SE5, Tell Aaron what's on your Wish List

[vanbeke]

Add something that allows me to find a specific type of facility - maybe give a list of all facilities that have been built (total count of facility type as a sortable column?). Then selecting a facility type pops up the list of planets that contain those.

I guess I don't play enough as I keep having trouble finding the resource converters when I return to a game that I ave not played for a while.

[bearclaw]

It was mentioned once before that if all of these suggestions were implemented, then the game would be way too daunting for newbies. What about different options for the interface controls?

Basic- For new players. All the functions are there and are clearly labeled, tooltips, etc. Some of the more advanced features would be found under various menus (Empire window, research window, etc.)

Advanced- smaller icons for the controls so that more could be added, no tool tips, and possibly customizable, more controls on the main toolbar. Things like System Notes right on the toolbar as well as perhaps a Find feature for finding specific ships/planets/facilties, etc.

I think this sort of system would allow for new players to get the hang of the game, without drowning in the controls and still give all us veterans oodles and oodles of buttons to click.

I remember when I first saw screen shots for SEIV, I kept trying to figure out what all those icons were for. And then getting the game! WooHoo! I'm one of those guys who buys a car based on how many controls are at my disposal.

[ May 01, 2004, 20:59: Message edited by: bearclaw ]

[Grandpa Kim]

I sent a suggestion directly to Aaron. He thought it was an "excellent" idea.

Here's the meat of the idea (minus my fawning and sucking up).

It can often be useful to know all the statistics of a given system. I suggest some sort of menu-- say a pull down menu from the system name in the top left corner of the system map. This would include such things as total production for the system of each resource, research and intelligence, presence or absence of system wide facilities, sensor level, empty facility slots and many others, which of course I can't think of right now. Production levels would quickly determine the relative importance of the system and help you decide which system wide facilities to build. In general this would be a major micro-management tool. How often have we missed filling in all facility slots or doubled up expensive system wide facilities? Instead of searching each planet individually, you could then see it all in one comprehensive table and speed up your play... and speed it up with confidence.

[Suicide Junkie]

Lots of ship stats calculations via custom scripts.

So a star trek mod can set the speed of a ship to be:
Max[ 1- [1/(power produced)] * impulse_HP % , MIN ( sqrt (power) , nacelle_rating * nacelle_hp%) ]
in units of "lightspeed", for example.

[Paul1980au]

Ok how about a basic, intermediate and advanced control possibilties - it would as has been said advanced players access to lots of data and the basic data for the newbies to get them playing.

[General Woundwort]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Lots of ship stats calculations via custom scripts.

So a star trek mod can set the speed of a ship to be:
Max[ 1- [1/(power produced)] * impulse_HP % , MIN ( sqrt (power) , nacelle_rating * nacelle_hp%) ]
in units of "lightspeed", for example.

SJ, that equation is evil.

[ May 02, 2004, 12:59: Message edited by: General Woundwort ]

[Sinapus]

Douglas:

"Warp point assault weapons" means basically weapons you send through the warp point to the other side to attack/kill any defenders. Probably based on the SBM carrier pod from the Starfire game. It's a drone that carries a few missiles and fires them at a specific type of target, usually a base.

You can actually do something like this with drones, with the latest patch.

Hm. Making minefields something that requires strategic or tactical combat to sweep them would be interesting. (Yes, I'm thinking of the Starfire game.)

[clark]

Regarding the AI... not sure if this has been suggested, but here is the concept:

An AI that "remembers". Basically, as a game develops, statistics are generated. These statistics are stored in a temporary empire specific file. Based on the end score of the Ai during game play, the temporary file is saved as a permanent file(a higher score than the previous recorded one determines if it is saved, or if the player manualy makes the determination to save it).

Now, what the AI is recording is the statistics for exploration, development, research, etc. But most importantly, it remembers what the "best" design and strategy is given the current situation. It then carries over these learnings to any new games. Each time you play against the AI, it is simply trying to beat it's previous "best" score.

Slowly but surely, the AI will improve itself with repeated playings. These files could then be traded. In this way, some of the best human players could train their AI's, and give us all a go for our money.

This is basically what the AI modders have been doing with AI ship design, right? You give the AI a set of optimum configurations, and hope for the best. Yet this might take it a step further (and perhaps put that "experience" to good use as a barometer of skill for the AI). Thoughts, comments, flames?

I apoligize if this is a repeat of others.

[Stone Mill]

Originally posted by clark:
Regarding the AI... not sure if this has been suggested, but here is the concept:

An AI that "remembers". Basically, as a game develops, statistics are generated. These statistics are stored in a temporary empire specific file. Based on the end score of the Ai during game play, the temporary file is saved as a permanent file(a higher score than the previous recorded one determines if it is saved, or if the player manualy makes the determination to save it).

Now, what the AI is recording is the statistics for exploration, development, research, etc. But most importantly, it remembers what the "best" design and strategy is given the current situation. It then carries over these learnings to any new games. Each time you play against the AI, it is simply trying to beat it's previous "best" score.

Slowly but surely, the AI will improve itself with repeated playings. These files could then be traded. In this way, some of the best human players could train their AI's, and give us all a go for our money.

This is basically what the AI modders have been doing with AI ship design, right? You give the AI a set of optimum configurations, and hope for the best. Yet this might take it a step further (and perhaps put that "experience" to good use as a barometer of skill for the AI). Thoughts, comments, flames?

I apoligize if this is a repeat of others.

clark... I think you better be careful... that's how H.A.L. was created in 2001...

Nice idea, although it seems a bit advanced.

[clark]

Thanks. I guess i imagined that the computer could calculate success by the number of wins in a battle (determined by the kill ratio). so as an example, say it fields 10 combat ships, and is successful in a battle, it would increase the liklihood of using the same strategy in the future. A failure means it would be less likely to use that same strategy in the future.

Since combat in essence drives everything else, I was thinking perhaps some forula might be devised that would guide the AI's development. So say that the 10 ship strategy is successful, it dosen't neccessarily need more minerals and what not, so then the AI would switch to intel and research development. As the need for more resources occurs because it needs to support more ships, then it would be reflected in the combat losses, which cause the AI to switch strategies.

Think of it as some basic form of AI behavior modification training.