Lave Radio Episode 214 : Ants invade Frontier Towers!


Ants invade Frontier Towers!

Aired 2 October 2018
Audio versions

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Crew Members
Head of health and safety : Ben Moss-Woodward – Cmdr Eid LeWeise
Chief Archivist : Colin Ford – Cmdr phoenix_dfire
Chief Bar Steward : Grant Woolcott – Cmdr Psykokow
(In)Human Resources Director : Shan – Cmdr Shanaeri
It’s a Streaming Ant : Obsidian Ant

Show Notes

Lave Radio EGX 2018 Sunday


Lave Radio EGX 2018 Sunday

Aired 23 Sep 2018
Audio versions

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In theory I had all day at EGX again, however I might have lost a couple of hours to Sunless Skies in the morning before I set off! I interviewed them last year and it’s come on leaps and bounds since then, and is a very easy game to get lost in!

However I did make it to two panels. The audio for these are not available yet, but hopefully will be out “soon”

The 1st was on the power of gaming and creation vs bullying where 2 You Tubers chaired a discussion with the audience about how gaming and online communities have improved lives whilst acknowledging that cyber bullying is a thing. It was a nice and mostly positive discussion that touched on many aspects, from being bullied at school or online, having a teacher recognise your you tube channel through to how gaming and streaming can help with mental health issues for example depression.

The second panel I went to was on the Future of VR I enjoyed it but I didn’t find it particularly enlightening. For example anyone who’s tried VR knows that the goggles need to improve, made more comfortable and breathable, lighter, not being tethered etc. We also need better ways to move around in VR, but equally does anyone really want to run on an omni-directional treadmill for 10 miles to get to their next way point! Of course costs need to get more consumer friendly and haptics need to be improved. There are some truly amazing VR experiences that have been set up but these are obviously things you go and see as opposed to something you have at home. They also felt that VR needs to move away from “a gaming thing” to a tool that we all can use in our day to day lives. Teaching for example would be a great use of VR if done right.

Following on from this panel I went to play Skyfront VR which (as far as I know) is one of the 1st VR multiplayer shooters and I was able to get an interview with one of their community management team after the game.

I really enjoyed Skyfront, I wish I’d been able to play it “un-tethered” Although I know that technology is in its infancy. The game is a zero g shooter, where you use your gun to get around. This is a nice way to solve the movement issue that some VR games have, whilst not “planting” you in one spot, and jumping… The controls felt very natural, although I wasn’t a fan of where the grappling hook button was, though this is more a fault of the vive controller rather than the game! I am probably bias, but I found the environment being a castle but a zero g environment is a bit of a missed opportunity, since obviously one of the key benefits of being in zero G is that there’s no limitation of “up or down” and you could be incredibly creative with your maps. However their next map will be set in space, it will be very interesting to see how the game develops. It certainly has a lot of potential.

Finally I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Euro Gamer for allowing me to come to their event. As ever their support has been amazing. So that wraps up our coverage of EGX 2018 I hope you enjoyed it and until next time, fly safe and if you can’t do that, fly dangerous.

Lave Radio EGX 2018 Saturday


Lave Radio EGX 2018 Saturday

Aired 20 Sep 2018
Audio versions

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Today I had a chance to get to EGX all day!

I tried to wheedle out some information out of Bethesda about Vault 76, but sadly all they had was the Vault Door, with an opportunity to hug Vault Boy, who enjoyed knocking my hat off and a Fallout themed van service Blanco Mac and Cheese!

The 1st Developer Session I went to was about the next Generation of NVIDIA Cards, the RTX series hosted by the guys from Digital Foundry. It was a good interview although they seemed to feel that without Ray-tracing making it into the next generation of consoles, that technology might fall by the wayside or at least be little used by “prosumer” PC Master Race gamers.

