I recently discovered this game through the Appalachian Linux User Group (a group at Appalachian State University); they mentioned it as a game they might play at one of their LAN parties. I'm about 6 hours into my trial account (and at 2/2/0/1/0 I think). I enjoy the game engine immensely; the semi-realistic* space physics are great, and the native Linux client really appeals to me. Yes, I've pretty much stuck to Dau and the surrounding systems, but so far even that's been enough to keep the game interesting.

I noticed some fixes related to netbooks on Linux, so I gave the game a try on my EeePC 1000HE. It runs (and doesn't crash), but it's a pretty miserable experience; the graphics have to be cranked way down, and the game still lags and jitters a little. Oh well :(

Guess I don't have too much of a point here except to say hi. So, hi.

* is there an in-universe explanation for ships having a maximum velocity (maximum speed at which the craft can safely hold together, perhaps?), or is this strictly an issue of balance?

Hi :-)

*As for the max velocity, there's a thread where Incarnate (a dev) talks about it. It has to do with lag between players, mainly.

Welcome!

I don't recall an in-universe explanation for the game mechanic of the finite max velocity. There are areas that will probably be fleshed in later as other game mechanics are added.

Another real-life reason is that battles would be complicated by ships hurtling by at ridiculous speeds. The weapons would all have to be automated and we'd lose a lot of the skilled combat.

The reason that ships are limited to speeds where human reaction times matter is because:

fun >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> reality (According to Incarnate)

If you could accelerate your ships to relativistic speeds, the game could not handle your location correctly, plus fights at 0.5c speeds might take a while...

"I missed on that last pass, I'm gonna circle around Saturn and engage again once he comes out from behind the Sun."

There's a quote from SR-71 pilots also that I think applies: "You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3."

"I missed on that last pass, I'm gonna circle around Saturn and engage again once he comes out from behind the Sun."

At which point the game would become Downbelow Station Online, instead of Vendetta Online.

And welcome to VO, Pwiggi! Enjoy your stay, and pay no heed to the gits.

pwiggi = Peter Wiggin?

Chaos: Good guess, but it's actually taken from my real name, which is Wiggins, not Wiggin. They come from a common root name, though (Wigan, an Old English name).

My wife has half-jokingly suggested that we name our first child Andrew, though, despite the additional 's'.

Everyone else: Thanks for the info on max velocity. I would concur that fun > realism, and I'm not calling it out as a poor design decision or anything. I was just curious whether there was an in-universe explanation provided.

Nice. You totally should name a son Andrew, haha. A friend of mine is trying to convince his wife that Tiberius is a fine name for a son (obviously this guy is a Trekkie). I told him that yes, it's a good name, but no, he shouldn't use it, as it wouldn't mesh well in society. Andrew, on the other hand, works fine, though it may ruin Orson Scott Card for the kid forever, which would be a tragedy.