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Mods / Re: [0.9.1a-RC8] Tiandong Heavy Industries v1.2.1a - Updated 11/1/19
« on: May 11, 2021, 08:06:23 PM »
Aww. I've been through that too. Much love for Meso. <3
Be patient peoples!
Be patient peoples!
Fractal Softworks Forum
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General Discussion / Re: Simple poll: Do you like the old skill system or new skill system more
« on: May 08, 2021, 05:36:25 PM »
More is relative. Not satisfied with either really.
I like the direction the 95 version is heading towards or trying to be, but some flaws and inconsistencies hold it back. I think a more refined 95 version could lead to some fun build diversity.
I like the direction the 95 version is heading towards or trying to be, but some flaws and inconsistencies hold it back. I think a more refined 95 version could lead to some fun build diversity.
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Mods / Re: [0.95a] Combat Alarm Sounds mod v1.4
« on: April 28, 2021, 03:26:09 PM »
Yeah I agree with Helldiver. This is such a great combo of immersion and utility.
4
General Discussion / Re: Impressions about skills in 0.9.5
« on: April 27, 2021, 11:53:32 PM »
I actually kind of like L1R/Auxiliary Support's playstyle, and wish it weren't limited to just the early game due to caps.
Making civilian junk ships into tanky brawlers is pretty useful in the early game. Turn a couple Kites into little monsters. Use the money you save to get a Colossus MKIII or something sooner, go raiding. Make a Super-Venture. It's fun, and funny, can give some of the hybrid freighters more staying power.
But..Just like lots of other stuff? it's severely hamstrung by fleet and DP caps. Another weird thing that makes it undesirable is that you kinda want the +1 burn from Bulk Transport to make it work, since normally you want to militarize your civilian vessels for the sensor benefits and the lower maintenance from expanded cargo and the like. But, if you do that with Auxiliary Support, you dilute and lose your bonuses if you do that.
Meanwhile, Bulk Transport wants to militarize for more cargo if you don't have Auxiliary Support, so it doesn't really gain anything from the + 1 burn. So, really, I think the +1 burn should just be rolled into Auxiliary Support, where it would be used, instead of just floating there uselessly for everyone else.
The whole idea of tinkering with subsystems of junk civilian ships with after market modifications belongs in the Industry Tree, I think. Auxiliary Support would fit there better thematically.
Take it out of L1. Stick it in I1. Adjust the cap or make it a flat bonus. Move Bulk Transport's +1 Bonus to it, give Bulk Transport earlier access to the Efficiency Overhaul mod or something to compensate. Buff Salvaging and move it further up the tree somewhere. Really, I'd prefer the Industry Tree be reworked into actual choices between L = Logistics Buff and R= Fleet Buff; Each tier would should be a choice between making your fleet tougher, or making it run more efficiently. Which is way more interesting than "do you want to save money this way or that way" It would be easier to stuff those choices in there without the colony skills. I2 can keep it's piloting bonuses, but everything else would feel so much better than how it is now.
Making civilian junk ships into tanky brawlers is pretty useful in the early game. Turn a couple Kites into little monsters. Use the money you save to get a Colossus MKIII or something sooner, go raiding. Make a Super-Venture. It's fun, and funny, can give some of the hybrid freighters more staying power.
But..Just like lots of other stuff? it's severely hamstrung by fleet and DP caps. Another weird thing that makes it undesirable is that you kinda want the +1 burn from Bulk Transport to make it work, since normally you want to militarize your civilian vessels for the sensor benefits and the lower maintenance from expanded cargo and the like. But, if you do that with Auxiliary Support, you dilute and lose your bonuses if you do that.
Meanwhile, Bulk Transport wants to militarize for more cargo if you don't have Auxiliary Support, so it doesn't really gain anything from the + 1 burn. So, really, I think the +1 burn should just be rolled into Auxiliary Support, where it would be used, instead of just floating there uselessly for everyone else.
The whole idea of tinkering with subsystems of junk civilian ships with after market modifications belongs in the Industry Tree, I think. Auxiliary Support would fit there better thematically.