The 2nd Developer Session was with Paul Arendt who is Failbetter Games’ CEO and Art Director who gave a nice bit of history and update on the Game Sunless Skies as well as announcing their (Spoiler) Free Pen And Paper RPG set in that Universe! I love how their going more for a Victorian, Steam Punk take on what the universe is like, with living suns and rich moons with plenty of life on them as opposed to the more Scientifically Accurate version of what is actually there!

https://www.failbettergames.com/category/sunless-skies/

Finally I had a chance to watch a demo of Just Cause 4 where the walked through some of the crazy stuff you can do in that game – For example they made a FLOATING TANK!, but also how the game maintains a realistic(ish) physics engine.

I also interviewed the developer behind a new Flight Simulator called Deadstick, and I bumped into our friends from Snapshot Games who were there showing off a very busy Pheonix Point Booth.

Deadstick actually reminds me a little of Elite Dangerous if it were set on Earth, and you were a small independent pilot! In that it’s an open world and wont force you to do anything BUT you can run missions, upgrade you ship. It’s modelling much simpler planes than DCS, so instead of taking 30 minutes to take off you only need to flick a couple of switches. HOWEVER the depth to tinker is there if you want to and you can adjust your fuel mixture, and flick all the dials and switches in your cockpit to your hearts content. Also it matters where you place your cargo since its mass can effect how your plane handles.
http://deadsticksimulator.com/

Most of us know about Phoenix Point, but it was great to hear that they have a provisional release date as well as why the game no longer shows you hit percentages.

https://phoenixpoint.info/

 

Lave Radio EGX 2018 Friday


Lave Radio EGX 2018 Friday

Recorded 21 Sep 2018
Audio versions

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Once again I had “real life” get in the way of fun, though I was still able to get a couple of good interviews in. The 1st was with Vanguard which is a cross platform space combat game. The second was with Shadow who run a gaming PC streaming service, essentially letting you have access to a full powered gaming rig from, pretty much anywhere! Psykokow talked about them on the main show a couple of weeks ago.
As always, these interviews were recorded in a noisy environment, and I apologise for any sound issues in advance.

Vanguard is a LOT of fun, I played on Mobile, PC with a HOTAS and on Oculus Go. Naturally I felt most comfortable using the HOTAS, however the game looked and handled brilliantly in Oculus Go using its motion controller. I personally didn’t feel as comfortable playing on the phone, and it could just come down to familiarity however one of the devs told me that he was routinely beaten by another of his colleagues using the phone.
https://www.vanguard.game/

I think that the Shadow Interview covers most of what needs said about them. It’s an interesting concept and a great way to guarantee you always have a top of the line PC… so long as you have a good internet connection! I feel surprised to say this but it’s actually really good value for money even at £30 a month (I am giving you both the subscription and some extra drive space AND over estimating) you’re still cheaper doing this than you would be replacing a top of the line PC every few years…
https://shadow.tech/gben/

Lave Radio Episode 207


Lurg the mighty makes things go BOOM BOOM!

Aired 31 July 2018
Audio versions

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Crew Members
Director of Pest Control : Ashley Devine – DrToxic
Head of health and safety : Ben Moss-Woodward – Cmdr Eid LeWeise
(In)Human Resources Director : Shan – Cmdr Shanaeri
Lavian Space Program Director : Andy Barnes – Cmdr Kurgol

Show Notes

  • Development News
  • In Game Events
    • Ed and Will go Thargoid Hunting
    • Anti Xeno Initiative – We failed completely last week. Both systems are burning. Anti Xeno Command asks all commanders to redouble their efforts, Ignore the Missions from the AEGIS Megaships and just hit the scouts in the systems of Dhanhopi – Plucker Enterprise (199 ls) and Bok – Landsteiner Orbital (931 ls).
      • If Dhanhopi falls, could Alioth be next? It’s only 28Ly away…
    • IDA – (Thanks to Factabulous for these) Summary: Artemis Lodge – completed, Operation IDA has moved, as the figures show, to Kamov. Cavalieri and Eyharts seem also to have reasonable support, with small contributions elsewhere. Parise (in Tembala) has turned up in the figures this week, expect more as the Thargoids continue their success in recent weeks.
    • PvP Fight Night on the Thursday the 2nd of August.
      Where: HR 1183 / Arc’s Faith in OPEN PLAYWhen: August 2nd 7:00 PST

      Allowed Ships:
      Diamondback Scout
      Cobra Mk. III and Mk. IV
      Viper Mk. III and Mk. IV
      Asp Scout
      Imperial Courier

      Rules:
      Outfitting: Can be done anywhere!
      Engineering: Is not a requirement but a HEAVY recommendation, especially hull from Selene Jean
      Guardian Weapons: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
      Buy location: Anywhere!

