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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

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Messages - PokerChen

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Mods / Re: [0.8.1a] Diable Avionics 1.85 (01/07/2017)
« on: July 11, 2017, 12:36:49 PM »
And now i'm waiting for the day some ABSOLUTE MADMAN™ takes the code and remakes the entirety of Super Robot Wars in Starsector mission mode
!!

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*chuckles* For what it's worth, I think Starsector's cosmological fidelity is not bad, relative to the playing field of "games set in space". My husband and I play Stellaris (simultaneously better and worse), and SoaSE (so awful that I pretend each planet has its own star).
Since it's too much to randomly make systems that obey the current model of star system evolution on the fly, I wonder if there's some convenient repository of simulation results.

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Mods / Re: [0.8.1a] The Nomads, v1.4.3-rc2
« on: July 02, 2017, 01:57:34 PM »
Public note: I will slowly fill out the lore entry for the new ships over the next weeks.

Also, I'm glad Alex has stepped in on the possibility of adding manufacturer fields.

4
Mods / Re: [0.8a] The Nomads (v1.0 - Snrasha update [experimental])
« on: June 08, 2017, 12:35:47 AM »
Note: all ship lores have been added with the latest pull-request, but I have not checked whether the small version cuts each piece at appropriate sections. Some of them will probably need to be revised later for this.

On the plus side, the coming patch gives all ships some form of explicit continuity within the context of a space-borne faction, based on their existing stats and design:
Spoiler
  • Nomad fleets lack dedicated civilian vessels because the Oasis can only maintain so many ships. No Starliners, no Prometheuses, etc. It's fairly maxed out with the current fleet size, so every vessel has to do everything to some degree.
  • For transport and trade (if any), Komodo-Is have the largest cargo capacity and should be used. As an outdated destroyer design, it functions today as more similar to Mules.
  • Oasis's sprite size is big enough to build entire frigates and parts for larger ships (externally on its starboard gap). On the other hand it isn't station-sized and can't fit everyone, so half of the population end up living on other cruisers and capitals. Will considering adding civilians as a Nomad drop if Alex doesn't add them for mainline civilian transports.
  • There's definitely a ton of AI-cores on board the Oasis somewhere, given what it's supposed to know how to do: everything to maintain a civilization for thousands of years. ( PS: this isn't implemented. ;) Presumably, players want an Oasis for itself, not the parts onboard. )
  • The population redistribution means Gila Monsters are true civilian-military hybrid battleships with its large people/fuel/storage, and logistical efficiency. This also means it's slows as a rock and can't fight for very long with limited Doom Cannon support, meant only to kill the biggest threats to the fleet.
  • In other words, the Sandstorm is the largest military ship that people should be fearing.
  • Rattlesnake cruisers are the usual centerpieces, and have the only universal mounts in Nomad fleet. This is experimental integration of Domain tech, so expect future variants with sabots and torpedoes to make them truly deadly.
  • Other older experiments are all dedicated shipspecs like sniper frigates and missile destroyers. This is a by-product of the lack of universal mount technology.
[close]
...on the minus side, there are some lore-ific ship changes that are yet to be implemented. The Nomad's don't have a sensor or mining ship, although for the latter ships like the Death Blossom might be able to fill-in, and I'll give a Mining Pod-variant to the Flycatcher.

5
Mods / Re: [0.8a] The Nomads (v1.0 - Snrasha update [experimental])
« on: June 03, 2017, 02:25:55 AM »
Ok, I'll stick to filling all the lore sections for the time being. Git pull request done for the frigates and some fighters.

> Fighters
The Scarab, being an interceptor, could be faster. The relative performance will need to be tested, but the Neriads from Shadowyards are one of the excellent expensive interceptors worth 8~10 OP (although it is currently too cheap @ 4OP). I think Scarabs can be a much cheaper option that still distinguishes itself from mainline factions by being the fastest and weakest.
Iguanas, I'm not sure about, but Toads are tough. Fangs need their bomb back for them to be evaluated properly.

