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Happy Holidays!
Posted December 24th 2011 by Mordred Ocal

As 2011 draws to a close, we wish to thank all of our visitors and testers for a very productive and exciting year! We can already tell 2012 is going to be an amazing year for Future Fleets! We have a lot of great new features we plan to roll out in the coming weeks, and with behind-the-scenes work still ongoing, we are very optimistic about a full launch of the site within the next few months. This will probably be the last news item of the year, so from all of us to all of you, have a happy and safe holiday season and a magical new year!



Latest News!
Posted December 8th 2011 by Aiden Venton

Work continues on the recent theme upgrade as this week draws to a close. We have made some remarkable improvements to the overall look of the site, and we have redesigned a number of features to work more smoothly. We plan on spending the next few days finishing up the work we've done on the new site theme by applying it to the remaining pages which have yet to be upgraded. Once that is done, we will likely return to work on the Mission System which, when complete, will finally allow players to complete missions and receive rewards!



Theme Upgrades
Posted November 29th 2011 by Mordred Ocal

As a part of our continuing effort to improve the site's appearance alongside its functionality, we will be implementing a new site theme this week. Please be patient with us while this new theme is implemented across the various sections of this site.



Where We Stand
Posted November 25th 2011 by Raemet

Now that site development in once again underway, we wanted to update everyone on the status of the game. As it stands, we are currently hard at work on a number of major improvements, including updates to the site's layout and the addition of the Mission System. Once complete, the Mission System will allow ships and individual characters to accept missions of various types and, once they are completed, receive special rewards. Needless to say, this system is remarkably complex given the variety of missions that need to be available, so it will likely take us a while to complete it. Please keep checking back for updates.



Development Continues!
Posted November 3rd 2011 by Mordred Ocal

I am pleased to announce that after a long hiatus, development on the Future Fleets site has begun again! Over the past several months, we were forced to work on a number of other projects which, unfortunately, restricted the amount of time we had to work on this site. On the bright side, however, the time off has given us some great new ideas and a better perspective of the project as a whole! Please keep checking back for more updates in the weeks to come.



Spring Update
Posted May 1st 2011 by Mordred Ocal

Now that spring is upon us, we wanted to take a moment and update our testers and visitors about the status of the site. As you have all no doubt noticed, there have been no major updates to the site since February as a result of another project which has been the focus of our attention. Unfortunately, this other project has delayed the release of Future Fleets until mid-summer at the earliest, but we are hopeful that, once this project is complete in mid-June, we will only need a month or so to finish this site. Please keep checking back for more updates in the weeks to come.



State of the Game
Posted February 21st 2011 by Aiden Venton

A new State of the Game has been added to the site and can be viewed on the "Progress" page. Further, we have decided to push the game's launch until at least April 2nd to allow us more time to finish the remaining features and add some polish to the game's existing features. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but we want to ensure that the game is functioning properly and looks good before we allow everyone to start making accounts.



Mid-Week Report
Posted February 16th 2011 by Raemet

We are making a great deal of progress with the latest update to the game. As of today, we have completed preliminary work on the Strategic Resources system, making it possible to mine and refine certain resources which can be found throughout the galaxy. We plan on expanding this system and the resources which arise from it in the future, but for now, we are very pleased to have the foundation in place. The second part of our update will add Shipyard functionality to the game, making it possible for players to operate Workbees, Shipyards, and Mobile Shipyards to create new starships, starbases, colonies, and other facilities using the resources they have either purchased or mined and refined. We hope to have this portion of the update done by Sunday.



Final Major Update
Posted February 12th 2011 by Mordred Ocal

We are pleased to announce that we have begun work on what we hope will be the final major update to the game. While there are still a number of smaller features we will be adding this month and beyond, the current update we are implementing is incredibly complex and will likely take a full week to finish. Not including any small upgrades required during this process, the current update consists of a number of new functions and systems which, when complete, will add Strategic Resources to the game, allow people to mine those resources, and, perhaps most importantly, will add special functionality which will allow players to construct their own mining facilities, simms, and starbases... provided they have enough supplies. Once this update is complete, there will be nothing stopping players from exploring the galaxy, discovering new resource deposits, mining them, and using the resources to earn profits or build an entire fleet of ships and facilities. Just remember - these resources are considered "strategic" for a reason. Other fleets and alliances may very well want to capture your resources for themselves...



End of Week Review
Posted February 11th 2011 by Aiden Venton

An unfortunately slow week for us. We were able to add a number of new models to the shop on Earth Spacedock, so anyone wanting miniatures of their favorite ships can now purchase one and display it in their quarters or office. Further, we were able to get tractor beams working this week, and we added a number of new functions to the Transporter systems which will allow players to beam cargo and auxiliary vessels. They also now have the ability to beam items into or out of space. Over the next week, we will be adding a few new functions to various consoles, and we will begin implementing the new Strategic Resources and Mining systems to the game. Keep checking back for updates!



Site Maintenance
Posted February 4th 2011 by Raemet

We will be taking the game down for an hour or so while we implement a major upgrade to the Console systems. UPDATE - The site is now back online! Thank you all for your patience! We are pleased to report that the Console upgrades went smoothly, although they did end up taking a few hours longer than expected.



Upcoming Features
Posted February 3rd 2011 by Mordred Ocal

February is finally upon us, and things here at Future Fleets have never been more exciting! As we continue our race toward launch, we are pleased to say that we are actually ahead of schedule for a March 1st debut! I also wanted to post a general update about the current State of the Game (with a longer version on the Progress page). We decided to finish some other features before moving on to expanding the in-game universe, so we will spend this weekend working on Fleet Management. Next week we will upgrade a number of systems and add some new skills to the game, and, time permitting, we will resume work on expanding the in-game universe and adding Strategic Resources to the game. Finally, when that is complete, the only system left to add handles missions, and then it is simply a matter of tidying things up a bit and adding some new starship classes before we open the game up to the public!



