Hi, again, Dubious,
Sorry for the delay but I didn't want to answer until I could really address that whole "commodities pricing" issue. It' true, there are a lot of discrepancies with the existing commod price system.
I have struggled with balancing predictability vs. randomness, and prices increasing meaningfully over time and over space, etc.
But I think I now have a mathematical model that will fill the need nicely... I just have to try it out...
You mentioned "tracking the prices at each location". In general, I have shied away from this , because it would take out all the gues work and tension involved with decisions like "do I risk making another run between x and y, or has my luck run out". It would skew the game very much toward being strictly trade-centric.
with my new method, I may be able to provide hints or glimpses of prices...
"raw ore hits an all-time low in sector 33" , etc.
Docking Fees are based on your current total $$, but are capped per sector.
"Clock": all actions take one turn. (except docking at a station might take more). there is no real significance to the star date, other than providing a spacey way of obfuscating your moves counter
"Cloak": you actually pointed something out to me: it was indeed possible to cloak, and then remove the cloak, thereby giving yourself a shield. That was not intended, and is now fixed. You remain cloaked as long as you take no significant action. shading is the only way to tell, but you do get a sound and a message about events that decloak you.
"speed" (of your ship/equipment/landing party/etc.) do not effect clock ticks. BUT every entity has a "speed" counter, and if you are fast, you will get more turns than they do (they will appear to stand still). A turn is a turn. (so in fact, it should technically effect how much time passes, but that is a minor cosmetic issue, and I don't intend to change it) (but now you've got me thinking on how to do it)
"Spacesuit DR (damage reduction)" : damage reduction refers to environmental damage, ie the damage caused by just being on a certain kind of planet (corrosive, molten, etc.) . it is considered to be intrinsic in combat calculations, but it will never reduce damage to zero.
"Warping" is instantaneous (consumes no time , or possibly one turn)
OK, thanks,
and will keep you updated on the pricing thing.
Bob
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