So it's not that weird, really - and if you think about it, this is far enough in the future that 'modern English' is probably interpretive (a cool example case) rather than literal as a rendition of what the characters in the setting would actually be saying to each other.
That linked article is really fascinating. (And I gotta learn that whacky linguist typography one of these days.)
Like so many aspects of Starsector, trying to project a realistic take on linguistics in the world of the year
?? would result in something too alien to be anything near relatable, so as you observe, Compromises Must Be Made.
I'm a little unsure I'd go that far; I thought the MoO2 ground system was fine for what it was. I always yearned for a little more but as a kid I understood there were computer limits (and as an adult, I understand that the team likely didn't have the budget for anything more involved).
Ah, to clarify: The ground combat was fine - it was adding the civ-style planet management that really made the game drag in later stages. Late game city slog is not something the Civilization series ever really overcame (though maybe Old World has? Haven't played it though.)
Stellaris now, speaking of ground combat, ... man. (I'll leave it at that.)
... Anyway, unless I'm misremembering, I'm pretty sure Alex & I discussed ground combat like a decade ago and decided that it was probably a bad idea for Starsector. I don't know how it couldn't come off as bloat at this point in time, given everything else in the game. It's also slightly out of scope - I mean, it definitely is in terms of project scope, but in terms of the scope of the player's activities in Starsector, managing ground combat just isn't the character's job. (- And I say this with all respect for mods that push this boundary. Mods have different requirements than commercial games and can go off in all kinda of whacky directions.)
Certainly what Starsector does works well for it (and what Histidine does is pretty legendary). It's just that eternal curse of the genre, of mental desires, saying somewhere deep down that the game should be even bigger. Space is vast, says our unbridled imaginings and desires, and surely the game must expand to fill it, surely...?
Hah, exactly! It is the siren call that wrecks space-game devs on the shoals of, uh, hubris?
I love to write stories myself and I know my way around code (a little).
It would be amazing to have some kind of tutorial/guide in how to navigate the API to do these kind of quests/mission arcs
.. oh uh, uh. There's a mod wiki for this, isn't there? Ah, there is
here. But I bet there are some good posts on this in the modding forum.
(Honestly, what I do is copy the code from existing missions and swap everything around to make a new one. Alex can worry about the implementation details, I just worry about what I need to do to make it work.)
I would not "reward" a player with skipping an interesting encounter, but rather allow them to influence the initial state of the engagement. For example, a good diplomat can arrange for a supporting army (maybe some room for commissioning benefits?) to join the battle or perhaps weaken the enemies by lowering their CR or DP pool, or even affect the composition of the enemy fleet (will we fight the Hammers of Ludd or the [REDACTED]?).
Not a bad idea...
[Offtop] Regarding the "Game of Thrones" section - I keep thinking how one can do something for 6+ years and fail at it so miserably as soon as they are told "ok, now you try it". It's as if showrunners were riding a bicycle for the 1st time without training wheels, fell flat immediately and had the bicycle burst in flames. This is also why I keep scratching my head about "Witcher" on Netflix - the books are done, the world is done, but they choose to go against that. Good luck with that.[/li][/list]
(I imagine the GoT showrunners being from extremely rich, well-connected families may have had something to do with their ability to get put in charge of major media productions, cough.)
(Also, admission: Never played the Witcher games or books, but I'm enjoying the show as "hot fantasy garbage". The GoT nosedive vastly lowered my expectations for everything, I think.)
This was an awesome deep dive into your workflow and some content. And yeah, as the guys on the Reddit thread have said, I would have loved to have those crusty old Anarchists on the bridge of my ship as we completely harass every power structure in the Sector, but alas, the cutting room floor is harsh.
Hah! Well, thank you. I don't know if that game would be Starsector, but it sounds fun.
Honestly, really impressed with the quality and overall story that's been given to us in 0.95. It reminds me of the type of writing that propelled games like Sunless Seas/Skies into the limelight - there's a sense to the writing that's almost poetic, and it flows so well that it's genuinely a joy to read. Is this just your own writing style, or are you influenced by other games/media and this is the style that "fits" Starsector? Are you effectively the sole writer at this point, despite the collaboration between you and Alex? I feel like I read these answers before but quite frankly, I've forgotten.
Overall, I can't wait to see what y'all do with the story and the sector. Every element of the game has been knocked out of the park as it is right now, IMO.
Ah jeez, thank you again. My imposter syndrome really appreciates your kind words.
To answer your questions:
Yeah, I'm pretty much the writer on Starsector. Alex will write text as he implements features and encounters, so there's some of him in there. I will do an edit pass on his stuff, but pretty much always keep the core idea intact because I think he has a good instinct on how to approach it. Also, as noted in the blog post, he's a good sanity check on my weirder impulses and too-obscure jokes. And yeah, I do basically all of the quest and description writing at this point.
As for style, I kinda write by the seat of my pants. There's just a sense of what feels right in my head, probably hardcoded by reading an absolute ton of scifi and fantasy at an impressionable age. Now that said, my primary conscious style goal is probably Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series - you'll see a lot of Starsector in those. I'm also really into the likes of Iain M. Banks, China Mieville, Kim Stanley Robinson, etc. Relevant blog post on the Starsector reading list
here.
In terms of games writing, hmm. Disco Elysium was astoundingly good. Not sure about any other game really impressing me by just the writing; as the cheeky line goes, "If you think [any game] has good writing, wait 'til you read a book; It'll blow your mind." (I'll note, I haven't actually played the Sunless Seas/Skies games.)
Edit: Wait, no: Loved the writing in Brigador. I spent all my merc-bux on unlocking lore instead of useful things.