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« on: May 04, 2012, 01:12:35 AM »
I love the combat in Starfarer, and if it were to be combined with a permanent/open world campaign mode I would love it to death. Here's some features that I think would work nicely with a campaign mode, and it wouldn't need to be the only game mode available:
- Numerical factional strengths.
For instance, say the Hegemony starts with 7000 strength points and the Tri-Tachyon has 5000 strength points in a new game. Over time, as they lose ships in battle with each other (and to the player), they would lose strength points. As their points totals drop, their fleet composition weakens, represented by less capital ships. Once they're out of points, poof, they're vanquished and no longer have influence in the sector. Strength points could regenerate slowly through successful merchant convoys. Perhaps player quests could boost a faction's strength when completed. However, since the lore of the game is dark and forlorn, points need not regenerate at all. It is a dark age of humanity, after all.
I really like this idea because it gives a player a sense of progression after battles. Like, you could fight a very tough enemy fleet and get badly mauled - but it would be worth it if you were trying to wipe them out from a sector.
- Game world that changes without player influence.
The factions that exist in Starfarer could be fighting over multiple sectors. Military control over the sectors could change hands without player influence, and this could be even randomized with each game. This gives the player the sense that they're not the only force in the world, and a sense that if they don't use their time wisely then things might be irrevocably changed (like the Hegemony wiping out the Tri-Tachyons).
I'm not sure if these ideas fit in with the overall theme of Starfarer, but I hope the game turns out something like this. There's one thing I really dislike - endless grinding with no material results. If I beat up the hegemony and destroy 10 of their capital ships, I want to see that it really hurts them. If the Hegemony simply regenerates all those fleets with no change then I really get taken out of my immersion in the game-world.
- Randomized ancient relic tech that could be discovered on some planets.
Maybe the player searches some planets and lo and behold, they find a powerful laser weapon from the lost age of man. Some old tech that's usable but can't be replicated anymore because of a degeneration in knowledge. This would be represented by some laser or ballistic mount that either generates less flux or has a longer reach than normal weapons. Obviously, the quantity would be very limited, and it would essentially be irreplaceable if a AI ship that used it was destroyed in battle.