Latest Updates
Posted February 3rd 2011 by Aiden Venton

A lot has happened since our last news item, so we wanted to take a moment to update everyone on the recent updates we have been making to the game. Today we completed work on a new Location Chat feature which allows characters to send almost-instant messages to each other if they are in the same location. Further, we have added a very basic Private Messaging system which we hope to expand upon later. Yesterday we added a new shop to Earth Spacedock which sells Model Starships. These neat little items can be placed on display in a character's quarters or office, and we are hoping to add many decorations in the weeks to come. And, speaking of quarters, characters can now be assigned private quarters! Once inside, they can hide or display their possessions and keep them safe until they are needed. Finally, we added a Docking ability to the game so that shuttles can dock in shuttlebays and any simms can dock with each other.



End of Week Report
Posted January 29th 2011 by Raemet

We are pleased to report that we have made a great deal of progress this week which has put us a few days ahead of schedule! Preliminary work on various healing systems has been completed, and we have finally added some shops to Earth Spacedock. In addition, new Site-to-Site and Transport Item functions have been added to the Transporter Console, and various bugs have been squashed around the site. We are going to spend the next week or so adding various new locations to the game, starting with Earth and working our way outward as far as time permits. In addition to these new locations, we will be adding Strategic Resources to the game, which should help make things interested when it comes to territorial control between Alliances AND between fleets.



Ground Combat, State of the Game
Posted January 24th 2011 by Mordred Ocal

With the completion of a new round of upgrades, we have updated the Progress page with a revised "State of the Game." Some of the information is carried over from the previous one, but we have added new information pertaining to our current progress and future plans. In other news, we have completed preliminary work on the Ground Combat systems, and are planning on spending the rest of the week tweaking it a bit and working on the Medical system. At the moment, characters can pick up weapons, fire them at other characters, and inflict HP damage and/or stun them. Tomorrow, we will add healing functionality to the game. We also completed work on the Holodeck system this week and will likely be adding new programs to the game in the weeks to come. We are hoping to spend next week upgrading a number of existing features before spending the following week on new Star Systems, Resources, and Missions.



End of Week Report
Posted January 21st 2011 by Aiden Venton

Another week, another round of updates. Since last we posted an update, we have been taking some time off to look at the site as a whole and evaluate how we would like to proceed from here. After careful thought, we have rearranged our schedule slightly to get some of the more complex functions into the game while there are still a few weeks left for testing. So, that said, we spent some time today adding an Inventory to the game so that characters can carry around items with them, and we also began work on the Holodeck systems, which will serve primarily as a method of training up skills and stats. Neither system is fully up and running, but we were at least able to get them started before the weekend. Over the next week, we will finish work on the Holodeck and Item Systems, and then we will add a number of new Medical systems to the game. Included will be Abilities, Injuries, Illnesses, Diseases, Treatments, and Statistics. We are also hoping to add the Luna-class to the game.



Tuesday Progress
Posted January 18th 2011 by Raemet

Work on the Shipyard System was completed today, making it a great deal easier for us to spawn new simms of any class with a prototype. We also added a new Game Overview page which displays announcements from the character's simm and fleet, as well as a full list of the character skills and stats.



Monday Update
Posted January 17th 2011 by Mordred Ocal

After taking some time this weekend to work through a number of minor issues with the game, we successfully completed an upgrade to the site's Starship Combat system which will add a bit more realism to various aspects of it. We also spent some time today working on the Intrepid-class prototype and are pleased to announce that it is now available for anyone interested in trying it out. We are hopeful that the next prototype in the series, the Luna-class, will be ready by week's end. In addition to the next prototype, we are planning on spending the next few days adding some new features to the game, including the very first missions and user simms.



State of the Game
Posted January 13th 2011 by Aiden Venton

We have updated the Progress page with a brand new "State of the Game" announcement. We plan on routinely updating that page as we complete work on key features, so keep checking back for updates. We have also updated the About and Why Join? pages with new information.



Nova-class Now Available!
Posted January 12th 2011 by Raemet

As of this evening, the Nova-class is now available for testing! Anyone with a Nova-class simm who is interested in taking a look should e-mail us for an invitation code while spots are still available. In addition to the Nova prototype being complete, we have revised the Defiant-class starship and Danube-class runabout designs a bit, and now they are available for testing, as well. We have also added a number of new graphics to the site so that specific locations and ships will appear at the top of the page depending on your character's current whereabouts. We are hoping to spend tomorrow working on a number of minor updates as well as a new Intrepid-class prototype.



Tuesday Update
Posted January 11th 2011 by Mordred Ocal

A number of important updates today, including the completion of a new Skill Training Console at Starfleet Academy and a revamp of our old Shipyard Console. With the completion of these systems, we are now ready to begin Prototype Testing. Starting tomorrow, we will refit the current test ships and add several new ones for our testers to try out. Once they have been approved, we can begin making ships available in-game to any players who already command simms of those classes.



Tasks and Skills
Posted January 10th 2011 by Aiden Venton

Today we were able to complete preliminary work on Tasks, which now enable the skills "Starfleet Repairman" and "Damage Controller" to be used on components that are damaged or have lost hit points. We also added the skill "Evader" to the game, improving the efficacy of evasive maneuvers. Tomorrow we will add a new Skill Shop to Starfleet Academy so that characters can use their starting Skill Points to purchase some of the new skills we have been adding.



Upcoming Prototype Testing
Posted January 9th 2011 by Raemet

We are pleased to announce that, within the next two weeks, we are going to begin testing some prototype ships from each class, starting with the Defiant and working our way all the way up to the Galaxy-class! The first five classes we will be testing will be the Danube-class for shuttles and Defiant-, Nova-, Intrepid-, and Luna-classes for starships. So, if you currently run a simm and would like to be involved in this phase of testing, please send us an e-mail at the address on our Contact page, and we will send you an invitation.



Game Back Online
Posted January 8th 2011 by Mordred Ocal

After about two hours of downtime, the game is back up and running. During that time, we were able to implement a massive overhaul of the console and function systems, and in the process, we spent some time preparing everything for the eventual addition of new site themes. We still have one more major console upgrade to perform over the next few days, however, so we will likely need to take the game down briefly to implement those. Please keep checking back for updates.



Site Maintenance
Posted January 8th 2011 by Mordred Ocal

The Future Fleets game will be undergoing maintenance for a few hours on Saturday afternoon while we implement some important upgrades to the Console System and Site Themes. During this time, testers will be unable to access the site.