> Variants
It is more meaningful if each Nomad ship does have a customisable mount (small energy or small kinetic). Is it possible to spawn, e.g., scout fleets from the Oasis fleet? If this is so, then having random variants will be meaningful.

> Ship systems
The main thing I'm thinking of is giving burn drive to the Roadrunner and moving its Damselflies to a fighter-bay. Their original design by Trylobot had a screenshot of ~240 su in combat (with a burn drive?), which is probably too fast, but given its really weak flux stats, I would place Roadrunners as a frigate catcher and pure flanker.

High energy focus seems to be high-tech to me, so it's odd to see most of the Nomads have them.


6
Mods / Re: [0.8a] The Nomads (v1.0 - Snrasha update [experimental])
« on: May 31, 2017, 02:35:22 PM »
NB: I've git-cloned the current branch for direct modifications in the future when there is time and desire. Can git pull-request directly after testing.

== On the state of Nomad fleet balance and first steps to take them from 0.6.x towards 0.8 standards ==
 I've also had a brief look at each vessel in simulators against Lasher/Enforce/Eagle/Conquests to see how they fare against hegemony standards. Here are some notes in in terms of my proposed changes - looking for a bit of feedback on the first step.

Current status, based on ship design and thread-trawl:
  • Nomad fleets are low-tech and have a low-flux/armor-focus not dissimilar to Hegemony. Their ships emphasize logistic efficiency over combat prowess, hence no/few ballistics or non-rechargeable missile mounts. Their outdated maser systems are very flux inefficient and short-ranged compared to current mainline fleets, but their constant fusion torpedo fire available on destroyers can outlast front-shield adversaries due to heatseeker AI.
  • Lore-wise and mechanics-wise, Nomads tend to be hard-countered by high-tech equivalents (via some combination of being out-fluxed, out-ranged, and out-maneuvered in addition to a lack of Nomad kinetic power). Meaning Paragon->Gila, Medusa->Komodo, Wolf->Wurm.
  • Since almost all mounts are built-ins, combined-arms fleet composition is usually necessary in a big fight. Without specialists that provide long-range pressure and finishing blows, it should be harder for Nomad fleets to win even against standard Hegemony (severely out-teched after all).
  • Given official 0.8 stuff like REDACTED, I'm not sure how to lore-harmonize the fact that all Nomad ships have shields but not useful kinetics, and are generally stuck with masers.

Suggestions to convert to 0.8 standard:
  • If the strategic AI isn't looking at the OP stats to decide fleet power, tentatively suggest converting Nemean flux-shunts to be a built-in, and adjusting OP down accordingly. Alternatively as a lore-fluff (if it is possible), make the Nemean flux-shunt a unique D-mod presenting its age relative to Domain standards, decreasing flux-stats in return for unique hard-flux dissipation. This allows players to make the choice of making an expensive upgrade, yielding alternate Nomad loadout with improved flux but no hard-flux dissipation.
  • Adjust the speed upwards slightly for a number of ships to allow it not to be kited so easily by hegemony...? Or one of the alternatives below.
  • Improve weapon stats slightly to combat mainline power-creep, i.e. mainline updates w.r.t. ammo-free ballistics, increased projectile weapon range. Keep flux management weakness.
  • Update the strikecraft behaviour/stats for more diversity. Most fighters are fighting oddly in the same way, so Scarabs sit around to die immediately to PD, and Fang's missile isn't currently working, it seems. They die without a resulting explosion.
  • Diversify ship systems to have things other than High Energy Focus. Roadrunner seems to have lost its burn-drive?
  • If variants can be applied to built-ins, add a couple of alternative loadouts. Otherwise consider cloning.
  • I wonder where the limited universal mounts went from the old days? Synergy mounts (energy/missiles) might be a useful addition.

