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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 - Sabaton

Pages: [1] 2
1
General Discussion / Some bloat content
« on: February 06, 2024, 02:42:13 AM »
Now that Starsector is really pushing up in age I'm seeing a bit of bloat content here and there. Mostly items that have fallen by the way side either due to changing balance or being outright surpassed by new stuff. While some could be reballanced into relevancy I feel most of it could be removed from the game and no one would bat an eye.

Lets start with the weapons:

Light dual machine gun: not much better than it's singular counterpart, if anything the single variant is superior due to its
lower OP cost given that small PD must be spammed to be reliable. All in all it lacks the affordability of it's single cousin and
the sheer firepower of the Vulcan while having similar range and being more expensive that both.

Point defense laser:

Has the same OP cost as its long range version but half the range, that alone out weights the superior damage given that, like mentioned before,
small PD guns rely on volume more than individual kick. The burst PD laser is more reliable in the similar range class and the mining laser is dirt cheap.
This leaves the regular PD laser without any saving graces, weak compared to burst laser, short ranged compared to long range PD laser and expensive compared to the mining laser.

On to factions and ships:

Pirates:

I think the pirate Shade and Aflictor were originally introduced so players could learn to fight phase enemies in a low risk environment? That mantle has been picked up by the more thematically fitting Gremlin. Leaving P Shades & Afflictors as just worse versions of their pristine selves that bloat pirate fleets.

Pirate Wolf:

Just a worse Wolf, its role as elusive nuisance is fulfilled just as well by Kites & Gremlins. The paint job is cool tho, so maybe give it to the pirate Shrike.

Mudskipper MK2:

A meme ship with less combat value than a Kite, put it out of its misery. The Buffalo & Atlas mk2 show pirate ingenuity & desperation much better.

Colossus MK2:

Ridiculously big and clunky for such a low fighter count. IMO best replaced with something else, perhaps the unused munition ships sprites? They still hold on well after all these years.

Luddic Path:

Colossus mk3:

Just a hammer barrage with engines, far surpassed in effectiveness and cool factor by the luddic Manticore.

In an unrelated note, we really need a way to remotely contact contacts, at least for some jobs. Going back to them every time is annoying.

2
Suggestions / Big wig start option
« on: January 05, 2023, 10:50:41 PM »
As someone who's been playing this game for 10 years I know the early/mid game experience like the back of my hand at this point and reached the stage where the early grind discourages me from starting a new playthrough.

Any chance for a big wig starting option? I'm thinking a 7-9 ship fleet with a few cruisers, officers, levels and 100/200k credits under your belt.

3
General Discussion / Good job on the new enemies! (spoilers)
« on: April 16, 2021, 04:47:56 AM »
        Before this update the domain Derelicts and, to a lesser extent, AI Remnants had the most visually distinctive sprites in the game. And yet you still managed to make something even weirder with the Omega ships and their weapons.

        The ships look like abstract fractals that came from another game and some weapons look grown rather than built. On a side note I really like the frontier feel of the scavenge background music.

        Also all these contradictory posts on the forum makes me think you're getting closer to balancing the game than ever. Personally I wish more Omega weapons had
unique effects rather than pure damage. The disintegrator is a good example, they wouldn't have to be positive either as some could hinder your own ships (like Seekers Max CR reducing plague weapons, etc).

        Looking forward to what you do next with them. (file info indicates a station in the works?)

4
Suggestions / Bounty Payout Rework
« on: April 07, 2021, 02:24:29 AM »
      SO, many people are complaining about the credits payout of fleet and station bounties (as well as the supplies costs to reach them) when compared to other low risk high reward alternatives (drug-a-lug-lug, mainly).

      And even if you increase bounty pay it would still fall short because smuggling is faster, cheaper on resource expenditure and (unless you're really unlucky) doesn't come with the risk of losing ships.

      Therefore bounties need to entice players with a different type of reward (like exploration does) than raw cash as cargo running will always be the better option. And that reward should be increased weapons/ships salvage from wanted fleets/stations.

