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Author Topic: Starsector 0.7a (Released) Patch Notes  (Read 574294 times)

Megas

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #150 on: June 25, 2015, 04:26:55 AM »

Maybe make crew eat food so that player has less to sell to starving planets (and less XP to reap).  While you are at it, maybe have waste disposal or recycling that converts the crews' poop into organics.

I do not mind that crew will not eat.  One less thing to worry about.
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Gothars

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #151 on: June 25, 2015, 05:48:11 AM »

I don't really like the change to removing supply cost on crew.  With food still being grown on planets and shipped around, medicines, training and everything else that keeps them doing their jobs their cost really does not seem negligible compared with ammo and spare parts for the ships themselves.

I understand it this way: Skeleton crew upkeep cost is now part of the ship upkeep cost. Negligible is only the impact which the difference between theoretical skeleton crew and actual crew has on this costs.



« Last Edit: June 25, 2015, 05:55:54 AM by Gothars »
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The game was completed 8 years ago and we get a free expansion every year.

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Megas

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #152 on: June 25, 2015, 06:13:55 AM »

Re: Management
The worst management I need to do for a big fleet is toggle Augmented Engines on and off for each freighter in trade runs.  Turn off Augmented Engines for 20+ ships so I can carry as much food as possible to a starving planet (or as much supplies as possible from Jangala to Tibicena).  After I reach my destination, toggle Augmented Engines back on for all ships to get my precious speed back, until the next big trade run.

Configurations are a one-time deal.  Augmented Engines swapping is constant when I need to maximize cargo for lucrative trade runs.

I am glad Augmented Engines will no longer mess with capacity.
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Gothars

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #153 on: June 25, 2015, 06:34:12 AM »

So, IIRC, one point of the logistics rating mechanic was to present the player with a gradual choice: A small but elite fleet (high LR means increased CR) or a big fleet with low CR. An interesting choice.
Are there new incentives to stay small? The sensor mechanic doesn't seem to be one, since while small fleets are less visible, they also have less sensor range.

I'd not like to end up feeling like I'm doing something stupid when I run solo or just with a few escorts.
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The game was completed 8 years ago and we get a free expansion every year.

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Megas

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #154 on: June 25, 2015, 06:40:58 AM »

By current endgame, the optimal path is always big fleet.  Nothing reaps as much XP and credits as a big trade run.  The choice between small or big has been a midgame decision, after the player has gained enough assets to do stuff.  Do you want an elite flagship that can kill all by itself and build up relations with all other factions to cooperative?  Do you want a big versatile fleet that can do anything, but not as efficiently as a small elite force?  By endgame, the only way to gain levels quickly enough is to cram as many freighters in your fleet to sell commodities.  Big fleets of warships also finish fights faster than small fleets.
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Clockwork Owl

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #155 on: June 25, 2015, 07:00:40 AM »

It would require more campaign features fleshed out for small, elite "special force" fleet to be a viable lategame option I guess.
Like infiltration, blockade running and things like that.
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Gothars

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #156 on: June 25, 2015, 07:41:07 AM »

Well, I wasn't so much thinking of the late- or end-game, but more looking for a good reason to not try to get "as many ships as possible, as fast as possible".
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Linnis

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #157 on: June 25, 2015, 08:08:18 AM »

With all this talk about end-game and limit restriction but lets not lose focus on the small fleet fights, and often battles with support ships in them.

Have you ever flied a shuttle versus a hound? or a Valkyrie versus a buffalo? Its also very fun and player battle skill and execution of tactics pay off, rather than farming and sticking weapons on your biggest ship.

Are we going to have a point where we are flying civilian fleets like construction rigs, flying in a hound and trying to defend them against fighters or something?
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Alex

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #158 on: June 25, 2015, 09:02:34 AM »

So, IIRC, one point of the logistics rating mechanic was to present the player with a gradual choice: A small but elite fleet (high LR means increased CR) or a big fleet with low CR. An interesting choice.
Are there new incentives to stay small? The sensor mechanic doesn't seem to be one, since while small fleets are less visible, they also have less sensor range.

