What new abilities would you like to see?

[JLS]

Originally posted by dogscoff:
Most "new features" threads soon degenerate into convoluted lists of peoples' pet ideas, so here's one with a more specific agenda:

What new abilities would you like to see patched into SE4 (or introdced in SE5) for modders to tinker with? I'll kick off:

- Can warp: This ability would be required for a ship to warp, enabling modders to deny warp travel to certain hulls or tech levels by witholding the ability.

-Inflicts X damage on own ship when destroyed: Would enable us to create "volatile" components. (ie one lucky hit to the warp core takes out half the ship)

- X percent chance of being damaged in ground combat: This ability could be given to units and facilities, allowing us to control their chances of surviving ground combat.

- modify ground combat defence by X percent for rock races.
- modify ground combat defence by X percent for ice races.
- modify ground combat defence by X percent for gas races.

The above 3 could be given to planets to give native combatants an advantage. Equally, all three could be given to a single facility to fortify a planet against invasion.

Come on then ppl, let's have your ideas...

-Can warp:
Can be modeled now (per Vehicle hull) in se4, but once opened it allows all size hulls to pass.
Some AI issues here as well.
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-Inflicts X damage on own ship when destroyed: This is (some what) already done with structure size.
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- modify ground combat defense.
Can be modeled in se4.

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- X percent chance of being damaged in ground combat:
Agreed this is a must. I have not figured away to do this in se4 (YET)
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EDIT:
Opps Noticed {Graeme Dice} already pointed most out in latter post.

[ May 03, 2003, 15:18: Message edited by: JLS ]

[JLS]

Originally posted by Aloofim:
-I would like to get rid of all the warp points. Hyperspace Jumps should be possible only to the nearest system (to the fringes of the system), so you'll still need to make several jumps to reach an enemy homeworld.
-Hyperspacing should be both component and hull based.
-Fighters should only travel as far as to a location where they can be retrieved. Not fighter should be in flight at the end of a turn. And no Hyperjumping, of course.
-Every time a ship or fleet hyperjump there should be a small hyperjump flash and sound, so it doesn't feel like now, when the warp points are barely a door to the next room.
-The ability to limit cloaking to a maximum size. If cloacking could be limited to small hulls the life of such hulls will not only be enlarged, but we could simulate submarine warfare with cloakers capable of launching spies, virus and nuclear bombs on planets without being detected unless the right sensor was in the sector. A cloaked vessel in combat should be detected only when it fires its guns, and then for a brief moment. And the best anti cloacker defense should be another cloaker.
-The ability to retrieve fighters in combat to rearm those "fire rate 30" weapons.
-Fighters shouldn't have shields (too small to fit)
-Some sort of diference between bombers and fighters. Bombers should need escort from fighters.
-Underground facilities and bunkers, that can't be destroyed from orbital bombing.
-Stealth Spy satelites to check on planets. (Deployable by cloakers)
-Exploration: Systems shouldn't be explored by just jumping to it. Visiting a system should only reveal the number of planets, size and location, but not resorce value or ruins. To explore a planet a vessel should visit the planet, and have a planet scanner component or explorer party on board.
-Ruins: should only be a random event happening some time after a colony have been stablished. (to simulate buried ruins that need to be excavated after found by chance by farmers or something)
-Diplomacy: First contact shouldn't mean combat! The lack of treaty shouldn't mean war. To attack a vessel there should be first an state of war, and if not, attacking that vessel would be a declaration of war.
-Trade: we should be able to see what the AI or other players have. And to know how much they want.

Oh my, i forgot that this thread its not for wishes.......

Agreed

[JLS]

Originally posted by Aloofim:
The good thing about cloaking its that it have the potential to make small ships valuables to the very end. When you make large ships capable of cloaking you throw that away.
I just don't like the "bigger it's better" aproach.

Originally posted by Graeme Dice:
The thing about it is that it's almost universally true that a bigger ship will be better at the same tech level, simply because you can fit more onboard.

PvK has done wonders with the scale of Components with Proportions. The way he handled Cloaking for larger ship do appear realistic. With in the confines of se4.

Cloaked ships should always get first to shoot, in se5.

[ May 03, 2003, 15:13: Message edited by: JLS ]

[JLS]

Originally posted by Aloofy:

quote:

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Originally posted by orev_saara:
Yes. You'd have to make the basic cloaking device take up about 5000kT, or something equally unworkable, then put in a mount that shrinks it down to what you want that cannot be used on anything bigger than 300kT

Thanks man, that's a great idea.
Will the AI use it?
Do I have to tinker with AI files to make them use it?
I've never touched an AI file. I'm a newbie, you know.

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AI should be fine with this as long as you add cloaking to the Race/ships you want them to cloak.

[Karibu]

I think this has been noticed before, but I have not seen it said anywhere:

When you spy enemy/capture ship, you should have the knowledge of enemy's tech level (at least of those parts you have found out) so that when you propose trade with him, in your trading list of technology are NOT those technologies you already know enemy possess.

For example: I capture enemyship and see "Hey he has Level 3 PD, Emergency supply 2 and ion engines level 2". Then I make peace with him and propose trading. There should be removed those technologies.

Tech trading also needs correction. When I decide to trade with some player, I should be able to give him those techs I want, not the latest tech of that one branch he does not have.

For example: We agree that I trade him Level 3 engines and he gives me level 3 DUC. Naturally I assume that he has Level 2 engines and he assumes that I have level 2 DUC. And I know he has level 5 DUC and he knows I have level 6 engines. Now he has lied to me and he has level 4 engines already and he knows when we trade, he will get the "next engine level" which is level 5. I have been honest and I get level 3 DUC. That was not what I intended to trade. This is the reason I want in the tech trade that I can define explicitly that I give another player level 3 engines and not just "next engine level" to what he possess. This would not be very hard to implement. It would also be more clear when trading.

Same thing with starcharts. The trading list should not include those system maps I know enemy possess. How to define this? Simple: Remove those maps from the list, when enemy ship and my ship has been in the same system so, that I have seen the enemy ship. Naturally I know then that enemy knows this system. Also remove those system charts which include enemy colonies I know of. Also remove those charts when I have seen enemy ship in that system through partnership of another race. There are also few other definitions to this but you know what I mean (I hope so).

[Elowan]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet but I think that a Space Yard should be able to re-supply as well. It isn't logical that it can't.

[JLS]

Originally posted by Elowan:
Don't know if this has been mentioned yet but I think that a Space Yard should be able to re-supply as well. It isn't logical that it can't.

YES, Agreed.

AI Campaign uses this, it is very helpfull for the AI all around and when it upgrades its engines, now we and the AI have fuel available to fill up there new retrofit engines.

Otherwise the AI crawls to the nearest depot after a refit

[ May 03, 2003, 16:10: Message edited by: JLS ]