In a few weeks, we'll have the space combat refined to the point where we'll have a basic set of skills, effects, damage model, AI, and cameras to the point where we can truly start to evaluate and refine our space combat model. Given that we can already log multiple players into a server and see each other in the game, having combat up and running means the we'll be able to begin weekly team play sessions so everyone can get in on playing and refining the combat experience until it is something truly special. And while ground combat is also working at an early stage, we're more focused on space combat at the moment because that's where we see the most risk and opportunity.

When we finish up our first rev of our gameplay prototype in a few weeks, we'll dive into the task of creating our first sector. The design team is already focused on the task of laying out the sector by specifying a range of both space and ground mission areas. One of the issues the design team is going to tackle next is scale vs. speed. Before we start building assets to populate our first sector, we'll have to figure out exactly how fast the ship travels at impulse relative to its size and the size of the objects that you'll see and explore in the world. The tuning of these parameters will have a dramatic effect on how the game feels. And it will be a delicate balance; make the ship too slow and the world will feel boring, make it too fast and players will whip past each other at dizzying speeds, combat will inevitably spread out, etc. And we're all looking forward to getting a first hand feel for what it will be like to fly around a fully realized sector including moving between points of interest and beaming to and from surface zones.

So the next couple of months will be big for us. With the ability to engage in space combat and limited ground combat, fly around a sector, and run quests that span space and ground zones, we should start to get our first true understanding of what it will be like to play within this world we're creating. And after nearly a year of R&D and design work, the team is really looking forward to having the ability to start playing so we can begin the real process of refining gameplay to a point where it is truly entertaining. Not to mention the fact that PvP happens to be a great way to resolve internal team disagreements...