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[Alex]

Will there be more for the release besides "Procurement Contracts" or no?

Maybe? Probably. Depends on exactly which direction this update ends up going.

Have you ever considered doing a Youtube devblog like the guys at LeafyGames, who work on Pulsar?

I think it'd take me too long - not exactly set up/proficient with video editing, and knowing me, I'd spend forever making edits til it was "just right". Plus, as a player, I'd prefer text myself. It's just so much easier to navigate/consume at the pace that's right for you.

EDIT: How awesome would it be if NPC's had individual relationships with you based off of the timeliness, efficiency, and degree of screwing over/betrayal of your actions during the missions that could be even more temperamental than factions? I understand that would surely be very complicated, just a thought. Something to do if you have time on your hands or run out of ideas I guess

Yeah, I can see that being very neat. Again more of a content thing - fleshing out missions to actually be that way - so probably makes sense to tackle once all the mechanical pieces are in place.

I just had an idea: If there are going to be financial penalties for failing a mission or anything else, I wouldn't want them to be deducted from my account immediately. That's rude. Instead, they'd increase your debt with the faction. Having debt would impose a reputation penalty with the faction in question that stays there until you pay it off (while accruing interest), scaled with the amount of money involved as a ratio of player's total worth. Customs tolls should allow you to do the same, unless they don't trust you in which case they'd demand payment immediately. I think it would be a very fun mechanic that puts more control in player's hands.

That's a really, really neat idea. Will keep it in mind! Did I mention that I think this is a neat idea?

[CrashToDesktop]

In addition to the debt idea by orost, what about making debt have more than just faction penalties?  Seeing as to what credit is today, what about increasing prices on goods of all kinds the more debt you have?  Gives a lot more incentive to pay it off as soon as possible than just a few angry people.

@orost
By the way, did you happen to get that idea from a game called Offworld Trading Company?  That's the only other game that I know has such a system, and I love it.  Just curious.

[orost]

I have played OTC, but I didn't make the connection while thinking about this, at least not consciously.

Also, what you said about incentive to pay back gave me another idea. If your reputation with a faction gets too low, it should start seeking you out - but the way it does it should be related to the reasons your reputation is low in the first place. If it's debt, they'll try to confiscate any property of yours that they can get their hands on, and try to convince their allies to do do the same. This would go towards nullyfing your debt, but leave a long-lasting stain on your reputation, so it's better to liquidate and pay back before it gets to that point... or get your things out of their jurisdiction.

If it's piracy, it would be a bounty on your head instead, and so on...

Basically what I'm getting at is that reputation should be, instead of a single number, a list of modifiers, for example:

Debt (125,000 credits): -15
2 counts of minor smuggling: -4
Completed bounties: +30

The faction would take actions on each of those matters individually, so maybe that +30 from bounties makes you a licensed bounty hunter with some access to military equipment, but at the same time and independently of that your debt makes them less likely to entrust you with money, and your history of smuggling makes them pay closer attention to your actions on the markets. In extreme cases, where the net reputation reaches very low or very high values, one would affect the others - military and financial services may be unconnected, but obviously you're not going to get a loan if you've just been caught doing major piracy, and you're not going to be hassled for some unpaid tolls from two cycles ago if you've since become an important military leader in the faction, for example. This could be connected to the persistent people system we're getting, with various persons from a faction handling their own facet of the reputation system.

Probably too complex, but wouldn't it be great?

[Protonus]

I'm also curious if the AI's themselves, not the NPC's giving out quests, will be able to take quests as they please as well.

Realistically speaking, if a tendency that both an AI and the player managed to grab hold to a single mission, the first one could finish it first to get the reward.

Spoiler

Oh, before exaggerating that the AI will almost always completes the mission, I have this kicker.

If ever the AI gets the mission completed first, the player CAN just destroy the AI's ship before they reach the quest giver, grab its intel and alter to the player's favor and return to their employer for the reward instead.

[close]

To have a little more of a dynamic feel that someone actually took your job first instead of actually taking so many jobs that nobody, in a literal way, actually wants.

I think this is one of those things that sounds better on paper than it would work out in practice. There could be cases where it's interesting, but if it was across the board, and missions you took on were routinely stolen out from under you by forces essentially beyond your control, that doesn't seem like it'd be good. (I don't think the "kicker" is practical - how are you going to intercept an AI ship that's halfway across the Sector, finishing a mission you thought you had 2 months left to do?)
[/quote]

Well, I guess that would be a rather disturbing predicament, but it could be nice at least that the AI has only a few days ahead of you in the mission instead of getting to ridiculed timing of 2 months.

The interception could happened dependently through your contacts, NPC's that you have already accomplished with, and Communication stations like the most common Corvus tower, where they tell you what location is your competitor and what direction is he/she heading before finishing the quest. As for I can say, in accordance to the conditions of in-game (where the possibility of being attacked by another force that is not taking the job), not everyone is too willing to just finish a quest and head straight to the NPC in order to have it signed.

[JP]

I’ll give you two hints – it’s related the the infrastructure laid down during the mission work, and it’s not something I was planning to add in this release.

I am guessing Officers here

[kazi]

I’ll give you two hints – it’s related the the infrastructure laid down during the mission work, and it’s not something I was planning to add in this release.

I am guessing Officers here

Story missions?

[Protonus]

Possibly Ship-to-ship trading.

It's been long since I haven't seen another Rougelike Space game presenting Mobile traders passing by to sell very valuable items that players wouldn't normally find in a station/planet.

[TheDTYP]

What's this dev cycle looking like anyway? I know nothing is really nailed down and don't worry, I'm not asking for any specifics (I want to be surprised, anyway) but do you plan on it being as large as the last update? In which case, I won't expect it until MUUUUUCH later

[Gennadios]

I’ll give you two hints – it’s related the the infrastructure laid down during the mission work, and it’s not something I was planning to add in this release.

I am guessing Officers here

Fingers crossed. The RNGesus generated a bounty that's an eerie copy of someone I know from name and picture selection. I won't be able to play again until I know for sure whether it'll be possible to force them into a recruitment.

[Trylobot]

This is looking pretty badass, Alex.

[Alex]

What's this dev cycle looking like anyway? I know nothing is really nailed down and don't worry, I'm not asking for any specifics (I want to be surprised, anyway) but do you plan on it being as large as the last update? In which case, I won't expect it until MUUUUUCH later

It's hard to say. Not *planning* on it being larger at the moment, but some details about exactly where to go with this update are up in the air.

This is looking pretty badass, Alex.

Hey! Nice to see you around

[CopperCoyote]

Will mission completion goodwill for one NPC rub off on another NPC from the same faction?

Say for example: If I do a ton of missions for the quartermaster(either by design or happenstance), will the base commander have their view altered in any way?

[Alex]

Right now, no. I'd like to look at this sort of thing eventually, though, both for people and for allied factions and other such.

[Sproginator]

It'd be nice to see some sort of black market smuggling operation where, if your fleet were to get scanned, you'd lose reputation, cargo, and a mission

[Alex]

Yeah, was thinking about something similar myself It's a nice way to get more nuance/detail than simply selling on the black market can do.