Things we'd like to see in the next patch

[tbontob]

Other things I would like to see as an improvement to the human/computer interface:
1) The numbers in the empire menu line up properly and commas used to separate thousands and millions. This is a really easy fix.
2) Counter-intelligence projects in Empires/Intelligence/Counter-intelligence does not fail. If it is at the top of the list, it is "topped off". We shouldn't have to micromanage this.

Other thoughts:
1) Resource storage. Now, it is a all or nothing thing. I'd like to see the computer allocate temporary storage if there isn't enough "regular storage available". It could "charge" the ratio of temporary storage/regular storage for whatever is in "temporary storage." to cover rust, spoilage, theft etc because it is not a good storage facility. So a small amount in temporary storage (relative to permanent storage) would not be too expensive...but a large amount will be. For example,
-regular storage 100,000
-temporary storage 50,000
-Cost of temp/stor 25,000 (50,000/100,000)(50,000)

2) $$$$ Here we are in a sophisticated universe and we can only barter! I'd like to see a medium of exchange introduced. Some thoughts are:
-Populace can be taxed affecting their happiness
-Projects require money
-Minerals/organics/radioactives can be bought and sold on the open market with money. Maybe on a sliding scale...the more you buy the greater the cost per unit and the more you sell the less money you get per unit. So there would still be an incentive to contact other players [Edit: to] exchange resources for money.

[ August 29, 2002, 03:02: Message edited by: tbontob ]

[jimbob]

2) $$$$ Here we are in a sophisticated universe and we can only barter! I'd like to see a medium of exchange introduced. Some thoughts are:
-Populace can be taxed affecting their happiness
-Projects require money
-Minerals/organics/radioactives can be bought and sold on the open market with money. Maybe on a sliding scale...

I couldn't agree more! In addition to having a money requirement for projects (maybe to speed them up? [within reason]) and open market for resources (how about little space bazaars scattered about the universe like ruins... and the person who colonizes/owns the planet gets a % cut of all tranactions), how about the following:

1) the ability to sell any technology to the "open market". Anyone can then buy the technology that has access to the open market, but you the seller get a royalty fee every time it is sold! Of course players may buy it and then choose to trade it to other races, enter galactic software piracy

2) the introduction of Plug & Play components. That's right, introduce a component that is essentially a socket, into which you can plug specially designed components of the correct size. Then players can trade individual pluggable components to one another (or purchase with cash on the open market) that can then be integrated onto any ship with the correct socket size/type.
While this would require huge amounts of hard code change, just think of the possibilities!

-players that act as weapons and tech brokers (far more effective than trading whole shipsback and forth)
-players can get others hopelessly addicted to their components by flooding the cheap Version of their product, but then drop production (especially useful if you are the only one with the racial ability to make a certain product)
-by messing with the socket size/type of the component, you could regulate the use of the components you sell (player A only has Parallel ports, so you could cut him out by making all your components scuzzy, etc).
-You could also ensure that you sell an inferior product vs. the one that you actually use by increasing the bulkiness of the items you sell.

Just a few thoughts

[ August 29, 2002, 04:14: Message edited by: jimbob ]

[jimbob]

Oh, and one of the main reasons money even exists (besides being a universal replacement for bartering goods/services) is it's transferability. Resources are relatively bulky, and so difficult to transfer (you can even capture large quantities from retreating enemies) while money, especially once in the paper/electronic for is considerably more 'manouverable'.

So, I'd also like to see that resources are physically split between the storage facilities, and that the resources within the storage facility are captured when the planet is. Money on the other hand would not be a capturable commodity, or to a much lesser degree anyway.

Of course Money should just be one of the resources, not a universal replacement for resources. After all, when times get tough, ya can't eat gold!

[Fyron]

Originally posted by jimbob:
Of course Money should just be one of the resources, not a universal replacement for resources. After all, when times get tough, ya can't eat gold!

If you're a human.

[Mephisto]

That sounds neat!

