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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: Hyperspace  (Read 54136 times)

Alex

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Hyperspace
« on: July 25, 2013, 07:50:28 PM »

Blog post here.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2013, 01:21:21 PM by StianStark »
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TheCornerBro

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2013, 08:01:08 PM »

Really cool! :D
In the event of a lack of fuel, would the game just speed up until you hit a gravity well (a la mount and blade captures)?
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xenoargh

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2013, 08:11:34 PM »

My thoughts:  there was a mechanic in Escape Velocity (IIRC), where if one ran out of fuel, one could make a hyperspace call for help if one had the credits, eventually getting a fuel tanker sent your way.  If you were out of credits, you died, with an explanation about drifting through space because you ran out of fuel and couldn't afford a tanker (i.e., telling players why their choice didn't work- this meant that from then on, players kept a minimal balance of credits to cover that dire necessity).

This is both realistic and a good way to prevent this kind of feature from becoming a major game-balance hassle.

If players have a billion credits and want to fly their giant fleet across the wide empty spaces of the galaxy, calling for fuel tankers at phenomenal costs (say, raise the price depending on how far you are from a solar system) ... I'd honestly say that it's both more realistic and more likely to be Fun to let them, rather than force them to build the All-Tanker Fleet.  If the price scaling was really reasonable, it'd also be a gentle landing pad for newbies figuring out the mechanics.

[EDIT]Also... since I know that we'll all want to mod it in (and it'll be popular, because it will provide a gentler mechanic) I'd strongly suggest having a Hull Mod that generates Fuel over time.  If Fuel's handled as a float internally, then Fuel generation / day can be helpful.  I'd also suggest having a Hull Mod that allows trading Fuel for Supplies over time.  Both would eat a medium-largish OP amount and be an effect that got more efficient with larger hulls.

This would, if set up correctly, allow for fleets with very long-range traveling capabilities, even indefinite ones, in exchange for significant reduction of their combat effectiveness.  Sounds like an exploration fleet to me.  The something-for-nothing can be explained away by lore- "Giant p-space interstitial meshes project Infernium-capturing field effects, allowing fleets to gather the minute amounts of Infernium that drift between the stars"... or whatnot.[/EDIT]
« Last Edit: July 25, 2013, 08:39:05 PM by xenoargh »
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FlashFrozen

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2013, 08:44:58 PM »

Idk why but All i could think of was the Eve titan bridging lol.

Very interesting mechanic that we can finally play with :D ,

A few questions, will there be a visual difference/gameplay between naturally occurring jump points versus artificial?
Are jump points discovered completely stable? ( limited fleet size/ amounts of jumps, before permanent/temporary collapse? )
Is it possible to enter a jump point even when you have enough fuel for certain portion of your fleet, but say a venture is somehow unable to squeeze in alongside, will it just deny entry or will there be ramifications?

And one last one, on that WTB a ship dedicated to opening temporary jump points to nearby systems ( at a cost to it's own fuel reserves of course ) :P
« Last Edit: July 25, 2013, 09:10:09 PM by FlashFrozen »
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miro

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2013, 09:46:07 PM »

WTB a ship dedicated to opening temporary jump points to nearby systems ( at a cost to it's own fuel reserves of course ) :P

This. New utility ships would be amazing. Perhaps some ships can open their own ones, like an Atlas. (One incapable of transporting other ships as well.)
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Dri

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2013, 10:08:16 PM »

Mildly let down that Hyperspace travel is just like normal space but with a fuel cost and prettier colors.

Hopefully you'll add a few unique bits of content to it like Hyperspace dwelling horrors/aliens. I can also see adding giant hulks that warp in and out of Hyperspace a la Warhammer 40k.
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PCCL

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2013, 10:17:57 PM »

I like the idea of a little more to hyperspace, but let's give it time.

please no horrors/aliens though, kinda ruins the galactica style "we're the only ones out there" feel that I do so love about the game
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phyrex

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2013, 10:19:46 PM »

Pretty cool  ;D
Altho i feel like the background for the hyperspace travel map should be bleaker, if not downright completly black with only the purple-ish circle of jump-points.
Kinda line an omnipresent reminder that you do NOT want to be stranded here.

idk, i just feel it would look cooler
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xenoargh

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #8 on: July 25, 2013, 10:28:30 PM »

On the visuals, a thought- maybe a visual depiction of gravity wells, where a blue / purple grid on pure black is distorted by the planet / stars according to radius?  Something bleak and TRON-ish, to emphasize that we're in a different realm, perhaps not one that normal human senses can perceive?

+1 to having fleets of Something Nasty that only appear while in Hyperspace; it's one of the cooler bits of 40K lore and it's one of the things that was interesting in Star Control- they don't have to be Aliens, but rogue Domain AIs, Android Synth Warriors, special cool pirates etc. would be neato :)

Oh, and how are encounters going to get handled?  If we're kicked out of Hyperspace via an encounter, do we just return to Hyperspace at the end by magic?  Or some special rules?  For example... perhaps in Hyperspace, instead of nebula clouds... gravity events that suck ships and weapon shots towards them?  Occasional, random white-hole events that give a warning, but must be avoided to not take damage when they spew out radiation?  Just some random thoughts about things that wouldn't be hard to add but would give it a feeling of being Somewhere Utterly Else.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2013, 10:33:42 PM by xenoargh »
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Decer304

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #9 on: July 25, 2013, 10:57:49 PM »

Hyperspace look really cool, although i do question the background tho, i know its a place holder, it just doesnt look right, the implementation, where ships fly in and out of a hole that looks like a time portal or something.
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Plasmatic

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2013, 11:22:11 PM »

I don't usually react to things this strongly but..

