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[Drevend]

I agree with this as well. Sometimes having to capture objectives is a chore and takes away from me focusing on massacring the enemy. As someone suggested earlier, it'd be awesome if both parties put All-out attack, then both fleets would be entirely deployed, a la Gratuitous Space Battles. I can see why Alex didn't do this initially though; some fleets would just clutter the screen and make it difficult to maneuver and survive. Perhaps a solution to that is to increase map size in those instances and/or allow us to arrange our units before the battle begins so we can better group units so they move in squads than a big bunch (though I'll admit I enjoy not having to worry about that when playing Starfarer).

[Aratoop]

 active stars

Stars are actually in the game- much like planets in missions, you speed up over them (even faster with a star) but you start taking damage. Go to devmode and, in the title menu, press a number (I think it's 2) and you will see it.

[Sonlirain]

I agree with this as well. Sometimes having to capture objectives is a chore and takes away from me focusing on massacring the enemy. As someone suggested earlier, it'd be awesome if both parties put All-out attack, then both fleets would be entirely deployed, a la Gratuitous Space Battles. I can see why Alex didn't do this initially though; some fleets would just clutter the screen and make it difficult to maneuver and survive. Perhaps a solution to that is to increase map size in those instances and/or allow us to arrange our units before the battle begins so we can better group units so they move in squads than a big bunch (though I'll admit I enjoy not having to worry about that when playing Starfarer).

While it would cause massive battles to happen it also could turn the game into a slideshow fo most specs.

[ThePinkPanzer]

I agree with this as well. Sometimes having to capture objectives is a chore and takes away from me focusing on massacring the enemy. As someone suggested earlier, it'd be awesome if both parties put All-out attack, then both fleets would be entirely deployed, a la Gratuitous Space Battles. I can see why Alex didn't do this initially though; some fleets would just clutter the screen and make it difficult to maneuver and survive. Perhaps a solution to that is to increase map size in those instances and/or allow us to arrange our units before the battle begins so we can better group units so they move in squads than a big bunch (though I'll admit I enjoy not having to worry about that when playing Starfarer).

While it would cause massive battles to happen it also could turn the game into a slideshow fo most specs.

What does that even mean.

[Gothars]

What does that even mean.

Hes talking about low frame rates.

[Drevend]

I agree with this as well. Sometimes having to capture objectives is a chore and takes away from me focusing on massacring the enemy. As someone suggested earlier, it'd be awesome if both parties put All-out attack, then both fleets would be entirely deployed, a la Gratuitous Space Battles. I can see why Alex didn't do this initially though; some fleets would just clutter the screen and make it difficult to maneuver and survive. Perhaps a solution to that is to increase map size in those instances and/or allow us to arrange our units before the battle begins so we can better group units so they move in squads than a big bunch (though I'll admit I enjoy not having to worry about that when playing Starfarer).

While it would cause massive battles to happen it also could turn the game into a slideshow fo most specs.

Good point. It's a tough decision trying to figure out what minimum system requirements you want for a game though. Do you cater to the lowest denominator for the sake of having a wider audience? Or do you aim higher and provide a more enriching gameplay experience? Though I'm not necessarily saying 'more crap going on / better graphics = better game.' I actually love Starfarer's current graphic quality, it has a great style.

[Gothars]

The less ships are on the map, the greater is the relative influence of the player and thus the actual gameplay. More ships would add only show value.

[Reshy]

Though there's nothing wrong with wanting to be part of something bigger than yourself, even if individually you'd be worth less.

[BillyRueben]

It would give the technology skills an indirect buff, which I think they are already a lot better than the combat skills (which is very unfortunate).

[ThePinkPanzer]

The less ships are on the map, the greater is the relative influence of the player and thus the actual gameplay. More ships would add only show value.

If you are having a massive battle between fleets, it is silly to have about ten ships fighting at once. It should all feel massive, cause that's what it is, a massive battle.

[Sonlirain]

The less ships are on the map, the greater is the relative influence of the player and thus the actual gameplay. More ships would add only show value.

If you are having a massive battle between fleets, it is silly to have about ten ships fighting at once. It should all feel massive, cause that's what it is, a massive battle.

Maybe have a part of the forcess fight outside of the map and dedicate a leadership skill to tip them in your favour?
Something like in Centurion (old dos game) where you could win the flagship battle but lose anyway if your fleet is outmatched as a whole.

Or just do it Mount & Blade style and set a battle fleet limit.

If you want to call in 2 astrals and over 100 FPs worth of strike craft at once?
Go ahead.
Does it lag?
Then redice the limit.

[Alex]

If you want to have larger battles, and have the computer to handle it, edit data/config/settings.json and tweak the battleSize to whatever you like. Keep in mind that the game is balanced/designed with battleSize:100 in mind, but you can certainly go larger and still have it work reasonably well.

Something like in Centurion (old dos game) where you could win the flagship battle but lose anyway if your fleet is outmatched as a whole.

Oh man, Centurion! I *love* that game.

[ThePinkPanzer]

If you want to have larger battles, and have the computer to handle it, edit data/config/settings.json and tweak the battleSize to whatever you like. Keep in mind that the game is balanced/designed with battleSize:100 in mind, but you can certainly go larger and still have it work reasonably well.

Something like in Centurion (old dos game) where you could win the flagship battle but lose anyway if your fleet is outmatched as a whole.

Oh man, Centurion! I *love* that game.

Of course, but it is always better for the base game to be changed if there is a problem.

[Alex]

Regarding this being a problem, we have a difference of opinion.

I like the transition between from skirmish for objectives into the heavy hitters being deployed with those extra points - I think it works well, and very much as-designed.

There are also practical performance considerations, a 2d battlefield becoming too crowded, and extra ships not adding enough past a certain point, once the player doesn't get to interact with them very much. Certainly not enough to justify the tradeoffs involved in making that many more Onslaughts be able to duke it out entirely off-screen.

In general, you can probably expect to see somewhat smaller battles on the top end. The Hegemony SDF in the current version is probably bigger than what it ought to be, just as a temporary challenge until there are other means to provide it. If both sides in battle still have reserves after the initial objectives have been captured (and the second wave deployed), it's probably "too big".

Of course, you're free to have your own preferences, and mods may have very different ideas - which is why the battleSize setting is there.


Now, I'm not saying the current system is perfect. In particular, I'd like to take another look at how attack/defend/escape works.

[Reshy]

There are also practical performance considerations, a 2d battlefield becoming too crowded.

By the way Starfarer 2 should be in 3D I think.