End of Week Review
Posted January 7th 2011 by Aiden Venton

With a full week of testing now behind us, we are all looking ahead with a great deal of excitement about what we will be working on over the next few weeks. This week, we were able to get quite a bit done, but ended up running out of time before we could finish the Task and Skill Systems as planned. We will see what we can get done on them over the weekend, but if they require more time than expected, they may spill over into next week, pushing off work on the Shipyard Systems and new Class designs.



Thursday Progress
Posted January 6th 2011 by Raemet

Another day, another batch of random updates. Today we were able to implement a few minor changes around the site based on feedback from our testers, and then we spent some time working on the increasingly-complex Command Console. Fortunately, when the night is over, that console will pretty much be done, leaving a number of miscellaneous upgrades that need to be done to other consoles over the weekend. Tomorrow we will focus on getting Tasks finished and Skills up and running, and then next week, we are hoping to begin the long and tedious process of designing and implementing every ship class into the game.



Wednesday Update
Posted January 5th 2011 by Mordred Ocal

Today saw the completion of work on the Job Search console at Starfleet Operations. This special console will allow Federation characters to search through Open Positions within Starfleet, and it will allow them to apply for jobs with any simm which is currently accepting applications. We also used some time today to improve the Account Overview page. Now, when displaying a player's characters, it will also display the number of Tasks, Applications, and Simm Requests each character has pending. It will also allow players to view all of their applications and requests, including any notes added by Fleet personnel or the site's staff. Tomorrow we will focus on finishing the Command Console and miscellaneous Skill functions, Friday we will wrap up work on Tasks, and Saturday we will work on some of the console upgrades we have been meaning to implement.



State of the Game
Posted January 4th 2011 by Aiden Venton

With Closed Beta Testing now underway, we wanted to take a moment and report on the overall state of the game. As it stands, testers have, for the most part, found the current version of the game to be fairly stable with no major issues reported thus far. With that in mind, we are planning to resume work tomorrow on things we did not finish last year. This week, we will be focusing on four main systems. We still need to implement the Search Open Positions and Apply for Jobs features so new characters can look for and try to get positions on simms. Next, we need to make the appropriate changes to the Command Console so that Simm Leaders can properly give characters ranks and positions. After that, we will resume adding Skills to the game and making them work with existing features. We will also add a Skill Shop to Starfleet Academy so players can begin customizing their characters. Finally, we will complete work on the Task system, which currently starts tasks but does not finish them.



Closed Beta Testing Online!
Posted January 1st 2011 by Mordred Ocal

We are pleased to announce that Closed Beta Testing has officially begun! Prior to today, all old characters, simms, and accounts were deleted, so if you had previously registered with us, you will need to do so again to test the game.



Hours Away
Posted January 1st 2011 by Raemet

A new year has arrived, and we are now just a few hours away from the start of Closed Beta Testing! We are trying to use these last few hours to make some quick improvements to things we noticed this morning during our dry run, so please check back later this afternoon for the official green light to start testing if you have received an Invitation Code. As a side note, there will literally be three green lights on the right side of the main Future Fleets page when the game is online, so keep an eye on that, as well.



Closed Beta Testing Starts Tomorrow!
Posted December 31st 2010 by Mordred Ocal

After two years of hard work and intense planning, the Future Fleets site is nearly ready to enter Closed Beta Testing! Tomorrow afternoon we will begin sending out the first round of invitations, mostly to people who have previously helped us test portions of the site. Then, once they have had a few days to poke around and provide us with feedback, we will start letting even more volunteers take a look. We also wanted to take a moment to wish all of our visitors a safe and happy New Year! Thank you all for continuing to visit our site, especially now that we are so close to launching the game. Please keep checking back for updates over the weekend as we post more news about the site's progress and important developments during testing.



Almost There!
Posted December 30th 2010 by Aiden Venton

With less than forty-eight hours until the launch of Closed Beta Testing, we are all working like crazy trying to get at least the essential features done in time. Going into tonight's coding marathon, we are in the process of finishing up the Command Console with just a few functions left to add. Once that is complete, we have a number of other small changes to make to the Console system in general, and then we will likely let that whole system rest for the time being. We still need to spend some time (likely tomorrow) adding Repairs to the game, although we may postpone that feature until next week if we run out of time. More important are a number of updates to San Francisco which will progress new characters from nobodies to active officers aboard a starship or starbase. Finally, if time permits, there are a number of aesthetic and functional changes we would like to make to the overall site, but our top priority is getting the above mentioned systems complete. Expect another major update tomorrow, as well as one around mid-day Saturday announcing the start of Closed Beta Testing (pending any last-minute problems).



Tuesday Update
Posted December 28th 2010 by Raemet

Just a quick update today. We were able to begin work on the new Command console, and we were able to implement parts of the new Announcement system. Now, Site Announcements will appear on the Welcome page when users login, and a simm's Command Staff will be able to edit their Simm Announcements by accessing their Command console. Tomorrow we will continue working on the Command console, adding as many new functions as time permits. We are currently in the process of adding new functions to manage Crew, Applications, Simm Description, Open Positions, and the Simm Overview.



The Countdown Begins!
Posted December 27th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

Now that Christmas is over, things are back in full swing here at the office. The Future Fleets team was hard at work today going through the Exploration System and adding new features wherever they were needed. This includes several important updates to Starfleet HQ and Starfleet Operations which will allow characters to join Starfleet and, if they currently command a simm, request that a version of it be created here. In addition, we are now moving on to the final major console which needs to be completed - Command. This console will be especially complex because of the number of functions that Captains and their command staffs require. Once that is done, we will move on to implementing "Repairs" as a new function in-game, and then we will simply be left with various odds and ends. We fully intend to launch Closed Beta Testing this weekend, so keep checking back for more updates!



Weekend Progress
Posted December 26th 2010 by Aiden Venton

Most of today was spent going through the game itself with new characters to see what needed to be fixed, changed, or updated before we begin Closed Beta Testing within the next week or so. We decided to revise a number of systems that were used during the initial testing period this summer, including Positions, Task Forces, and Task Groups, so that the game did a better job of handling them around the site. We also started to add some tutorial locations to San Francisco to help new players get their characters started. Right now, we are revamping the Add Character function so that it changes depending upon Alliance, and we will be adding a new feature tomorrow that will allow players to redeem special codes in exchange for rare species most players will not be able to create. We will continue working along these lines tomorrow.