Take it out of L1. Stick it in I1. Adjust the cap or make it a flat bonus. Move Bulk Transport's +1 Bonus to it, give Bulk Transport earlier access to the Efficiency Overhaul mod or something to compensate. Buff Salvaging and move it further up the tree somewhere. Really, I'd prefer the Industry Tree be reworked into actual choices between L = Logistics Buff and R= Fleet Buff; Each tier would should be a choice between making your fleet tougher, or making it run more efficiently. Which is way more interesting than "do you want to save money this way or that way" It would be easier to stuff those choices in there without the colony skills. I2 can keep it's piloting bonuses, but everything else would feel so much better than how it is now.
5
General Discussion / Re: About skill tree design
« on: April 24, 2021, 01:46:04 PM »
Over all, I think the current system could work it just needs adjusting. The placement of the skills, some skill balance, and DP caps make a lot of skills feel bad. I do think more synergy between skills would be fun too. Inter and cross tree synergy is what makes trying out different character builds fun, adds to replay value. I like a sense of progression more than I like free form system, but this doesn't quite nail that for me.
I think something that would also go a long way is if the the first 2 to 3 tiers in a tree presented the choice of Generalist vs. Specialist or Generalist vs. Generalist, and the later skills (3, 4, 5) were Specialist vs Specialist to give you a sense of solidifying a playstyle. It would also frontload more stuff that would be generally good for every fleet, making it both less punishing if you don't spend your scant few points specializing and more interesting when you do.
Some examples of good and bad in the tree:
T1: Navigation vs. Sensors feels like a proper choice between general and specialist- general burn speed is great for everyone, being sneaky helps smugglers and the like. This choice is solid, feels good to make. Damage Control vs. Reliability Engineering is another good one. Gunnery vs. Energy, etc.
Leadership feels borked because the tree is, frankly, all over the place. DP caps make Weapon Drills feel weak (and 5-10% damage is rather boring as far as bonusses go) Auxiliary Support is great, but you don't always want it (And, thematically, arguably an industry skill) Then, L2 is a choice between two frigate specialties. A choice between two specialist skills, especially in the same field, should not be present so early in a tree.
Leadership does do one thing well, and that's build into a frigate playstyle. Auxiliary support to militarize some early game kites and then later a Venture or Colossus MKIII, Wolfpack and Crew Training for more bite and CR. But, due to Weapon Drills feeling weak and boring and L2 being all about frigates? Everyone else is less enthusiastic to climb the tree for the officer skills. Fixing Weapon Drills and Moving Wolfpack tactics or coordinated maneuvers to provide another choice would fix the tree.
Industry feels awkward and has a lot of problems because the skill placement a lot of the time is logistics skill vs logistics skill. But, something it does do right that feels good, is synergy between it's skills. Salvaging > Damage Control (on officers too) > Containment Procedures > Field Repairs. You lose less crew, you use less supplies when you fight, Salvaging and Containment Procedures synergize to top off your fuel and you can burn that fuel in excess to chain down fleets. Your fleet can sustain itself for a pretty long time this way.
On the other hand, Industry feels awkward because a lot of the time you're choosing logistics vs. logistics instead of say being able to specialize without wrapping the tree. And that's due to skill placement. The first choice in the tree is kind of sour because it's like asking you "Hey, do you want more loot or do you want to actually be able to carry that loot?" and the +1 burn you get back with militarized subsystems and expanded cargo/auxilarytanks/berthing combo. (I think the +1 burn would feel better rolled into Auxiliary Support to round out that playstyle). The DP caps hamstring the skills longterm value, relegating them to "do you want more salvage gantries, or do you want more logistics ships in your roster?" Which I suppose is a certain value.
Though, I think Auxilary Support (making junk civilian ships work in combat) has more synergy with the industry tree, Bulk Transport and Derelict Contingent in particular, than it does leadership. Both mechanically and thematically.
The colony skills do make Leadership and Industry feel more chaotic. Moving their big gameplay changing capstone abilities down to t4 instead of t5 like everyone else.
I think something that would also go a long way is if the the first 2 to 3 tiers in a tree presented the choice of Generalist vs. Specialist or Generalist vs. Generalist, and the later skills (3, 4, 5) were Specialist vs Specialist to give you a sense of solidifying a playstyle. It would also frontload more stuff that would be generally good for every fleet, making it both less punishing if you don't spend your scant few points specializing and more interesting when you do.
