Web Epoch Tutorial Video Part 1

XP626 has submitted a video tutorial on how to play web epoch.
More tutorials are in the works.

Showcase : Rapier Gunship MK I

The Rapier MK I is the first incarnation of the Rapier Gunship. Players from web Epoch will be familiar with the MK IV which has the two spinning mid section compartments which create artificial gravity for the crew. In Epoch 3D the Rapier is a Frigate class which is a sort of mid range size vessel. Primarily used by the Military some of these vessels often find their way into the hands of a small trading organization. As Epoch 3D will be set well be well before 2742 the Rapier MK I will be the only one available. It is our plan to develop newer versions of the ship as the game proceeds. The Rapier has a single forward energy weapon mount and a single forward torpedo mount. It has no turrets, rear, aft, port or starboard weapons mounts. All ships will come equipped with a Impulse drive and a Fusion drive. Impulse if for normal space flight and Fusion drives are for making in system jumps.

Epoch 3D Update

Check out this video of a Hercules using its Fusion drive to cross a star system in seconds.

I used Fraps to capture it. The quality is not great in the video but you get the idea. I'll try and figure out better ways of capturing in game footage.

New Web Epoch Targeting

I've added some code to the system screen in epoch that allows you select a set of ships and then click an enemy. These ships will then attack enemies of this class.

This will allow you interact with a battle in a quicker more stream lined way.

You no longer have to come away from the system report screen you can monitor your units health and now even set targeting.

The check boxes are not used for anything else so that may cause confusion, we'll see what players think.

Web Epoch on the iPad

I've made some very quick changes to the web epoch source code to make it more compatible with the ipad.

Removed the grey frame boarder that shows up.
Removed "Viewing Units for : Entire System" (This was part of an incomplete feature)
Added Code to make the iPad not turn Timestamps into hyperlinks.

Enjoy!

Showcase : Hercules Class Escort Frigate

Mainly used as light support for most fleets, the Hercules Class is renowned for its high speed and reliability. Needing very little maintenance the frigate can take a tremendous amount of punishment with very little adverse effect on its main systems. While not having the offensive capability of the Perceus Class Frigate it should never be overlooked by any fleet commander as its four 88mm Hydra Cannons are highly effective at taking out incoming torpedoes before they hit any capital ships. -- Taken from its Web Epoch Tech Tree Entry

The 'Herc' as its also known has become the mascot of the Epoch universe. Its the ship every one likes to use. In Epoch 3D it will be highly used by the military authorities for chasing down pirates and smugglers. If players manage to build up enough credits they can buy and pilot their own Herc, and try it out first hand. The ship is included in the first release of Epoch 3D, the image above is in fact a screenshot. In Epoch 3D the weapon systems will be configurable so it won't necessary have Hydra cannons. It also has a rear energy weapon mount for shooting down pursuing ships. Over the course of the next few months will we show case other aspects of Epoch 3D before it goes live. Feel free to comment!

Web Epoch Server Online

Theres a new web Epoch server being hosted in Dublin.

Heres the link to register.

Epoch Web Server Dublin Hosted by Mustachio

The guys running it will be adding some video tutorials soon.

Star System Generation

Recently we have completed work on our star system generation. Here is a small sample of some of the results. 

Eight Years Ago...

Eight years ago we started work on Epoch 3D. A space trading, shoot'em up MMO. If you had told me that eight years on it would still be in development I think I would have found it difficult to proceed. Back when we started we were using a combination of technologies to build our engine, including Ogre 3D and Raknet. And with these tools we got pretty far, but the road was hard and long. About two summers ago I discovered Unity 3D. And in one month using Unity I had pretty much re-built everything we had as a prototype. It was clear that a rebuild was necessary.

We are about 95% complete from our primary release and are now ready to show our old gaming community (We released a Web Game that garnered a small community about 10 years ago) some of what we have accomplished.