Christmas Update
Posted December 25th 2010 by Raemet

With a week remaining until the scheduled start of Closed Beta Testing, we are all very hard at work on the final aspects of the site that need some preliminary work. Today we were able to wrap up initial work on the Science and Medical Consoles, leaving only the Command Console to be completed. The Command console will require at least an entire day of work because of the numerous functions a Captain, Executive Officer, or Second Officer will need to oversee and manage a simm. Once that is complete, we will spend a day or so working on adding a Repair function to simms so that characters can undo any damage done to a simm during battle. We will then finish out the month by adding the last essential functions to the site for new players to get their simms and characters started.



Merry Christmas from Future Fleets!
Posted December 24th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

We just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a safe and merry Christmas weekend! This holiday season, we are grateful for so many things, including all of our visitors and testers. Thank you all for your constant support, and we hope to see you all during our launch in 2011! If you do happen to get some free time this weekend, please remember to check back, as we will be spending some of our downtime over the next three days working on the last big projects that need to be finished before 2011. With January 1st drawing ever closer, we are determined to get as much done as possible between now and then so that we can launch Closed and Open Testing on time. So, from all of us here to all of you out there, Merry Christmas, and if you are unable to check in before January 1st, have a very happy New Year!



New Graphics
Posted December 21st 2010 by Aiden Venton

Today we decided to take a short break from coding so we could start implementing some graphic changes around the site. It will take some time to implement all of the changes, but we have at least gotten a start on the new look we want to have in place by launch, and we are planning to debut it publicly on January 1st. Don't expect any major changes, though! The new look is simply a re-imagining of the current site design utilizing slightly different colors which have been getting a lot of use in-game. Tomorrow and Thursday will likely be slow days, as well, so don't be alarmed if we are unable to post any major news until Friday.



Monday Progress
Posted December 20th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

After an incredibly busy week, today was a very pleasant change of pace. We were able to slow things down a bit and focus on a few simple tasks to keep things moving. Today saw the completion of preliminary work on the Battle Postures system. Simms will now be able to take Offensive or Defensive postures during battle, giving them specific bonuses and access to different Attack Patterns and Evasive Maneuvers. These special settings make certain parts of a ship more or less vulnerable to attack. Further, work continued on the Skills system, allowing us to add skills based on the new Attack Patterns and Evasive Maneuvers. Now, when Flight Control Officers and Pilots build up their skills, their performance at the helm will be greatly improved. Tomorrow we will pick up where we left off, continuing work on skills, possibly doing more work on the remaining consoles, and hopefully beginning work on Tasks/Missions.



Completion of Starship Combat System
Posted December 19th 2010 by Raemet

We are very pleased to announce that we have just finished preliminary work on the Starship Combat System! After spending most of the day re-coding both of the main combat equations (over 1000 lines of PHP!), we were able to add a number of new variables which represented the simm's hit points, posture, accuracy/evasion settings, and accuracy/evasion bonuses. While we will still need to make a couple minor changes to the combat system before testing begins, we are now able to shift our focus to other key systems that need work. For example, we still need to add the actual evasive maneuvers and attack patterns themselves to both the Navigation console and Skills database. We also need to complete work on the remaining consoles, begin work on the Tasks/Missions Systems, populate the Skills database, and make some final aesthetic changes to the game as a whole. Expect additional updates tomorrow and Tuesday as we move ever-closer to completing the test version of the game by January 1st!



Saturday Update
Posted December 18th 2010 by Aiden Venton

More work was completed today on the increasingly-complicated Starship Combat Systems. We were able to implement a new function which powers down all related components if their respective power relays were damaged in battle, but it took us most of the day to do so. The remainder of our time tonight was used to further modify the combat systems to take the ship's armor into account. When a simm is equipped with armor now, energy weapons that make contact with the hull will lose some power, decreasing the amount of damage done overall. Tomorrow, we will continue working on this system, implementing Attack Patterns/Evasive Maneuvers. Time permitting, we will also add two new skills - Accuracy and Evasion - which characters can use in combat to improve their ship's performance. Finally, we will add the simm's overall Hit Points (essentially, the strength of its Hull) to the system, hopefully bringing an end to a very long week.



Day in Review
Posted December 17th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

As promised, we wanted to post a quick update on the amount of progress made today. We were able to complete all but a few minor upgrades to the Starship Combat System, meaning that the test site now takes the evasiveness, speed, and shielding zones into account when one simm fires upon another. Prior to this update, weapons only damaged shields and never missed. We still want to fine tune combat a bit more, adding Evasive Maneuvers and Attack Patterns to the equation, so we will work on getting that finished tomorrow. We also need to add a few minor functions which will disable an entire power network (shields/weapons/engines/auxiliary) if the Warp Core is taken offline or any of the power distribution conduits are. Finally, as mentioned earlier, our plans for this weekend remain intact, with a majority of our effort going toward tying up loose ends and making cosmetic changes to the site.



End of Week Progress
Posted December 17th 2010 by Raemet

With only two weeks left until Open Testing begins, we plan on heading into this weekend with a strong determination to finish preliminary work on all major systems. To that end, we began work today on the Skill System, which is the last major system we need to implement for the game's foundation to be complete. Once we complete preliminary work on the Skill System, we will be able to use some of the new skills we have created to further enhance the Starship Combat System we started earlier in the week. The addition of Evasive Maneuvers and Attack Patterns will make things a great deal more interesting for everyone when the time comes to settle things with force! It is our current plan to spend today on the Combat and Skill Systems, at least getting all of the basics in place before the weekend. We will then spend the weekend finishing up the last few consoles, populating the new Skill and Item databases, and adding polish to the site as a whole. Keep checking back for updates on this page and the progress page - there are going to be a lot of them!



