks a month, and another entirely if you want a 40 player empyrion server that'll hit you up for $50-70/month.
It's almost tempting to build my own server at that point and run it out of my house. But even more than the cost, the hassle of setup and maintenance is giving me pause about that idea. This isn't the kind of game I can just order an $800 poweredge and call it done... it needs a beefy CPU, and a shit-ton of ram wouldn't hurt.
It's almost tempting to build my own server at that point and run it out of my house. But even more than the cost, the hassle of setup and maintenance is giving me pause about that idea. This isn't the kind of game I can just order an $800 poweredge and call it done... it needs a beefy CPU, and a shit-ton of ram wouldn't hurt.
The only thing that has kept me from setting up a server on my end is that I know I don’t have the time to devote to learning how to properly admin it right now.
...of course, I could still set it up and then let someone else admin it, I guess. Then the only limiting factor would be my 5.6Mbps upstream.
—Patrick
...of course, I could still set it up and then let someone else admin it, I guess. Then the only limiting factor would be my 5.6Mbps upstream.
—Patrick
I looked at AWS, but it'd cost more than renting server space from a company dedicated to doing it.
If no one sets one up themselves, here are some prices I was able to find under $50/month for 40 or more slots:
https://server.nitrado.net/usa/order-gameserver would be $42.25/month for 42 slots
https://www.gtxgaming.co.uk $38.81 for 40 slots
http://www.foxgamingservers.com/?page_id=2435 $25 for 50 slots (wow)
https://citadelservers.com $34.80 for 40 slots
https://hosthavoc.com $32.00 for 40 slots
Of course, we might could get away with 20 slots, which would be much cheaper. Even on Renntech, I usually don't see more than 20 users on at a time. All that would be moot if someone set a server up themselves.
If no one sets one up themselves, here are some prices I was able to find under $50/month for 40 or more slots:
https://server.nitrado.net/usa/order-gameserver would be $42.25/month for 42 slots
https://www.gtxgaming.co.uk $38.81 for 40 slots
http://www.foxgamingservers.com/?page_id=2435 $25 for 50 slots (wow)
https://citadelservers.com $34.80 for 40 slots
https://hosthavoc.com $32.00 for 40 slots
Of course, we might could get away with 20 slots, which would be much cheaper. Even on Renntech, I usually don't see more than 20 users on at a time. All that would be moot if someone set a server up themselves.
I'm checking out Paragon's Expanse now
GasBandit
Staff member
Before Alpha 8 hit the experimental branch, it got up past 50 users most nights.
GasBandit
Staff member
Went to go fight Evasong again tonight in SVs... I brought my hardened Huntress variant, and a couple Ballista heavy fighters (the latter of which I designed myself). Evasong brought his "Butcher" heavy gunship and his "Starfury" fighter.
First round, Huntress vs Butcher, I was just aiming for center mass and as a result didn't end up hitting anything very critical, while he slowly managed to get hits that crippled me - the bigass thrusters poking out of the back of the huntress look hella cool but die hella fast. Once I started losing thrusters, it all went downhill really fast, and finally a homing missile salvo annihilated the cockpit chairs and killed me simultaneously.
Second round, Ballista vs Butcher - I was worried the Ballista wouldn't be as nimble as the Huntress, but apparently it was good enough, and throw into the mix that it has a MUCH smaller sillhouette when viewed from in front, made it much harder to target. Slowly but surely I whittled down the Butcher until I managed to snipe off all of its weapons with homing missiles, and Evasong conceded the round. Stopping to survey damage, I had actually only lost one gatling gun and one missile launcher, whereas I had chewed off a large amount of front armor on the butcher and actually exposed the core... a lucky shot after that would have left the butcher adrift and lifeless.