I'd not like to end up feeling like I'm doing something stupid when I run solo or just with a few escorts.

Two obvious and relatively minor ones are maintenance costs and fuel use for travel.

Sensors *are*, I think, a mechanic that can reward smaller fleets. Say you're trying to sneak into a hostile port to trade (or simply running dark to avoid customs). Your transponder is off, but any patrols flying around have theirs on, which gives them a +1000 to visibility range. Your sensor range doesn't matter as much here - you'll always see them before they see you - but a smaller sensor profile will give you more of an opportunity to sneak in without being seen. For a concrete example, if there's a patrol orbiting a market, a smaller sensor profile could be the difference between being able to come in unseen from the opposite side or not.

Similar stuff applies if you're just sneaking about in a hostile system. Easier to sneak up on someone that has a transponder on, easier to avoid someone stronger.

Finally, as I mentioned in another reply, some abilities (currently: Emergency Burn) have a cost that scales with fleet size, in this case fuel equivalent to traveling one light-year in hyperspace and CR equivalent to a single deployment for every ship in the fleet. A larger fleet is going to have to be extra careful about using this. I think an ideal small fleet would consist of a combat ship or two and a combat freighter (and, perhaps, a small tanker) to extend longevity. (Hmm, that reminds me - now that "civilian grade hulls" are a thing, might make sense to have a combat tanker, as well. One that doesn't suffer from the various sensor strength/profile penalties.)



Are we going to have a point where we are flying civilian fleets like construction rigs, flying in a hound and trying to defend them against fighters or something?

Well, Construction Rigs don't have much of a point now, and you generally move on from Hounds as soon as you can afford something better. I do like the small-scale stuff myself, though, so ultimately I'd like to extend that feeling you get before your war machine "kicks in" and you can afford anything and steamroll everything.
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orost

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #159 on: June 25, 2015, 09:28:21 AM »

Something I've been thinking about recently is that for small-scale gameplay to really work well, there needs to be a softer line between losing a ship and not. If you have 20 ships, losing one or two in a battle is acceptable, if you have three, losing one of them is devastating, so the only outcomes a battle can usually have are full success or disaster (since a ship taking severe damage but surviving at 1% hull is so much less punishing than losing it).

If there was a much larger middle ground between damaged and gone - with ships harder to destroy, but potentially taking on long-term damage that's inconvenient and expensive to repair - that would work a lot better. I think there was an extended discussion about it recently.
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Alex

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #160 on: June 25, 2015, 09:58:20 AM »

Yeah, I've seen the discussion, I think. Then you could make ships much harder to acquire, too - more expensive, rare, etc. It'd be neat if getting a Lasher felt like a major accomplishment, for example. It feels like that stage of the game passes by too quickly at the moment.
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Midnight Kitsune

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #161 on: June 25, 2015, 10:14:52 AM »

So, IIRC, one point of the logistics rating mechanic was to present the player with a gradual choice: A small but elite fleet (high LR means increased CR) or a big fleet with low CR. An interesting choice.
Are there new incentives to stay small? The sensor mechanic doesn't seem to be one, since while small fleets are less visible, they also have less sensor range.
This just reminded me of another reason why I liked LR: At 150% LR, you had 10% extra CR. Are we going to have something similar like that with the new system?
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Alex

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #162 on: June 25, 2015, 10:18:40 AM »

Nope. You can still get to 100% with elite crew and 10 Combat, though.

... actually, officers might count as "something similar", in that they can have a combat aptitude and thus increase their ship's max CR.
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Midnight Kitsune

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #163 on: June 25, 2015, 10:20:13 AM »

Nope. You can still get to 100% with elite crew and 10 Combat, though.
Is this for only my flagship or my whole fleet?
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Alex

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Re: Starsector 0.7a (In Development) Patch Notes
« Reply #164 on: June 25, 2015, 10:22:48 AM »

Your flagship or a ship with an officer with the Combat aptitude on it.
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