Some examples of good and bad in the tree:
T1: Navigation vs. Sensors feels like a proper choice between general and specialist- general burn speed is great for everyone, being sneaky helps smugglers and the like. This choice is solid, feels good to make. Damage Control vs. Reliability Engineering is another good one. Gunnery vs. Energy, etc.
Leadership feels borked because the tree is, frankly, all over the place. DP caps make Weapon Drills feel weak (and 5-10% damage is rather boring as far as bonusses go) Auxiliary Support is great, but you don't always want it (And, thematically, arguably an industry skill) Then, L2 is a choice between two frigate specialties. A choice between two specialist skills, especially in the same field, should not be present so early in a tree.
Leadership does do one thing well, and that's build into a frigate playstyle. Auxiliary support to militarize some early game kites and then later a Venture or Colossus MKIII, Wolfpack and Crew Training for more bite and CR. But, due to Weapon Drills feeling weak and boring and L2 being all about frigates? Everyone else is less enthusiastic to climb the tree for the officer skills. Fixing Weapon Drills and Moving Wolfpack tactics or coordinated maneuvers to provide another choice would fix the tree.
Industry feels awkward and has a lot of problems because the skill placement a lot of the time is logistics skill vs logistics skill. But, something it does do right that feels good, is synergy between it's skills. Salvaging > Damage Control (on officers too) > Containment Procedures > Field Repairs. You lose less crew, you use less supplies when you fight, Salvaging and Containment Procedures synergize to top off your fuel and you can burn that fuel in excess to chain down fleets. Your fleet can sustain itself for a pretty long time this way.
On the other hand, Industry feels awkward because a lot of the time you're choosing logistics vs. logistics instead of say being able to specialize without wrapping the tree. And that's due to skill placement. The first choice in the tree is kind of sour because it's like asking you "Hey, do you want more loot or do you want to actually be able to carry that loot?" and the +1 burn you get back with militarized subsystems and expanded cargo/auxilarytanks/berthing combo. (I think the +1 burn would feel better rolled into Auxiliary Support to round out that playstyle). The DP caps hamstring the skills longterm value, relegating them to "do you want more salvage gantries, or do you want more logistics ships in your roster?" Which I suppose is a certain value.
Though, I think Auxilary Support (making junk civilian ships work in combat) has more synergy with the industry tree, Bulk Transport and Derelict Contingent in particular, than it does leadership. Both mechanically and thematically.
The colony skills do make Leadership and Industry feel more chaotic. Moving their big gameplay changing capstone abilities down to t4 instead of t5 like everyone else.
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General Discussion / Re: Impressions about skills in 0.9.5
« on: April 23, 2021, 04:34:49 PM »
After playing with for a couple hundred hours it I've been trying to put my finger on what I like about it and what I don't, so bare with me. Skill System feels like a rough prototype. Skills are a mixed bag. I like the idea of a tiered progression system, where you have choices to make. I love making builds and what not in games more than I like a free form system, but this one doesn't feel good. Yet, at least. There are a number of problems with it's current incarnation:
If Generalist (Left) vs. Specialist (Right) is the goal, then early iterations of these brackets fail at this- and I think that makes people feel bad or just confused:
There are several wonderful tiers that really make you think about what you want to choose: Navigation vs. Sensors or Damage Control vs. Reliability Engineering are good examples of tiers that really make you think about what you want and both pull their weight.
Leadership is probably the key example here. Weapon Drills is weak due to fleet cap, especially compared to Auxiliary support's numbers. But, you don't always want Auxiliary Support depending on how you like to set up your logistical ships, leaving you feeling like Weapon Drills is doing very little for you. Leadership 2 gives you the choice between two specialist skills that deal with frigates, which bucks the trend of the rest of the system and leaves a player with a non-frigate strategy with skill that's not necessary working towards their goals. With precious few skill points, this feels bad. Though, personally, I'm all about Wolf Pack and Auxiliary Support.