Gimme 0.6 now :D
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Dark.Revenant

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #11 on: July 26, 2013, 12:09:07 AM »

The old 2d space tactics game Ares (published by Ambrosia) had a story concept that hyperspace jumps were difficult and expensive, not to mention slow, without the presence of a Gateship.  Most fleets only have one Gateship, if any, and they're by far the most powerful classification of ship due to their immense size and extremely powerful power generators.  Towards the end of the game, you command an entire fleet with the task of destroying an enemy Gateship, and after losing uncountable dozens of of cruisers (frigate size), gunships and destroyers (destroyer size), and carriers (cruiser size), you finally manage to damage it, forcing a retreat.  In the final mission you finally kill it by taking the most powerful cruiser in the game for a spin and redirecting what amounts to nuclear asteroids into the Gateship.  Each of the asteroids can one-shot almost any other ship in the game, but it takes several to bring down the Gateship even though it starts at half its hit points.

If you ever need a final ship classification that can't be acquired under normal circumstances, a hyperspace-assisting supership might be what you're looking for.  Giving it a bunch of weapons is entirely optional; the logistical benefit pays for itself.  Though, it would make an interesting story piece to kit one out with enough weapons to make a Paragon jealous and have its destruction/capture be one of the player's possible long-term goals.  The difficulty of an extremely slippery and extremely powerful target combined with a full-sized supporting fleet could prove a memorable challenge.
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Gothars

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #12 on: July 26, 2013, 01:36:40 AM »

Oh, how pretty :)

How many screens away will the next system be, approximately?

Any news on star-lanes for faster/cheaper hyperspace travel? A while ago there was some discussion about actively building lanes vs. self-forming through frequent use vs. no lanes at all.



Oh, and how are encounters going to get handled?  If we're kicked out of Hyperspace via an encounter, do we just return to Hyperspace at the end by magic?  Or some special rules?  

No:

Quote
Movement and combat in hyperspace work just the same way they do inside a star system
Trying to have fun and somewhat-balanced combat for a wide range of properties seems like a nightmare. Never mind making the AI deal with it.

I'm hoping for something extraordinary in hyperspace-combat too, though. Maybe just different encounter options, like an emergency dropout (provided the possibility to freely re-enter at cost of fuel gets implemented).
« Last Edit: July 26, 2013, 08:42:29 AM by Gothars »
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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2013, 03:48:54 AM »

@Phyrex: The background is a placeholder. I am sure they'll come up with a nice, weird background.

What Plasmatic said. Please hurry. xD
I love the glowy portals and the out-of-fuel risks.
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SlugMan

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Re: Hyperspace
« Reply #14 on: July 26, 2013, 05:59:23 AM »

My thoughts:  there was a mechanic in Escape Velocity (IIRC), where if one ran out of fuel, one could make a hyperspace call for help if one had the credits, eventually getting a fuel tanker sent your way.  If you were out of credits, you died, with an explanation about drifting through space because you ran out of fuel and couldn't afford a tanker (i.e., telling players why their choice didn't work- this meant that from then on, players kept a minimal balance of credits to cover that dire necessity).

This is both realistic and a good way to prevent this kind of feature from becoming a major game-balance hassle.

If players have a billion credits and want to fly their giant fleet across the wide empty spaces of the galaxy, calling for fuel tankers at phenomenal costs (say, raise the price depending on how far you are from a solar system) ... I'd honestly say that it's both more realistic and more likely to be Fun to let them, rather than force them to build the All-Tanker Fleet.  If the price scaling was really reasonable, it'd also be a gentle landing pad for newbies figuring out the mechanics.

[EDIT]Also... since I know that we'll all want to mod it in (and it'll be popular, because it will provide a gentler mechanic) I'd strongly suggest having a Hull Mod that generates Fuel over time.  If Fuel's handled as a float internally, then Fuel generation / day can be helpful.  I'd also suggest having a Hull Mod that allows trading Fuel for Supplies over time.  Both would eat a medium-largish OP amount and be an effect that got more efficient with larger hulls.

This would, if set up correctly, allow for fleets with very long-range traveling capabilities, even indefinite ones, in exchange for significant reduction of their combat effectiveness.  Sounds like an exploration fleet to me.  The something-for-nothing can be explained away by lore- "Giant p-space interstitial meshes project Infernium-capturing field effects, allowing fleets to gather the minute amounts of Infernium that drift between the stars"... or whatnot.[/EDIT]
that's not entirely how i remember Escape Velocity.  I believe you always had a chance to hail the next passing ship in attempts to buy fuel from them.  I don't remember the game ever ending because you ran out of fuel?  Also, you could board ships and steal their fuel if you wanted to pick a fight.  I assume there will still be a chance of picking up fuel in Starsector after every battle?  Either way, that is why buying the 'ramscoop' was always one my first purchases ikn EV, to slowly recover fuel over time, and wouldn't mind something like that in Starsector.
Also, props for the mention of 'Ares' in this thread.  EV and Ares... aahhhh... the games of my rotten youth.  And it's that itch that Starsector strangly scratches for me.
Ok, enough nitpicking and reminiscing on my part.  i love learning where Starsector is heading and i love playing it much more!  (back to lurking...)
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