Wednesday Progress
Posted December 15th 2010 by Aiden Venton

After a bit more coding today, we completed preliminary work on the Projectile portion of the Starship Combat Systems. Internal testing provided us with a great deal of information and insight into this system's current strengths and flaws, so we will be working over the next week to improve upon those as best we can. There is still a great deal to do, however, before the system is completely ready. As it stands, phasers and torpedoes do damage to enemy systems, but we want to make things more complicated than that, adding variables like accuracy and evasiveness to the mix, and further refining our coding and equations. Expect more updates over the next week or so. With that major project well on its way to being ready, though, we find ourselves a great deal closer to reaching our target launch date without a delay. We still need to complete a few more consoles and begin work on the Skill System, but those features aside, we need only add polish to the existing site before it is truly ready for open testing.



Starship Combat Update
Posted December 14th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

I am pleased to announce that significant progress was made today on the new Starship Combat Systems. Starting with energy weapons only, we were successful in disabling the shields aboard both our test ships - a Defiant-class vessel and a Danube-class runabout. With that part complete, we have moved on to projectile combat and the use of torpedoes. This was a bit more complicated as it required the creation of two new systems - Items and Cargo - to work properly. Now, when a ship has any projectiles in their cargo holds, they are automatically added to the ship's inventory and can be used during combat. We are hoping to resume work on the projectile systems tomorrow and, ideally, wrap up preliminary work on the Starship Combat System altogether by the end of the day.



Combat Systems, Other Progress
Posted December 13th 2010 by Raemet

Today saw the completion of preliminary work on the Shuttle console, which can only be installed on auxiliary vessels such as fighters, shuttles, and runabouts. These small but efficient consoles provide players with all the functions they need to manage an auxiliary vessel without having to move between consoles like on a starship. With that out of the way, we have moved on to implementing the all-new and highly anticipated Starship Combat System. This incredibly complicated system will add a number of functions to the Security/Tactical console which will essentially allow players to find targets, select zones on them to attack, and then open fire. The system will then calculate how much damage has been done to the target and its shields and, if necessary, cause additional damage to specific locations or components. Further, we also plan to implement the Skill System this week. When complete, it will allow players to give their characters special skills which can then be used to repair damage, upgrade components, or surpass certain console limitations like maximum range or peak power output.



Weekend Update
Posted December 12th 2010 by Aiden Venton

Work continued this weekend on various aspects of the site. We redesigned all of the graphics used to represent different consoles, completed preliminary work on the updated Transporter console, and started work on the Security/Tactical and Shuttle consoles. Over the next three days, we are hoping to complete preliminary work on the Starship Combat System and the Security/Tactical console. If we can, it will mean the rest of the week can be spent working on the last remaining consoles. Please keep checking back for updates on this page and the Progress page as we get closer and closer to the beginning of testing on January 1st.



Friday Progress Report
Posted December 10th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

Work continued today on the Shipyard systems, and will likely continue until early next week. We were able to complete work on two functions - one to create new simms at Shipyards, and one called "Auto Build" which automatically adds the necessary rooms and decks to a simm based on its class. We also began work on Auxiliary vessels today, modifying some of the components we have already created to fit into these tiny little crafts. Auxiliary vessels will require special "catch all" consoles that can handle pretty much anything the shuttle needs to do, so we will likely begin work on that this weekend, as well. As of today, we are still on schedule for a January 1st launch of the test site. We will use the next five days to continue work on the Shipyard and Shuttle functions, we will take some time to make the Shipyard and Transporter consoles match the new design we implemented earlier in the week, and we will attempt to begin preliminary work on the Shuttle, Science, and Security consoles.



Operation: Shipyard
Posted December 8th 2010 by Raemet

With preliminary work now complete on the Navigation console, we are moving on to one of the most complex (but essential) functions in the game for us administrators - Automatic Starship Creation. Creating a starship from scratch using current functions takes a LOT of time... first you have to add decks, then rooms, then components, then consoles. Plus, since each class of ship is different, every layout is different. So, if we want to have any time at all to work on the site after launch, we need to figure out a way to make starship creation faster and more automated, that way it will not take long to create new ships for qualified players who join the site. The new system will allow us to name a ship, assign a class, and then click "Assemble." It will then use the guidelines we have provided to assign the correct number of decks, and from there, properly assign all necessary rooms, components, and consoles. It may sound really simple, but you would be amazed at the amount of work this system alone will require. We are hoping to finish preliminary work on this by the end of next week at the latest.



Latest Updates
Posted December 7th 2010 by Aiden Venton

Despite the setbacks suffered this weekend, we were able to complete upgrades to all affected systems between yesterday and today, and are currently working on new upgrades to the Navigational systems. We are hoping this will be the last major update to the "essential" systems - Operations, Engineering, and Navigation - before we move on to the systems that only become useful after launching a ship, such as Security/Tactical, Science, and Medical. At some point during this phase, we will also revamp the Shipyard customization functions a bit, and create the necessary Command functions for Command Consoles. As it stands, work on the various consoles and their related functions will likely take us until the end of next week to complete. After that, we will move on to the Mission and Skill Systems, and, time permitting before New Years, we will add Fleet management to our list of to-do's, as well.



Slight Setback
Posted December 6th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

Despite progress made over the past week, we experienced a slight setback this weekend when our testers determined the new Power Management System to be overly complicated and difficult to use. So, we will be spending today and possibly some of tomorrow working on revamping that system to be more user friendly.



Advanced Power Management
Posted December 3rd 2010 by Raemet

After a week of work, we have finally completed preliminary coding for the Advanced Power Management systems. Essentially, this incredibly complicated feature will allow Operations Officers to monitor and manage how much power is being diverted to every component on the ship. So, when the need arises, they can send power to Shields and Weapons, or selectively take power away from non-essential systems to help keep other systems up and running. There are a few more systems we want to look at this weekend, but have not yet decided upon which to tackle first, so please keep checking back for updates.



Important Changes for Current Members
Posted November 26th 2010 by Aiden Venton

Today we will be doing a quick sweep through many of our existing pages from Registration through Character Creation to make sure that they are pretty much ready for testing. Current testers may experience some unusual or constantly changing pages during their daily routines, so please do not be alarmed. We will attempt to sweep through everything in the game up until Starship Launch, as this is currently the only major feature left to complete. This will hopefully allow us to open the site up to testing much sooner than anticipated, that way players can peruse the existing content and get a feel for how things will work before all of the starship content is finally completed.



