Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

That is a good suggestion but it solves a different problem.

People want experience gains so they can feel like their race grows in strength over time. If they just assign themselves a number arbirtrarily, rather than being an in-game mechanic, it would be less satisfying.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

That would be fine if one game had anything to do with the next... But they don't (and IMO, they shouldn't)

What if you were allowed to purchase those additional race modifiers as the game progressed... say, every 10 turns you get 1 racial point for every "X" racial experience points you've collected so far?

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

They don't because there isn't anything connecting them. Add experience, and they do.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Another fine solution to a different problem!

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

But why should they have anything connecting them?

It would be like playing Doom, and starting out with a blue armor because I got to level 10 before dying in my last game.
Makes no sense!

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Making sense < Having fun.

People like the sense of gaining experience. Doesn't have to be completely logical. SE4 isn't a sim game, and so it shouldn't worry about realism if it gets in the way of fun.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Yes, but I meant also being able to mod in exponential efficiency decrease with linear damage. That way, if a powerful component (say, a Talisman) is damaged only, say, 10%, it would be rendered ineffective, yet if another empire who does not have Religious tech captures the ship, they would be able to repair, e.g. *use* it.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

No, it dosen't. But it has to make some sense, or its just arbitrary and silly.

If you set limits on the racial experience allowed in your EMPs, then everybody will have to make theirs *just* that high by playing a single player game until they get it.
Its no different from allowing more racial points in the game setup as far as I can see, except more work before you even start the game.


I guess the real question is; how is it fun if you have to play 50 turns singleplayer just to set up your race for the real game?

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

It's abritrary and silly that all these races exist at the same time and have the same tech level and similar planet values at the start of the game. Should those be changed to something more realistic as well? It's a game. Games are allowed to be arbitrary. I wouldn't find a mechanic like this to be "silly" at all. Just a game reward for time played.

And remember, this would be a predominantly single player thing. For single player games, having experience is fine, since you opt into it and don't have to worry about balance so much. For multiplayer games, of course most people aren't going to want to play a game where somebody has 5000 more points to spend. You can just give everyone the same number of points via a bonus.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

More work, as in a couple more buttons to click during game creation: Allow x Racial XPs; Equalize Races.

So, yes, in multiplayer games, it would be the same as just assigning more points. But like I said, this is mostly a single player feature. The difference here, as I said before, is it represents a reward that the game gives you rather than a "reward" that you give yourself. This makes a big difference in terms of satisfaction.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

I'm still not seeing any reason why though.

It would be like starting with armor and/or guns in Doom because you got all the way to level 10 without dying last time.
Or starting with three settlers instead of one in Civilization because you conquered the world so fast in your previous game.
Or making PacMan move 10% faster because you got to level 50 on your previous quarter.

Why in the world should the game be getting easier when you do well?
If you win, it is time to increase the difficulty, not decrease it!

Automatic cheat codes when you least need them don't make any sense to me!

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

To put it in RPG terms, it would be like starting a new game with a level 1 Barbarian who has a +20 Hammer of Skull Smashing.
And the only reason you justify that with is because in the previous game, your party was able to kill 99 imps in a row.

I don't see how that kind of thing can be justified.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

This is essentially what happens in Counterstrike. Each side gets money after completing each round, regardless if you live or not. The better you did, the more you get. Warlords III (or was it IV) had persistent heroes. Lots of games do this. It's not about realism. It's about gradual increases in power and/or creating a "bond" with empires or characters. Because those kinds of things make the game more enjoyable to a lot of people.
You joke, but this would actually have made the game even more addictive. Or does this violate your concept of the PacMan universe somehow http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I think the OP said something about helping out when the game is too hard. Additionally, you could ramp up the AI on a seperate power curve. The AI bonus could be tied directly to Racial XPs on new games. Games you lose could be restarted without the AI getting their extra bonus.
I agree completely. But I don't think a Racial XP system needs to be implemented in the off-balancing ways you are suggesting it would be. To me, it's all gravy to the kind of people that like that sort of gameplay, and completely optional to those that don't.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Actually, the counterstrike makes a good example.
Each round isn't a whole game, but is in fact just a round.
After the victory conditions are met, (# minutes, # rounds won, # kills, etc) you compare scores and see who won the game.

You then change maps, begin a new game, and everybody starts from scratch.

