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Author Topic: Techspeditions  (Read 785 times)

SCC

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Techspeditions
« on: July 06, 2021, 09:14:17 AM »

Alex, you could make tech-mining work similarly - instead of mining stuff locally, the player could get beacons from it and take them to planets with ruins and have tech-mining explore them in a similar manner as to how it currently works, but with added payment for exploring the ruins in depth, that scales with the distance from the closest tech mine and the hazard rating of the planet you want searched.
Although beacons are unnecessary, since the prerequisite could be just having a tech-mine/tech expedition building somewhere (or maybe good reputation with a trade contact?). If it used moderate numbers of crew, it would create some incentive to bring spares along; it could also use some resources that could be substituted with money if you don't want to bother, but it would give those resources some more gameplay purpose.
On one hand, keeping it to a minimum would be more predictable (e.g. organics for uninhabitable planets), but on the other, if you can instantly and seamlessly substitute it for some credits (something like base price for commodities, plus open market tax, plus distance from the core expense), then it wouldn't be such a big deal and if the player came with those resources in the holds already (obtained through exploration, trading or other money saving means), then the player would be rewarded for game knowledge.

Another idea to make ruins more exciting would be adding some special ruin types. For example, you could find an old Tri-Tachyon research post and you could get some themed goodies out of it, but you would risk Tri-Tachyon coming after your fleet or colony in order to ask you politely to give Tri-Tachyon Corporation's property back. That's kinda mixing two suggestions; first is that there could be rare, themed ruins that would give you better loot than usual, the second is that those themed ruins could also carry risk of other factions finding out what you're doing and causing you problems, of the "shoot to get rid of" kind.

Megas

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Re: Techspeditions
« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2021, 02:00:22 PM »

Quote
first is that there could be rare, themed ruins that would give you better loot than usual, the second is that those themed ruins could also carry risk of other factions finding out what you're doing and causing you problems, of the "shoot to get rid of" kind.
Such loot needs to be on par with rare blueprints that cannot be raided for (phase transports, Legion14), good colony items, and Omega weapons.  Anything else is kind of... yawn.

Even better would be special campaign stuff akin to Red Planet or hypershunt.  Or a special property on the planet that makes it very good for a permanent colony.  (Fix ruins to get special bonus, maybe factory to build Omega weapons or Remnant ships, maybe massive magic infrastructure that multiplies base income from Pop&Inf by at least five, maybe special local gate to a hidden level.)
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Sly

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Re: Techspeditions
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2021, 03:44:38 PM »

Sounds like a fun and interesting way to improve tech mining. I would add that it might be interesting to occasionally run into "uncivilized personnel", other salvage teams, or active covert bases on the surface. A surprise like that might require marines, credits, and/or story points to commit to a desirable outcome, but "almost always" giving a special bonus like Megas said. After all, the natives probably don't want to give up the glowing sky deity box for free.

I'd definitely like to see an expansion to content like this in a later patch, adding some life to exploration in the outer reaches, hooking in with specific types of Contacts for hints on where fabulous riches might rest, and give Marines a bit more use as security forces.
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KDR_11k

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Re: Techspeditions
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2021, 07:04:47 AM »

Quote
first is that there could be rare, themed ruins that would give you better loot than usual, the second is that those themed ruins could also carry risk of other factions finding out what you're doing and causing you problems, of the "shoot to get rid of" kind.
Such loot needs to be on par with rare blueprints that cannot be raided for (phase transports, Legion14), good colony items, and Omega weapons.  Anything else is kind of... yawn.

Even better would be special campaign stuff akin to Red Planet or hypershunt.  Or a special property on the planet that makes it very good for a permanent colony.  (Fix ruins to get special bonus, maybe factory to build Omega weapons or Remnant ships, maybe massive magic infrastructure that multiplies base income from Pop&Inf by at least five, maybe special local gate to a hidden level.)

I dunno, it would be easier than raiding a fortified colony, no?
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Megas

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Re: Techspeditions
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2021, 08:18:13 AM »

Tech Mining is a much longer version of looting a research station where player needs to give up an industry slot, pay lots of money, and wait about a year or more before it is sucked dry enough.  And most of the loot is vendor trash!  They also generate Pather interest.  By the time I can afford to gamble with a tech mine, it is late enough that I do not need most of the loot, and the loot I do want will very likely not spawn in the first place.

However, with that said, ruins are useful as spawn points for flashy man's Phantom blueprints and the historian's magic loot, but player does not need tech mining for that loot.

For tech mining to be useful or fun, it needs to do something special beyond coughing up vendor trash or rare loot that can be raided for without much difficulty.

Quote
I dunno, it would be easier than raiding a fortified colony, no?
The hard part is waiting three or more months for stability to recover at least some of the -3 per raid so player will not decivilize the world by accident.  I guess in case of Culann and Kazeron, the battlestation should be disabled, so I suppose player needs to be able to crush 250k+ bounties comfortably to raid Culann and Kazeron to lower defenses enough for stealth raiding.  Culann has too many exclusive high-tech hulls and various weapons.  Kazeron has Champion and pristine nanoforge.

For the player who prepares for raiding and does not need to fight the target, raiding is easy enough.
« Last Edit: July 07, 2021, 09:12:57 AM by Megas »
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Sutopia

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Re: Techspeditions
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2021, 10:06:00 AM »

Isn’t tech mining one of the highest profit/investment industry? How is it hard to “afford to gamble”?
If a planet has ruins I usually just tech mine at size 3 and demolish it when grows to size 4.
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