Thanksgiving Update
Posted November 25th 2010 by Raemet

Today saw the completion of preliminary work on the revised version of the Engineering console. We are now working on Operations functions pertaining to power distribution, and from there, will move on to updating the older versions of the Navigation and Transporter consoles. Once all of the basic console functions are complete, we will work on wrapping up the Shipyard systems, and then we can move on to preliminary work on the Ship vs. Ship combat systems.



Shipyard Update
Posted November 24th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, we wanted to ensure everyone that we will be using as much of our free time as we can to complete work on the recently announced Shipyard function. As it stands, the new customization feature is coming along quite well. After working all week on it, we were able to create a completely custom Defiant-class ship today, complete with four decks full of rooms, consoles, and important components. With that very important task done, we will turn our attention back to console functions, which will eventually be used to manage the components we have just installed in a more efficient manner than during previous test runs. Look forward to more updates later this week and next week, as we are hoping to complete preliminary work on all major consoles and ship functions by month's end.



Minor Site Changes
Posted November 22nd 2010 by Aiden Venton

We have updated the About, Site Status, and Why to Join pages to reflect recent changes in the site's design.



Weekend Progress
Posted November 22nd 2010 by Raemet

This weekend saw the beginning of work on the new "Shipyard" system we will be implementing in the game. The very basic premise is that it allows existing Commanding Officers to log on to the site, proceed to a Shipyard, and customize nearly everything about their ship! The Shipyard system gives COs all the tools they need to add rooms, consoles, and components to a skeleton version of their ship. They determine what goes where, doing the best they can to maximize efficiency with respect to power and space limitations on each deck. When they are done, each CO will have a unique ship to call their own.



November Update!
Posted November 18th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

I am pleased to announce that Future Fleets is preparing for a major update in the coming weeks! Once we complete work on the test version of the browser-based game, we will be updating the entire website to reflect the new purpose and format of the game. As it stands, we have about two weeks left of work before we can slowly unveil the test version of the game. We have made a lot of progress over the past month, completing some features and redesigning others so that, when all is said and done, our players end up with the most enjoyable gaming experience possible. Please keep checking back over the next two weeks for additional updates as we move closer and closer to completing testing.



Transporters Online!
Posted October 3rd 2010 by Raemet

Another day, another minor update. Today saw the completion of preliminary work on Transporters. In their current state, these systems allow characters to access a transporter console and beam themselves and any other occupants in the room to any other available transporter room in the vicinity. So, during testing, we were able to beam two of our characters at the same time from Starfleet HQ in San Francisco to Earth Spacedock. Once we have additional time, we will be adding extra functions to this system, including the ability to transport items and the ability to beam to and from locations other than transporter rooms.



Navigation Update
Posted October 2nd 2010 by Mordred Ocal

After two full days of non-stop coding, we are nearing completion on the Starship Navigation systems that we plan on using in-game. With this very important step behind us, we can move on to other ship functions such a docking, transporters, and "Permission to Enter." Most of you would likely be amazed at the complexity of most of these systems, which is why it is taking us so long to get test versions up and running. On the plus side, the progress we have made this week is keeping us right on schedule to have a test version of the game ready for a very small group of players by early November. Our goal is to have the game completely up and running by December 1st at the latest, but we are going to do the best we can to get it online and open to everyone before then, if possible.



Starship Navigation
Posted September 30th 2010 by Raemet

Today we find ourselves once again working on the Starship Navigational systems, which some of you may recall was tested over the summer. Recent changes to the game's design have forced us to go back and modify all of the work we had completed before so that it would be compatible with the new game. As it stands right now, we've completed preliminary work on "Local Travel," which encompasses movement between very close locations such as Earth, the Moon, orbital stations, and nearby shipyards. For the rest of the day, we are going to work on Sublight Travel (planet to planet) and Interstellar Travel (star system to star system). Work will then resume this weekend as we attempt to complete Transporter, Tactical, and Security functions.



Consoles
Posted September 29th 2010 by Raemet

Today's work focused on what will eventually become an essential part of the Future Fleets game - Consoles. These special components can be installed in any room that can fit them, and they are used to monitor and manage the various functions aboard a ship or on a starbase. Right now, we are working on the consoles that manage Power Supplies and Power Distribution. These will determine how much power is created, and from there, how much power is sent to each system. Power is limited, though, so you need to choose which systems to provide full power to depending upon your needs at the time. Later today and tomorrow, we are hoping to do more work with the Navigational, Tactical, and Transporter systems. The very last systems we work on will be Science and Medical, which will probably not be added until after testing resumes in November.



Personal Navigation
Posted September 28th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

Today saw the completion of preliminary work on the Personal Navigation system, which players will eventually be able to use to move their characters from location to location in a ship, starbase, or building. Once we expand upon this system, players will be granted access to any systems or consoles which are connected to the room that they are in - for instance, Helm Control, Tactical, Power Distribution, et cetera. This will give them the ability to not only interact with their location, but eventually use their special skills to make their interactions more effective.



Weekend Update
Posted September 26th 2010 by Raemet

After spending most of the month redesigning various aspects of the game, we are very pleased to announce that we have officially resumed work on the site. Today our focus is on one of the biggest features in the game - Personal Navigation. Players will eventually be able to move their characters from location to location on ships, starbases, and planets, that way their characters can interact with the various objects and systems they would routinely find in those locations. But, before any of that can happen, we first have to engineer each ship and starbase in the game, determining what goes where, how big each room is, et cetera. When all is said and done, Fleet Leaders and COs will be able to customize their ships and starbases like never before, and as a result, their players will be able to move freely from location to location, experiencing unique opportunities wherever they go.



State of the Game
Posted September 22nd 2010 by Mordred Ocal

Considering nearly two months have passed since our last major news post, we thought it best to update our visitors on the state of the game and overall website going into the fall. First, allow us to explain our brief absence. At the end of July and during August, we worked with various COs and Fleet-level players to discuss the purpose and future of the simm database and our planned game. At the same time, we were working on test versions of various features we were planning to use. Unfortunately, a number of issues arose in both matters which required us to stop and rethink everything about the site. As it stands, we are no longer actively working on a Simm Database. As useful as we felt it would be, that feature made things far too complicated for our users, so, for the time being, it is on hold. On the plus side, however, this means we can now devote our full attention to getting the Future Fleets game up and running. To that end, we have redesigned the game from the ground up, and are hoping to have a test version ready at some point in early December.



