Fractal Softworks Forum

Starsector => Suggestions => Topic started by: Tartiflette on May 24, 2019, 12:45:49 AM

Title: The countdown ring on intel bounties/missions should be made more obvious.
Post by: Tartiflette on May 24, 2019, 12:45:49 AM
Pretty much it, I was actually surprised to discover that the countdown ring is already a feature, but it's barely noticeable when zoomed in and plain invisible at the regular zoom. Additionally expired bounties should be clearly labeled as such instead of looking available. Maybe the timer ring should be blue and red, with extra red as it get closer to the expiration date, instead of blue and slightly darker blue.
Title: Re: The countdown ring on intel bounties/missions should be made more obvious.
Post by: TrashMan on May 24, 2019, 02:08:08 AM
I'd also tweak bounty generation.
There are way too many "ranks" and the bounty difficulty spikes massively

You have your 50K bounties (a few frigates that are a b*** to complete if you fleet is stronger because they run and you can't catch them), then 100K bounties, than 150 and 200K bounties that are compromised either fully of carriers (NOT fun) or of capital ships.

The fleet compositions seem to jump between those with practically nothing in between.
Title: Re: The countdown ring on intel bounties/missions should be made more obvious.
Post by: Gothars on May 24, 2019, 03:36:13 AM
Oh wow, I actually never noticed the timer rings! Last I remember thinking about them was when I was reading about them here on the forum. So, fully agree with Tarti.
Title: Re: The countdown ring on intel bounties/missions should be made more obvious.
Post by: SCC on May 24, 2019, 03:52:28 AM
Indeed, I remember Alex's twit about them, now I read the thread and realise that yeah, it's a feature...
Title: Re: The countdown ring on intel bounties/missions should be made more obvious.
Post by: Megas on May 24, 2019, 05:02:39 AM
I have never noticed the rings, and still do not know where to look.

Re: Bounty Spikes
They still spike a bit too fast for comfort.  The progression seems right only if player plays correctly.  That is optimize for combat early (skills, and pick faster start if necessary), do not lose ships (reload if ships are lost), make money fast enough to afford ships, and avoid major colony building early.  If player does not play correctly, it is easy to fall behind.

There were some 200k fights that were easily a match for my not-quite endgame fleet.  I had to rely on tricks (e.g., form deathball, make my fleet hover next to my wall to cheese AI and retreat quickly when peak performance expires) to beat them without it becoming a pyrrhic victory, if I win instead of barely losing.
Title: Re: The countdown ring on intel bounties/missions should be made more obvious.
Post by: intrinsic_parity on May 24, 2019, 06:08:52 AM
I made a post in bug reports about the bounty generation because I found two bounties for mid-high 200k, one with 4 cruisers, 2 falcons and 10 other ships, and the other with 5 pristine capitals and 20 other ships (I didn't go to check how many cruisers, but there were at least 2 pristine ones from the intel). I think there is something wrong with the bounty generation code. There's no way those two fleets should be a 20% difference in price.

Additionally, I think that the increase in ship price has made the risk/reward of bounties significantly worse. I hope bounties get reworked/rebalanced at some point to address this because I really like the increase in prices (and I think some cruisers and most capitals could be worth more still).
Title: Re: The countdown ring on intel bounties/missions should be made more obvious.
Post by: Alex on May 24, 2019, 09:24:29 AM
Pretty much it, I was actually surprised to discover that the countdown ring is already a feature, but it's barely noticeable when zoomed in and plain invisible at the regular zoom. Additionally expired bounties should be clearly labeled as such instead of looking available. Maybe the timer ring should be blue and red, with extra red as it get closer to the expiration date, instead of blue and slightly darker blue.

Since my first reaction was "what ring", you've got a point :) It's coming back to me, though. Interesting idea re: color-coding the ring; going to take a look at some point. In general, it was tough to make it more prominent without making it feel cluttered/like it was overwhelming the icon itself.

Good point about expired bounties, too - made a note about that.
Title: Re: The countdown ring on intel bounties/missions should be made more obvious.
Post by: Tartiflette on May 24, 2019, 09:37:23 AM
I should add, one of the thing that makes it less readable is the fact that it is so close to the portrait, without any significant margin between the two. Depending on which one it is, the ring can look like a part of the portrait rather than a separate indicator.
Title: Re: The countdown ring on intel bounties/missions should be made more obvious.
Post by: Vayra on May 24, 2019, 10:14:01 AM
There's a ring?!
Title: Re: The countdown ring on intel bounties/missions should be made more obvious.
Post by: Gotcha! on May 24, 2019, 10:39:35 AM
I second Vayra's remark.
I'm looking around inside the game and have no idea what you people are talking about. ???