Industry 1 kind of feels bad because you have to choose between getting more loot or actually being able to carry it. It's also not clear to me how the Salvage skill interacts with diminishing returns from Salvage Gantrys. Between the caps and diminishing returns it feels like you're just choosing between alleviating part of your fleet composition (less salvage rigs or less logistics ships) The + 1 Burn Speed of Bulk Transport would make more sense rolled into Auxiliary Support I think, where as bulk transport could receive some kind of other nudge. If you're not taking Auxiliary Support, then you're likely militarizing your logistics vessels for + 1 Burn and lower maintenance on cargo expansion. Maybe the intent is opening up more ordinance points?
Personally, I'd almost like to see Auxiliary Support moved to Industry tier one, with the + 1 burn from bulk transport rolled into it. I think industry feels weird because of where the choices are. I think maybe the choice breakdown there should be Fleet Buff vs. Logistics buff instead of Logistics Buffs vs. Logistics buff- then going through three tree you could specialize, mix and match, or whatever.
My favorite parts of the industry tree are the parts that don't feel like an economic difficulty slider. At first I was kinda iffy about the Containment Procedures vs Makeshift Supplies but there is some synergy here. Damage Control on your officers + Field Repairs helps you on the supply front while Salvage + Containment Procedures can help you keep your fuel topped off from fighting. You don't have the passive supply boons of Makeshift Supplies, but you do recover a big chunk ship damage after battle for free, lose less crew, and so on. I'm not good enough at math to figure out which saves me the most money, but my gut says Makeshift Supplies probably does anyway due to the amount of time spent in systems as opposed to traveling.
Leadership, Technology, and Industry are kind of chaotic, thematically and mechanically. Industry isn't so bad, I think it's placement that makes people feel weird about it:
Leadership is another example here too.
Ideally, early skills should be Generalist vs. Specialist. Deeper skills should be Specialist vs. Specialist to reflect the investment in climbing that lane and solidifying playstyles. Categories are now an eclectic mix of fleet buffs, personal buffs, logistics buffs, and colony buffs with little in the way of a cohesive theme in most trees. Leadership has an odd first couple of tiers, then goes right into
I'll echo the sentiment that T4 in Leadership and Engineering feel like the 'capstone' abilities due to the colony skills.
I think this is also jarring for a lot of people but not necessarily bad. And, if you do get rid of the colony skills, maybe Industry and Leadership will feel less chaotic. I do like the idea of a personal combat/piloted ship buff in every tree though. Maybe if you remove colony skills then this would feel less chaotic? Another idea, might be to roll some of the logistics skills in Industry together, adjust the numbers if need be. There'd be room for it without the colony skills. Or, it could make room for colony skills if you kept them.
If Generalist (Left) vs. Specialist (Right) is the goal, then early iterations of these brackets fail at this- and I think that makes people feel bad or just confused:
There are several wonderful tiers that really make you think about what you want to choose: Navigation vs. Sensors or Damage Control vs. Reliability Engineering are good examples of tiers that really make you think about what you want and both pull their weight.
Leadership is probably the key example here. Weapon Drills is weak due to fleet cap, especially compared to Auxiliary support's numbers. But, you don't always want Auxiliary Support depending on how you like to set up your logistical ships, leaving you feeling like Weapon Drills is doing very little for you. Leadership 2 gives you the choice between two specialist skills that deal with frigates, which bucks the trend of the rest of the system and leaves a player with a non-frigate strategy with skill that's not necessary working towards their goals. With precious few skill points, this feels bad. Though, personally, I'm all about Wolf Pack and Auxiliary Support.
Industry 1 kind of feels bad because you have to choose between getting more loot or actually being able to carry it. It's also not clear to me how the Salvage skill interacts with diminishing returns from Salvage Gantrys. Between the caps and diminishing returns it feels like you're just choosing between alleviating part of your fleet composition (less salvage rigs or less logistics ships) The + 1 Burn Speed of Bulk Transport would make more sense rolled into Auxiliary Support I think, where as bulk transport could receive some kind of other nudge. If you're not taking Auxiliary Support, then you're likely militarizing your logistics vessels for + 1 Burn and lower maintenance on cargo expansion. Maybe the intent is opening up more ordinance points?
Personally, I'd almost like to see Auxiliary Support moved to Industry tier one, with the + 1 burn from bulk transport rolled into it. I think industry feels weird because of where the choices are. I think maybe the choice breakdown there should be Fleet Buff vs. Logistics buff instead of Logistics Buffs vs. Logistics buff- then going through three tree you could specialize, mix and match, or whatever.
