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Author Topic: More Installable Items  (Read 2417 times)

SteelHeart

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More Installable Items
« on: September 12, 2019, 07:15:11 PM »

Currently we have 3 installable items: Nano forges, Syncrotron Cores, and AI cores. What I'm thinking of is adding more items along the lines of the Nano forge with corrupted and pristine variants that can be installed in more industries to boost production or alter the way it works.

Some examples and flavor text:

Pristine Farmatron

+3 production when installed in a farm

A huge machine built to help feed planetary populations in the billions on very little farmland. This unit looks to be in near perfect condition.

Degraded Farmatron

+1 Production when installed in a farm

A huge machine built to help feed planetary populations in the billions on very little farmland. This unit bear the telltale signs of extensive use and will operate at a reduced efficiency.


Pristine Core Bore

+3 Production when installed in a mine

This is a massive platform that would allow for miners to easily access the lower most layers of a planet in relative safety. There appears to be nothing of major concern regarding its integrity.

Damaged Core Bore

+1 Production when installed in a mine

This is a massive platform that would allow for miners to easily access the lower most layers of a planet in relative safety. There is major damage to several of its system and it appears to be operating at only a fraction of its potential.


There could be a few more of these items for the rest of the industries and they could be used to help flush out a few details of the game's lore.
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sotanaht

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Re: More Installable Items
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2019, 03:54:48 AM »

I'm not sure more installables will help much, but I think the general underlying principle is that you should be able to better specialize a few colonies in such a way that their output competes with spamming lower-tier colonies instead.  The problem with installables is that it isn't really have any opportunity cost that would prevent you from also expanding like mad at the same time.

I know Starsector isn't intended to be a 4x, but Civilization is still a good place to look for some of the balance mechanics.  You can continue to improve and specialize a city for pretty much the entire game in Civilization, but doing so costs the same resources you would instead put into expanding.  Usually starting new cities costs both population and production from one of your existing cities, slowing their growth in exchange.  Also there's penalties in place for having larger numbers of cities.  Combined those features are intended to balance both vertical and horizontal expansion strategies with each other.
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PyroFuzz

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Re: More Installable Items
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2019, 07:33:59 AM »

I am curious to what installable items we could have. +4 ore -2 volatiles, or something like that.
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Amoebka

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Re: More Installable Items
« Reply #3 on: September 14, 2019, 01:02:27 AM »

I think it would be nice if special items (and story point upgrades!) had more interesting effects than just +X production. Or at least had additional caveats to them.

For example, "farmatrons" (not a fan of the name) could boost farming to a crazy extent, but also aggravate pathers, who normally ignore farming planets (using Moloch's evil machinery to taint a virtuous form of labour isn't fine).

Or maybe have special items than incentivize colonizing otherwise unattractive planets. For example, something like a Domain-era database of GMO sealife that greatly boosts food output of aquaculture of water worlds, but not farming anywhere else. Or an advanced volatiles extractor that only works on gas giants.
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sotanaht

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Re: More Installable Items
« Reply #4 on: September 14, 2019, 05:29:33 AM »

I think it would be nice if special items (and story point upgrades!) had more interesting effects than just +X production. Or at least had additional caveats to them.

For example, "farmatrons" (not a fan of the name) could boost farming to a crazy extent, but also aggravate pathers, who normally ignore farming planets (using Moloch's evil machinery to taint a virtuous form of labour isn't fine).

Or maybe have special items than incentivize colonizing otherwise unattractive planets. For example, something like a Domain-era database of GMO sealife that greatly boosts food output of aquaculture of water worlds, but not farming anywhere else. Or an advanced volatiles extractor that only works on gas giants.
I like the idea of boosting specific, normally sub-optimal worlds.  It allows better use of the systems I have available and works to further specialization.
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mvp7

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Re: More Installable Items
« Reply #5 on: September 14, 2019, 06:48:56 AM »

Personally I would like to see trade-offs more than flat boosts. Relics like Nanoforges shouldn't even be necessary for basic adjustments, items like that could only be required for the best effects.

Shifting the focus of industries for better profits, for improved internal supply, or to appease other factions could be an interesting part of late-game mechanics and make the galaxy wide industry outputs less homogeneous. Currently if you look at the market shares of supply, heavy machinery, heavy weapons and ship hulls it's just the exact same relative productions and market shares four times.
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SonnaBanana

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Re: More Installable Items
« Reply #6 on: September 16, 2019, 10:39:36 PM »

Mining: Core Borer vs Thermal Processor. First grants +3 Ore and Transplutonic Ore, Second grants +3 Organics and Volitiles

Refining: Corrupted Recycler vs Pristine Recycler. First -30% upkeep, second reduces consumption by two units, -30% upkeep and attracts Pathers.

Light Industry: Cultural Archives vs Pharmaforge. First increases light industry income by 35%, second produces three units of Harvested Organs + Recreational Drugs and attracts pathers.

Population & Infrastructure: Educational Cybernet vs Surveillance Cybernet: First grants +2 Crew, second grants +1 Stability. Both attracts pathers for some reason  :P.
« Last Edit: September 16, 2019, 10:46:58 PM by SonnaBanana »
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MeatyBoii

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Re: More Installable Items
« Reply #7 on: September 17, 2019, 03:04:10 AM »

How about something is added that falls between +1 and +3 in case of nanoforges and synchrotrones?
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Hrothgar

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Re: More Installable Items
« Reply #8 on: September 17, 2019, 03:18:27 AM »

Instalable item for bases:

-Ares Class System: using a delta core this vast system create a information processing network, capable of downloading , translating, cataloging vast amount of intelligence.  System helps greatly with big operations across systems. (More intel about fleets, more bounties etc).

-Zeus Class system: using a unkown class core system similar to Ares, but with astonishing capabilities. Some whispers in dark say that this system was capable of enhancing and coordinate galactic scale fleet operations. (Even more, but AI Remnant will often come to omegalul your peasants hurt your colonies.
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Demonocolips

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Re: More Installable Items
« Reply #9 on: September 17, 2019, 05:14:20 PM »

well resource consumption would be just one thing to change. the "Farmotron" could consume the organic materials which is only used for civic goods or something like that as fertilizer. at the moment there are only three installables if you count AI cores. all of them just give direct upgrades and while i can understand in the lower levels that through better management you can save resources and money at higher levels its a little more difficult to believe that you can also increase production while also saving materials and money.

changing resource requirements as well as materials created. maybe a nano forge which could be installed in a mining facility to turn any mined resources directly into refined materials but increases running costs.

also more stages of the installables. maybe a low tech mass produced version that you can find a blueprint for.  a high tech one then the current arrangement. but they need to be more balanced in terms of cost and resource management. maybe a bell curve of cost with a steady increase in productivity.
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Agile

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Re: More Installable Items
« Reply #10 on: September 17, 2019, 05:51:55 PM »

These would be cool but only if, in return, the player got more risk.

By risk I mean, by constantly using rare pre-Collapse relics, it attracts the attention of the Remnants, as well as specially named death fleets from the factions who's job is to steal it, like a Hegemony Admiral coming to steal your Farmotron so they can feed their large colonies, and they aint here to play around.

Right now nanoforges, AI cores, and synchrotrons are just plain upgrades with no real disadvantage.
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