I thought there were a lot of great ideas in this thread, but they were a bit spread out. So I compiled them into this thread. Currently there are about 50 suggestions for the next patch -or- EXPANSION PACK.
1) What about an extra technology to cover personnel training. Much like Fleet/ship training this could be used to train individual captains for ships depending on what you want to use them for e.g. tactics, warfare, exploration, trading. The result would be trained pilots that could be placed in a ship and would add to the ship in some way. This could also personalize your favorite ships or fleets.
2) There are a few things wrong with the battle viewer in my opinion:
There is no way to skip a tactical battle mid way and get to a strategic battle, this would be really useful when you get into a battle you don't want to bother playing all the way through.
2a) Also its difficult to arrange new formations for ships whilst in a battle, you have to keep reassigning all the positions every time. I'm sure theirs a better way this could be implemented. Can you not introduce an auto new formation command where all ships are automatically reassigned positions in the formation based on strength and value? Or can't you set up formations for various types of ships e.g. one for front line ships, another for escorts and traders etc.
3) What about introducing non-static backdrops. E.g. if you fight in an asteroid field what about having asteroids moving around you as you fight? Also in map views what about moving planets and moons? Should be simple enough to do in a turn-based environment like this and would really add to the game.
4) I would like to see stars larger than one sector in map view e.g. red giants. Also gravity should have an effect in the battle view much like the black holes in the maps. Your ships should have to fight against gravity in battle when near planets or stars etc.
5) What about unmanned probes to be able to be sent out to the further systems in the map view.
6) Other ideas for the battle viewer screen include:
1. Decoys to be launched to redirect missiles as missiles are far too deadly at the moment; being able to paralyze ships temporarily to board them using energy sapping weapons or the like;
2. Mines in the battle view are useless why not change them to effect a radius right around your ship instead of placing them on a square. This could in effect keep ships away from you.
7) A nice idea for the map view would be being able to run your ships or fleets silent using a special command similar to cloaking. Similarly being around a planet you should be slightly less detectable. Such running silent effects would effectively mean you could leave ship fleets in a system, using fewer supplies in wait for passing pirates or enemies. The down side would be that it would take a few turns to get into the silent running mode.
8) Allow me to break up Groups of units! Having all of my SATs in one pile sucks big time. Launching Fighters with different speeds?
9) Another wish, "Add Computer Controlled Race" in the players menu. I hate forgetting to edit to computer control the races I have chosen for a game.
10) How about remembering preferences for starting a game, so I don't have to re-pick '5000 race points', 'low bonus' etc at the start of every game. Gets tedious looking for the exact random system to start a 'perfect' game in. Like Moo2 I usually start about 5-8 games to find a setup I like. Eagerly awaiting the map editor
11) I'd like to see active sensors disabled in cloak, passive sensors should be unaffected.
12) Lets get a civil war going
13) I would love to have a real time feature.
What I mean by that is, the game does not require me to conduct a turn. It does it automatically.
From what I gather, the game's date indicator is set up for this feature, but it has not been implanted yet.
The benefits to this added feature are great. The game would continue even if you walked away. Everything would progress as you have ordered, and the game would take on a more real time feel.
Games with such a feature:
Rebellion
AOK
AOE
14) The ability to set the starting Tech level for each individual race.
15) The ability to set the exact number of Computer players. Right now it's low, medium, hi.
16) The ability to TURN off Quantum Reactor in the Exclude Tech function. (If there, please omit.)
17) A new facility that prevents new warp points from being opened within the system its has been constructed in.
18) A feature in the construction Que. that will add, "build this" on all planets. (This feature would allow you to build troops on all planets at once without having to select each individual planet and add it to that planets construction Que.)
19) Added feature that allows the player to select that they want all their planets for the empire they are going to play to start within one system.
20) The ability to set up allied play. (Example: in set up, the player can establish that player 1 and player 6 are allies. Player 2 and Player 4 are enemies.)
21) A bribe feature to the Diplomacy control. Set BRIBE type. Would effect other races willingness to improve relations.
22) A feature that would allow you to TELL the ships of a specific class to UPGRADE class at nearest shipyard.
23) Another feature of SE III I miss is the way counter intelligence works. It was far easier in SE III just to define the percentage of your intelligence points for counter intelligence. If you spend more points for defense than all your enemy spends against you, you are protected otherwise some of the enemy projects will succeed. I really don't see any advantage of the way SE IV handles counter intelligence now. The offensive Intel projects are fine apart from some balance IMO.
24) Just the usual requests for interface improvements -- anything ranging from the ability to import/export text-based command files and data (e.g. it would be NICE to be able to write a Perl script that simply automates putting atmosphere converters on every planet that needs it in a 200-planet empire, including queuing scrap-facility orders when necessary...) to implementing numerical input boxes for more tasks (such as specifying unit production and so forth). ;-)
25) AI to use baseships in game.
26) AI to use troops to invade & capture planets.
27) AI to use captures ship feature.
28) No Range Error's.
29) Add a new Hunter/Killer Race, hates everyone & everything, Super Aggressive, bloodthirsty, Super Xenophobic, small chance of making deals with, Destroys or captures planets, wants to exterminate all life, believe they are the ultimate higher order.
For Category 2 type additions for expansion pack
Pirates
Locust type race
Civil War
No Neutrals (or at least all races to expand)
30) I too would like to see a massively destructive race, one that most AI's hate too.