My favorite parts of the industry tree are the parts that don't feel like an economic difficulty slider. At first I was kinda iffy about the Containment Procedures vs Makeshift Supplies but there is some synergy here. Damage Control on your officers + Field Repairs helps you on the supply front while Salvage + Containment Procedures can help you keep your fuel topped off from fighting. You don't have the passive supply boons of Makeshift Supplies, but you do recover a big chunk ship damage after battle for free, lose less crew, and so on. I'm not good enough at math to figure out which saves me the most money, but my gut says Makeshift Supplies probably does anyway due to the amount of time spent in systems as opposed to traveling.
Leadership, Technology, and Industry are kind of chaotic, thematically and mechanically. Industry isn't so bad, I think it's placement that makes people feel weird about it:
Leadership is another example here too.
Ideally, early skills should be Generalist vs. Specialist. Deeper skills should be Specialist vs. Specialist to reflect the investment in climbing that lane and solidifying playstyles. Categories are now an eclectic mix of fleet buffs, personal buffs, logistics buffs, and colony buffs with little in the way of a cohesive theme in most trees. Leadership has an odd first couple of tiers, then goes right into
I'll echo the sentiment that T4 in Leadership and Engineering feel like the 'capstone' abilities due to the colony skills.
I think this is also jarring for a lot of people but not necessarily bad. And, if you do get rid of the colony skills, maybe Industry and Leadership will feel less chaotic. I do like the idea of a personal combat/piloted ship buff in every tree though. Maybe if you remove colony skills then this would feel less chaotic? Another idea, might be to roll some of the logistics skills in Industry together, adjust the numbers if need be. There'd be room for it without the colony skills. Or, it could make room for colony skills if you kept them.
7
General Discussion / Re: How many faction Mods do you play with?
« on: April 23, 2021, 03:11:09 PM »
@Flacman3000
Yus. Thank you. And sure thing. You you're looking for:
Mod Folder > Data > World > Faction > default_ship_roles.json
To alleviate your anxiety, first make a copy of it and add Z to the front of the name so that the game doesn't read it and so that it goes to the bottom of your list. If something goes horribly wrong, you can delete the original and remove the Z from this copy and everything will be ok.
Open default_ship_roles up with notpad++ and cntrl + f to search for the ship names your looking for and delete those lines- they won't show up in stores or faction fleets after that. Just make sure you don't erase any brackets and everything will be fine.
The individual .faction files can control the spawn rates more finely if you don't want to get rid of something completely, but not every ship will have an entry and you'll need to know the ID for the ship to add it, which you can usually find in default_ship_roles if it isn't already there.
I'm not sure if it's fool proof or will have problems down the road, but, so far, anything I've removed hasn't shown up in faction armies or stores. Theoretically, I think blueprints and derelicts and stuff for it will still be discoverable in game but I'm not 100% sure.
Yus. Thank you. And sure thing. You you're looking for:
Mod Folder > Data > World > Faction > default_ship_roles.json
To alleviate your anxiety, first make a copy of it and add Z to the front of the name so that the game doesn't read it and so that it goes to the bottom of your list. If something goes horribly wrong, you can delete the original and remove the Z from this copy and everything will be ok.
Open default_ship_roles up with notpad++ and cntrl + f to search for the ship names your looking for and delete those lines- they won't show up in stores or faction fleets after that. Just make sure you don't erase any brackets and everything will be fine.
The individual .faction files can control the spawn rates more finely if you don't want to get rid of something completely, but not every ship will have an entry and you'll need to know the ID for the ship to add it, which you can usually find in default_ship_roles if it isn't already there.
I'm not sure if it's fool proof or will have problems down the road, but, so far, anything I've removed hasn't shown up in faction armies or stores. Theoretically, I think blueprints and derelicts and stuff for it will still be discoverable in game but I'm not 100% sure.
8
General Discussion / Re: How many faction Mods do you play with?
