Thorium Nova
A Reimagining of Bridge Simulators
Thorium Nova is a collaborative recreation the place every participant takes the function of a
futuristic starship bridge crew member. Every participant’s job, similar to Captain,
Navigation, Tactical, Engineer, or Communications, is exclusive and essential to the
success of the mission. You possibly can play it as half of a bigger occasion, or along with your
pals in your lounge. It is such as you’re on the set of a Star Trek episode!
Devoted gamers can be taught to change into a Flight Director, the sport grasp behind
the scenes that guides the crew by the mission whereas taking part in the a part of
all the characters and aliens that they encounter. Assume a Dungeon Grasp,
however in area.
Are you an online developer, an artist, or a author? Thorium Nova is an open-source
venture in search of contributors! Take a look at the
code on Github and
join us on Discord. There are many methods to
contribute, and we’d like to have your assist!
Searching for Thorium Traditional? Go here.
What’s a Bridge Simulator?
Bridge Simulators, like Thorium Nova, are cooperative live-action role-playing
video games set in area. Gamers act out the roles of a spaceship bridge crew, such
as communications officer, navigator, or captain. They work collectively to finish
a set of mission targets.
Thorium Nova provides a flight director, who sits behind the scenes to behave as a recreation
grasp, controlling what occurs contained in the simulation, performing out the roles of
aliens the crew encounters, and guiding the crew by the storyline.
Many bridge simulators, like Artemis or Empty Epsilon, focus solely on arcade
motion. Thorium Nova makes an attempt to bridge the hole by providing wealthy tales in a
dynamic atmosphere, whereas staying easy sufficient for anybody to get pleasure from amongst
pals of their lounge.
“Thorium allows the flight director and crew. I’m a pure storyteller and Thorium opens up a world of prospects and alternatives for inventive storytelling.”
Natalie Anderson
Set Director, CMSC
The place did this begin?
Alex began engaged on starship bridge simulators when he labored on the
Christay McAuliffe Area Schooling Middle in Nice Grove, Utah. He developed
Thorium Traditional to assist the Utah Area Facilities educate younger college students by the
self-discipline of surprise.
Thorium Traditional was successful, nevertheless it did not reside as much as its full potential for
creating reasonable experiences in 3D area. It additionally was meant for knowledgeable
flight administrators, not informal gamers. Sadly, Thorium Traditional by no means made
it a lot additional than these area facilities.
Thorium Nova is the product of years of constructing nice bridge simulator
experiences for each crews and flight administrators. It takes the most effective components of
Thorium Traditional, like nice flight director controls and the timeline, and
combines them with thrilling new ideas, like a Star Map and inter-ship crew
maps.
That is mixed with a simplified flight director expertise that anybody can
be taught, together with highly effective automation to make it attainable for crews of any dimension
or expertise to get pleasure from a mission collectively.
These new paradigms are woven into each a part of the controls, creating an
solely new, unforgettable expertise — whether or not flying your flight at an area
heart, from house, or over the web.
What’s Included
Thorium Nova retains the most effective components of Thorium intact:
- Highly effective flight director controls, enabling deeply emotional storylines and
unscripted narrations. - Expressive mission timeline builder for crafting storylines.
- Straightforward to make use of interface — simply run the server on one pc and join by way of
internet browser. - First-class present management options, like DMX lighting and sound results.
Thorium Nova additionally provides thrilling new options:
- A 3D Star Map which allows a ravishing viewscreen displaying planets, stars, and
ships in area. - Sturdy crew simulation, monitoring the place and actions of each crew member
on the ship. - Highly effective timeline automations, making flights attainable with out flight
administrators. - Less complicated, extra approachable flight director controls, with a give attention to serving to
inexperienced persons succeed. - A sturdy networking structure, making flights over the web attainable.
Why ought to I join updates?
Thorium Nova goes to be underneath improvement for a short time earlier than it
turns into publicly obtainable. Within the meantime, you’ll be able to join the e-newsletter.
- Get common (weekly at most) updates concerning the progress of Thorium Nova
- Discover methods to contribute to Thorium Nova
- Be taught what goes into making a starship bridge simulator because it occurs
- Get entry to unique content material solely obtainable to e-newsletter subscribers
- Present suggestions and strategies for a way Thorium Nova ought to work
- Present your help for Thorium Nova, which helps me gague curiosity
Incessantly Requested Questions
What’s going to occur to Thorium Traditional?
Thorium Traditional will nonetheless be obtainable and maintained for the foreseeable
future. Thorium Nova does nothing to eradicate the worth of Thorium Traditional. On
the opposite, issues developed for Thorium Nova may find yourself making their means
again into Thorium Traditional.
Within the occasion that Thorium Traditional improvement has to stop, the venture is open
supply so anybody can obtain the supply code and make their very own adjustments or
fixes.
When will Thorium Nova be accomplished?
Improvement began on Thorium Nova within the Summer time of 2020, halted in early 2021,
and resumed in fall 2021. It should doubtless take at the least a 12 months earlier than a playable
demo is made obtainable. Happily, most of the classes discovered throughout Thorium
Traditional’s improvement can velocity the event strategy of Thorium Nova.
Why did not you simply construct new options into Thorium Traditional?
Constructing these options into Thorium Traditional could be a dramatic departure from
the traditional means of utilizing Thorium. As an alternative of attempting to wrangle Thorium to work
with this new paradigm, it makes extra sense to create a wholly separate
product.
Doing so has plenty of advantages. We get to start out over with the designs and
performance; outdated code in Thorium may be changed with the most recent applied sciences;
poorly carried out or not often used options may be eliminated solely, making the
product easier, easier-to-use, and in the end extra impactful for flight
administrators and crew members.
Moreover, Thorium Nova might be deliberately designed from the bottom as much as
help the wants of a broader viewers than Thorium Traditional. Whereas the unique
Thorium was targeted on supporting brick and mortar area facilities, Thorium Nova
is designed with the hobbyist in thoughts, bringing the area simulator expertise
to anyplace that has an web connection.
Will Thorium Nova be customizable?
Customization remains to be an open query. I like what customizability Thorium
Traditional has, however the options which might be meant for Thorium Nova are actually
tough to get proper whereas making it infinitely customizable.
It’s more likely that Thorium Nova will help a plugin or mod system
which permits intrepid hackers so as to add or modify points of Thorium gameplay. This
would come with creating customized themes and layouts, including new ships, modifying
the properties of ship programs, creating new photo voltaic programs and worlds (or an
solely new universe altogether), defining factions, and writing random
encounters, like second storylines which run parallel to the first story.
The place did that cool emblem and canopy picture come from?
I made the emblem myself, primarily based on the unique Thorium emblem. That image is
known as the “Triquetra” and is related to the god Thor in Norse mythology.
Appears acceptable to make use of with a product named after the God of Thunder.
The quilt picture was additionally generated on my own in Blender, utilizing a 3D mannequin and
planet texture which ship with Thorium and a procedurally generated background
and ring system. This is not precisely what the Star Map will appear to be, however I hope
to make it at the least considerably shut.