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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

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Topics - Kakroom

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1
Right now, after you learn a blueprint once, you have two (maybe three, with Nex installed) options in terms of what you do with extra versions of the same blueprint:

1. Sell them on the open market for less money
2. Sell them on the black market for more money, and also give them to pirates

There is a strange limitation, that I don't know why exists but I'm sure Man Emperor Alex has a good reason for, where regardless of your production capacity you can only build X amount of ship per month. Depending on the ship size that X might be very small indeed.

I would like to both have something interesting to do with extra blueprints and also build more Paragons more quicklier. So why not combine the two?!?!??!?!

If the in-universe reason for build limits is that the blueprint is "throttled" somehow, presumably as a means towards some end of corporate scumbaggery, it would track that having more blueprints to use would increase your limit. No more tossing a load of Blueprints on the "Sell all this stuff eventually world!" Learn a million billion Onslaughts and build the fleet of your dreams, in the timeframe of your dreams!

At least ideally

2
Lore, Fan Media & Fiction / The Askonia Campaign AAR
« on: April 12, 2022, 11:02:23 PM »
The year is C+244. The retinue of Phillip Andrada has fled to their last refuge: their colonies in Penelope's Star. An alien banner hangs above the feared Central Command on Sindria.

Background

It has been about forty years since the initial fleet action of the entity now known as the United Intelligence - formerly a vanguard unit of the Persean League's vindictive Stormhawk paramilitary - defending the Interstellar Imperium's embassy in Yma System against a small pirate incursion. In the decades since the vanguard has moved well beyond its humble origins, operating an industrial base out of the trinary Valefar-Weaver-Yaqum system 13 lightyears from the nearest allied system of Westernesse. The Intelligence's explicitly pro-AI stance and attempt to form a "Greater Domain" with various client states such as the Kadur Remnant and their former umbrella group as a bulwark against the influence of the Greater Hegemony has led to a little over a decade of intermittent violence with the various inhabitants of the Core since this group crystallized. In the lulls and swells of conflict the Intelligence has steadily carved out a perimeter of colonial possessions with which to pen in the Hegemony's attempts to break free of the Core, but in spite of years building up vast stocks of materiel and troops on the Throneworld, the Bifrost and Humility, they have not committed to any significant military action against the core. Not until July of 244, when the Intelligence war machine cut a path to the heart of the Persean Sector in the Askonia Campaign.

Prelude

The months of 243, in addition to seeing widespread UI colonization of the Seaborg constellation, are subject to a 8+ million credit buildup of warships across the empire's heavy industry, resulting in the establishment of the Third and Fourth fleets.

In March of 244 the entirety of the navy is quietly recalled from deployments along the frontier to Throneworld Zero. Each fleet is supplied with three Ox-class tugs. Faction leader Queen Angel is disappointed to realize that contrary to the laws of physics this doesn't actually increase their burn level and flips a table.

Four capital ships are drawn from the assembly to bolster the Queen's vanguard fleet. A large number of Machi APA and Phantom-class troop transports are also taken from the Throneworld's shipyards to accommodate the three space marine legions they take on in preparation for assault on parts unknown.

After taking on large quantities of AM fuel and supplies at the Forgeworlds of Niflheim and Bifrost Diktat intelligence picks up large amounts of chatter indicating fleets and troopships being readied at a number of hostile Fortressworlds and Firebases, their manifests aimed at Diktat worlds. Most of the Diktat's special task groups are split up and redeployed to defend the colonies under threat.

The Intelligence navy enters hyperspace at jump point Omicron and sets a course for the Magellan home system of Khamn, and their homeworld of Annore - now an Iron Shell hiveworld.

Opening Volleys

The assault on the Sindrian homeworld was still two and a half months away. Prior to this the UI's navy took care of some long overdue business. Before setting their sights on the Diktat's colonial outposts they would take a detour to retake Annore, once the jewel of the long-since fallen from grace Magellan Protectorate, now merely a souvenir in the purse of the Hegemony's attack dog.

The Magellan homeworld of Annore had already changed hands multiple times in the decades since cycle 200, first being annexed by the Iron Shell, then invaded during The Calamity of 226 - the Stormhawks' bloody attempt at culling the Shell, which also saw a brief occupation of Chitagupta before its liberation by the Hegemony navy. Many members of United Intelligence's high command had participated in these conflicts, such as Captain Faucet of the navy's infamous flagship, the Solidarity Forever (itself recovered from an ill-fated Iron Shell expedition against the Stormhawk homeworld) as well as famed Xyphos pilot Busko Australe; while they flew a different flag than they did all those years ago, there was a certain sense of coming home present among those populating the various bridge crews of the vanguard fleet.