      That gives players a more interesting choice: low risk/high credits cargo running or high risk/high salvage bounty hunting (which would justify lower bounty credits pay as employers consider salvage as part of your reward).

      In addition, stations should not start with missing modules (to help increase salvage) and even a lone station should wield ships for salvage (that were docked at the time, presumably).

      That would make the game activities look like this: smuggling for cash, exploring for colony items and bounty hunting for fleet improvements. 

5
Discussions / The most bizarre game in years
« on: March 01, 2021, 05:46:57 AM »
It's not space related in any way but this...thing is shaping up to be a deceptively good immersive sim that does dystopia way better than many AAA try hards.

Grapple walls with your intestine after jumping by spitting snot from your feet in order to kill a wage C.U.C.K whose crime was using corporate money to increase his toy collection....all while being supervised by likely demonic powers. Or just relax and go fishing/grilling.

Game play is way tighter than the early 2000s web page graphics suggest. Try not to get sick looking at it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvKEKD3eo2Y   

6
Suggestions / Hull mods ideas
« on: October 31, 2020, 08:10:14 AM »
While there are many mods for pretty much every aspect of a ship, some have been ignored. My proposition, starting with defective mods:

D weapon mounts: slower turn speed/higher weapon spread for prolonged fire.

D automated systems: larger skeleton crew required.

D shields: smaller shield arc, slower turn/raise speed, weaker shields (opposite to hardened shields).

D radiation shielding: faster CR loss in a corona/warp storm,  lose crew if CR<a certain %.

Focused shield: similar to hardened shield but also reduces shield arc so it should be cheaper.

Any other ideas?



7
Suggestions / Hidden stashes
« on: May 21, 2020, 03:29:10 AM »
       Right now the only way to get a convenient storage space is to rent (which gets expensive really fast), rely on the Corvus platform (a trouble if hostile with Hegemony) or build a colony of your own which is a bonus for players who wanted a faction anyway but a nuisance for pirates who just want a place to stash loot without attracting unwanted attention.

       So, introducing the hidden warehouse/vault:

-functions like a stash in space but planet side
-does not attract raids or inspections
-can be constructed like a colony but much cheaper, no crew requirements for example
-has a limited storage space, like 1/2 rows for ships and 2/3 rows for loot
-will be lost after some months if constructed on worlds with tectonic activity
-can't be built on gas giants
-limit of one per planet, so you need more planets for more stashes
-no upkeep costs

       Any thoughts?

8
General Discussion / Is it worth guarding my blueprints?
« on: January 24, 2019, 10:18:31 AM »

 I know for a fact that pirates get a hold of black marketed ship blueprints after a while, but what about weapon/hull mod blue prints?

 Will selling a weapon blueprint on black markets mean pirates will be better equipped in the future? Does this apply to blueprint packs?

 What about the other factions? Does selling blueprints on free/military markets have an impact on fleet composition?

9
I'm sure some of these have been suggested before, but after reading the upcoming plans for this game I've been having some things on my mind, namely....

     1. The number of starting scenarios is very limited, beginning as a pirate, ludd fanatic or a tritach corporate tool (all with their appropriate faction relations and starting ships) would go a long way in allowing players to start on their desired run quicker and with less hassle.

     2.Ship variants could use some polish:

     A)   The pirates, seeing as they’re supposed to play a bigger role in the future, could use some tuning.   I think their ship variants should have more flexible weapon slots, the Mule is a perfect example of that. Beggars can’t be choosers, and they would need to use any weapon they can get, no?
            Ramshacke ships like the Mudskipper mk II are also a nice touch, why not give them something like a carrier converted Prometheus? More converted shuttles with oversized guns? I know these guys are supposed to be loot pinatas, but that doesn't mean they should be boring loot pinatas, no?
 
     B)   Pathers, the luddic colossus is a sad joke of a ship, if there is a ship that would make a perfect pather conversion its the Venture. Remove all utilitarian hull mods, add SO+a hammer barrage on its nose+an actual fighter deck and you have a perfect pather flag ship.
   The Shepard is also a good candidate for the same treatment, replace the drones lasers with Swarmer missiles?

