SE5, Tell Aaron what's on your Wish List

[Fyron]

Won't somebody think of the micromanagement hell?

Aaron has stated that the intel system in SE5 will be similar to that in SE3. This may or may not change in the future...

[iaen]

Yes, intel does get way too complicated, very quickly. The only essential thing I think the SE3 intel misses is specific targets like in SE4. I don't know how much SE5 intel will be like SE3, but I doubt that feature will be lost.

A completely unrelated, and much simpler, thing I thought of are secondary explosions. If a component is destroyed, extra damage occurs. Could be easily implemented as a component ability. Chance of explosion when component is destroyed, and amount of damage.

And about SE3 style construction, when a ship appears in SE3, it's components are marked as 'Under construction', instead of 'Destroyed'. The only difference is the picture shown, but what if only spaceyards can 'repair' components marked as under construction, and repair-thingies can only repair destroyed components? If you then also make constructing components cost resources (and repair some percentage thereof), with limits how many resources a spaceyard or repairthing can construct, you'd pretty much have everything SE3 and SE4 do, combined, wouldn't you?
You could also mark emergency pods as 'under construction' once used, so you can't just repair them as easily underway anymore.

Hmm, the explanation is getting a bit long. Maybe it's not as simple as I thought...

The above also kinda implies that repair is also based on resources used, instead of a number of components per turn.
And unles you use a fairly high cost percentage for repair, or a seperate repair and construct rate, spaceyards would repair very quickly.

-edit-

Oh, and you can't base the cost purely on what 'repairing' components that are 'under construction' ofcourse. The cost of the hull can be quite a big part of the ship, sometimes.

[clark]

Here is an idea again...

Create txt files that are refrenced to automatically name individual ships (of course they can be renamed). Create txt files that are refrenced to automatically name a captain for a ship. This can be included in the AI folders. It dosen't have to neccessarily do anything, but it adds flavor, and it seems it might be easy enough to implement.

On micromanaging... perhaps allow for us to search ships by system. Perhaps allow us to give commands for all ships in a system. Basically, click on the system map and give a command that all ships there follow the same order, or same destination. Perhaps allow for the player to choose only certain class types (ie Attack ships, Defense ships, stellar ships, etc.) that the command applies to.

If possible, allow the player to drag and click a square- be it in combat or on the solar system view- all ships, or planets within the square are selected.

Keep a record of events automatically. I hate having to calculate and record when a star is going to explode, or a planet blow up. I should be able to look at a list generated by the computer that keeps track of that, with warnings every so many turns.

Ship designs- don't make a long list I have to scroll through. Put them in a row across the screen, fill each row. Basically an icon of each with their name and type I can click on to get more information.

Let me try out different fleet strategies in the simulator.
Let me assign ship positions within fleets by attaching letters or numbers (whatever) to each ship that corresponds to the appropriate place within the fleet (perhaps associate a fleet position letter in ship settings with class type- A for attack, P for PDC, B for Boarding). The ships will fill those fleet positions they are assigned to first. This might also improve the AI since we can control how they place their ships in combat!

Give me a "guard" command. Similar to sentry, but ignores low fuel, enemy movement, etc. I hate having to constantly click through a ship I just want to leave as a guard or spy.

Let me click on a ship or a fleet in the ship sort, and when I do, let it highlight which system it is in. Having to guess the name of the system is a pain. Clicking on it takes me to the system, but then I have to go back to square one in trying to find other ships.

Let me sort by domed colonies- these are the ones I need to get my alien population to. Let me sort by system. Let me choose which colony ship will head to colonize a planet. Give me more than a green star to let me know a planet is colonizable, or what kind of planet it is. I hate having to guess if the planet is ice or rock, they look almost the same. Either the graphics have to change, or you need to put an optional icon that denotes planet type and atmosphere type (when we get alien populations, it becomes a hassle trying to figure out hydrogen versus methane, or in some instances hydrogen versus carbon dioxide)

Give us the option to hide warp-points with cloak levels so they require sensors of some type to see and use. Let us have more options in the creation of warp points (you don't have to put them in stock, but give us more control).

Have a seperate txt file for planet (and perhaps even system level) descriptions. Rock planets refrence the txt file and places at random a description from the txt file. This way we can compile a moster list for all the planet types and it will add more flavor (similar to the name txts that Users have created) to the game. Perhaps allow for system level too in the same manner- ex. Black hole system might be described as "ungodly monster black hole from which no light or hope may escape". lame, but perhaps you get the idea.

Spice up the event files, or give us more options to utilize them. Perhaps even allow the religious trait to lose the almighty super-targeting device of never missing for a "prayer facility for a random act of vengence from our holy god upon the wicked" it would of course refrence the events txt and smite a selected enemy. Just a wild thought.

Instead of abbreviations for system facilities, let me be able to select a system and see all the current system facilities- regardless of what planet they are on. A system level view perhaps that tells me the total count of resource generation, resupply bases, starports, etc.

[AgentZero]

Imperator Fyron said:
Won't somebody think of the micromanagement hell?

OK, scrap the Spy Ships idea because I can see how that would get very micromanage-y very fast. But I would like to see the agent idea implemented since I don't see how it would create any more micromanagement. Instead of having 5 intel projects running, you have 5 agents on assignment, each one giving bonuses to certain ops. So your agent with a 20% sabotage bonus is out trying to cripple your enemy's newest dreadnought, your propagandist is trying to stir up revolt on enemy border worlds, your assassin is out trying to eliminate enemy spies (presumably ones working on counter-intel) and you've got two spy hunters working inside your empire to ferret out enemy spies.

We'd still require intel facilities, etc, to fund all these activities, of course... Just out of curiosity, where can I find the current features list for SE5. People keep quoting Aaron on various features that will or won't be in SE5, but I don't know where they're coming from. Little help?

[Aiken]

Just out of curiosity, where can I find the current features list for SE5. People keep quoting Aaron on various features that will or won't be in SE5, but I don't know where they're coming from. Little help?

Chat sessions with Aaron # 1 & 2

[Q]

Reading the chat sessions there is one wish of what I don't want in SE V:

Common space on planets for facilities and cargo together. IMHO this is a bad idea because it means a lot of micromanagement for humans (moving cargo to get place for facilities) and it will create huge problems for the AI (defenseless colonies because all place has been used for facilities; useless colonies with only cargo).

One thing that I wish very much and believe to be important is the mentionend "reduced graphic mode" for older computers and to speed up large combats.

[Aiken]

A while ago I proposed a separate space on planet for cargo and facility area (facility size is not equal). I hope it will be considered as a viable alternative to common cargo idea.

[AgentZero]

Thanks for the link, aiken...

Personally I prefer the idea of cargo space and facility space being kept seperate, but I'd like to see some way of increasing facility space. Perhaps a facility that provides extra facility spaces? Call it a Modular Resource Centre, for lack of a better term. It could only be built on the 'base' facility slots. So if a planet has 10 slots and a Modular Resource Centre provides 4 slots, then filling the planet with them would allow you to build 40 facilities on that planet, but the maximum number of MRCs would always be equal to the default max number of facilities a planet could support.

[Baron Munchausen]

With the merging of cargo and facility space we'll be able to set the size of facilities! That means 'upgrades' can be smaller than lower tech Versions, effectively increasing facility space on a planet.

[Aiken]

tmce, this is there Terraforming might come to play.
1st variant could work like se4 Atmosphere Converters: build facility (1 per planet effective) and it will terraform your planet in a 2-5 years.
2nd variant is to add Terraform Project to a building queue, make it much like pseudofacility. It should be quite expensive I think.