Search Updates
Posted July 25th 2010 by Raemet

With August rapidly approaching, we have been working overtime trying to improve upon the search functions we had originally created for testing. This weekend, we completed a preliminary overhaul of the Search Fleet function, and we are hoping to apply the same updates to our "Search All" and "Search Class" functions. When that is done, we will finally add the "Search Era" function. Beyond those updates, we have also been working on a number of other minor changes around the site. For instance, visitors can now view all of the news which has been posted since March by selecting "Old News" at the bottom of the main page. Finally, we would like to complete work on new Control Panels for the Simm, Fleet, and Character sections of the site, but since those are considered "low priority" compared to getting the Simm Database up and running, it is entirely possible they will be delayed until after we open the site up to the public.



Weekly Review
Posted July 23rd 2010 by Mordred Ocal

This week saw the completion of several relatively minor updates that were requested by some of the Fleet Leaders who have very generously been testing the site for us. Included in this week's updates were changes to the Fleet Management System which, we hope, will make it a great deal more user-friendly. Also, we plan to make many more changes to the Simm Database as a whole by month's end so that we can, ideally, open that section of the site up to the public at some point in August. Additionally, work continues on the RPG section of the site, which we are now thinking will not enter testing until September or October. The delay does come with at least one bright side - we have been making a great deal of progress on the Ship Management functions, and we are very optimistic that they will work as planned upon launch.



Mid-Month Report
Posted July 15th 2010 by Raemet

After an incredibly busy June, you are all probably wondering what we've been up to thus far in July. Rest assured, we have been keeping fairly busy, spending the past two weeks looking at our current RPG plans and making several critical changes which will hopefully simplify things during coding. The end result will unfortunately be a less-complex system, but it will make it easier for us to get the basic RPG running before summer's end, that way we can add more complex functions down the line. In addition, we have been working with several large fleets to determine what changes need to be made prior to the launch of our Simm Database. Thankfully, a few of them have been especially cooperative, and as a result, we have a great deal of feedback now which we are hoping to act upon over the next week or so. Unfortunately, all of these changes will likely push back the RPG testing a few weeks, but at the very least, this minor setback will ensure a stronger, more reliable product in the form of our Simm Database.



One Month Later...
Posted July 1st 2010 by Mordred Ocal

It's hard to believe that a month has already flown by since testing started. Thanks to a dozen or so very helpful testers, we were able to fix every bug that arose, not to mention the fact that we completed a preliminary Fleet Management system in the process AND completed a fair amount of work on the RPG element of the site. Moving forward, here is a brief summary of what you can expect in July. We are working with a few Fleets to make our Fleet functions more user-friendly. We are also hoping to make a few changes to our news system. Finally, we would like to complete work on the test-version of the RPG section of the site. If all goes well, we are hoping to launch the main site on August 1st, and around the same time, allow some players to test the RPG add-on for their simms.



Game Progress
Posted June 23rd 2010 by Mordred Ocal

With so much time being spent on our test ships, we have neglected to post any updates on the site as a whole. To that end, we have a few minor announcements to make. For one, we are pleased to say that our testers have helped us resolved a number of minor issues with our Simm and Fleet Management features, which means we will soon be able to make them available to the public. For another, the RPG element of this site is proceeding nicely, with basic Engineering and Navigation functions available and more on the way. It is our hope that, by the time we launch, players will have access to the full array of starship abilities, from scans and sensor sweeps to tactical and defensive capabilities.



Defiant Update - Engineering
Posted June 21st 2010 by Raemet

We made a great deal on progress on the Defiant's Engineering systems over the weekend. At present, characters on our test ships have the ability to alter the output of their warp cores, and as a result, they can feed power to the ship's Impulse and Warp Engines. Today, we set a course for Mars and engaged at Full Impulse. The trip lasted less than nine minutes. A return course for Earth was plotted at Warp 2.5, and was completed in eleven seconds. The maximum speed of our ships at this time is Warp 8.99.



Defiant Update - Moving On
Posted June 17th 2010 by Raemet

Today saw the early completion of work on the preliminary navigational systems which simms will soon be able to use to move from star to star and planet to planet in our galaxy. With that rather large step out of the way, we will be moving on to a similar function that will allow your characters to move from room to room and location to location.



Defiant Update - Navigation
Posted June 16th 2010 by Raemet

With several more days of work now behind us, we are pleased to report that a great deal of progress has been made with respect to the Navigation section of our upcoming RPG. At present, our two test ships are able to set a course and engage at any speed up to Warp 9. With a bit more work, they will be able to Alter Course/Speed, and by month's end, we are hoping to have propulsion dependent upon the test ships having functional components such as a warp core, warp engines, and inertial dampeners.



USS Defiant to Test New Systems
Posted June 13th 2010 by Aiden Venton

With 2387 just a few short weeks away, Starfleet announced that the USS Defiant was being recalled to Earth in order to equip it with an experimental new computer system. Referred to as "Future Fleets" by various sources, this upgrade is expected to last one month, with preliminary tests beginning later this week. According to sources within Starfleet, the Defiant's first tests will involve enhancements to the ship's navigational systems. Expect updates on the situation throughout the week.



RPG Feature Under Way!
Posted June 11th 2010 by Raemet

With very few updates remaining on the Database section of the site, we have begun work on the very early stages of the Future Fleets RPG. We anticipate that this new section of the site will take at least three weeks to prepare for testing, and when the preliminary version is ready, it will allow players to give their simms and characters stats and start them on their journey into the unknown...



Beta Testing Begins
Posted June 11th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

Now that our Fleet Management systems are up and running, we are in need of fleet-level characters to test them out. If you are in charge of a Fleet, Task Force, or Task Group, please e-mail us for an invitation to test the site.