On June 1 the fleet attacked and destroyed Annore Orbital and began to land troops. UI Electronic Warfare capabilities enabled them to seize Annore's Planetary Defense Cannons without taking too many losses and the planet was seized without a bombardment being rendered necessary, although the fighting was hot enough in populated zones to take most industries offline for a day or so. After granting the world autonomy and leaving a sizable complement of troops behind to bolster security forces against the inevitable IRS stay-behind campaign, the fleet moved to Pariya, the last Magellan stronghold in the sector, took it and destroyed it, along with their final two special task forces - ending the death of an empire that had taken over twenty years to expire.

After occupying three other hostile worlds along the frontier, the combined warfleets of the Kadurs, the Stormhawks and the League gathering at the Fortress World of Humility signalled that they were prepared for the long-awaited march to Askonia. The fleet finished its work and burned hard for the inner core.

The Salus Offensive

The fleet decided to take things slow before hitting Sindria. They had learned from the Persean League's storied and ultimately failed campaigns against the planet in the 210's. No matter one's technological or economic superiority, the Diktat had an abundance of bodies that they had no qualms burying their enemies in. High command resolved that the first move should be secure the shores of Volturn and Cruor, moons in the shadow of Salernos, icons of the Diktat's historical roots and adequate positions to stage for a final assault towards Askonia and the heart of the system.

Bombardments on Cruor and Volturn proved to be regrettable and superfluous. United Intelligence controls so much of the sector's economy that restriction from it had left the perimeter worlds in shambles, and the invaders were quickly able to gain a foothold. The vanguard established a cordon around their occupied territory and observed from afar as warfleets opened the assault on Sindrian Command and Control, readying the way for its entry into galactic civilization.

The Lion's Den

After depositing several battalions in the bloodied foxholes of Volturn and Cruor to crush resistance and secure the victory, the Vanguard fleet burned for Sindria upon hearing that Command and Control was falling out of orbit. Phantoms and Aurorian landers began to dot the skies like a speckled, glittering rain, drenching the Sindrian hive-cities in drop-pods, chaff, and thermonuclear ordnance. UI AI cores relentlessly assaulted the Sindrian defense net - beta cores issuing false orders from impersonated Diktat brass, Alphas playing extensive pranks on Sindrian battalions and recording the results for future enjoyment, and gammas hard-nosedly doing anything and everything to demolish the most practical aspects of Sindria's cybersecurity.

The jackboots put up a valiant fight, but the end was never in doubt. A turn or two later it was over.

Momentum Stalls

While celebrating their victory with some Volturnian lobster wine and a feed of the Lion of Sindria's evacuation fleet burning hard for the Diktat's fortress world on the Fringe, the UI's agents reported that IRS guerillas had successfully sabotaged a waystation on Annore and that rebel strength was beginning to eclipse the government's. In an effort to retain it the fleet cancelled the planned movement against the Diktat's worlds in Penelope's Star and withdrew to Valefar, in order to resupply and take on additional troops after fortifying Sindria. The Askonian Campaign concluded the major phases of the War of the Frontier, and several months later the Diktat (with muttered oaths, clenched fists and gritted teeth) signed a rather generous peace agreement at the Galatian Common Port (formerly known as Ancyra) in the Galatian Demilitarized Zone.

3
I believe in my game I just finished wiping the floor with the sixth or seventh Inspection sent against my AI-centric empire, our Throneworld situated in a High Risk system with my faction industrial base directly beneath a Remnant Nexus.

The Hegemony has dedicated, and lost, thousands or more likely hundreds of thousands of souls and trillions of credits towards fruitless attempts at 'inspecting' my worlds for evidence of AI activity, when for decades I have been essentially been willing to publicly volunteer that information towards them and in any case they can plainly see that the lengths I am willing to defend my sovereignty is probably a good indication that we're up to something.

I would suggest that after enough inspections go horribly bad - i.e. resulting in the deaths of thousands - the Hegemony eventually stops attempting to verify your crimes with little things like evidence and declares you a Rogue state, probably calling on all aligned powers of the galaxy to stop you before it's too late, launching a third AI war. It just seems a little silly for them to be banging their heads on a brick wall so hard and so often.

