Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

436

Suggestions / Re: Resource management sucks

« on: September 17, 2019, 04:20:09 PM »

Having more uses for some goods does sound like a good idea, but only if there's ALSO a real CALL for those uses.  The neutrino detector, for example, uses volatiles, which is great but...I never find myself using it even IF I actually pick up the skill.  I should probably start a playthrough just to specifically play with it a bit more...

Using metals for repairs is one thing in particular I could see making sense though; you pick them up as junk CONSTANTLY, they're worth next to nothing and supplies are expensive.  Maybe they could serve as a repair aide, consuming metals for repairs as long as you have them and using supplies as normal once your metals run out.  It might extend your long voyage range just a bit depending on what you manage to scrounge up without completely freeing you from reliance on supplies.

As far as the actual interface goes, I wouldn't mind having a way to store/pull all my weapons with one click, so long as it's a smart enough feature to not dump everything ELSE at the same time.  Making use of the inventory tabs could make this fairly simple I think.  SS's interface is mostly pretty elegant with just a few trouble spots; inventory management could use a little touch up for polish's sake I suppose.

437

Suggestions / Time: a factor that prevents stagnation

« on: September 17, 2019, 04:03:59 PM »

When I was introduced to star sector, it took me a little while to figure out why I enjoyed it.  I mean I WAS enjoying it; I just couldn't put my finger on precisely WHY.  After a few hours it dawned on me while hunting down a pirate bounty:

PIRATES!

Pirates Gold, Sid Meier's Pirates, of COURSE!  The similar game flows reminded me of glorious voyages on the high seas, navigating storms, hunting marks, sinking ships, building fleets, trading goods at port, earning promotions, all that good stuff!  The combat mechanics and nuances of travel and ship loadouts helped of course but that's what really struck a chord with me.

I've realized there are a few things about those games that SS is missing though and the first one that really set the tone for those games is time.  In the pirates games, one constant is that you age.  Your character only has so many years of sailing in him and eventually you've got to hang up your hat and call it quits.  You have plentiful options to willingly retire on a good note but sooner or later wounds, illness and age take their toll and you're eventually forced into retirement with your deeds summarized into your final tale.  This was important because it meant that you had a good reason to get out there and DO stuff before your time was up.  Mortality is the greatest impetus for action after all.

Could Star Sector have a more concrete tone and pacing with the addition of aging and forced retirement?  How would it affect the feel of the game if we knew that we were on the clock?  It would certainly add incentive to take certain opportunities when they arise and it would definitely give us a reason to plan ahead and decide on our vision for our budding captain/admiral/commodore.

438

Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] TC: Archean Order: Star-Wars-Inspired Combat/RPG (v1.3.3) Update 7/16

« on: September 17, 2019, 03:51:56 PM »

Half the range and half the cooldown?  You're practically BEGGING people to put lances on a tyrant then because range means nothing when I phase through the enemy ship and pop up right on their engines.  That's gonna be devastating.

439

General Discussion / Re: How often do you undergun mounts?

« on: September 16, 2019, 03:43:26 PM »

It's almost mandatory to leave some slots open on a lot of ships, especially if you're trying to get some focused firepower.  I run Atlas mkII with two locusts, two mjolnirs and two machine guns on the front to stop a few missiles.  No side guns because it's not for charging into formations anyway.  This leaves a lot of extra points for flux control and maneuvering mods.  Salamanders MIGHT hit my engines if I'm not paying attention, but that's what omni shields are for.

Now on AI ships it makes sense to run lots of point defense efficient weapons and survival upgrades, since the AI just can't seem to handle nuanced combat anyway.  This lets the AI tank damage longer while you get the job done and it'll maybe take out a few frigates and destroyers along the way.

440

General Discussion / Re: Salvage exploit

« on: September 16, 2019, 03:35:27 PM »

If you're not running heavy industry skills to improve your salvaged ships, salvaging a ship for money isn't really worth the effort most times, IMHO.  If it's a ship you're looking for, cool; the d-mods on most salvaged stuff tank the resell value to worthless levels though, especially since most salvaged ships have 3 or more d-mods without skills.  Since you get more supplies/fuel/metal/whatever for just skipping recovery anyway, I don't usually bother.

Now if I'm within arm's reach of a market and I find, say, a capital ship with only 2 d-mods then maaaaaybe it's worth taking it in.  If I'm hurting for cash.

441

General Discussion / Re: Favorite tech level?

« on: September 16, 2019, 03:20:19 PM »

I find things to like about every tech level.  It's really just about the specific ship.

Low-tech:  I love me an Atlas Mk II.  Not many ships can field two large missiles AND two large ballistics, especially for the cost.  Ammo feed means a pair of mjolnirs becomes a literal thunderstorm.  It's slow, both in combat and out, but it will WRECK YOUR S*$&.

