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Author Topic: Removing free storage  (Read 1564 times)

Joshee

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Removing free storage
« on: November 17, 2022, 12:43:31 PM »

     I've been playing Starsector for ten years now and i by no means a Modder but i do make slight alterations to the game to mix it up a little. the latest one that i did was removing free storage on an Iron mode playthrough.
     The result was very satisfying. It intensified the feel of isolation because in the early game i had no real sense of a home. if I wanted storage, I had to pay storage fees from another faction. this made me have to choose between having the extra expense, joining a faction to offset the cost, or striking out and making my own colony.
     from now on this is the only way that i will play. it feels more realistic. just like real life. you got to pay rent.

my suggestion is to add this to iron mode or make a toggle on creation to remove the free storage spaces
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BCS

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2022, 11:44:21 PM »

Well, it certainly makes little sense that the player(and only the player) can use these completely free infinite storage "abandoned" stations. But I think it would be more interesting if they simply required something to be used instead of removing them completely. For example let's say that to use the Abandoned Terraforming Platform you need to give Asharu its Stellar Shade back, or that they consume a certain amount of resource every month, like 100 Volatiles or something.
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Megas

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2022, 06:07:14 AM »

Send some salvage fleets to check and clean out abandoned stations periodically.  Other games like Nethack have scavenger or loot-eater monsters that make storing items undisturbed non-trivial.
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Yazk

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2022, 08:29:53 AM »

I 100% agree, it always sounded so strange that an abandoned station so close to the core worlds would never be given any attention by pirates or scavengers, at the very least I'd like it to be a bit less secure, like if you could leave stuff there but there would be a clear risk in doing so.
Perhaps after a certain amount of time or just as a percentage roll each month someone could steal the contents of the station and you could initiate a quest to get it back? Maybe have the option of installing some kind of makeshift sensor that logs their fleet codes so you could track them down and either destroy the fleet (maybe if it had some of your own ships incorporated into it with a high recovery rate it would spice things up a bit), barter or straight up pay for your own stuff?
It would certainly feel a bit more interesting and believable as you say.
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Not a Pirate

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2023, 12:38:10 AM »

The part of me that wants to bite into that big 'ol realistic post collapse danger agrees.

The part of me that played my last game and had to buy 2 Atlas Super freighters to fit all my hoarded weapons when I eventually transported the stations contense to my new colony sprays half chewed synthi-flesh across my screen.
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FooF

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2023, 06:48:58 AM »

Im going to agree with a caveat. I’m ok with temporary free storage. Using the abandoned platform should be fine for about a year or two. After some time, the station destabilizes or it gets raided. A prompt should tell you this and remind you as you get close to the deadline. After that, you gotta pay or get your own colony.

Also, I think it would make more sense if the abandoned platform was in Galatia, as it’s more of a training system. It could even be part of the tutorial and explain that its temporary.
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Comrade_Bobinski

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2023, 07:39:11 AM »

I think; like a lot of us here; that empty stations should not be that easily accessible. The use of the most important one, in faction controlled system, could be link to specific quest as stated previously. But I would thing the use of STORY POINT could be interesting here.

Cleaning up and actually finding a way into the storage facilities of an old rusty space construct should be reserved to experienced spacefarer. Story Point are the gameplay equivalent of some kind of savoir faire and have an obvious role to play here. Going further, because making use of a derelict base is a little bit more work than just using good charisma or engaging a daring evading manoeuvre I think the SP cost of unloaking acces to free storage space should be coupled with the one time use of a specific numbers of CREWs, MARINEs, and SUPPLIES in a way similar to colonisation. Because, obviously, to guard and manage all your precious cargo you would need some kind of human operation going on.

The acces to item storage and ship storage could even be dissociated, requiring two specific one-time investment from the player to unlock free storage: again, storing some cargos and dissimulating huge spacecrafts is not the same thing. This will also build a sense of clear progression for the player.

