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31

General Discussion / Re: this is the greatest game ever made

« on: February 18, 2021, 04:25:31 AM »

Btw what do you mean there's hasn't been a change in game mechanics in almost two years? Last patch was in May 2019, so there hasn't been any change. If you think the mechanics won't change much you should check out some of the dev's blogposts, there has been a lot of reworked mechanics.

Personally, I see the SS's transition from a combat sim to a single-system map then to a multi-system map to be the three iterations worth mentioning. Every other patch are either QoL tweaks or minor additions like silent running and star base etc. So no, in the past two years, nothing really changed how the base game played. The contracts are still the same, the exploration loop is the same, economy is still the same mess and colonization is just a money sink at the moment. Don't get me started on the whack-a-mole pirate, ludite bases that spring up without any economic restrictions.

The blog posts actually have me more worried than anything else. Alex has been polishing and re-designing certain features many times over the years and while I appreciate a better mechanic, there are far bigger issues. If SS is just a combat sim, then what it has is fine but it's claim to be a sandbox sim like Elite game with a living economy and that's what I've been waiting for all these years. Considering the amount of years Alex has been refining the combat portion, the equally important (to me) economy/trade/faction interaction/colonization have barely changed since inception. We are going on the third iteration of skill tree now according to the blog, is it really the time to refine that right now I wonder? Will Alex spend another 2 years polishing the non-combat portion too?

Combat was always intended to be the core of SS as specified by the devs and because of that every activity can/will easily push you into combat. But you're right in stating that there is no final vision of how the game will come out 1.0.
 
There has never been one, given how much the game has changed :phase-redone, ship boarding-redone, skills-redone, smuggling-redone, hell Combat Readiness exists just to nerf frigates due to maniacs like Hellmut killing fleets/stations with a single frigate.

So anyone who buys into the game needs to realize that SS is an unstable but persistent project without a predictable development.
 
Personally I find this state of affairs interesting because you can't tell how 1.0 will even look like and the sheer persistence over the years has shown that the devs are committed. And as far as I'm concerned that's all that matters.
 

32

General Discussion / Re: this is the greatest game ever made

« on: February 02, 2021, 12:39:33 AM »

i think the graphics for Starsector are beautiful.

a lot of people to me get caught up in the Shenmue issue- they are willing to trade any semblance of a good game for "good graphics," but these graphics look hilarious in ten years.

However, video gaming is an art just like painting or composing a symphony, and committing to an aesthetic is more important than trying to be cutting edge. look at frigging Cyberpunk. i think i have 30-40 hours in it on Steam, i actually enjoy it, but like it is in no way a cutting edge game. now let's look at a REAL cyberpunk game, like Shadowrun: Dragonfall. the graphics are committed to an aesthetic and it absolutely grips you because once the devs had that aesthetic, they were able to focus on incredible story telling and gameplay and other things.

I think Alex has gone more the Shadowrun: Dragonfall route than the Cyberpunk 2077 route, as he is clearly a visionary more than you can get in a large company dedicated to profit margins and investors and it pays off. you get a timeless graphic aesthetic with ships that look cooler and more interesting than stellaris, which unfortunately has some of the most boring ship design in any 4x. if you're willing to spend 30 hours of your life *** around with basically making your own ship mods, GalCiv 2 has probably the most extensive ship creation system i've ever seen, but uhhh i like to actually play my game. starsector falls on a great spot in between the two extremes, where you have pretty extreme ship customization but not so much that you can't just hit "autofit" and start playing if you want. every ship is clearly identifiable. the top down graphics are something you dont see anymore and really play well to the game. pretty much every other space game looks the same to me except Starsector, which has its own aesthetic. kind of like how Breath of the Wild looked so much different from every rpg that now every rpg wants to be Breath of the Wild.

Well said, SS is the perfect blend between Han Solo game play and interplanetary management sim.

I for one don't like how the graphics craze has affected the final quality of many franchises in addition to creating an artificial power/performance need in the market.
 
Gameplay is too often sacrificed in favor of graphics, game development is impeded because muh graphics and expansions/dlc are slower to make/more shallow than they could be because of it.

The smart dev knows that stylized graphics age much better than realistic ones and I can't understand why the market/people chase graphix in intense, tunnel vision games like fps and racing when players ignore the background details and just focus on what's right in front of them. Photo realistic graphics are better suited for the likes of adventure and isometric games where you can slow down and admire the view.

33

General Discussion / Re: Ironman Runs

« on: January 14, 2021, 06:05:56 AM »

An easy way to reduce early ironman pain is to embrace crime and smuggle in the holy trinity (drugs, guns and marines) while also bumping your scavenge skills to get as much loot from those late game battles, also watch out for some mods as one of them (deadly/dangerous sector afaik) literally spawns [REDACTED] near/in front of you in deep space.

IM acts as a speed bump to player progression and could be considered the real hard mode because it forces you to plan and pay attention to mechanics just as others have said.

34

General Discussion / Re: I had to stop reading the .95 patch notes....

« on: December 07, 2020, 10:03:01 PM »

Wow, and I thought I picked up the game early back when Cynical Brit made a video on it, can't believe how much heath the Falcon/Eagle used to pack.

Early Starfarer sound effects were cancer for me, everything was so high pitched.

I reckon we'll see 1.0 in 2022.

It's so weird and surreal how we as a collective community have all had starsector and its development accompany us through a significant portion of our lives. I first played the game 7 years ago, when I was still freshman in college. Starsector has literally been in development as I went through college, graduated, built a short career, and now as I'm half-way through grad-school. 