      Other notes:
      If you would like, you can sit far off to the side in ship with a fighter bay and be a resupply ship.
      You should also prepare to be harassed by xeno sympathizers. They have already heard about this event and they are probably rallying the troops as we speak.

      We may need ships in super cruise to watch out for those nasty Xeno allies and deal with them quickly and kindly. The day will also most likely be a mentoring day for our new commanders.
  • Newsletter 237
  • Main Discussion
    • Relating other games to Elite Dangerous and lessons we can learn
  • Community Corner
    • Piracy Drone by Janne Paulsen (Environment Artist @ Frontier)oh-
    • EDDI 3.0.1 released
      • EDDI is a Windows desktop program that can run either standalone or as a VoiceAttack plug-in. Actions like jumping to a new system, buying and selling commodities, entering a signal source, scanning a celestial object, and many more will trigger voice responses. EDDI uses the journal log and the Frontier companion API to obtain information and track your actions.When used as a VoiceAttack plug-in, the events that EDDI recognizes can be used to generate VA commands. For example, you can have VA automatically stow your landing gear when you undock.
      • 3.0.1 adds a much improved cargo monitor, localization support, and many fixes and improvements.
  • Shoutouts

Lave Radio Episode 206


Space Legs McSpaceFace would be a Riri Krait name for an expansion

Aired 24 July 2018
Audio versions

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Crew Members
Station Commander : Allen Stroud
Director of Pest Control : Ashley Devine – DrToxic
Head of health and safety : Ben Moss-Woodward – Cmdr Eid LeWeise
Chief Archivist : Colin Ford – Cmdr phoenix_dfire
(In)Human Resources Director : Shan – Cmdr Shanaeri
Lavian Space Program Director : Andy Barnes – Cmdr Kurgol

Show Notes

Lave Radio Episode 199


Windows 10 Pushes the Crew Down a Mountain.

Aired 15 May 2018
Audio versions

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Crew Members
Director of Pest Control : Ashley Devine – DrToxic
Head of health and safety : Ben Moss-Woodward – Cmdr Eid LeWeise
Chief Archivist : Colin Ford – Cmdr phoenix_dfire
(In)Human Resources Director : Shan – Cmdr Shanaeri
Lavian Space Program Director : Andy Barnes – Cmdr Kurgol
Hick with a Big Stick : Karen Fishwick

Show Notes

  • Development News
  • In Game Events
    • This weeks Eagle Eye Systems to defend are LTT 8648 and Lalande 4141 after another week of successful defence by the Anti Xeno Initiative. The AEGIS Ships in Aegis Mega-ships were dispatched to Coquim and LHS 1453 (neither of which were Eagle Eye targets) and wrecked Mega-ships were found in several systems nearby. Cannon’s Lab 69 AIX speculates that both Achenar and Sol are the intended destinations of current Thargoid Activity. (Possible biological attack to disable the governments? Payback for INRA?)
    • IDA is continuing to haul repair supplies to Titan’s Daughter.
    • As part of the Bucky Ball Base Jumping (where we are based tonight) at 19:00 game-time tomorrow (Wednesday) night quite a few people will be running the mountain (including folks from Fighter Club I believe). We have an idea to attempt a Gloucester Cheese run (not quite sure what, or who, the cheese will be yet). So even moar maddness bouncing down the hill!
  • Newsletter 227
  • Main Discussion
    • Karen on to talk about Lavecon
  • Community Corner
  • Questions
    • Commander Caractacus_Potts via email (info@laveradio.com)TLDR Is Horizon’s not pay to win too Shan? Guardian and Engineering require Horizons, which is paid for DLC.I sure do love your show, keep up the great work.  You have such a great mix of people, with fascinating guests, and I enjoy every episode.  Ok, enough fluff, on to the meat of things.I have really been surprised that in your discussions of open only Powerplay that a comparison to Horizons has never come up.
      Statements were made that open only would introduce a pay to win element to the game, as those on consoles would have to pay to participate in Powerplay.  If a console person wanted the weapons and such that are available only thru pledging to a power, it would cost.