31) Option for Orbiting planets/asteroids (sectors that are moving on the system map; circulating the star - very much like ships automatically do in a black hole system).
32) For the AI to be smarter when building ship components or facilities that have more than one ability.
For instance, if you tell the AI to build a facility that has the abilities of a PORT and a facility with the abilities of a SHIPYARD, and you have a "multi"-facility with both abilities... it will build TWO of the "multi"-facilities, NOT one!
Same thing happens for components (although care would have to be taken with supply storage and cargo space, perhaps adding new lines for both of these abilities).
33) I just want all abilities to be available for components/facilities/etc
34) Oh, yes and get restrictions (fully) working!
35) 1. Improved AI ship construction: The various races have a good initial ship component list, but no variety. Once you discover a race's ship building weakness it's a piece of cake and they don't adjust. Maybe add a tiered approach to the ship construction. Then an attack ship or fighter could have a primary ship design and at least 2 alternates with a percent set for each design. Then a race could be 40%, 30%, 30% in different attack ship designs with 10 ship increments. Do the same with defensive ship designs and you can get a very could mixture. In the above example, the AI would build 4 primary, then 3 1st alternate, then 3 2nd alternate, and then start again with 4 primary. This would require adding a percentage to the ship construction field. An example would be to have 40% have shields with beam weapons and 30% have armor with beam weapons and 30% have shield with missile; then a PPB would not be a race killer. Other examples would be 40 Organic, 30 missile, and 30 beam. The defensive ship could be PD 80%, smart bomb 10%, and plague bomb 10%. Various AIs could have different percentages and different designs, but the key point is the various ship designs could compensate each other's weakness and build on the strengths making a much more deadly fleet-like what a human does. Do the same with fighters. I think one of the reasons the AI gets easy is because ever ship it builds is the same with the same weakness. A mixture of different ship designs would increase the difficulty of the AI.
36) Improve the ground combat. See previous post.
37) Positive Random Events. Events that benefit the player. IE-new technology discovered by accident. Derelict ship discovered with new technology. An Eco event has IMPROVED the value of a planet.
38) SEIII style starting tech levels would really be nice
39) Along with the Civil War I'd like to be able to play with more than 20 races at a time. At least give me the option to so I can play with all of the great custom races in one big game.
40) I would like to see the AI build troops, and uses them to invade their enemies and defend their planets. I have yet to see it do either at this point
41) I think any of the Intel operations should be able to happen as a random event. That way you aren't sure if another player is messing with you
42) Resolve combat peacefully" option: i.e. like "resolve combat" but without destroying enemy planets / ships which are ripe for takeover.
43) "Wait N turns" command for ships: Very useful for setting up repeat orders.
44) 1. Buttons in the tactical combat window that toggles each types of weapons systems on /off. 4 buttons should do it - I.e. All, PDC only, BEAM only (direct fire), Seekers only.
Being forced to select the weapon states to OFF or ON for weapons is particularly cumbersome when you have multiplex and want to target multiple ships. Some examples: targeting weapon platforms at a ship, large fighter Groups, heavily armed ships, PDC dedicated ships that you are manually firing your PDC at enemy fighters with.
45) An AI that adapts its strategy and ship designs as the game progresses
46) Ability to switch to strategic combat from tactical combat- watching a Resolve combat can be a long wait in large battles.
47) Increase the number of cloak levels and sensor levels (I have created a mod for this - including adjusted AI research files)
48) Increase the number of levels in Advanced Military Science to allow for more levels of hyperoptics and the top level to allow a player to visually detect mine fields. (I have added 6 levels - in part to adjust for the more cloak levels and to allow mine detection at the top level).
49) Allow fleets to be multi-selected when they are not stacked in the same sector - so you can attack from several directions when initiating tactical and strategic combat.
50) Improved Intelligence window, more slots for Intel projects - better explanations of what has happened to your empire when resources are stolen, tech is sabotaged etc. right now the reports in the logs are very ambiguous.
51) More tech types found in ruins
52) Ability to start a new AI controlled empire by granting colonies their independence.
53) Surrender not based on score.
54) Ability to create new ship formations on the fly during the game.
55) The ability to sweep select Groups of ships in tactical combat to reassign their fleet numbers or un-assign them. Instead of one at a time selections or un-assigning all of them. This would be helpful in fleeting large numbers of fighter Groups after launching them in tactical combat.
56) Strategic and Tactical combat - fleets that are larger than 20 ships are haphazardly placed after the first 20 ships. there needs to be better control by the AI on ship placement before a battle. Clean up the ship placement to avoid congestion.
57) Construction queue (f7). Add a button that allows you to select a build item for more than one planet at a time.
58) A button that allows a player to voluntarily slow down the rate of build and resource expenditure at a planet/Shipyard. Instead of only allowing the queue to be put on hold to reduce resource drain in times of economic crisis.
59) I'd like to see Mines, Sats and Fighters automatically launched when produced on a planet that has no spare cargo capacity rather than destroyed.
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"We've made too many compromises already, too many retreats! They invade our space and we fall back -- they assimilate entire worlds and we fall back! Not again! The line must be drawn here -- this far, no further! And I will make them pay for what they've done!" -- Patric Stewart as Captain Picard
UCP/TCO Ship Yards
Re: Patch wishlist
Linear Mode