And it really feels like some things have come full circle. I vaguely remember how back in the day, when I first started playing, buoys used to give extra DP. It was removed. and now years later it's making a comeback in 0.95.

Yea, there are some old people around here for sure...some of us grew up playing this game. The wait and speculation never gets old, and we didn't had discord back in the day.

I'm in my mid 20's and have been playing this game on and off since mid high school, Starsector and STALKER being my most played games by far.

It's a shame how many mods die for good with every new release (Exigency and Ironclads were so good) but fortunately some old timers (Shadowyards and Blackrock) are still around to say nothing of the great new mods appearing ever since this game got a popularity spike.

And given that Alex would like to release some expansions down the line I'll likely be here in my 30's as well.... Now I understand why old guard gamers have such strong feelings.

35

General Discussion / Re: I had to stop reading the .95 patch notes....

« on: December 07, 2020, 10:06:30 AM »

<-snip-> stop making us wait so long!

"...so long?", you say? 

BWAAHAHAHAHAAAA

I've been calmly waiting ten little years -- no lie; since December of 2010 -- for this fascinating and immersive game to one day be feature-complete and polished to a final shine.

It was this now-nostalgic *third* entry ever in the official blog (be sure to watch that video linked therein...) -- written exactly a decade ago, TODAY, and which I stumbled upon about a week later -- which first sold me on the concept of Starfarersector. This forum itself didn't even exist yet!

Regarding 0.95, we can afford to be patient.

(Pai Mei mode activated)

Others must follow same path. To me you are like little baby, padawan.   Your eagerness is gratifying but you must be like mountain rock, ignoring the lash of wind and rain as the passage of seasons blurs together.

Another hour? After Christmas? Next year? Post-COVID19? After the Smartphone Uprising? The questions are meaningless, for time is elastic. Excellence will not be rushed by crying of mortals, singing ancient and honorable hymn of Shut Up And Take My Money. Instead, become one with the Tao of dev-time^TM, and you will have achieved true Nirvana-like patience with the blessed Alex (glory unto his name). The path to fulfillment beckons. Fear God! Honor the King! Smash the [REDACTED]! So sayeth Drunken Master.

(Is my bottle of sake empty already? Dang, son. )

Wow, and I thought I picked up the game early back when Cynical Brit made a video on it, can't believe how much heath the Falcon/Eagle used to pack.

Early Starfarer sound effects were cancer for me, everything was so high pitched.

I reckon we'll see 1.0 in 2022.

36

Announcements / Re: Starsector 0.95a (In Development) Patch Notes

« on: November 15, 2020, 10:28:46 PM »

Cryoarithmetic? So colonizing a frozen hell will be more interesting...I assume we will see some polar opposite as well.

On the topic of high tech=lower pollution, think about it like Henry Fords assembly line: it made manufacturing cars easier, thus increasing their availability and carbon pollution. The assembly line wasn't the cause for pollution spikes, its manufactured goods were.

Same for nanoforges, they might be efficient but the produced goods (all manner of heavy machinery and consumer goods) will still generate waste. It sounds plausible.

Also, good cache about corrupted forges Retry, that might turn them into something you only install on a smaller secondary colony, given that the future update will make it easier to control/fix colony grouth.

37

Announcements / Re: Starsector 0.95a (In Development) Patch Notes

« on: November 13, 2020, 06:31:44 AM »

Alex, I know you're tight lipped on spoilers, but can you describe at least one of the new colony boosting items?

Will they be distributed among core colonies?

https://twitter.com/amosolov/status/1210301167709937668

I know about that, but I'm asking about a description so we get more info than a gif.

And since the gif is about a portable star.... how about making starless systems a bit dim/dark? Maybe with [REDACTED] creeping around?

38

Announcements / Re: Starsector 0.95a (In Development) Patch Notes

« on: November 13, 2020, 04:07:47 AM »

Alex, I know you're tight lipped on spoilers, but can you describe at least one of the new colony boosting items?

Will they be distributed among core colonies?

39

Announcements / Re: Starsector 0.95a (In Development) Patch Notes

« on: November 12, 2020, 11:18:01 AM »

Lmao at all the new players getting impatient........at least you have a mostly completed game with lots of stuff to do.
Back in the day the game had just one system and nothing but combat.
Mark my words: 1.0 in 2022.

40

Announcements / Re: Starsector 0.95a (In Development) Patch Notes

« on: November 08, 2020, 10:22:47 PM »

Seems like everyone is talking about combat skills, but what about the others? Will those have elite levels too?
What could we expect from elite industry or logistics skills? Can we mentor admins too? How will admin cores function?

41

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?

42

Suggestions / Re: Hidden stashes

« on: May 21, 2020, 03:39:56 AM »

Edited the original post because shenanigans.

43

Suggestions / Re: Hidden stashes

« on: May 21, 2020, 03:38:53 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?

44

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?

45

Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] Vayra's Ship Pack v1.0.3 - Short-Circuited 2019-08-29

« on: September 02, 2019, 04:41:37 AM »

Seems to me like the Bruiser, Intimidator and Persecutor have way too large shield arcs for, supposedly, old designs dating from the domain's old days.

Other than that this mod is a must have in my book, the spites are good and the mod is well balanced.  I really the Bruiser's sprite for example and how those large gray metal plates made it feel like an ancient design compared to the rest of vanilla's ships.

As for packing the mod back together, I remember when the Underworld and Ship/Weapon pack mods were specifically separated to make updating easier for the modders. Might wanna do what is easier for you first.