When you do well in a round, just like doing well in a big fleet combat, you end up with some advantage over your opponent in the next round. But once you've conquered all and been declared the winner, its back to square one plus only a golden trophy to hang on your ego.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

One thing that I find most frustrating is the fact that Torpedeos are added as a component. Torpedeos are not a component, they are weapon, and by there very nature, a weapon that is expended. They are not a beam weapon, thus rechargeable, they are use weapon that once used are gone and need to be restocked.

Would it not be a novel idea to have Torpedeo Tubes or Launchers instead?

Each Tube or Launcher would have a max limit of Torpedeos that could be restocked when the ship pulls in for supplies.

The more tubes/launchers you have, the more Torpedeos you have. You could even have a Torpedeo Storage Compartment that could additional Torpedeo's.

If the ship has a Q-reactor, the same would apply, they would still need to restock Torpedoe's.

And on the subject of Torpedeo's, they are a feared weapon amoung navy's around the world. A hit by one or two of them could destroy a ship and for the most part they cannot be intercepted or destoryed. I think that torpedeo's should act simularly in SE V. Armor and shields would begin to play a larger part in if this was the case.

And what about the ships that most often use Torpedoe's? How are they represented in SEV?

I offer this suggestion: Make a new class of ship, a subspace hunter class. The ship, varying in size, would work much like a modern day submarine but instead of being under water, it would be under a special cloak field - to simulate subspace. The ship would not be able to use shields while in subspace, but its armor would work. It would fire torpedeo's while in subspace, but have very poor manuaverablity in combat.

On the contrast, a standard ship could be equiped with subspace depth charges. These would work kinda like point defense cannons. Couple them with a specialized subspace scanner and you could target the subspace hunters and engage them.

I know this is an ambitious suggestion, but one that I think would add a lot to the game and would be the first time such a concept was used in this type of game.

Couple these suggestions with the suggestion that I have already made for Hull Strength abilities, and you could build ships with superior hull strength to hunt the subspace hunters.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

From the IRC chat logs:
He meant "ordnance" though.

PS:
Surely you should know how easy it is to explicitly add "launcher" to the name of the component if it makes you happy and you don't mind the extra wordiness.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Thanks SJ.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

That's a really stretched analogy. A closer analogy would be to play several complete games of SE4 back to back, using the same map, gaining extra racial points to spend after each game based upon how you do. Switching maps in counterstrike is more like starting a new game with a new empires, and starting from scratch with that empire.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Storing your default settings and trait choices is handy.
But having anything leak across between games is a really bad idea IMO.

If you are going to add that kind of thing, it definitely needs to be much more than one teeny effect, though.

Unfortunately, everything I can think of for that just reeks of massive cheating holes.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

I like the ideas...except for the cloak, there are sort of ways to do this in SEIV, Unforuantely they are very broke. The Drones could be considered a from of expendable torpedo...they just don't work well in the combat engine. Seeking Weapons can emulate via supplies...but of course the replenishment of supplies is quirky. As for being feared...make any weapon that does a crap load of a damage, and people will be forced to defend against, or plan for it... It seems SEV will hopefully allow us to better mold our ideas into a playable format...

Kana

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

That's just because you keep thinking up horrific ways for it to be implemented! Use your brain for good, not evil!

What if we called it the Leaky XP system. Then you'd love it! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

"Leaky XP" would be good if it involved, say, ships and fleet experience leaking away over time.
Having to brush up your crew's skills after a year or two on a peaceful patrol would make sense.

Having bonuses spawn from something you did in a previous game (racial experience) has already been shot down as a bad idea in SE4.
I seriously doubt that anything SE5 is doing will change that.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

If you could turn it on or off and the AI empires had equivelent XP and if you couldn't use the XP setting in multiplayer, it would work.

That's three things, though.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Here's an idea: the ability to tow ships with ships that having tractor beams. huh, huh?

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

I hope we get around the problem of faster ships not being able to withdraw from combat from slower ships. I've always thought it rather unrealistic that fast ships just stop at the board edge and wait to be killed. Why can't those ships be allowed to "disengage" from the battle?

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Have the battle area scale and follow the 'center of mass'.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

That would require lots more coding. I simply propose that if a ship reaches the edge of the battle area it should just drop out of combat and be listed as survived. In simultaneous games, this would likley translate into more of a running engagement between fleets where the first battle the escorts fight it out and the loosers auxiliary ships run, and then a series of fights as the winning fleet chases down the auxiliary ships if they can catch them.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

The combat area is not limited in SE:V. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Aewsome! This will change the game play for the better IMHO.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

If the AI is externally scripted...I would think it would be a snap to have the ships name list work in a similar scripted fashion instead of just a list. This would allow it to be in a format so that it can point to a descripter prefix like 'HMS' or 'USS' and then possibly list name by ships class instead of alphabetical or random order...