4
General Discussion / Hyperspace travel is much more interesting now
« on: March 01, 2022, 10:16:21 AM »
One of the most obvious problems in the game to me prior to .95.A1Rc6 was how boring long stretches of Space Trucking at warp speed could be. I mean sometimes you ran into an angry scavenger or a pirate gang or something like that but most of the time it was just watching your supplies and fuel tick down while you sweat like that Key and Peele meme.

Now, it's like... a lot better. Slipstreams can kind of pose a logistical challenge if one is cutting through your most immediate route; you need to emergency burn to compensate, and even then it can toss you into a cloud or whatever and you can get knocked lightyears off course. And it's creepy! The spaceship game about bullying heavily armed vtubers is frightening! I don't know what I'm going to run into every time I jump out of a hyperspace gate. Sensor blips are bullying me with interdiction pulses. They're stalking me. They're... possessing space hulks to do that sometimes? What is out there?! Why does it hate? Why is it so mean?

Hyperspace used to feel kind of empty and mundane. Now it's nothing of the sort. It's like... sentient and chaotic and angry. It's great!

/rant

5
Suggestions / Officer history
« on: March 20, 2021, 03:59:19 PM »
Recently I had an officer killed piloting a Paragon I had just bought. I had finally got Tri-Tachyon to cooperative. Future was my longest-serving subordinate, a recklessly bold, effective commander, and she had the right skills for it, so I gave it to her. A few minutes after I finished kitting it out I engaged a Hegemony privateer over Elada who throttled me and blew it up, along with half my fleet. Goodbye Future and 800,000 credits.

That was a neat story, but I kind of wish I remembered more of my experiences with her. After a while everything begins to blend together. It'd be nice if the game kept track of a couple things about their career

-Battles they participated in
-The market where you hired them (if applicable)
-Dates of promotion
-Ships commanded and transfers

Obviously this has a little less utility if you're not playing with Nexerelin or the dead officers feature. I don't know. Maybe it's just the Xcommander in me, building relationships with these people and watching them die horribly is delightful. I need that photo album of us killing pirates together

6
Suggestions / Size decay
« on: March 16, 2021, 11:22:08 PM »
I was surprised to learn that colonies/settlements/stations don't actually shrink in size, regardless of commodity shortage or unrest or war or whatever. This seems to run counter to both, um... the way life works, but also to the idea that size changes in the sector are primarily based in immigration. Hence the pop caps on new colonies.

I think that it'd be pretty cool if this weren't the case, and that colonies gradually shrank over time if their conditions were not amenable to, you know, people surviving there. It seems like this is so simple it must've come up and been ditched for a balance reason or something, but in the unlikely case it hasn't, here it is.

As an aside this could add a funny bonus to low accessibility colonies where people might be inclined to leave your settlement but, you know. They can't, because the nearest starbase is like a billion lightyears away.

7
Suggestions / Player faction item bans
« on: February 23, 2021, 03:05:20 PM »
So I've been thinking about the ways that the player faction could be meaningfully shaped into something that fits more your vision for how you might want to run things in sector. The Free Port option is best thing we have so far, but I feel like it could be neat if the option to determine what goods were tradable in your empire were slightly more customizable. Currently one of the most meaningful ways other empires are distinguished is by what they allow for trade; it reflects their opinions, the authorities that govern them, and so on. The Hegemony and Sindria run a tight ship and don't allow materiel like heavy weapons or AI cores to run around without their consent; the luddites live up to their title and don't like space heresy; Independents look out for each other but aren't a strict government, proscripting obviously exploitative stuff like space kidneys but generally keeping a loose feel otherwise, while Pirates and Tr-Tach pretty much just vibe.

This seems like an easy way to make your flavor slightly more real without any particularly dramatic changes. If you want to be a militaristic Space Church you could ban drugs and kidneys but keep heavy weapons. If you want to roleplay as a drug cartel you can unban space heroin. The option already exists to unban all contraband in your ports, so all that would be required is... some kind of UI to determine which things you like and which you don't. But i am of course unfamiliar with what that would require.

Anyway that's the gist.

8
Suggestions / Independent surveyors
« on: February 16, 2021, 10:13:50 PM »
Right now in the vanilla game you run into scavenger fleets on the frontier, I think. I don't think they actually salvage anything yet but it's a nice touch, nonetheless. It reminds you you're not the only one pursuing that course.

Unless this is already a thing and I'm simply unaware of it, right now, you are the only person interested in surveying the frontier and selling the data to the core worlds, even aesthetically. It'd be nice if you occasionally ran into expeditionary fleets full of Ventures in uncharted territory stealing your thunder. 

