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Suggestions / New player thoughts
« on: August 19, 2019, 10:05:37 AM »
Firstly let me state I love this game and it's fulfilling game play desires from games like Privateer/Freelancer/MOO2/Stellaris that those games couldn't scratch. I've been playing it way too much for about 3 weeks. My experience is 100% the un-modded game, I haven't even looked at mods yet.
Skills
- Remove the entire combat tree and fold it into the other 3 trees. It sucks that the player seems doomed to be the worst captain in his fleet and this is mainly due to the other trees providing Fleet wide bonuses and QoL mechanics, having to waste 3 points just to fully open up combat when you maybe have 9-15 points left over after important skill are taken.
- Make the base tree unlock skills do anything, they make certain levels ups feel meaningless. They feel bad. Not so much a issue of balance.
- Not using AI Cores is brutally punishing on skill points and the Factions attacks you (Expeditions which is basically joining to lead to war 5 rep at a time) not matter what. This is a way bigger issue effecting tons of things. Planets grow too fast and are too profitable, will address this in more detail further in.
D mods
- Increased maintenance is too large a debuff. This one D mod seems out of balance with the other mods. I'd argue that any D mod that increases the cost of the ship goes against the entire point of taking a D mod in the first place. If you can't afford a new ship in the first place you aren't going to be okay with extra ongoing expenses.
Note: I get that these mods are realistic, but I still feel they hurt the overall concept of D mods being okay. The Maintenance and Fuel increase mods left me as a new player with the overwhelming impression that D mods are all terrible and make the ships worthless and should always be avoided, I know now that's not correct now after reading much and looking into the details but other new players may be left with that impression.
- The skills that effect D mods feel required to make a D mod ship worth to fuel and supplies. Either skills are required or D mods are too costly, just a thought.
Scanning
- I strongly suggest a +500 to the base scan range, the scan ranges are rather frustrating. I think it'd be a QoL improvement without stepping on the toes of Neutrino Detector. Too many fleets get way to close to you without notice, it's not Dark Souls. Please don't gank me with huge fleets I somehow didn't see till they were too close and even Emergency Burn was useless because they got that close.
Note: I do not want to play on Easy. I don't want damage reduction on my fleet, I don't want scav loot I didn't earn.
- Leave markers on the map. If I scanned, leave a note X was here till I got back to that spot and check. QoL improvement.
- Leave details on when they leave close range. X is a pirate fleet, but they move away and magically I don't know who they are again. QoL Improvement.
Combat Looting/Rewards and lack there of
- Combat isn't rewarding, in terms of material reward. If you aren't doing bounties then you are losing money every fight. Is this intended? Feels like it should be at least a small net gain if you aren't getting wrecked.
- Attack a merchant with 8 mothballed hulls, combat ends 3 ships from the fight can be recovered. The Mothballed hulls disappear. We should have access to them.
Pirates
- Should be annoying/costly if ignored. Adding on to the realism leading back into Combat and looting, how do pirates make money if the combat results in a net loss? Even raiding isn't profitable, you do it for blueprints you need and/or to destabilize them not for material gain.
- Should not be Zombie hordes or the Reavers from Firefly.
- Should not be leading doom stacks at your home world or any well defending worlds.
- Need a large cool down on next attack when they get wrecked.
- Feel like the only living breathing faction, they build bases, attack systems on mass and seem to grow stronger.
- Pirate Corsairs ignore rep with pirate faction and attack even when friendly. Is this intended?
Expeditions
- Not hard, not complex and most importantly not fun.
- In regards to these and realism/fairness for the player, if I raid a world I am at war. How is this different for the Core powers?
- Remove the -5 rep on them failing, the text while technically correct is still a lie in regards to net result.
Planets
- Too much profit and way too much growth speed. Tone them down and tone down the costs and the cost building on more hostile worlds. Profit should still be reasonably worth the investments.
- Way too many annoying things constantly happening to your world(s).
- Pirates not acting like Pirates. (covered in more detail above).
- Should be able to bribe the Pirates to ignore everything I own and/or agree to protection deals.
- Should be able to cut deals with pirates having access to my ports.
- Should be able to set rules for transponders and general system rules (assuming you don't share the system). Example, Politically neutral system where no one is allowed to attack anyone without defense forces attacking the aggressors fleet. Meaning Pirates/Luddic Pact/Hegemony wouldn't attack each other or lose that fleets ability to trade. This is just like how Stations refuse to trade with you if destroyed their fleets in eyesight.
- AI cores shouldn't be so powerful, allow to to avoid 12 skill points, allow you to settle unlimited worlds, make everything better and have no real world downside (everyone will be attacking you no matter what, AI cores just speed it up with 1 faction). You can spend skill points and net less then a guy who didn't. 12 (18 if you include the required ones to open the tree to level 3) skill points < Gamma AI cores.
Major factions, need to feel like they are alive and active
- Need to act like major factions and deal with bounties and Pirate/LP bases.
- Need to set up way stations just like Pirates/LP .
- Need to put at least half the effort into dealing with pirates as they do endlessly harassing the players world(s).
Neutral Faction
- Needs to not exist. It should be about 12 factions. They needn't be complex or even have unique social elements, they should be living breathing examples of other people that are doing exactly what the player is doing in the game. Not more questions about "Why is has no one else set up a solo anything like you are doing?" because they did.
