A few questions.

A new update is now available, introducing seasons and more!
  • Any answers would be appreciated.


    1. What does JIW stand for?


    2. I read in the planned features section that you intend water to be affected realistically by the laws of physics, and trees, when cut, already do. Will structures and landscape eventually be subject to similar rules? Will a floating or under supported structure collapse in future versions?


    3. I already see many technological themed elements in your game. Does that mean more fantasy oriented element are not going to be included?


    4. In another thread a developer (I assume) commented that the intent was for a new player to start at a medieval technology level and progress to more modern technology. Does this mean that lower tech levels will be unsustainable or overly tedious? I like to build castles.


    5. Is there a console command to disable the day night cycle? Trying to level a large foundation and I can't see very well at night. The area is to large to make lights very practical.


    Thank you for your time and any answers provided. I may add more if I think of any.

  • 1. The name begins with a Java - since this is the language we will stick to - followed by the last names of the two founders and main programmers Imlau and Willbrandt. Not very innovative, but simple.


    2. That's true. Not sure if physics will ever affect terrain and structures. Maybe in some cases (to prevent flying blocks or objects), but we will not support it for whole structures (griefing will be too easy when a whole building collapses after destroying the foundation, also it will be a performance killer when doing physics for a complex structure^^)


    3. Oh, it's our intention to add also fantasy elements, like monsters. But it will be possible to disable them for example (for people who prefer a realistic setting)


    4. We are still not really sure about how this will be exactly or when it will be implemented. But this feature is more relating to tools (e.g. you can cut trees faster with a chainsaw than with an axe)


    5. You cannot disable it, but you can change the duration of a day/night cycle. Open console and type "settimespeed value", value specifies how many realtime seconds an ingame minute needs. So use "settimespeed 60" to have realtime speed. Alternatively, use "tod 0-24" to directly change the time of day.

  • Thank you for the answers. I never would have guessed that first one. As for the second, you might check out what 7 days to die has done in that regard. Your point about griefing is a valid one, but the added realism would be cool imo. Looking forward to the monsters.

  • About point 2, griefers are not the only reason (at least you can stop griefers in multiplayer by using LUA scripts), but physics in realtime for complex structures would be a problem^^

  • Quote

    Maybe in some cases (to prevent flying blocks or objects), but we will not support it for whole structures


    I'm not a programmer by trade, but I might suggest a very simple system to deter a flying block situation without precluding someone from building a space station or somesuch...


    You might be able to come up with a simple subroutine that triggers on block break or place that checks for the number of adjacent and diagonal blocks in a structure, and whether any of those blocks are in contact (or within very close proximity to, for the sake of simplicity) with any type of soil or ground material.


    So, you would need to:


    1. Check the number of blocks in the structure.
    2. Compare this number to a preset minimum value (i.e. 2-10 or W/E blocks counts as a 'structure', not a random bunch of junk).
    3. Check for soil contact on any of the blocks in the above structure if 2 is <minimum.
    4. Destroy all blocks if 3 is FALSE.


    Though ultimately, I think this would probably end up being more work than reward, and would more likely than not end up aggravating some players that don't know how the internal mechanics of the game function.


    Just my two cents.

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