The icing on the cake: pirate fleet could be spawned orbiting the station with a strenght relative to the value of the stored items. The player should then be forced to either sneak or fight this moderate threat to get acces to his belonging, provinding fun and meaningfull gameplay encounter but also emphasing the need for a real colony base.
« Last Edit: January 17, 2023, 07:41:56 AM by Comrade_Bobinski »
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BreenBB

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2023, 08:34:23 AM »

To be honest I never had issues with these free storage stations, colonies provides you with free storage, and this is just option to store stuff until you build colony, so you don't need to rush building colony just because you want to store some extra ships or weapons for later. And still, with Nex this change will not make any difference since you can build cheap outpost for storing items.

For realism purpose, it might make sense what if you store items on abandoned station, which is near core worlds, some scavenger can just found and loot your cache, from gameplay perspective, I don't think what it will add much. There is literally no need to use faction planet storage, but I don't think what forcing player using only them will improve the game.
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Candesce

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2023, 11:27:24 AM »

from gameplay perspective, I don't think what it will add much.
I'd agree with this.

Cost/month for using faction storage in the early game is going to be peanuts, really, unless a player salvages a capital they're not ready to use yet. It's a lot less money than growing a colony, say. And I don't care to punish players for salvaging an early capital.

And since the faction storage in question could be New Maxios, you can't even say it would make faction standings matter.

In the late game, it'd just make having a colony somewhere into a requirement. Not much point to that.
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Euripides

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #9 on: January 29, 2023, 03:04:47 PM »

abandoned space stations are fine
but storing equipment there and not getting it stolen isn't

Maybe there should be some sort of interim between having a colony and nothing? Claim a starbase, pay local tax and fees for security, upgrade starbase for production of starships and equipment that you've discovered. Something that lets you get into colony management side of things without going the whole way.
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n1Z0

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #10 on: February 21, 2024, 03:24:03 PM »

There are some terrific ideas in here. Relatively speaking 'Free storage' is fine as long as the player gets hit with a scaling degree of cost. (in the same way that large fleets are fine, but they have a scaled cost to haul around the system) This means at a certain point; players are encouraged to ramp up their ideas of a more economically viable storage solution.

Storage is a HUGE part of this game, and therefore deserves some attention past "How about you stick all your gear in this 'Infinite Bag of Holding' you just stumbled across".

I think a degree of maintenance/cleanup/security costs should be in order for the benefit. (I'm seeing visions of Deckard's hideout in Bladerunner 2049) it was a dump, but he had clearly spent some time and effort to carve out a little niche for himself there.

Perhaps the more gear a player stores in a wrecked station (or the more times a player docks there), the higher the maintenance cost (and in the case of the latter, the more unwanted attention it attracts).

Perhaps due to a toxic environment (which could be player fueled), it keeps scavengers at bay, but items slowly degrade whilst in the atmosphere, to a point where it's constant maintenance might be manageable for a small amount of items (such as what an early game player may store), but a PITA for anyone who has a large amount of gear stored there (time to move on freeloader).
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Aeson

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2024, 03:49:19 PM »

I do not see any positive gameplay benefit coming from the removal of free storage in abandoned stations, and as far as I'm concerned every game I've ever played that has had a mechanic that allows something to steal things from the player has been worse for it.

If you don't like using the stations, then don't use them.
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Nettle

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Re: Removing free storage
« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2024, 07:08:20 PM »

Man this thread just can't find its resting place.

I do not see any positive gameplay benefit coming from the removal of free storage in abandoned stations, and as far as I'm concerned every game I've ever played that has had a mechanic that allows something to steal things from the player has been worse for it.

If you don't like using the stations, then don't use them.

Yeah I would gladly do just that, if the paid for storage somehow wasn't straight up worse. You pay up-front to purchase it, then you pay a fee on all storaged stuff, you can lose access to your stuff for a while if your relations go sour, and despite all that you can't storage illegal goods there. If you will have to frequent the free storage to stash your cores anyway, what's even the point of paying for one?
Remove the limitation on illegal goods for paid storage, slap a capacity limit on abandoned stations, and now we are talking.
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