[Baron Munchausen]

Well, gosh. There are lots of things that people might think of as 'SE V' that could still be done in SE IV. Space monsters, for example. As far as what I expect in SE V, I can only give broad outlines because the different starting points or 'frame of reference' will influence each other and create differences that are impossible to predict.

The first simple ideas I have are to ditch the stupid attempt at a 'kewl' looking interface. We don't need a special set of mouse cursors, the default is fine. It was (and is still) a waste of MM's time to code all those custom interface elements, like the file save and load dialogs, when Windows has standard ones which work better. Deh! Go back to Windows standard interface and let people play the game in the user interface they have customized for themselves.

Gamewise, add loads more 'simulation' detail to the map. Stars should have mass and internal dynamics that determine their behavior. Star size and type should affect radiation levels in the system and the performance of solar harnessing technologies. And the climates of planets! Planets should have gravity, radiation levels, and temperature ranges as well as the present atmosphere types.

Planet usage should be more dynamic as we discussed in another thread. The same space should be used for population, facilities, and cargo space.

Population needs to be more 'true to type', keeping racial characteristics and holding to an 'attitude' towards their conquerors even after the empire they came from is completely gone.

The system map needs to grow somehow. If we have to resort to a 'windowed' system like comabt then that's what we have to do. A system ought to have a radius of at least 10 sectors. Going to a coordinate system might be better than trying to keep the little discreet squares.

Combat needs to be scaled up even further as well. The increase in damage numbers for both weapons and components allowed smaller shades of difference in combat power but ranges are still pitifully small and simple. We need to have ranges measured at 10X SE III values just like damage is.

And as we all know, the AI needs thousand different improvements. Mainly it needs a memory but it also needs to be smarter in tactical combat and in simple tasks like choosing what colonies to place in a system.

[ July 10, 2002, 16:56: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]