Here's my story so far (since Josh says hes not seeing enough in here). Installed the prototype. Ran the prototype. Was impressed that my 3 monitor 5760x1080 was on the list. Named my dude Greedo (after the character from Star Wars) and then started playing in the blue asteroid area (can't remember the name).

Bought some weapons and a shield for my fighter, launched, 'assassinated' some ships, then flew around a bit. Found the Freelancer style 'transit gates' and figured out by trial and error which one to go into. Wound up at another big asteroid, and now have been here for a while. After two or three rounds of assassination missions, I bought myself a Bomber. Then I bought myself another fighter and played around with having a wingman. Then, after several more dockings/undockings, I finally had enough to get a Corvette. Bought it, installed some decent weapons and shields, then used it to slowly increase my money and fleet. After an hour or two of playing, I saved the game and it crashed. Not sure why. Reloaded and kept playing, and at one point I had my Corvette, a second Corvette, two Bombers and a Fighter all in my fleet. And at that point I was getting pretty cocky and signed up for some 20-40k missions. Unfortunately, on my very first mission my second Corvette (to the tune of about $80k) was killed in the very first battle. I think it might have been because I left cruise mode on . That was depressing. So, after that set of missions I docked again and decided to just stick with fighters and bombers until I have enough $$$ for a Destroyer. Unfortunately, in my next set of missions, my fleet went from 4 ships (Corvette, Bomber, Fighter, Bomber) to 2 (Corvette, Fighter). Unfortunately the fighter never actually came into the dock, so I couldnt repair it or upgrade it. Not sure which bug that is.

So far the game is lots of fun. Putting the highest possible shields on each ship seems the best way to keep them alive. With regards to that, it would be nice if there we always at least ONE of each major component in the store at a base. Oftentimes I am trying to buy a shield or some armor, and i buy one, but then for many minutes afterwards, there are no new ones to continue to purchase.

Still doggedly working my way up to Frigate, but enjoying it so far. Thanks for releasing the prototype and letting us play with it! I can't wait to see what the final version looks like. The current one is already better than a lot of released games I have bought. Good job Josh!

Thanks for sharing, be generous with that F1 key as you continue to work your way up, and be sure to share some screenies with us!!

I feel your pain, I lost my second corvette to an asteroid right as I was about to dock. Just heard a BANG of shields and plating then boom hes gone.

Skyfligher wrote:I feel your pain, I lost my second corvette to an asteroid right as I was about to dock. Just heard a BANG of shields and plating then boom hes gone.

Can you clarify, was it the asteroid base or another asteroid? I have fixed the problem related to docking at an asteroid base, but I have not observed AI crashing into other asteroids

JoshParnell wrote:

Skyfligher wrote:I feel your pain, I lost my second corvette to an asteroid right as I was about to dock. Just heard a BANG of shields and plating then boom hes gone.

Can you clarify, was it the asteroid base or another asteroid? I have fixed the problem related to docking at an asteroid base, but I have not observed AI crashing into other asteroids

Here's a version of asteroid crashing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01Vk6ZAvgP8

I'm convinced spacelanes should go. Just have cruise control and allow maneuvering to minimize the chance of lithobraking. Or should it be called lithoBREAKING?
Spacelanes were just plain silly in Freelancer, where you could just fly through a cloud of asteroids/debris field without incurring any damage whatsoever. Pirates disabling them EVERY time was just a nusance to the point I just quit using them where possible. Josh needs to keep his asteroids on a leash!

Some photos at 5760x1080. Incidentally, you get some benefit at this wide form factor since you can shoot at units (if you have turrets) that would be offscreen on a smaller monitor set up.

In Base:

Limit Theory Prototype by neepster, on Flickr

In Battle with my wingman taking it to the enemy:

Limit Theory Prototype by neepster, on Flickr

In battle near the 'transfer gates":


Limit Theory Prototype by neepster, on Flickr

Whoaaaaa awesome!

Everything seem OK at that resolution (other than not being able to customize your HUD widgets) ?

I haven't seen any issues with running at 5760x1080. I guess the only 'issue' is that when the engine is first starting, things are a little 'jerky' as the main menu displays, but once everything is loaded, it is pretty smooth.

One benefit (as I already mentioned) is the ability to literally 'shoot offscreen' to the right or left as you can see much farther in those directions. That can be a big advantage and I enjoy it a lot