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

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Author Topic: New character creation teased  (Read 10504 times)

Gothars

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New character creation teased
« on: April 10, 2017, 03:29:51 AM »

From Twitter:
Quote
Sneak peek of the new-game creation process for 0.8a. Focus on simpler and clearer choices; leave the rest for after game start!



It's a good idea to abbreviate the process somewhat. I also like the name generator.


What I'm sceptical about is how the difficulty and help choices are spread out. On the first screen you choose  your name and portrait and tick "iron mode" and "help popups". Then you get to decide in-world stuff, and after that you decide your difficulty and if you participate in the tutorial.
The flow is "character" "difficulty" "help-level" "character" "difficulty" "help-level". If you don't already know all the options before hand, that's confusing.

How about intergrating the iron mode choice with the difficulty, and the popup choice with the tutorial?


Also, I have still no idea was sector age and size do for actual gameplay, but that's something I hope to find out soon :)
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The game was completed 8 years ago and we get a free expansion every year.

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AxleMC131

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2017, 03:53:29 AM »


Also, I have still no idea was sector age and size do for actual gameplay, but that's something I hope to find out soon :)


If I remember the relevant blog posts on the subject, they apply to how the Procedural Generation algorithms create the sector. Size is pretty obvious, and I think Age changes what sort of planetary formations it generates. So in a "young" system you'd have more asteroid fields and dust rings around young stars with rocky volcanic worlds that have only recently formed, whereas an "old" system would have more big planets, an older cooler star, maybe nebula clouds and so forth. "Mixed" would just generate both within the sector.

That's what I concluded from what I remember anyway, so I'm fairly confident that's what's up with Age and Size, but don't quote me on any of that.  ;D

(As for how they affect gameplay... You've got me there. :-\ Perhaps an "old" system will have more debris and leftover bits from previous adventurers looking for places to settle? Guess we'll have to see!)
« Last Edit: April 10, 2017, 03:57:09 AM by AxleMC131 »
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SCC

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2017, 04:12:17 AM »

I think young sector has more hot planets and stars and asteroids belts, old has more nebulas, dim stars and gas giants, average has star systems with some hot planets and asteroid belts, some gas giants and nebulas, while mixed sector has all types of solar systems mixed, so there could be yellow dwarf with lots of asteroids right next to a red giant with only some remaining planets and nebulas everywhere.
The order of settings is bad, come to think about it. Player should choose in order: sector, difficulty, starting options. So, sector generation setting, then if they want ironman, pop-ups, normal or easy mode, then (depending on chosen difficulty) starting ships. This would allow to, for example, first time players to start with wolf and lasher (instead of a KITE).

PerturbedPug

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2017, 09:54:13 AM »

I think nebulas would be more prevalent in younger sectors, since those are what stars are made from. Older sectors would have older starts, so the nebulas would have been used up by then.

I think it would be have a direct effect on gameplay as well, since fleets would have fewer nebulas and other debris to sneak around in older sectors.
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orost

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #4 on: April 10, 2017, 10:01:14 AM »

Nebulas are also what remains after an old star goes nova and spews gas all over the place.
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Dri

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2017, 10:28:11 AM »

So the Wolf is back as the starter ship, eh? Don't you think Phase Skimmer is a tad complex for a newbie? Oh well, the Wolf has gotta be a better choice as a starter ship than the Centurion at least!

With all these "polish" tweaks I can only imagine we're getting close to release! :o Sometime this week maybe? :D
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Megas

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2017, 10:57:43 AM »

So the Wolf is back as the starter ship, eh? Don't you think Phase Skimmer is a tad complex for a newbie?
No.  Once I learned what the starters were when I first played during the 0.53 days, I would not accept any starter other than the Wolf.

Phase Skimmer is not complex.  If anything, it saves newbies by undoing pilot errors and dodging bullets.  It did for me.
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PerturbedPug

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2017, 11:04:45 AM »

Nebulas are also what remains after an old star goes nova and spews gas all over the place.

Oops, maybe I should brush up on my astronomy a bit
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Dri

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #8 on: April 10, 2017, 11:26:33 AM »

Well, I hope there is a Lasher starter (kills things the quickest early game) but it doesn't look like there is...
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Gothars

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #9 on: April 10, 2017, 11:41:33 AM »

I really just meant what the Sector options mean for gameplay. Will the game get harder or easier in an old sector? Are there better planets for colonization in one type? Is a certain play stile favored by some of the options? Or is this a 100% visual/lore choice?

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Alex

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #10 on: April 10, 2017, 11:54:04 AM »

Re: Wolf - I thought about this a fair bit. In the end, I think the Wolf is the better choice for a new player. It may be a bit trickier to learn, but the skillset in using it is focused on piloting skill and it can handle just about any opponent. It feels fair to say, "here's a Wolf, if you use it well enough you should be able to handle whatever you need to".

A Lasher can find itself in situations where it's just got no good options, unless it's got a specialized fit (i.e. probably an SO one) which isn't the most beginner-friendly thing to either figure out or fly.

In addition, with the across-the-board OP bonus, the Wolf feels a lot better - it can fire off quite a lot of heavy blaster shots before maxing out. The new starting loadout is pretty solid, too - versatile, easy to use, and lots of damage potential. It's just all around a more fun ship than the Lasher.


I really just meant what the Sector options mean for gameplay. Will the game get harder or easier in an old sector? Are there better planets for colonization in one type? Is a certain play stile favored by some of the options? Or is this a 100% visual/lore choice?

For the moment, not very much, since what it affects most - the star and planet types you'll encounter - don't really matter beyond surveying. If you had something like outposts etc, I'd imagine it'll matter more. But I'm very much open to changing the sector-gen options to something more impactful just as soon as it's clear what that will be.
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Dri

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #11 on: April 10, 2017, 12:22:30 PM »

Well, for the sake of a 0.8 playthrough, which sector age will generate the most valuable survey worlds? An Old Sector, one that has had plenty of time for life to develop, yeah?
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Alex

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #12 on: April 10, 2017, 12:27:55 PM »

Not sure, actually. Different valuable conditions on both ends of the spectrum.
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SCC

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #13 on: April 10, 2017, 02:00:22 PM »

I love the "what features differently aged sectors have" subtopic. Though I hope that at the start sector age will affect only environment and not what's to loot (since older sector = more loot would mean that older is better and it is not obvious to players).

Megas

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Re: New character creation teased
« Reply #14 on: April 10, 2017, 02:08:21 PM »

Lasher is the berserker ship.  It is decent, but if it gets into trouble, it is dead.  Also, starter Lasher really needs Safety Override to shine, and that puts serious time pressure on the player.
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