« on: April 23, 2021, 09:05:09 AM »
Faction Mods:
Roider Union
Kadur Remnant
Legacy of Arkgneisis
Federation
Scy Nation
Underworld + Tahlan Shipworks (Cabal and Legio. Tahlan is where Legio comes from, btw)
Ship Packs:
Luddic Path Enhancement + Hegemony Expeditionary Fleet
Arma Armatura
Tahlan + Underworld (Though they add factions, I mostly got them for the pirate fleet variety)
Varya's Shipack (Slightly modified)
Other
Libs
Starship Legends
Trailer Moments
Speed Up
Combat Alarm Sounds + Combat Chatter
Console Commands + Captains Log
Better Colonies
Logistics Notifications
Unknown Skies
Rambling about my thought process with my list, other faction mods, and what not:
I'll ramble about my whole list because I think seeing the sum of it's gives my list context, will be helpful for understanding what informed my choices.
Factions? Not many. My list is small-ish. I tend to rotate them in and out. Bigger lists kind of get too chaotic for me and I'm not a fan of the load times, so I keep it small. Kadur, Arkgneisis, and Roider Union fit right in and feel more like additional pirates/subfactions rather than full fledged factions. Those three I usually keep in. Then I'll have one or two more I plug in on rotation to check them out. Scy Nation is very lore friendly, but I don't always interact with them so they aren't always in. Federation was too nostalgic for me not to grab.
Legio and Cabal are mostly incidental because the main attraction with those mods are the ship packs. That said, the cabal makes hyperspace travel and smuggling more risky which I highly appreciate.
I also try to keep things lore-friendly-ish. So I avoid anime, meme mods, and mods that push the tech in crazy directions. Though, admittedly, I'm kind of a hypocrite because a lot of the time rule of cool gets the better of me XD I couldn't say no to the FTL inspired mod and the mech mods are hard to pass up. Also of note- Rather I'm playing with or without Nex also changes the way I look at adding factions. With Nex, the chaos of more factions is fun so I might plug in a couple more than usual. With a tighter more vanilla++ list I want less.
Tiandong is going on there as soon as it updates. If I ever get around to doing a League playthrough I'll give Mayasuran Navy a go. Diable I like to throw in when I'm doing Nexerelin. Xhan Empire is on my radar, but I haven't tried it yet. HMI looks a little out there, but I do like the junker aesthetic so I'll probably try it at least once at some point.
Tahlan and Underworld do so much to enhance pirates that they are a must have.
Varya's I adore and love most of the ships in it but I did go in the faction configs and got rid of a few. Stock standard it adds way too much frigate bloat. It dilutes early pirate battles into just picking on and blocking up a few near defenseless Spades and hounds. So, I got rid of the Spades, one of the Hound variants, the pirate Battlegroup ships, the Direwolf, the Henchmen, and few other things I thought were redundant or silly. The end result was immediately better, between Varya's more interesting frigates and underworld the early pirates weren't push overs anymore.
Ship/Weapons I'll probably add but disable a few things too (like that giant Ludd ship) Missing Ships I haven't tried but would need to disable the capital ships, patrol boats, and probably look at dropping Expedition Fleet and figure out what ships overlap between it and the Luddic Enhancement pack. I have enough ships and that would require some testing so I haven't got around to it. If I shake things up I'd probably shelf my other ship mods for a bit to see what I like better. As it is, I'm already thinking of pruning things back a little.
Roider Union
Kadur Remnant
Legacy of Arkgneisis
Federation
Scy Nation
Underworld + Tahlan Shipworks (Cabal and Legio. Tahlan is where Legio comes from, btw)
Ship Packs:
Luddic Path Enhancement + Hegemony Expeditionary Fleet
Arma Armatura
Tahlan + Underworld (Though they add factions, I mostly got them for the pirate fleet variety)
Varya's Shipack (Slightly modified)
Other
Libs
Starship Legends
Trailer Moments
Speed Up
Combat Alarm Sounds + Combat Chatter
Console Commands + Captains Log
Better Colonies
Logistics Notifications
Unknown Skies
Rambling about my thought process with my list, other faction mods, and what not:
I'll ramble about my whole list because I think seeing the sum of it's gives my list context, will be helpful for understanding what informed my choices.