Just my honest thoughts about stuff I think needs to change or at least be rethought. I understand that both realism and game mechanics can't be 100% each so I try to acknowledge when they conflict.
Skills
- Remove the entire combat tree and fold it into the other 3 trees. It sucks that the player seems doomed to be the worst captain in his fleet and this is mainly due to the other trees providing Fleet wide bonuses and QoL mechanics, having to waste 3 points just to fully open up combat when you maybe have 9-15 points left over after important skill are taken.
- Make the base tree unlock skills do anything, they make certain levels ups feel meaningless. They feel bad. Not so much a issue of balance.
- Not using AI Cores is brutally punishing on skill points and the Factions attacks you (Expeditions which is basically joining to lead to war 5 rep at a time) not matter what. This is a way bigger issue effecting tons of things. Planets grow too fast and are too profitable, will address this in more detail further in.
D mods
- Increased maintenance is too large a debuff. This one D mod seems out of balance with the other mods. I'd argue that any D mod that increases the cost of the ship goes against the entire point of taking a D mod in the first place. If you can't afford a new ship in the first place you aren't going to be okay with extra ongoing expenses.
Note: I get that these mods are realistic, but I still feel they hurt the overall concept of D mods being okay. The Maintenance and Fuel increase mods left me as a new player with the overwhelming impression that D mods are all terrible and make the ships worthless and should always be avoided, I know now that's not correct now after reading much and looking into the details but other new players may be left with that impression.
- The skills that effect D mods feel required to make a D mod ship worth to fuel and supplies. Either skills are required or D mods are too costly, just a thought.
Scanning
- I strongly suggest a +500 to the base scan range, the scan ranges are rather frustrating. I think it'd be a QoL improvement without stepping on the toes of Neutrino Detector. Too many fleets get way to close to you without notice, it's not Dark Souls. Please don't gank me with huge fleets I somehow didn't see till they were too close and even Emergency Burn was useless because they got that close.
Note: I do not want to play on Easy. I don't want damage reduction on my fleet, I don't want scav loot I didn't earn.
- Leave markers on the map. If I scanned, leave a note X was here till I got back to that spot and check. QoL improvement.
- Leave details on when they leave close range. X is a pirate fleet, but they move away and magically I don't know who they are again. QoL Improvement.
Combat Looting/Rewards and lack there of
- Combat isn't rewarding, in terms of material reward. If you aren't doing bounties then you are losing money every fight. Is this intended? Feels like it should be at least a small net gain if you aren't getting wrecked.
- Attack a merchant with 8 mothballed hulls, combat ends 3 ships from the fight can be recovered. The Mothballed hulls disappear. We should have access to them.
Pirates
- Should be annoying/costly if ignored. Adding on to the realism leading back into Combat and looting, how do pirates make money if the combat results in a net loss? Even raiding isn't profitable, you do it for blueprints you need and/or to destabilize them not for material gain.
- Should not be Zombie hordes or the Reavers from Firefly.
- Should not be leading doom stacks at your home world or any well defending worlds.
- Need a large cool down on next attack when they get wrecked.
- Feel like the only living breathing faction, they build bases, attack systems on mass and seem to grow stronger.
- Pirate Corsairs ignore rep with pirate faction and attack even when friendly. Is this intended?
Expeditions
- Not hard, not complex and most importantly not fun.
- In regards to these and realism/fairness for the player, if I raid a world I am at war. How is this different for the Core powers?
- Remove the -5 rep on them failing, the text while technically correct is still a lie in regards to net result.
Planets
- Too much profit and way too much growth speed. Tone them down and tone down the costs and the cost building on more hostile worlds. Profit should still be reasonably worth the investments.
- Way too many annoying things constantly happening to your world(s).
- Pirates not acting like Pirates. (covered in more detail above).
- Should be able to bribe the Pirates to ignore everything I own and/or agree to protection deals.
- Should be able to cut deals with pirates having access to my ports.
- Should be able to set rules for transponders and general system rules (assuming you don't share the system). Example, Politically neutral system where no one is allowed to attack anyone without defense forces attacking the aggressors fleet. Meaning Pirates/Luddic Pact/Hegemony wouldn't attack each other or lose that fleets ability to trade. This is just like how Stations refuse to trade with you if destroyed their fleets in eyesight.
- AI cores shouldn't be so powerful, allow to to avoid 12 skill points, allow you to settle unlimited worlds, make everything better and have no real world downside (everyone will be attacking you no matter what, AI cores just speed it up with 1 faction). You can spend skill points and net less then a guy who didn't. 12 (18 if you include the required ones to open the tree to level 3) skill points < Gamma AI cores.
Major factions, need to feel like they are alive and active
- Need to act like major factions and deal with bounties and Pirate/LP bases.
- Need to set up way stations just like Pirates/LP .
- Need to put at least half the effort into dealing with pirates as they do endlessly harassing the players world(s).
Neutral Faction
- Needs to not exist. It should be about 12 factions. They needn't be complex or even have unique social elements, they should be living breathing examples of other people that are doing exactly what the player is doing in the game. Not more questions about "Why is has no one else set up a solo anything like you are doing?" because they did.
Just my honest thoughts about stuff I think needs to change or at least be rethought. I understand that both realism and game mechanics can't be 100% each so I try to acknowledge when they conflict.