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General Discussion / My Impressions as a Newbie to StarSector
« on: January 12, 2016, 05:17:35 PM »
Back when I initially asked whether this game is worth 10€ in 2013, someone asked me to make sure to come back and give my initial feedback, as a Newbie, to the game - and why should I not? Here it is... 
First things first - this game looks so unbelievable pretty. The engine-trails in system-view, the planets - oh my god the planets - and all the pretty nice explosions. Sprites are just the thing to make everything look truly beautiful when well done - and Starsectors sprites -are- well done
Gameplaywise it feels vibrant, too. Everything seems to fall into place - nothing that feels tacked on, unecessary or even underdeveloped, which sounds weird for a game in its Alpha-stage. Especially when you consider todays standarts around Early Access.
Something particular I noticed that I cannot really explain: Starsector at times conveys a feeling I get from Collectible-games. Certain traits like the orbital laser burning jungles for farmland (how cool is that idea?) to some stations or planets are represented by these symbols. They feel like 'Cards' or 'Tokens' from other games that you could, by some means, win and collect for yourself when the circumstances are right ... like with cities you built in the civilization-games, maybe?
Other mechanics like the Black market enrich the immersion as well. Ever since Freelancer and before that you could turn rogue and be a pirate. Not a single spacegame I could think of that wouldnt try to offer you to be the bad guy. And like industrialization and trading - most of these games keep that at more or less shallow levels. Often because its a mere "on-or-off"-decision. Black or White. You cant really be the little low-life-scrub in-between that actually tries to abide the law but maybe has to take some shady options every now and then to progress. In games like freelancer its either "Pirates shoot you, Rheinland likes you" or "Rheinland shoots you, Pirates like you." Almost never inbetween.
Somewhat similar are the many different and justified roles ships can have. Tankers, Gantries, Transports, Tugs ... and they all have a distinct use! I can have Shuttles being absolutely unarmed but fitted for maximum speed and it totally works for the game! Now I only wish I could split forces and send Detachments to go and get Fuel for the Mainfleed hiding in some Nebula, conducting Repairs.
There are things I am grinding my teeth on, though. Things that will probably change as Alex and his crew bring the game further. Trading would be my most obvious example where it seems impossible to turn a profit. I have already been told that this is supposed to change later in the game, when prices stabilise and I get bigger ships to haul - but that can hardly be what Starsector aimed for. Isnt it the Newbies that need some stable low-to-medium paying goods that gets them around the universe and earn a few first coins? I remember hauling Water with my first Rhino in Freelancer between Manhattan and Pittsburgh to bolster myself up a bit, before chasing the story again. It was repetetive - and I liked that! Nothing like simple Mining or Hauling to relax every now and then.
End then there is the "hunting"-phase. With your fleet in system-view you get to manage fuel, supplies, Sensor- and Detectionrates as well as navigating around hostile fleets and hazards. It should have, in some way, a sort of "Silent-hunter"-feel to it, where I gladly spent Real-life-hours to chase down enemy tankers to catch and blow them sky-high while always witfully dodging other patrols and accompanying destroyers but in Starsector it feels a lot more luck-based. I feel my own sensors are just too weak and it is always just a question of time til I bump into that one contact popping up too close to turn and run and too big to fight. If I see them - they see me. Often there is just no warning sign or even enough time to "go dark".
On the other side of the coin I often enough ran out of hostiles to farm myself. Without which I couldnt grow enough to take on the bigger fleets in Hyperspace. It would be nice if I could at least get a simple blip where "something" is, withough knowing anything more of it: Size, Faction, Heading, Purpose... maybe even if it is a fleet at all. At one point I was thinking about leaving detectable trails similar to the tech-babble from the StarTrek Series. Silent Hunters Map-view might lend some nice ideas as well, here, where we had enough options to go from 100% hidden (Diving below thermal line, silent running, hiding in nebul... I mean crevices) past listening for distant engines (Like the ability we have now, only i never seem to get any returns) to revealing everything with sonar ping - for the tradeoff that you just lit yourself up like a christmastree for everyone else.
Last but not least the starving Industrialist in me wants to say something as well I already mentioned elsewhere that I like big Freighters and I cannot lie. I like to look at them but never get to. You never really see all your Utilityships as long as you can successfully keep them out of battles. Isnt that a shame for all those well-made Sprites? Besides - when it finally came to my last stand and I had my Freighters retreat across the map, trying to cover them with my remaining fighters - they did look really epic. Full blasting engines and all.
So how could we make them more visible? I had a brief thougt about showing Ships of your fleet in the background of the combat-map lying in wait. Or maybe that initial cruise-phase where your deployed ships boost in from the bottom of the map? Maybe show your reserve briefly before them falling back?
One last wishful fantasy, that would require certainly more work, though, would give locations (like orbital stations, Planets and most importantly industrial sites later) a background similar to the combat-map, where your fleet closes in and occupies landingpads, dockinggantries or - for the biggest Hulks - to just park outside to be served by tiny shuttles. An Idea kind of similar to what the X-games started with their very first game: Enabling you to actively dock your ship yourself or just watch it happen with the dockingpilot installed. I wouldnt see that as mere Eye-candy, by the way. Its similar to Freelancers Edison Trent walking into the bar, the tradehubs or the ship-vendors - it is great immersion! Did you ever forget the first time you entered the Saleroom on Planet Manhattan for the first time?
