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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); In-development patch notes for Starsector 0.98a (2/8/25)

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Topics - Hansag

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1
Suggestions / Research
« on: July 14, 2020, 06:04:11 PM »
I have been thinking about the data-packages strewn across the sector.

So I was thinking, perhaps make these a lot less common, but more powerful.

Enter, reverse engineering and research.

Spoiler
Assumptions
- Costly
- What you research needs to be picked apart and destroyed (weapons, systems, ships, at least one needs to be taken apart)
- Difficulty scales exponentially with size and tech level (figuring out how to make a light machine gun might take a month or two, while a capital ship takes many years)
- You need some sort of facility/industry to do research
- Research requires a hefty budget to do in reasonable time

How then to research?

Option 1 - The simple way (Linear model)
Allocate a budget (like your growth budget) and then you have a data package for the thing in a specific amount of time.

Option 2 - Making life difficult (Breakthrough model)

Instead of just having the amount of money allocated play a role, you also have to battle with "breakthroughs" and "progress"

Various items require a certain amount of breakthroughs*, something that might happen 50% each month at an average budget on a Size 5 world.
If you don't get a breakthrough, you get an additional +10% for the next month (i.e. you have some progress).

* Examples of Breakthroughs required:
Small Weapon 1
Medium Weapon 2
Large Weapon 4
Ship System (equal to cost for a Frigate level system)

Frigate 8
Destroyer 16
Cruiser 32
Capital 64

Low Tech x1
Midline x5
High-Tech x10
Civilian Hull x0.5
D-mods present on researched specimen x1+N (N= number of D-mods percent on reverse-engineered hull, because you have to figure out a fix to it)

So if you want to be able to build High-Tech Capital Ships it would be 640 breakthroughs, and if the one you are studying is a mess with 5 D-mods, it would require 3200 breakthroughs, which would take more than 250 years if you're making a breakthrough per month. A Light Machine Gun however, would take just 1 breakthrough and might be figured out in a month or two.

Example of Facilities

Technologistry (Level 1 - Facility)
A meeting place with dedicated workshops and expert systems.

Engineering Works (Level 2 - Industry)
Dedicated heavy industrial machinery and plants for tearing down ships and other large pieces of technology.

Research Institute (Level 3 - Industry)
Provides additional facilities for some of the sectors more sought after technologists.

Nanoforge - Reduces cost by 20% or 50% depending on sort
AI - Reduces number of breakthroughs required for a project
Colony Size - Increases number of breakthrough chances per month
Theoretical Support - In case you have more facilities, but allocating less than one artefact for each (or an artifact is pirated in transit), then they only produce at 50%

One could also imagine of giving this chain of buildings a similar bonus as the Industry Skill to finding more rare finds, but from Tech-Mines. Again though, they should be one of the most expensive buildings to keep.

Just some thoughts.
[close]

2
Suggestions / Combat - Prisoners
« on: July 08, 2020, 08:24:03 AM »
A bit of a new mini-game relating to reputation, and something not too uncommon in history.

How to treat them though?

Benevolent
Prisoners are treated well in accordance with the rules of war and hyperspace.
  • Consumes some supplies
  • Released in port to their labour union representative (com request)
  • Might provide intelligence after combat
  • Option: Recruit crew - offer some of the crew to join your crew. Sign up fee and number of crew depend on faction relationship.
  • Option: Reduced Rations - uses less supplies, much to the nuisance of their labour representative. Some risk for prisoners dying (and PR hit).

Harsh
Technically treated within the letter of the law, if not the spirit of it.
  • Consume few or no supplies
  • Can be released in port to their labour union representative (com request)
  • Does not provide intelligence
  • Option: Harsh Interrogation - Might provide some intelligence, as well as dead bodies and bad Public Relations (PR)
  • Option: Organ Harvest - What's wrong with you. Does this look like Rimworld to you? Removes the equivalent number of prisoners and reduces relations with all factions

Ship System
Brig/Holding Cells (reduces supply usage of prisoners and increases chance of intelligence)

N.B. - One could imagine that if your business model involves capturing and harvesting prisoners organs, then some crew might quietly leave when arriving in port (similar to if not paid). In addition, making it harder to hire crew and marines from the open markets of factions that do not like you. So, in the end you might have to rely on slipping into pirate bases to get your crew.

3
Suggestions / Some small ideas
« on: July 08, 2020, 07:49:35 AM »
Fleet - Scuttle
Sometimes you just want to get rid of a ship more than mothball and bring it to port.
Scuttle ship and make it a derelict. Set it in a stable orbit etc.
Edit: I'm just blind


Refit - Comparison
Compare new weapon with current (button to lock one in place)
Edit: This might already be in, but in that case: How does one do this?

Refit - Reset Simulation
Run the simulation again with the same adversaries

Combat - List of Ships
In the Command view (?) have a tab from which you can select ships or groups of ships (holding shift)

Combat - Battle Diary
A list of the events in combat
Also, ability to click entries (e.g. about your ships) to select it so you can ask it to pull out etc.

Combat - Freeze!
Ability to see your ships drift, and/or which direction you are travelling.
Ability to push a button to stop
Edit: Pressing "C" resolves this perfectly


Combat - Demand Surrender
Ability to demand enemies to surrender and hand over their stuff
What better way to pirate things, than to just ask traders for their stuff. Without fighting! :D

Combat - Tactical Damage
Inspiration: Battle Brothers
Having certain systems being damaged or knocked out during combat, as well as
Edit: as well as taking some time to repair after combat.

Raid - Heavy Weapons
Heavy Equipment gives up to 100% bonus to Salvaging.
Heavy Weapons could give up to 100% bonus to Raids (makes you want to keep some of that in reserve)

Intelligence - Sticky Notes
Ability to show important messages when travelling (e.g. below new messages popping up, and lock them in place there)

Intelligence - Archive
Ability to put certain updates into an archive

Intelligence - Sorting
Ability to sort and pull up intelligence items for a specific system (and archive them once dealt with)

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