When I was introduced to star sector, it took me a little while to figure out why I enjoyed it. I mean I WAS enjoying it; I just couldn't put my finger on precisely WHY. After a few hours it dawned on me while hunting down a pirate bounty:
PIRATES!
Pirates Gold, Sid Meier's Pirates, of COURSE! The similar game flows reminded me of glorious voyages on the high seas, navigating storms, hunting marks, sinking ships, building fleets, trading goods at port, earning promotions, all that good stuff! The combat mechanics and nuances of travel and ship loadouts helped of course but that's what really struck a chord with me.
I've realized there are a few things about those games that SS is missing though and the first one that really set the tone for those games is time. In the pirates games, one constant is that you age. Your character only has so many years of sailing in him and eventually you've got to hang up your hat and call it quits. You have plentiful options to willingly retire on a good note but sooner or later wounds, illness and age take their toll and you're eventually forced into retirement with your deeds summarized into your final tale. This was important because it meant that you had a good reason to get out there and DO stuff before your time was up. Mortality is the greatest impetus for action after all.
Could Star Sector have a more concrete tone and pacing with the addition of aging and forced retirement? How would it affect the feel of the game if we knew that we were on the clock? It would certainly add incentive to take certain opportunities when they arise and it would definitely give us a reason to plan ahead and decide on our vision for our budding captain/admiral/commodore.