     C)    Giving the tritachs a converted Brawler was interesting, now they have an anvil to the Tempests hammer. Maybe give them a converted Dominator, an anvil to the Asuras hammer?

     D)    Hegemony auxiliary: Mule, Cerberus, Venture, Shepard, Prometheus, Wayfarer.
           Hegemony battlegroup: Legion, Mora, Conquest, Heron….bigger focus on larger ships as that will fall in line with Heg doctrine.

     3.More hull mods, both good and defective as the ones we already have are ok, but they all focus on combat and deal with the same  ship stats.

     Ex: expanded crew bunks, fuel tanks and cargo bays, usefull for augmenting your utilitarian ships.
     Contrasted by bamaged crew bunks/fuel tanks and cargo bays with the oposed effect, I believe this is a necessity to implement because as it
stands right now pure utility ships don’t have much going on for them. What are you gonna install on your Dram and Buffalo other than Unstable
Injector?  

Automated sistems-for reducing skeleton crew requiremts, efficient maitenance modifications- reduce maintenance per month on installed ship,
,damaged shield generator-reduce shield arc and efficiency, compromised fighter bay-makes one fighter bay unusable, etc.

     4. Stronger derelicts, so you want scavenging to be the primary way in which players get blueprints and such, how will you prevent them from
steamrolling everything if they luck out and get something cool?

     Derelict ships that get stronger as time passes, first few are your typical D clunkers, after that you face off fully repaired and eventually improved derelicts.

     That Rampart suddenly got scarier with heavy armor and a shield didn’t it? Also they could use a capital ship and a carrier for some variation.
     Same could be said for the [REDACTED], systems with fully armed battlestations should be full with better augmented fleets.

    5. Ship procuring missions, I’m sure there are many collectors out there who would like rare ships like a civilian Kite, Hyperion, Scarab, Omen.

Well that's all I can think of right now, back to the shadows...

10
General Discussion / What mod are these ships from?
« on: July 22, 2018, 04:04:54 AM »
 I've been watching Nemos plays recently and I have no idea where the Bully and Niagara ships are from, any help?

11
Suggestions / Darker systems and AI as new industry skill.
« on: June 22, 2018, 03:49:05 AM »
1.Starless systems seem way too bright to reflect the fact that they're shrowded in darkness. How about toning the background light? This is just a visual effect with no bearing on gameplay.

2. Now that the industry bits are being expanded, how abou adding the ability to install ai cores in your ships as well for:

A) Various benefits per core tech level, different from each so you're not encouraged to stach on alphas and sell the rest.

B) An extra skill for the industry branch, one that blends will with colonies so that you can use them not just to build ships but run AI operations.

C) Get into trouble with factions that don't like AI, to encourage combat.

D) Start The Third Ai War!  ;D

12
General Discussion / Are phase ships banned in lore?
« on: June 17, 2017, 02:24:17 PM »
Judging by some descriptions that seems to be the case. Will this play out in the future? Will we see certain factions(mainly hegemony and ludd) give you trouble for having phase ships in your fleet? Could we see procurement missions for ships?

13
Discussions / Scorn
« on: July 02, 2016, 02:36:23 AM »
So I saw this game on the Jimquisition....and it gave me the creeps while also reminding me why it wasn't a good idea to watch Alien as a kid...

Looks like H.R.Gigers legacy is alive and well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvBo_rKleNw

14
General Discussion / What programs does this game require?
« on: March 18, 2016, 01:10:34 PM »

 Java I know, anything else?

15
Suggestions / The Mudskipper Mk. 2 is an interesting concept.
« on: March 17, 2016, 12:55:37 PM »

  I'd like to see more of that down the line, especially when it comes to groups like pirates and ludd fanatics. They don't have to be new sprites and ships, mere variations of current ones are good.

  It doesn't have to be all about guns either, just imagine a ludd cerberus with an extra pair of engines haphazardly attached to it.

  Talking about ill advised modifications.

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