Ok. Let’s talk about Navigation Mode. Navigation mode, is a user interface where you can visualize weather, move through a three-dimensional map of galactic bodies, and plot a course through the cosmos. We wanted these maps to be filled with detail so that navigation feels like a strange nautical voyage. We want to force players to use horse-sense to find the best routes through space. In this game… space isn’t just a big empty vacuum… in real life, space is a massive, scary, empty, vacuum. Yea, there are storms out there, pockets of smooth space, gas stations, fast food chains, casinos, space-buoys, dust clouds, turbulence, varying levels of solar power, so much! Space isn’t empty. Space is a Sea ™.
So we simulated a bunch of data for a small spiral galaxy, visually plotted it on a map, and created a variety of ways for a user to interact with it all. So now, you can pore over galactic maps, read these nautical bones, guess at the weather, chart a course through the stars, and attempt to survive — MuhhAHhhaHHaa. The best way to describe all this is to go through the different map elements that exist.
Yellow Bogeys
- Welcome to yellow bogey nation.
- Simple floating space devices that collect weather and time data. As satellite experts will tell you, without yellow bogeys, we wouldn’t even know when to eat breakfast.
- They let you know where it is safe to fly.
- Dust Density Indicator – amount of dust resistance in the vicinity. (black square).
- Solar Power Meter – amount of solar energy that can be harvested nearby. (horizontal meter).
- Wind Sock – shows the direction and strength of stellar winds. (pointy line).
- Turbulence Indicator – amount of turbulent storm energy in the area. (pink square).
Storms
- Galactic disturbances.
- Violently shake / damage / destroy ships.
- Getting into a storm is easier then getting out of one, both visually, and technically.
- Composed of cells with various intensities.
- They have strange names like Jonathan and Sandra.
- They have a white vector that shows you where they are currently headed (so you can avoid them).
Stars
- Large burning balls of energy which fill space: often surrounded by planets, rockets, and creatures.
- Some have their own weather stations.
- Red Zone: This is the closest you can get to the star if moving at high speeds. If you enter that region, you risk burning up in the star’s heliopause.
- Green Zone: If you go into the green zone, you’ll enter that solar system.
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