Lots and lots of Text. If you read all this, you earned my respect I would also love to talk about Industry, Trading and Economy - but I would first prefer to look if theres actually some Information to be found on what Alex had maybe planned.
First things first - this game looks so unbelievable pretty. The engine-trails in system-view, the planets - oh my god the planets - and all the pretty nice explosions. Sprites are just the thing to make everything look truly beautiful when well done - and Starsectors sprites -are- well done
Gameplaywise it feels vibrant, too. Everything seems to fall into place - nothing that feels tacked on, unecessary or even underdeveloped, which sounds weird for a game in its Alpha-stage. Especially when you consider todays standarts around Early Access.
Something particular I noticed that I cannot really explain: Starsector at times conveys a feeling I get from Collectible-games. Certain traits like the orbital laser burning jungles for farmland (how cool is that idea?) to some stations or planets are represented by these symbols. They feel like 'Cards' or 'Tokens' from other games that you could, by some means, win and collect for yourself when the circumstances are right ... like with cities you built in the civilization-games, maybe?
Other mechanics like the Black market enrich the immersion as well. Ever since Freelancer and before that you could turn rogue and be a pirate. Not a single spacegame I could think of that wouldnt try to offer you to be the bad guy. And like industrialization and trading - most of these games keep that at more or less shallow levels. Often because its a mere "on-or-off"-decision. Black or White. You cant really be the little low-life-scrub in-between that actually tries to abide the law but maybe has to take some shady options every now and then to progress. In games like freelancer its either "Pirates shoot you, Rheinland likes you" or "Rheinland shoots you, Pirates like you." Almost never inbetween.
Somewhat similar are the many different and justified roles ships can have. Tankers, Gantries, Transports, Tugs ... and they all have a distinct use! I can have Shuttles being absolutely unarmed but fitted for maximum speed and it totally works for the game! Now I only wish I could split forces and send Detachments to go and get Fuel for the Mainfleed hiding in some Nebula, conducting Repairs.
There are things I am grinding my teeth on, though. Things that will probably change as Alex and his crew bring the game further. Trading would be my most obvious example where it seems impossible to turn a profit. I have already been told that this is supposed to change later in the game, when prices stabilise and I get bigger ships to haul - but that can hardly be what Starsector aimed for. Isnt it the Newbies that need some stable low-to-medium paying goods that gets them around the universe and earn a few first coins? I remember hauling Water with my first Rhino in Freelancer between Manhattan and Pittsburgh to bolster myself up a bit, before chasing the story again. It was repetetive - and I liked that! Nothing like simple Mining or Hauling to relax every now and then.
End then there is the "hunting"-phase. With your fleet in system-view you get to manage fuel, supplies, Sensor- and Detectionrates as well as navigating around hostile fleets and hazards. It should have, in some way, a sort of "Silent-hunter"-feel to it, where I gladly spent Real-life-hours to chase down enemy tankers to catch and blow them sky-high while always witfully dodging other patrols and accompanying destroyers but in Starsector it feels a lot more luck-based. I feel my own sensors are just too weak and it is always just a question of time til I bump into that one contact popping up too close to turn and run and too big to fight. If I see them - they see me. Often there is just no warning sign or even enough time to "go dark".
On the other side of the coin I often enough ran out of hostiles to farm myself. Without which I couldnt grow enough to take on the bigger fleets in Hyperspace. It would be nice if I could at least get a simple blip where "something" is, withough knowing anything more of it: Size, Faction, Heading, Purpose... maybe even if it is a fleet at all. At one point I was thinking about leaving detectable trails similar to the tech-babble from the StarTrek Series. Silent Hunters Map-view might lend some nice ideas as well, here, where we had enough options to go from 100% hidden (Diving below thermal line, silent running, hiding in nebul... I mean crevices) past listening for distant engines (Like the ability we have now, only i never seem to get any returns) to revealing everything with sonar ping - for the tradeoff that you just lit yourself up like a christmastree for everyone else.
Last but not least the starving Industrialist in me wants to say something as well
I already mentioned elsewhere that I like big Freighters and I cannot lie. I like to look at them but never get to. You never really see all your Utilityships as long as you can successfully keep them out of battles. Isnt that a shame for all those well-made Sprites? Besides - when it finally came to my last stand and I had my Freighters retreat across the map, trying to cover them with my remaining fighters - they did look really epic. Full blasting engines and all.So how could we make them more visible? I had a brief thougt about showing Ships of your fleet in the background of the combat-map lying in wait. Or maybe that initial cruise-phase where your deployed ships boost in from the bottom of the map? Maybe show your reserve briefly before them falling back?
One last wishful fantasy, that would require certainly more work, though, would give locations (like orbital stations, Planets and most importantly industrial sites later) a background similar to the combat-map, where your fleet closes in and occupies landingpads, dockinggantries or - for the biggest Hulks - to just park outside to be served by tiny shuttles. An Idea kind of similar to what the X-games started with their very first game: Enabling you to actively dock your ship yourself or just watch it happen with the dockingpilot installed. I wouldnt see that as mere Eye-candy, by the way. Its similar to Freelancers Edison Trent walking into the bar, the tradehubs or the ship-vendors - it is great immersion! Did you ever forget the first time you entered the Saleroom on Planet Manhattan for the first time?
Lots and lots of Text. If you read all this, you earned my respect
I would also love to talk about Industry, Trading and Economy - but I would first prefer to look if theres actually some Information to be found on what Alex had maybe planned.