Fleet Management Online!
Posted June 10th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

One week of grueling coding later, and we have finally completed work on the site's basic Fleet Management functions! The new system we have created allows authorized players to manage everything about their fleet, task forces, and task groups down to the smallest detail. Plus, our new permissions system gives Fleet personnel the ability to assign limited management rights within the fleet. We are hoping to apply the same permissions system to our simm management functions, but that will not be implemented until we are certain that our fleet-level permissions system works as designed. Expect this final stage of testing to last no longer than a week, at which point we are hoping to open up the site to more people for Beta Testing.



Fleet Developments
Posted June 8th 2010 by Raemet

It has taken a great deal of time and rethinking, but we are nearly finished with the Fleet Management functions that will be opened up to our Alpha Testers by week's end. These new functions not only enable Fleet Personnel to manage their fleet, they can micro-manage simms if the need arises, and they can manage the permission levels of every character assigned to them. Once this final crucial level is complete, we will only have some minor changes to make site-wide before we can begin Closed Beta Testing, at which point we will be enlisting dozens of simms and their crews to help us ensure that everything is working before we open the site up to the public.



End of Week Progress
Posted June 5th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

Another week, another batch of updates. Over the past few days, we managed to create and test a new Permissions system that will allow COs and Fleet Leaders to assign permissions to certain characters, that way they can access specific functions on their simms or in their fleets. We are now in the process of implementing this new system site-wide. In addition, we are continuing to modify some of our existing features to work on a Fleet-wide level, taking into account that many fleets consist of independent simms, task forces, and task groups. We are hoping to complete and test these features over the next few days, that way we can open up the site to Closed Beta testing by next weekend.



Day Three Progress
Posted June 3rd 2010 by Mordred Ocal

With very few bugs left to fix, we were able to spend a good amount of our time today working on a number of important new Admin functions which, when complete, will make our jobs a great deal easier from now on. Beyond that, these same functions can be quickly modified to help us complete the Fleet Management functions we will be working on for the rest of the week.



Day Two Progress
Posted June 2nd 2010 by Raemet

After twenty-four hours of testing, we are pleased to announce that things are going very well, so far. Our very helpful testers have already found a number of minor bugs which were quickly taken care of, and as testing continues, we are learning a great deal about how the site is being used by people and how we can modify it to be more user friendly. If testing continues to run smoothly, we will attempt to add a number of new fleet-related features to the site at the end of the week. Once those are tested and a few final features are added, we should be able to enter Closed Beta testing with a larger number of players.



Alpha Testing Begins!
Posted June 1st 2010 by Mordred Ocal

I am pleased to announce that Alpha Testing on the site has begun! Please keep checking back for updates as we slowly enlist more testers and add new features to the site.



Alpha Testing Delay
Posted May 31st 2010 by Mordred Ocal

Unfortunately, Alpha Testing did not start over the weekend as originally planned. A number of last-minute additions to the site were needed before we felt it would be ready for testers, so we completed several of those over the weekend and are scurrying around trying to complete the last few early today. Please visit our "Progress" page for more information. We are hoping to send out e-mails to our first batch of Alpha Testers by tomorrow at the latest.



Alpha Testing Starts This Weekend!
Posted May 28th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

We are very pleased to announce that Alpha Testing will begin this weekend! With only a few minor updates left, we have completed pretty much everything that needs to be done before we can enlist the help of a few good men and see if things are working as well as we hope they are. We anticipate that Alpha Testing will last approximately one week, at which point we will begin sending out additional invitations to interested simmers. Players must have an invitation to register with the site, and they can receive an invitation at the conclusion of Beta Testing by sending an e-mail to the Site Administrator (see Contact page). Expect our public Search Simm and Search Open Positions features to become available at some point during the first week of June. More news will be posted as it becomes available.



More Updates
Posted May 25th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

Today's progress includes some very important aspects of the preliminary site. We've completed work on the Simm Search functions, we've added a way to set one of your characters to "current," and we're making a great deal of progress on the Open Positions/Apply for Positions features. Once these are complete and some minor changes are made to the existing content, we will add one last section for Fleet Administrators. This should not take too long, as many of the functions are similar to those used by Simm Administrators.



Preparing for Alpha Testing
Posted May 24th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

Another week, another round of updates. This week, we are working overtime to make sure that the preliminary site is ready for testing on or before June 1st. We are still VERY intent on meeting a "2387" deadline (July 1st) for the official launch of the site, but we will need to hit this first critical deadline in order for that to succeed. At the moment, we are hard at work on the search features that will become essential to our preliminary site's success. After that, we will finish up work on the Open Position features, and then finally, we will add special pages for Simms and Fleets. Please keep checking back for more updates as the week goes on!



End of Week Progress
Posted May 21st 2010 by Mordred Ocal

The past few days have seen a great deal of progress made, overall. We've completed applying the new theme to all of the old pages, we've done a lot of customization work to the Control Panel, and we've begun work on the search features that will become the highlight of our initial launch. We are hoping to spend this weekend and early next week completing all search features and adding additional features to the Control Panel depending upon whether you have any COs or Fleet-level characters.



New Pages
Posted May 19th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

We have added several new pages to the site today intended to provide visitors with a great deal of information about us and our upcoming features before we begin testing everything out next month. We have also created a new e-mail account (see the Contact page) so that you can contact us if you have any questions, ideas, or concerns.



Main Page Almost Complete!
Posted May 19th 2010 by Mordred Ocal

After a few days of fairly exhaustive work, we have completed another little project that is inching us toward the first day of Alpha Testing. With our new theme completing some fairly basic tests, we have begun work on implementing it across the entire site (thus replacing the previous theme which was quite a bit different, layout-wise). We will be working on that and adding some new pages to the basic site this week, that way visitors know what Future Fleets is all about before Alpha Testing begins. And finally, we have almost completed work on the new PHP version of the site's main page, which now only requires some links and tweaked graphics. Please keep checking back for updates throughout the week.



Site Update
Posted May 19th 2010 by Raemet

As we move closer to the start of Alpha Testing in June, we decided it might be best if we spent a little bit of time redesigning our front page. At the moment, we've completed the first part of the redesign by producing the static page you see. However, by the time we are done, the final product will be written in PHP, and this page will automatically display news items, site stats, and user info. We also hope to replace the images at left and the login button with functional links once those sections of the site are complete.

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