9
Suggestions / Faction specific marines
« on: February 14, 2021, 03:02:09 PM »
Has the idea of having some of the more country-like factions deploy their own troops ever come up?

Right now it's kind of strange that everybody in the universe uses nationless mercenaries. For Tri-tach, Pirates and Independents it makes sense but one would think that like, the Hegemony would have its own corps of soldiers that you can't just buy on the open market, but maybe need a commission to command.

If I were making a wishlist it'd be nice for these specific troops to have different strengths and weaknesses based on their training. The Hegemony might be better at defending against raids while Pathers are better at executing them, etc..

10
Suggestions / Precolonial industries
« on: August 30, 2020, 05:41:37 PM »
Right now all Synchotrons, Cores and Nanoforges do before you have your own colony is stink up a storage facility somewhere, line your pockets, or the latter while also giving space pirates WMDs. Well, better ones, anyway.

I feel like this, among other aspects of the game could be improved if the player were capable of purchasing share in or constructing industries on worlds where you're friendly with the government. Right now, the line of ascendancy is

1)Fleet-based agent

2)Planetary government

3, 4, 5...?) God-emperor of the Domain?

While it is neato to get enough capital to found your own state just by running around the universe dispensing justice and bombing regressed civilizations, the Interstellar Puppetmaster/spice baron in me who likes worming my way into an oppressive dictatorship's good graces before mothballing all their shipyards out from under them feels like there's a link in the chain missing. If you're unprepared or you chose a bad world Colonies can quickly become credit sinks that necessitate you commit your time to them while you get infrastructure up and running. Obtaining purchase in a mining or refining operation or something is simultaneously more noncommital while also still investing you in planetary affairs, given your holdings will be affected by pirate raids, shortages, local unrest, etc..

It's also a good way of getting the player politicking a little prior to just flatout declaring Independence, given how pretty much everyone in Starsector is a crazy oppressive authority you'll need to maneuver around in order to get and keep access to ur-choice farmland or ore deposits.

11
Suggestions / Dynamic commodity restrictions
« on: August 19, 2020, 03:32:28 PM »
Basically, Factions in the game currently have set-in-stone ideas about what should be banned and what shouldn't.

I think it'd be cool if that weren't the case, with little events occasionally popping up to represent a shift in the status quo. It wouldn't need to happen very often to have a big impact, but it'd reflect the way real-life markets work. For example, maybe there's an emerging middle-class on one of the Luddic worlds that begins to demand change in the local government in the way of luxury goods. Or maybe there's a fit of religious mania that takes hold of several Hegemony communities which results in them getting banned. Maybe there's a horrible disease causing vast organ failure in its patients on an independent world and the Federation or whatever temporarily sanctions the sale of harvested organs to curb fatality rates. Maybe a particularly radical strand of the Path's generally frowned-upon use of Space Heroin as a means of inducing religious experiences leads to a cultural revolution where it's more widely adopted by their comrades. etc.

In any case it'd certainly shake up trade routes and supply/demand relationships every now and again beyond just war and piracy, and I think that's something the game is about.

12
General Discussion / Exploration
« on: August 13, 2020, 10:59:01 PM »
I just wanted to do a quick appreciation post for the exploration side of this spaceman video game.

The very first time I left the core worlds the first system I entered had a high danger beacon. I didn't know about the spoilers so they mauled me and that was about it for me and exploration for the first <20 hours.

I've been playing with Nexerelin and I delete saves after I die and I only use the level 1 solo frigate start and shipping tiny bits of cargo between planets is boring as hooey. So I decided use what little money I had to go and have another go at the cosmos.

About 5 hours later I realized that I hadn't thought about killing even a single person in 5 hours. All that was on my mind was experiencing all the beauty the world had to offer - go visit supergiants and terraform moons and other stuff. Ooh, there's like an interesting world there, let's go visit that. Maybe it has sex parasites in its water or radiation or something. One time I found a pulsar and a black hole sharing a system. I don't know how rare that is but it sure looks cool.

There was some guy on the Reddit forums a while back who was of the mind the game should detonate the core worlds intrigue and focus more on exploration stuff. I still don't agree with him, but oh man, do I finally understand where he's coming from. It's intoxicating, being on the fringes of the known world and knowing something lifechanging or perspective-altering might be right around the corner. In the latest Devblog it looks like you're adding more cool scifi stuff to find, and I can't wait. I love this game. Thanks for making it!

https://youtu.be/fjj9gpqmYVI?t=31

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