Factions? Not many. My list is small-ish. I tend to rotate them in and out. Bigger lists kind of get too chaotic for me and I'm not a fan of the load times, so I keep it small. Kadur, Arkgneisis, and Roider Union fit right in and feel more like additional pirates/subfactions rather than full fledged factions. Those three I usually keep in. Then I'll have one or two more I plug in on rotation to check them out. Scy Nation is very lore friendly, but I don't always interact with them so they aren't always in. Federation was too nostalgic for me not to grab.
Legio and Cabal are mostly incidental because the main attraction with those mods are the ship packs. That said, the cabal makes hyperspace travel and smuggling more risky which I highly appreciate.
I also try to keep things lore-friendly-ish. So I avoid anime, meme mods, and mods that push the tech in crazy directions. Though, admittedly, I'm kind of a hypocrite because a lot of the time rule of cool gets the better of me XD I couldn't say no to the FTL inspired mod and the mech mods are hard to pass up. Also of note- Rather I'm playing with or without Nex also changes the way I look at adding factions. With Nex, the chaos of more factions is fun so I might plug in a couple more than usual. With a tighter more vanilla++ list I want less.
Tiandong is going on there as soon as it updates. If I ever get around to doing a League playthrough I'll give Mayasuran Navy a go. Diable I like to throw in when I'm doing Nexerelin. Xhan Empire is on my radar, but I haven't tried it yet. HMI looks a little out there, but I do like the junker aesthetic so I'll probably try it at least once at some point.
Tahlan and Underworld do so much to enhance pirates that they are a must have.
Varya's I adore and love most of the ships in it but I did go in the faction configs and got rid of a few. Stock standard it adds way too much frigate bloat. It dilutes early pirate battles into just picking on and blocking up a few near defenseless Spades and hounds. So, I got rid of the Spades, one of the Hound variants, the pirate Battlegroup ships, the Direwolf, the Henchmen, and few other things I thought were redundant or silly. The end result was immediately better, between Varya's more interesting frigates and underworld the early pirates weren't push overs anymore.
Ship/Weapons I'll probably add but disable a few things too (like that giant Ludd ship) Missing Ships I haven't tried but would need to disable the capital ships, patrol boats, and probably look at dropping Expedition Fleet and figure out what ships overlap between it and the Luddic Enhancement pack. I have enough ships and that would require some testing so I haven't got around to it. If I shake things up I'd probably shelf my other ship mods for a bit to see what I like better. As it is, I'm already thinking of pruning things back a little.
9
General Discussion / Re: Which faction would you side with and why?
« on: April 22, 2021, 09:48:34 PM »
It's rough because all the factions are so flawed. But that's a good thing, narratively. Scorpixel's summary is pretty spot on though.
I think I'd have to reluctantly choose the Heinlein-esque Hegemony, mostly out of my deep seated IRL fear of artificial intelligence and their unknowable intellect reaching an unfathomable level of technological singularity that humans' would be powerless to stop should even just one of them decide to turn it on us. On a long enough timeline, each individual AI core could reach god-like status in my mind. All it takes is one at the right/wrong time to develop malice or decide we're worth erasing and it's game over for humans. So, in light of that, choosing a faction comes down to who I think has the most reasonable chance of preventing that outcome and/or stabilizing the sector.
Either two things would happen with a Hegemony victory; it either crumbles like the Roman Empire and the sector plummets back into tearing itself apart or the Hegemony reforms and eases back. There's a *chance at a reasonable outcome maybe a century or two down the line that I don't really see much of one with the other factions.
The League a sort of a temporary confederacy or defensive pact. Only thing holding it's member states together is a common enemy. The Diktat is an typical tinpot dictatorship complete with hedonists at the top and practical or literal slavery at the bottom. Tri-Tachyon is a corporation- never trust a corporation. The Ludds have no future. Indies and Pirates I don't really count as full fledged powers, but a cutch all mechanically for all the different subgroups.
I think I'd have to reluctantly choose the Heinlein-esque Hegemony, mostly out of my deep seated IRL fear of artificial intelligence and their unknowable intellect reaching an unfathomable level of technological singularity that humans' would be powerless to stop should even just one of them decide to turn it on us. On a long enough timeline, each individual AI core could reach god-like status in my mind. All it takes is one at the right/wrong time to develop malice or decide we're worth erasing and it's game over for humans. So, in light of that, choosing a faction comes down to who I think has the most reasonable chance of preventing that outcome and/or stabilizing the sector.
