SE5, Tell Aaron what's on your Wish List

[dogscoff]

Here are the things I think se5 needs to truly make it a 'next generation' SE game. In no particular order:

-Galaxy wide and system-wide fog of war, range-dependent cloaking and ranged ship/planetary sensors to go with them.

-If we are to keep the grid-based system maps (as recent statements from MM imply) then at least increase the resolution.

-units, ships, bases and planets all programmed from the same 'stuff' to allow modders to blur the boundaries between these different items (ie planet-like ships with research and mineral production, ship-like planets that can move and fight etc)

-Less forgetful AI.

-By all accounts combat is in for a major overhaul anyway, so I won't bother listing my suggestions for tac combat, but more precise strategic combat commands would be nice. Oh, and we need a retreat option.

-More complex plague system.

-A few more variables and random factors thrown into the minesweeping process to make it a little less predictable.

-Ditto for boarding combat. (why mix in ship experience & racial ground combat stats?)

-Captured populations to maintain their racial characteristics, even if it was just their resource production bonuses.

-Refine the "doming" system so that you can have a few million non-breathers living on your homeworld without such extreme penalties.

-Overhaul of intel system.

-More complex population modelling and involvement to provide a greater 'peacetime' empire-management challenge.

-No limits (or extremely generous limits) on game size and number of players.

[Suicide Junkie]

I was just looking at the budget screen in SE4, and was hit by an idea.

Tariffs... In SE4, you only get them from empires under subjugation or a protectorate.
What if you could charge tariffs for "allied" ships travelling through your territory?

Crank the price high enough and they won't send ships through. Either that, or declare war on you

[Ed Kolis]

I second that! And let's have the rate be settable on an empire-by-empire or a system-by-system basis! (Both would be a bit too much to handle, don't you think? Though I wouldn't mind having the ability there for modders to fiddle with as they see fit ) Five and a half minerals a sector per kiloton for you, my dear friend!

I'd like to suggest a simple cosmetic change that wouldn't affect the game much but might add a bit to the suspension of disbelief in RP games... You know how you have an Empire Name and an Empire Type? Well, what about empires that don't classify quite so easily, such as the United Federation of Planets? I've seen games with "United Population" and "United Federation of Planets Population", both of which are kind of awkward... not to mention when the Klingons ask you to declare war on the dishonorable "United people"! So how about something a bit like Stars!, where you have a noun phrase that's the full empire name (e.g. "United Federation of Planets", "Xiati Empire", or "Star Empire of Romii"), and an adjective phrase that's used to describe the race or their possessions (e.g. "Federation", "Xiati", or "Romiian")? Perhaps there could also be an "Empire Type" so there can be Messages like "Your pathetic empire/republic/federation/whatever is repulsive to us! Prepare to die!"

[Roanon]

Even if I am a minority: I like the current mine system. If you allow mines without limit or make sweeping less predictable, mines will become too important. A few cheap units everywhere, and the biggest warfleets are nor problem any more. This will bog down any game infinitely after a certain stage of game where everyone has enough minelayers.

Stalemate games and games where the one who moves is the one who looses suck. The current system which allows you to gamble, but also to be absolutely sure that your minesweeper-protected uberfleet will reach its target undamaged is not realistic, but good for the game.
If there will be minefields without limit, there must be an option like "sweep with care". Sweepers should be able, when encountering a field to big for them, to sweep as much as they can and then stop and continue sweeping next turn - instead of mindlessly ramming the remaining mines.
Also, equipment for detecting minefields before actually impaling on them should be researchable.

[Ed Kolis]

Mines don't have to be as powerful as they are in SE4, though - when was the Last time your ships were damaged but not destroyed by a minefield? "A few cheap units", with the proper mine system (i.e. mines do less damage individually but you can have more in a sector, which incidentally can be modded in SE4 ), would only serve to slow down a huge fleet, damaging a few ships here and there. (That's what we could really use with mines though - instead of all mines damaging one ship then the next, the damage should be allotted randomly so you end up with a bunch of moderately damaged ships most of the time!) It would only be large minefields that have the power to take out a large fleet.

And incidentally, you CAN mod mine-detecting sensors into SE4... just create a sensor with a detection level equal or greater to the mine's cloak level!

[Lighthorse]

Here what I want to have in SE5.

1. Diplomacy that actually works
2. A turn-based space strategy game.
3. Keep the modability, but improve it, make it easlier to use/friendly user/print off the mod settings. Important is to keep SE5 moddable.
4. Firing and shield arcs Some weapon only fire straight ahead, other can only fire 90 deg. forward and point defense with 360 degree arcs. Show shield strenghts by color code per arc. Thus if the right side is drained down to 20%, it shows itself as red.
5. Change the combat map from a close square to a open ended circle. Allow ships to exits the combat map if they can out run they pursuiters.
Allow planets/storms/ast belts/etc to hid ships that are behind them, block fire and sensors.
6. Have a ground map in hexs, size of map depending on planet size. Place population centers, facilities, shipyards, defense centers in different hexs. It should take longer than one turn to conquer a planet, unless its nuked from outer space.
7.Shipping lanes that appear as some dull race's color line that connects different sections together. Have the ability to blockade/raid/attack that shipping line and steal those resources. Thus empires will have to protect their freighters, form convoys with military escorts and fight to maintain lifeline of trade.
8.Sats should spread evenly around planets and warp-holes.
9. The Ability to export current tech levels in tech trades.
10.Better intelligence system
11. Save/printout begining game settings and map of on going game. Print from race settings, mod settings, etc from the game.

That all I have for now, more latter
LIGHTHORSE

[Fyron]

2. A turn-based space strategy game.

It is going to be a turn-based strategy game... MM has never said anything to the contrary.

It should take longer than one turn to conquer a planet, unless its nuked from outer space.

You can mod that. Increase strength and numbers of milita, reduce ground combat rounds to 1.

[ November 13, 2003, 04:30: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

[Kiedryn]

Hello. It is my first post here :-)

1. It would be nice to have special characters.
2. Borders: You can claim systems or planets to be yourse even if you dont have colony on them.
3. Diplomacy: It should be improved!!!
- right of passage.
- stronger alliance (when you ask your ally to make war with your enemy and he refuse, then alliance is broken)
- possibility of making international organizations (such as UN, NATO, Landsrad "DUNE")

[Alneyan]

2. Borders: You can claim systems or planets to be yourse even if you dont have colony on them.

It can already be done, as long as you have visited the system (that is, if it appears on your galactic map, it can be claimed as being yours) You have to do it manually though.

[Fyron]

Actually... you can even claim a system you have not yet visited. It will not appear claimed on your map until you visit it, but others will see it as claimed (if they have visited the system).