Third round, Ballista vs Starfury - the Starfury was a custom commission Evasong made for Icemanmajor, based off the Babylon 5 fighter of the same name. While it's slightly larger and twice as long as the canonical version, it is a really good fighter. Both heavily armored and agile, it is hard to hit and can soak damage except for one weakness - the cockpit is right up front and center. But as luck would have it, our dogfight slowly drifted in range of an alien shipyard POI, and it opened fire on me, damaging me badly. I retreated clear, then tried to re-engage, but Evasong's starfury hammered me with three hits in a row that destroyed my cockpit (but didn't kill me). I had managed to hit his cockpit dome once, destroying much of the glass and leaving him vulnerable to a second it, but I just didn't line up the shot in time.
What I learned:
SV vs SV, the only weapon that matters is homing missiles. The ONLY. Weapon that matters is homing missiles. Everything else always misses. Always. Except maybe gatling guns, but you can't keep the sustained fire going on that in one place long enough to do damage that matters. To hit a fighter, the only weapon that matters is homing missiles. And where you aim on your target is important. Pounding away at armor is largely useless, you gotta pay attention to where his rocket launchers are and aim for them. After that, you can dance around aiming for his cockpit or other systems. But the take home lesson here is that, to hit a fighter, the ONLY WEAPON THAT MATTERS IS HOMING MISSILES.
Also, it never hurts to be as agile as possible. Never fly in a straight line. Always be thrusting both forward (or backward) plus at least one other direction. Flying straight toward your target is a good way to get a face full of missile, or worse, turret fire (if you're attacking a CV). Always be dodging. Always be changing direction. Always be jinking. And fire homing missiles when you think you have the reticle on something important.
First round, Huntress vs Butcher, I was just aiming for center mass and as a result didn't end up hitting anything very critical, while he slowly managed to get hits that crippled me - the bigass thrusters poking out of the back of the huntress look hella cool but die hella fast. Once I started losing thrusters, it all went downhill really fast, and finally a homing missile salvo annihilated the cockpit chairs and killed me simultaneously.
Second round, Ballista vs Butcher - I was worried the Ballista wouldn't be as nimble as the Huntress, but apparently it was good enough, and throw into the mix that it has a MUCH smaller sillhouette when viewed from in front, made it much harder to target. Slowly but surely I whittled down the Butcher until I managed to snipe off all of its weapons with homing missiles, and Evasong conceded the round. Stopping to survey damage, I had actually only lost one gatling gun and one missile launcher, whereas I had chewed off a large amount of front armor on the butcher and actually exposed the core... a lucky shot after that would have left the butcher adrift and lifeless.
Third round, Ballista vs Starfury - the Starfury was a custom commission Evasong made for Icemanmajor, based off the Babylon 5 fighter of the same name. While it's slightly larger and twice as long as the canonical version, it is a really good fighter. Both heavily armored and agile, it is hard to hit and can soak damage except for one weakness - the cockpit is right up front and center. But as luck would have it, our dogfight slowly drifted in range of an alien shipyard POI, and it opened fire on me, damaging me badly. I retreated clear, then tried to re-engage, but Evasong's starfury hammered me with three hits in a row that destroyed my cockpit (but didn't kill me). I had managed to hit his cockpit dome once, destroying much of the glass and leaving him vulnerable to a second it, but I just didn't line up the shot in time.
What I learned:
SV vs SV, the only weapon that matters is homing missiles. The ONLY. Weapon that matters is homing missiles. Everything else always misses. Always. Except maybe gatling guns, but you can't keep the sustained fire going on that in one place long enough to do damage that matters. To hit a fighter, the only weapon that matters is homing missiles. And where you aim on your target is important. Pounding away at armor is largely useless, you gotta pay attention to where his rocket launchers are and aim for them. After that, you can dance around aiming for his cockpit or other systems. But the take home lesson here is that, to hit a fighter, the ONLY WEAPON THAT MATTERS IS HOMING MISSILES.
Also, it never hurts to be as agile as possible. Never fly in a straight line. Always be thrusting both forward (or backward) plus at least one other direction. Flying straight toward your target is a good way to get a face full of missile, or worse, turret fire (if you're attacking a CV). Always be dodging. Always be changing direction. Always be jinking. And fire homing missiles when you think you have the reticle on something important.
You know I always suspected you didn't.