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

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Messages - heskey30

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1
General Discussion / Re: Odd situation with pirate with good pirate rep
« on: November 18, 2019, 08:54:01 AM »
If you aren't supposed to be positive rep with pirates you shouldn't be able to gain rep with pirates.

2
Could be your power options maybe? Make sure you're on max performance. And plugged in on a laptop. That should cause problems with other games too though.

3
Well it seems to me like we've already got the best combat skill from the very beginning of the game. Is anyone here really getting regularly trashed by high skilled npc commanders lategame? Sure they're dangerous, but a skilled player will still beat them even with fewer ingame skills. I think that's a good balance - letting the player be godlike in battle and also an amazing fleet commander is good wish fulfillment but ultimately you're just going to be steamrolling everything and bored.

4
Most horrible experience:  going ahead, like a scared swimmer knowing they're about to dip their toes in an acidic lake filled with rabid piranhas, and plunking down perfectly-good money to finally give No Man's Sky a go.   Let's just say that I was not thrilled; if it was this Fun after two years of fixes, it must have been one of the worst games ever made at Gold release.
Well I had a lot of fun with No Man's Sky's latest update. It definitely isn't perfect, but there is a lot of atmosphere and a lot to do. I guess if you're in there for something arcadey you aren't going to enjoy it, and likewise if you're looking for a good simulator. It's really best at being an exploration game with a story that can probably be described as divisive? But in any case it isn't objectively bad.

5
Its part of the game that you can't always find the ship you want in the market. If you could, why would you need to try to capture ships?

6
Blog Posts / Re: Economy & Outposts
« on: September 20, 2017, 06:16:13 PM »
If you found a great planet out in the sector somewhere and planned to colonize it, would there be any reason not to also sell that survey data?

7
General Discussion / Re: What controls bounty progression?
« on: June 13, 2017, 06:50:40 PM »
I agree that its odd that your average bounties scale with your level. The only way it would make sense is if someone was explicitly contacting you with a bounty meant for your skill level. Maybe if you develop contacts they can offer you the scaling bounties?

8
Why are you guys so fixated on random loot? We could just have a unique turret or ship as a mission reward once missions get fleshed out. It seems like there's no real downside except making the player even more powerful.

9
Discussions / Re: 7 Exoplanets, 3 in hab zone, 1 star!!!
« on: February 24, 2017, 06:13:40 PM »
A red dwarf would give off even less harmful radiation than our own star. Maybe that is a bad thing though, maybe life needs a kick start from radiation.

10
Discussions / Re: Anyone seen Rogue 1 yet? opinions? [SPOILERS]
« on: February 04, 2017, 10:33:57 AM »
The big advantage of kicking scientific accuracy out of the window is that you can make happen whatever is best for the story, dramatics, comprehensibility and visual presentation.
I would say consistency is one of the most important things you can have in a fictional world. While you give up the ability to write whatever drama you want, the consistency is what gives that drama its relevance. If I say 'Bob the space mage destroyed the apocalypse orb with the aid of his powers,' it just isn't the same as watching Star Wars. Thats because every bit of the movie, from the scenery to the way people interact and the dynamics of power are building on the consistency of the world. Its not just scientific things, its things like "the empire is much stronger than the rebellion and when it loses it is the exception" and "The force is an inherit power in all living things."

The consistency allows us to know when something is amazing and predict things that are going to happen through foreshadowing and imagine ourselves living in the world. If you damage the rules of a universe, not only do you end up with situations where the audience is thinking "WTF", you reduce it away from seeming like a living breathing world and bring it towards a rehash of the basic plot points which most stories share.

Fighting consistency-entropy is hard but it is necessary! For the good of nerdom!

11
General Discussion / Re: This is just too much.
« on: November 18, 2016, 11:32:24 AM »
In my experience a team of two is the most effective in terms of hours put in to quality code produced. Working with another person can be a source of motivation, and when working with something complex like a game, often one person can be overwhelmed and just overlook a simple solution because they can't think of everything when a short conversation with another good programmer who is familiar with the project would bring it up as a matter of course. But with more than two, especially on a tightly connected game like this, you often get situations where one person is waiting on another to finish a system, or people stepping on each others toes and causing bugs because they don't know each others code, or merge conflicts.

But there's another major reason not to hire more programmers that nobody has brought up yet - often they want to have a say in the game. If two different visions are fighting over the project, and this can happen even if the programmers leave every meeting in total agreement, it just makes the game more messy. That's why so many indie games with one programmer or really small teams feel so authentic and special.

Anyway, come on guys, you know this isn't vaporware. The game has been chugging along at a remarkably steady pace for a long time, there is absolutely no reason to panic now. Especially since Alex seems to be extra optimistic about the progress.

12
General Discussion / Re: What am I doing wrong?
« on: November 14, 2016, 11:45:38 AM »
Being thrifty is important. Always know when supplies are cheap or expensive, and stock up when they're cheap. Even in combat mode I bring around a couple freighters and use them to haul supplies, loot, or even really good trade good deals. Always having some of the more expensive trade goods in stock lets me jump on opportunities without using too much cargo space. This way I can still keep afloat even if the bounties don't go well. And eventually you will learn how to make consistent money off of bounties with practice and character levels.

13
General Discussion / What design paradigm does Starsector's AI follow?
« on: November 12, 2016, 01:24:58 PM »
I've always thought Starsector's AI was an example of really good AI, and I know its behavior is very complex and it has evolved over a long time. I'm very interested in game AI (I'm in school for Game design for better or for worse) So, its there in the subject - what is the AI in Starsector really? A state machine? A behavior tree? A set of if statements?

Also, if I may steal just a drop of precious time from Alex's schedule - do you regret your choice of AI paradigm now that you've had to deal with it for years? Or if not, do you have any tips to deal with its downsides?

14
General Discussion / Re: Fighter Rework and Missiles.
« on: October 06, 2016, 04:15:51 PM »
Well I'm not sure what Alex thought on the matter, but I think the reason fighters should be unlimited and missiles limited is because that's what makes them interesting. Missiles, compared to guns, are very powerful but have limited use. That's what makes them different, and those two things balance each other - take away the limited use and you have to take away the power and then they'd just be a reskin of something else.
Its kind of the same with fighters. They are weak ships that don't really die. If they ran out they'd have to be made stronger and then what would separate them from normal ships? Though there are probably other reasons here - the most interesting thing about fighting carriers is assassinating them before they wear down your fleet. Making the optimal strategy just picking off all the fighters would make things boring.

15
Suggestions / Re: MINES!
« on: September 26, 2016, 02:55:34 PM »
You could have nano-mines - clouds that cause damage and a fire effect when you go through them but can't be hit by PD and aren't entirely consumed when a ship goes through them.

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