Midline: Gotta hand it to the Gryphon.  So many missiles, so little time.  Set it in the backline, fire and forget.

High-tech: I fell in love with the Sunder early on.  Two gravitons and a high-intensity beam can get some INSANE range, shoot all day and the active just makes it even better.  A rear guard of these means it's NEVER safe to drop shields.

There are plenty of ships I've never used, mostly because I was never forced into choosing them.  Due to the way fleet size and deployment works I've mostly ended up skipping a lot of destroyers and frigates.  I found the mudskipper mkII hilarious but it can't handle more than a couple shots of most large guns, making it a gimmick at best in my book.

442

General Discussion / Re: Difficulty Scaling

« on: September 16, 2019, 03:04:16 PM »

Can't confirm this myself, but I believe selling things to factions can also buff them by making their colonies more prosperous.  I THINK they can learn to use whatever blueprints you sell them but that could be just my imagination.

443

General Discussion / Re: Getting targeted for market expansions

« on: September 16, 2019, 03:02:51 PM »

The simple truth is that your colonies will be targeted.  Period.  The more successful you are, the more factions will feel threatened by you.  Doesn't matter how friendly or how far away; they WILL send whatever they've got all the way across the sector to wreck your s*$&.  I'm paying 400,000 to bribe off the odd "expedition" with my size 7 colonies currently and that's only because I want to remain on friendly terms while I explore the rest of the sector.  The trick is to remember a simple truth: the AI is not your friend.  Doesn't matter if you have 100 reputation with literally everyone; they WILL come for your colonies.  It's like a game of monopoly: no matter who you make deals with and no matter how the AI pretends to be "at war" with itself, the cold hard truth is that it's still them against you.  Build defenses, build patrol HQ's and stations and if you happen to find a system with more than one desirable planet, double up on the patrols.  I found an incredible system with a terran eccentric world--with ANOTHER terran eccentric world orbiting it!  Two class V planets, not only in the same system but practically colliding with each other?  When you find a system like that, you don't ask questions; you TAKE IT.  There was also a barren world that made a convenient third colony.  I fortified the hell out of all three and now NO ONE succeeds on a raid.

444

Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] TC: Archean Order: Star-Wars-Inspired Combat/RPG (v1.3.3) Update 7/16

« on: September 16, 2019, 03:28:31 AM »

OKAY! So!  After a little more time and trial and error, I figured out the problem.  Their destroyers have an absolutely incredible damage to flux ratio...aaaaaaaand fleet AI is generally stupid when not specifically ordered around.  My missile ships were shoving their way to the front while my bulwarks were just chilling at fire support range.  Even had the right officers for them.  Probably just Vanilla coding.  Anyway once the destroyers shields overload they pop like balloons.  Apparently I just got hit by the mother of all ambushes back there so...I guess your mileage may vary.

Now though?  I have a new love: the Tyrant.  A PHASE BATTLESHIP is absolute madness and the hardpoints allow for alpha strike potential like the galaxy has never seen.  It's the beefiest backstabber in the sector.  On a related note, you seem to have felt the same way about Tachyon Lances as I do: they were underwhelming.  Yours, however, are GODLIKE.  The range, the destructive power and the SOUND--my god that SOUND.  You feel that thunder in your BONES, man.  It's especially awesome when you hear one go off while phasing.  I F*$&ING LOVE IT.  On a good day my flagship leaves graveyards behind.

445

Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] TC: Archean Order: Star-Wars-Inspired Combat/RPG (v1.3.3) Update 7/16

« on: September 08, 2019, 04:41:32 AM »

Loving the mod overall.  Lots of options, lots of niches filled, lots more need for specialization AND generalist ships.  Good stuff.  Fighters don't completely suck, lots of weapons are far more usable, fair AND fun and the diversity in factions means choices kinda matter now.  Thumbs up.  I gotta ask though:

WHAT THE F#*^ IS WITH THOSE REMNANTS?  Their FRIGATES have better shields than most CAPITAL SHIPS!  I load up, for example, an atlas mkII with rapiers, firestorms and hammer barrages and unload on their destroyers...and the volley gets their flux up to about HALF.  I can alpha strike a CONQUEST with a volley like that!  I can 1v1 a PARAGON with similarly armed ships!  Remnants just go "meh, no big deal."  Also their awareness feels downright cheaty.  Jumped into a nascent well thinking "ok this is nowhere NEAR any jump points so I should be able to safely have a look and burn off if they see me...right?"

Wrong.

Three armadas right on top of me.  Couldn't even emergency burn before they made contact.  It was ugly.  Over a dozen ships, easily 3 million credits worth of highly tuned, heavily armed capitals, cruisers and escorts just ground into paste like they were unarmed cargo ships.  Just...holy crap.  I'mma have to bring like 20 megaliths loaded with apocalypse cannons or something because those things are a half step away from unbreakable, man.