[quote]Originally posted by jimbob:

2) the introduction of Plug & Play components. That's right, introduce a component that is essentially a socket, into which you can plug specially designed components of the correct size. Then players can trade individual pluggable components to one another (or purchase with cash on the open market) that can then be integrated onto any ship with the correct socket size/type.
While this would require huge amounts of hard code change, just think of the possibilities!

-players that act as weapons and tech brokers (far more effective than trading whole shipsback and forth)
-players can get others hopelessly addicted to their components by flooding the cheap Version of their product, but then drop production (especially useful if you are the only one with the racial ability to make a certain product)

[dogscoff]

No! Don't introduce money! We already have 3 resources, and they represent money perfectly well as it is. If you want more resources and micromanagement, ask MM for improvements to supply and population. Let _them_ be your fourth (and fifth) resources. Here's my wishlist in that area:

-Limited supply generation and storage for facilities (instead of just the "quantum reactor" resupply depot we have now)

-Auto redirection of fleets and ships to supply depots if they can do so at no extra movement cost. (reduces micromanagement)

-Minimum population to operate facilities. If there's not enough population for all your facilities, you have to shut some of them down.

-Population keeps *all* of it's attributes when repatriated, not just the atmosphere it breathes.

-Facilities that can increase/ reduce the maximum population limit of a planet.

-independent migration of population. For example, population would automatically move from dangerous to safe planets & systems, from poor to rich, from settled to frontier - in extreme cases moving from one empire to another. (Economic/ political/ war refugees) This would move population managment from the realms of micromanagement into macromanagement, and make you empire feel more like a dynamic, organic society. Just imagine what it would do for roleplay and diplomacy, too...

-A more complex plague model. Not just level 1, level 2 etc. Perhaps have a "plague severity" percentage. I think I'll open a new thread on this...

-Maybe introduce other social problems too. Famine, Drought, Crime waves? Allow plagues and similar problems to spread from planet to planet, including allied planets. Could create some interesting diplomatic situations.

-Allow a planet to go beyond its maximum population limit, at the cost of reduced happiness and greater plague/ famine etc probability (think refugee camp)

[klausD]

Hi!
I am also not for introducing "money" as rescource. Money is the human expression of having an abstract trade medium. In SE4 there are not very many human societies. Most are Aliens. Its not at all sure that an alien society developes concepts like banks, stock exchanges or money. Thats why we should concentrate rather on "hard" resources which every race can see, feel, touch, swallow and use for warwarfe.

But I am for more different resource types. Why having a limit on 3 resource types? I think the amount of resources a game can have should NOT be hardcoded. It should be moddable. Then we could have rare resources for special components for example. ("hey lets trade 10000 organics against 100 polymorphus crystals because I wanna buy 5 hypercomputer III components for my new cruiser design")

IMO this would be an valuable addition to the existing resource system.

To the suggestions of dogscoff:

"-limited supply generation"

Oh yes this is a good idea. Additionally there should be the possibility to transfer supply points manually form one ship to another. The automatic transfer is not really satisfying.

"-Minimum population to operate facilities. If there's not enough population for all your facilities, you have to shut some of them down."

I am also for this, but the problem is that in the beginning the most planets have just 1 POP. this means that you cannot operate facilities ohn fresh planets. Thus I would suggest for not shutting facilities down if they dont have enough pop. They should rather operate at an lower rate (50% efficiency or so)

"-Population keeps *all* of it's attributes when repatriated, not just the atmosphere it breathes.

-Facilities that can increase/ reduce the maximum population limit of a planet.

-independent migration of population. "

This ideas are really good. They improve the game IMO much. I like also the social ideas of dogscoff.

Another things I would like to see

-short range fighters: cheaper fighters which cannot operate on the system map, just in tactical combat.

-space docks which are used only for building space units. (fighters, drones etc.)

-army camps which are used only for building ground units.

-more differenciated ground combat system. It should honor different ground unit designs but it should also be simple. (please no second "fading suns" or "space general")

-the possibility to get "rumors" of different parts of the galaxy. These rumors should be false or true. For example the message should be delivered in form of a lucky event, or in form of a special intelligence mission or in form of having automatic infos about operations of allies and neighbours. (because you have different own organizations - abstract- operating in the other territory. )

Sorry for my bad English

Klaus