Kana

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

I had an idea about a way to give the game some additional kick: Facility location tags.

I was playing a P&N game and had the idea of trying to model a Habanna gas mine-like fuel station – like thing into game play. My idea was that if you could tag a facility to only be built on a certain type of world, you could tag them so they could only be built on gas worlds. I would then make the gas-mine refueling stations places where unlimited supplies would be available and then make some restriction (or outright-prevent) on all others.

Anyhow, I think that while that particular idea won’t work well, the concept of tags for facilities and worlds that identify type of world and atmosphere would have lots of interesting possibilities.

Refueling stations on Gas giants or methane worlds only.
Solar collectors on worlds with no atmosphere that work much more efficiently (and a whole raft of other things that will work better or worse under no atmosphere).
Farms could be made 20 times as expensive on worlds with no atmosphere to reflect domes, etc…

Lots of possibilities for playing around with some interesting concepts.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Well after being burned by it again. It would be nice that when select ai off, that it does just that. Leaving a seperate option at the bottom of a menu, off the screen , that operates the reverse of that, is just wrong.
i do not play offline and do to the way things have played rarely start a new game very often and, most if not all missed turns where do PBW issues.
Sorry just had a game in turn 35 irrepairable trashed by this feature.my other pet peeve is the fact that the warp screen has everything swithed off by default, hadn't used Stelar manip in a few years, an din't remeber right way how to use it, it got me in hot water During the race for SEV games.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Oh, another thead of SEV suggestions! Didn't know this existed, in addition to the big sticky one at the top. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Is there still time for Aaron to incorporate suggestions into SEV before the release?

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

This thread was originally in the SEV forum, which got merged into this one a while ago.

That all depends on how major the suggestion is and how long you're willing to wait for the release.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Two ideas I'd love to see:

1. real time combat
2. custom hotkeys, and macros

1. I wonder if battle will be in real time. I think that would be very very very very very cool.

You set your ship, task force, and fleet strategy, formations, and primary, secondary, and trinary orders before the battle, hit start when you're ready, and the computer plays out the entire battle in real time. I think the ability to create your own scripts for how your fleets "react" to enemy forces during real time combat would also be one of the coolest inventions in 4x games.

2. Custom hotkey combinations would be awesome in setting up some system of macros for empire management, battle management, and others.

Imagine watching a 200 ship battle in real time, your carriers are preprogrammed to stay with the fleet near pd ships, instead of running away once they've launched their fighters. The fighters form up in preprogrammed flight groups and wings, and your cruisers provide perimeter defense while firing their heavy mounts from long range. Light cruiser task forces move in for close encounters of the third kind, forming the front line of the battle, rotating their positions so as to soak up the most enemy fire, the computer almost seemingly working hard to provide cover for weakened ships.

You can pick a ship to command personally, be it part of a formation, or a leader, or even the fleet flagship, and as the battle changes and your preprogrammed responses appear to be failing, you quickly call up hotkey macros which load entirely new strategies and responses for your fleet to follow, which eventually change the formations within battle as the enemy is flanked, surrounded, and defeated soundly in a shooting retreat as the battle ends.

Now THAT would be the Space Empires of my dreams.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Well, realtime combat has long been a feature of SE5, and the AI is said to be scriptable - check out some of the screenshots and the preview video (sorry I can't give you an exact URL but I think it's at IGN...)

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

In regards to Atrocities idea of Torpedo Launchers, I thought wouldn't it be cool that as you researched better torpedo launchers you could fire more than 1 torpedo/launcher. Therfore, the more advanced you get, you can reduce the number of launchers but maintain the same number of torpedoes fired (compared to a less advanced period) or keep on adding launchers and fire even more torpedoes.

Just my $0.02.

Re: Suggestions for Space Empires V
 

Oh, one last suggestion before I forget.

If you put mines around your planet, it should decrease the amount of resources that gets exported from that planet.
Think about it. The more you mine a planet for its defense, you're basically cluttering up the space lanes that resource transports need to use to come and go. So with reduced lanes, there would only be so many transports that can come and go at a time.
This idea is just for balance, so that a defender doesn't mine all his planets with no down-side.