@Voyager I: Hmm - lots to think about there. I don't *think* getting those SP back really becomes an issue until max level, though - I mean, ok, you can have a bit of a backlog, but until you get to the level cap, that backlog is also helping you level up faster, so it feels pretty good. It's once you get the max level that the backlog can feel like "waiting a long time to get your points back" - but at that point, the SP gain bar is decoupled from level gain, and more fine-tuned solutions are possible.
If it were me, I'd just multiply the bonus payout rate by how many story points are in the backlog.
Yep, something like that could perhaps work once past max level!
Edit: I'd also appreciate more feedback on how the new/reduced XP requirements for SP past max level feel! Though, yeah, given a pre-RC12 save does make that kind of impossible.
Essentially wrapping up my first run (which started in RC9 and is on RC12 now), with all the bonus XP I'm gaining SP at a fairly rapid clip. Essentially 1 per end game fight because of the backlog of bonus XP and the fact I'm using a relatively compact fleet (5 capitals, 4 cruisers + logistics ships). At this point, I've started S-modding my logistics fleet of Revenant cargo ships, to add surveying equipment in addition to expanded cargo holds and auxiliary fuel tanks. I've spent 10 on personal skills, 38 SP in hull mods, another 10 invested in colonies, and spent about 17 on officers (fired one and replaced with a found level 6). Another 5-10 have been spent on other things like escaping a fleet early game, recovering my flagship twice, some story line dialog options because they sounded interesting, and historian blueprints. So late game, I feel like I've got plenty of story points at the new rate. Although I was already post level 15 at the time RC12 came out. XP tool tip says I've got 32 million bonus XP still.
Thank you! Really good to know, and I'm glad it sounds like it's working pretty well.
Speaking of s-mods on Revenants, I find it slightly odd they count as combat ships, and thus count against Weapon Drills, yet can't be equipped with weapons. Are they missing the civilian-grade hull mod, or is that intentional? Are there other reasons they aren't civilian (to prevent militarized subsystems?). Maybe they need a built in non-combatant hull mod that makes them not count against combat DP skill limits?
Made a note to check into this.
Alex, I want to poke you on the skills thing a bit:
For personal combat skills, it turns out you can actually get pretty close! (double back through entire Combat aptitude, then pick one skill each from the Tech 2 and Industry 2 pairs, for 12/14). Fleet combat buff skills too (11/14 with a double Leadership line and single Technology line).
More to the point though:
If you want some fleetwide or combat buffs in general, they're always available, even if the specific skills that are available may not be the ones you want. Like, if you want a missile buff in particular then having to get all the way to Combat 5 is annoying, but there are other skills you can get instead that are also pretty good. Players investing in Technology and Industry can also pick up some handy combat skills in their own aptitudes (albeit this is a double-edged sword, they may not want combat skills).
Colony skills? It takes 5 skill points to get the first skill. Then 5 to get the next. Then 5 to get the next! (and now we're out of skill points)
Have you seen my thread here? Not necessarily the specific mechanics changes proposed, but rather the discussion about what people want from their skills and the barriers in the current system.
So - 85% (12/14) vs 75% (3/4). Fair enough, but also feels like splitting hairs a bit
But! But! Here's the important part. You actually *can* get all the colony-boosting skills. You just can't get all the colony boosting skills AND the number-of-colonies boosting skill. So really, a somewhat better analogy (but still imperfect, analogies being what they are) would be saying that you can't max out your flagship while also maxing out all the fleet-related skills. (Apologies if I seem to be moving the goalposts here; I just wasn't thinking about that aspect of it before.)
And unlike combat ships, where getting the skills on an officer vs getting them on the player is a huge difference, for colonies, it doesn't really matter where you get the skills that boost them individually. Having to make the choice of "I want more colonies" vs "I want all of my colonies to be top-notch" seems pretty reasonable.
I did see your thread, btw! I think that some relatively small tweaks can smooth things out nicely. L1 needs some help, I4 needs to sort itself out so that getting both isn't counter-productive (somehow! that one's tricky), perhaps C1R could have some nominal effect that affects the ship and not just fighters so it feels better to get on second go-around. The fleetwide-DP-limited skills could probably use a boost in the DP cap. T4 needs to be more clear about which one of them is better for phase ships without asking "how many"; that sort of thing. IMO trying to revamp the entire system as a result of the feedback so far would be an overreaction. It's *different*, yes. I think for that reason alone it needs some time to settle.