      But does not the same hold true with Guardian technology?  To get any of that, you have to land on a planet, and that requires Horizons, which costs money. When Frontier released Horizons, did they break the pledges that Shan had researched, or at the later date when the Guardian tech dropped in the game?  Or did they sidestep it by doing it in two phases? I don’t recall hearing of a similar upset about that. Since it sounds like Guardian tech is almost a prerequisite for serious Thargoid hunting, and if open only Powerplay is pay to win, then needing Horizons to get Guardian tech certainly makes all the Beyond chapters pay to win as well.

      But I don’t consider any of that “pay to win”.  There is no win or lose in this game, just participation and progression.  If you want to engage in certain aspects of the game, these are the modes of play and costs associated.  No big deal. If I want to do any missions that require landing on a planet, I need Horizons. I want to do that, so I pay.  Seems reasonable to me, and I don’t see any fundamental principles broken.

      Personally, open only is what will settle my decision to engage in Powerplay.  I don’t PvP, but all 200 hours or so of my time has been in the open. It is the fact that I am in the galaxy with other commanders that makes Elite so appealing.  Listening to your Battle for Lave podcasts really opened my eyes to the intricacies of it, which I find fascinating, but it is the ability to team up with other commanders to accomplish shared goals that really hooks me.  But not if I am playing against people that I can’t counter. I understand that instancing and other technical issues won’t make this a perfect system, there will likely always be some sort of exploit, but in my eyes, the idea of engaging with other commanders is fundamental principle of Powerplay, and that necessitates open only.  If Frontier chooses to keep solo as an option, then I won’t participate. It is not a big deal, I have plenty of other things to do in this galaxy. But it seems to me that with solo players and bots making the efforts of commanders playing in open seem so futile, that the number of commanders willing to fight that hard for nothing will dwindle, and the bots will end up running the galaxy.  I, for one, welcome our new Borg overlords!!!

      All the best, Commanders.
      Commander Caractacus_Potts
      O7

    • CXXXS on Reddit
      Sorry if it’s been asked before, but is there any chance your podcast may one day be available on Spotify? I’ve recently made a switch to it as my primary podcast app. Just curious.

      • Ben has filled out a form to hopefully get LR into Spotify and Google Play (possibly only in the US)
    • From Eric E Devo on Twitter :- I love this cast, and this community. Perhaps you can recruit an optimist or two for the upcoming content reviews – it seems like the podcast has become about 20 minutes of good content with an hour of whinging tacked on. There must be some optimism among you, surely
  • Shoutouts

Lave Radio Episode 198


Sandro Flashes his powers in the fog

Aired 15 May 2018
Audio versions

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Crew Members
Director of Pest Control : Ashley Devine – DrToxic
Head of health and safety : Ben Moss-Woodward – Cmdr Eid LeWeise
Head of Entertainment : Chris Jarvis – Cmdr Thane
(In)Human Resources Director : Shan – Cmdr Shanaeri
Lavian Space Program Director : Andy Barnes – Cmdr Kurgol
Alliance Office of Statistics : Cmdr Tom D

Show Notes

Lave Radio Episode 194


Meet in the distant horizon

Aired 17 April 2018
Audio versions

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Crew Members
Director of Pest Control : Ashley Devine – DrToxic
Head of health and safety : Ben Moss-Woodward – Cmdr Eid LeWeise
Chief Bar Steward : Grant Woolcott – Cmdr Psykokow
(In)Human Resources Director : Shan – Cmdr Shanaeri
Knight Extruder Operator : Andy Barnes – Cmdr Kurgol

Fleet Logistician : Olivia Vespera

Show Notes