7
Mods / Re: [0.8a] The Nomads (v1.0 - Snrasha update [experimental])
« on: May 30, 2017, 12:10:39 AM »
Hmm. Rather than edit it into the strings of the mod, I figured I should put the faction description here.
> (to go into) nomads,FACTION,"",,, <
"Across the eons, only a small fraction of humanity have ever seriously contemplated trading an anchored life for an eternal journey. Regardless of whether the choice was between a house and the roads, or a planet and the stars, humanity has generally preferred the stability of a sedentary life over one spent wandering through the vastness of Creation. Home was a concept rooted on firm ground, and even the most adventurous of pirates would find tempting the prospect of retirement into some freeport cartel. After all, who would tell their stories if they died ignominiously in some forgotten corner of the sector?

To those bitten with wanderlust, however, hyperspace travel was the ultimate gateway drug. One group of these minorities came to be called the Nomads - simply named due to the sheer age of their distinct civilisation relative to all other nomadic splinters. The Nomads' origin stretches before even the Domain of Man, when according to legend hyperspace was pierced by bright and colorful trails - outpacing the rudimentary droneships exploring the neighborhood of fabled Earth. A fleet of ill-fitted ships departed the cradle of humanity for the unknown expanse, carrying explorers who were driven to see the galaxy for themselves and who could not endure being spoilered by blurred hypercomm images. Neither the destination of this first fleet nor the names of their crew are now knowable, and given the dangers of hyperspace to long-term health unknown to the initial explorers it is also likely that the present civilisation is mostly descended from later participants during the initial Domain epoch. Nevertheless, their indomitable spirit remains within all those who now call the Oasis fleet home.

Based on their current fleet technology, the initial Nomad fleet likely maintained sporadic contact with early Domain settlers, then broke off as the frontiers became increasingly militarized. The inexorable exploitation of both planet and people drove the Nomads away from colonized space, and were it not for the Collapse we may never hear of them again. However, it seems that the Nomads somehow become aware of the calamity - and then became curious of what had befallen humanity as each sector was left to fend for itself. At least, this is what the Oasis fleet claims after it emerged within hyperspace sensors and establishes contact with a shocked independent scavenger fleet. The fleet currently tours this sector, mining resources from unclaimed planets and conducting restricted trade with the major factions while maintaining some distance from population centers. A small outpost has even been established in a minor system, raising the suspicious eyebrows of many Hegemony and Tri-tachyon security officers.

Will they prove to be a painful reminder of ancient history, or a beacon to humanity's future?
"

8
Mods / Re: [0.8a] Neutrino Corp. (v. 1.84RC1)
« on: May 29, 2017, 10:51:14 AM »
Tested this triple neutron pulse cannon in the mission "Retribution" and the one after that, replacing other weapons. Worked just fine. You'll have to deactivate some mods and figure out if it's a mod-mod conflict. For reference, I have:
- combat chatter
- console commands
- Diable
- GraphicsLib
- LazyLib
- Neutrino
- ORA
- Portraits Pack
- Shadowyards

9
Mods / Re: [0.8a] Diable Avionics 1.82 (08/05/2017)
« on: May 29, 2017, 10:29:51 AM »
Tartiflette, if you don't mind a feature request, it would be nice fluff to see planet modifiers on ORA and Diable planets in addition to the market modifiers. According to e.g. corvus.json and market_conditions.csv, the planet modifiers are lumped together with market modifiers.

P.S. I've been enjoying both mods with their unique flavours since 0.7x - the consistent quality is appreciated.

10
Mods / Re: [0.8a] Outer Rim Alliance v0.7 (08/05/2017)
« on: May 29, 2017, 10:07:30 AM »
 I personally do enjoy ORA and Diable being away from the core systems. Although, the ORA systems are a bit too close together, which reduces the reason to go to the smaller markets (easier to find ships).
 In any case, the actual number of functional systems are smaller (not really worth visiting size 1~4 markets), and if decolonization becomes a thing then ORA will fix itself over the first decade of the game.

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