Re: Growing concern - but optimistic
 

That was my #1 beef with SEIV. It is certainly better in SEV, but since I can't claim a system other than by colonizing in it, it isn't 100% fixed.

Example - let's say I have a colony in System A, which links to System B containing no planets I can colonize, which links to System C containing a colonizable planet. Let's say the only route from A (or anyplace else in my empire) to C is through B. Clearly I'd be wanting to call B "mine". However, if AI enters B through another warp point and colonizes in it, now it's "his" and my colony in C is cut off. So, I'd still like to be able to claim B before that happens, thus precluding it.

Still, for the system ownership situation that applies 99% of the time, SEV is much better than SEIV.

I absolutely agree with this.

On the matter of seeing planets that so many people bring up - I actually like that because it slows down the land rush.

On the related subject of "seeing from memory", it looks from settings.txt like we have the option to set things by class, but I'd like the ability to set it by mobility. In other words to see things that can't move themselves like colonies, bases, satelites, troops, etc... from memory but not things that can move like ships & fighter groups.

Re: Growing concern - but optimistic
 

If you could claim a system simply by clicking on the map, wouldn't that mean some players would click on every system they found, thus overly limiting AI's with treaties?

(Don't actually know - Too many bugs in the demo.)

Re: Growing concern - but optimistic
 

Then an Ancient Race could claim the entire galaxy during their first turn! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif

Re: Growing concern - but optimistic
 

I think it would be rather expected that you would claim any system you explored and which wasn't already claimed, as would the AI. I would that the AI could be programmed to launch a war of expansion against its (perceived) weakest neighbor if it ran out of planets to colonize within its own territory.

Re: Growing concern - but optimistic
 

I don't know - did that happen in SEIV? I mean, even though the AI wasn't constrained much by claims, there were Ancient Races and the ability to claim explored systems...

If it is an issue, the fix is easy... You could have to actually have a presence in the system at the moment of claiming - but by "presense" I mean anything including an exploration ship, not just a colony. Sure, Ancient Races would still have an advantage, but they already do - and if necessary that could be balanced by raising the cost of being an Ancient Race.

Re: Growing concern - but optimistic
 

You could claim every system you saw in SE4, but it didn't really mean much since it couldn't be a part of treaties. In SE5 it does mean something, so it makes sense that MM restricted territorial claims to territory you actually have a legitimate claim on.

As far as the exploration goes, people have pointed out that you should be able to see the planets, even if it's just with telescopes. That's true, if the other system is fairly close by, but think of it this way: There are a maximum of 255 star systems in a game of SE5. There are hundreds of billions of star systems in a real galaxy. So for every system that is connected with warp points, there are a billion that are not. Therefore, it stands to reason that even a "neighboring" star system connected via warp point might be so far away that you can't see the planets, only the star.

Re: Growing concern - but optimistic
 

You didn't have to explore a system to claim it in SE IV. (Having to explore a system first might have slowed down AI expansion, for one thing.) In multiplayer games, some people routinely claimed the entire map on their first turn, so as not to give away any information about where their colonies actually were. Other people didn't claim any systems, or rename planets, for the same reason.

And why shouldn't an Ancient race claim the whole map? They were there first, after all. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Re: Growing concern - but optimistic
 

Or just as likely stopped posting because there's not much point hanging around a forum for a demo you didn't like.

Re: Growing concern - but optimistic
 

Well,

I've played with the demo a good bit more and it has grown on me, no doubt about that. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

I have some quibbles about the controls here and there. I really don't like the ship design where I have to release the component I have selected to switch between decks. The game should either drop the component when I click on something else or it should allow me to click with a component selected.

To make me traverse the screen twice to change decks is frustrating.

I offer that as an example.

I do like some of the menus, etc.

One thing I could not figure out, but that I thought was supposed to be one of the big changes for SEV was to have multiple construction queues on the same planet. I could not figure out how to do this.

I have always thought it a bit silly that one can't build a spaceship, a weapons platform, a facility, etc. concurrenty.

It would be like saying that the U.S. has to shut down all other manufacturing while we build a space shuttle.

There should be 4 queues on each planet.
Troops
Ships
Facilities
Units (or what ever it is called)

But over all the look and feel is growing on me.

I figured I should give a report since I started this conversation off.

Re: Growing concern - but optimistic
 

Just put multiple items on the construction queue and unused points will automatically bleed over to the next item.