Either two things would happen with a Hegemony victory; it either crumbles like the Roman Empire and the sector plummets back into tearing itself apart or the Hegemony reforms and eases back. There's a *chance at a reasonable outcome maybe a century or two down the line that I don't really see much of one with the other factions.
The League a sort of a temporary confederacy or defensive pact. Only thing holding it's member states together is a common enemy. The Diktat is an typical tinpot dictatorship complete with hedonists at the top and practical or literal slavery at the bottom. Tri-Tachyon is a corporation- never trust a corporation. The Ludds have no future. Indies and Pirates I don't really count as full fledged powers, but a cutch all mechanically for all the different subgroups.
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General Discussion / Re: Limiting player options is the antithesis of a good sandbox game
« on: April 22, 2021, 04:55:55 PM »
Eh, Come on. I think we all know what he's trying to say here when he says sandbox. I think arguing rather or not Starsector is a sandbox or not is a semantics game. This is due to how these terms mean different things to different people rather than being solid categories anymore, due to games just throwing them on their store tags for visibility in digital stores rather they fit or not. I personally wouldn't call it a sandbox but I see what he's getting at and why some people would. It's got open world elements, but sandbox implies no rules.
On topic and on balance though? I feel the complete opposite of OP. I've never liked the "balance doesn't matter in single player games" mentality. Yes, balance IS important in single player games- it's pretty silly to pretend it doesn't because then there would be no game at all. And, in a lot of ways, you're asking for more balance towards the end game lol so you're kind of arguing against yourself.
Balance is important because it facilitates a satisfying gameplay loop, provides tension, choices, stakes, losses, and victories. Even build variety. Balance is about creating a stable gaming experience. A game space, an environment, without parameters and rules ceases to really function or even exist. Without structure there is no game. Think about it like this: If you didn't want balance in your single game then why aren't you playing Gary's Mod or Goat Simulator or smashing lego space ships together and using your imagination? The reason you're playing this game instead of any of those other things is because you enjoy the game space created by the structure, the rules, and ultimately the balance. Ergo, balance matters.
Player choice is actually greatly expanded upon when there is no 'best' option to choose. When there is a best choice to do something that far outweights all the other choices, then there's really no choice at all. When there is no single best choice, you get more build variety.
Like, I'm totally the opposite of you- I think the game needs -more- balance. I think money is too easy to make. I think smuggling doesn't have enough consequence, raiding is too easy and too profitable, and I have a love/hate relationship with the new skill system in a lot of ways. It feels like a rough prototype with some good ideas about choice and a sense of progression that shows lots of promise, especially compared to the old skill system, but it's also kind of a mess in a few spots that rub me the wrong way.
On topic and on balance though? I feel the complete opposite of OP. I've never liked the "balance doesn't matter in single player games" mentality. Yes, balance IS important in single player games- it's pretty silly to pretend it doesn't because then there would be no game at all. And, in a lot of ways, you're asking for more balance towards the end game lol so you're kind of arguing against yourself.
Balance is important because it facilitates a satisfying gameplay loop, provides tension, choices, stakes, losses, and victories. Even build variety. Balance is about creating a stable gaming experience. A game space, an environment, without parameters and rules ceases to really function or even exist. Without structure there is no game. Think about it like this: If you didn't want balance in your single game then why aren't you playing Gary's Mod or Goat Simulator or smashing lego space ships together and using your imagination? The reason you're playing this game instead of any of those other things is because you enjoy the game space created by the structure, the rules, and ultimately the balance. Ergo, balance matters.
Player choice is actually greatly expanded upon when there is no 'best' option to choose. When there is a best choice to do something that far outweights all the other choices, then there's really no choice at all. When there is no single best choice, you get more build variety.
Like, I'm totally the opposite of you- I think the game needs -more- balance. I think money is too easy to make. I think smuggling doesn't have enough consequence, raiding is too easy and too profitable, and I have a love/hate relationship with the new skill system in a lot of ways. It feels like a rough prototype with some good ideas about choice and a sense of progression that shows lots of promise, especially compared to the old skill system, but it's also kind of a mess in a few spots that rub me the wrong way.
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