Wanted features:

[Baron Munchausen]

Just thought I'd share my "wish list" for upgrades to SE IV. This is really a list of User Interface ideas more than major game features. I'll have to make a seperate list of things I would like added to enhance the interest of game play.

* Seperate auto-move and auto-fire options in combat.

Isn't it really tedious to have to manually manage a planet full of WPs in combat? Or just a large fleet of ships, for that matter. Clicking all those weapon icons get's old fast. But, if you click that "auto" button, your ships will move in all sorts of crazy ways that get them in trouble. I usually find that auto-targetting is smart enough to be let alone, but auto-movement is NOT. Would be nice to be able to allow one but not the other, like in SE3.

* Global on/off switch for weapons.

This would help with managing large Groups of weapons in combat. Just click it and all the weapons on a ship, base, planet, satgroup, whatever would be flicked on or off.

* Ability to use self-destruct component in combat.

What if you're the bitter type and you don't want to sit there and watch your ship get pounded for five more turns, knowing it's going to get destroyed anyway? Blow it up yourself! Besides, you may want to avoid capture.

* Ability to drop troops from multiple ships simultaneously onto one target.

This problem has been hammered on quite a bit in this forum. A planet full of 8 billion or more population is just too big for troops from a single transport to conquer. We need simultaeous drop somehow or other.

* Allow recovery of fighters in combat.

What if my fighters are getting slaughtered by enemy PDC? I can't do anything about it? Yeesh.

* Some way to "escape" over the border of the combat box.

Yep, the old retreat problem. I'd sure like to see some way to get out of combat if I'm three times faster than the pursuing ships, but instead I have to bump against the invisible box until they catch up and slaughter me.

* A "Move Ten" button in the cargo transfer/unit launch windows.

Just a small help with managing large amounts of cargo and units.

* The same level of control in the Jettison Cargo window as you get in the transfer cargo or deploy units window.

"All or none' of each cargo type is very crude.

* Filter out ships that don't have cargo capacity or unit launch bays from the cargo transfer and unit launch windows.

'Nuff said.

* Some way to turn OFF remote mining so planets and asteroids are not accidently stripped while a traveling ship stops in transit.

Yeah, remote mining is automatic. If your ship stops over a nice planet that you want to colonizelater, it will strip the planet for that turn and reduce its value. NOT good.

* And my all-time favorite, the ability to at least scrap, or even retrofit, units in a planetary cargo area.

Only satellites and weapon platforms really need to be retrofittable. If troops, fighters, and mines are only scrappable, that's fine.

* A "Show Latest Only" option for the component and facility lists in the help.

Isn't it tedious to see all those "I/II/III" Versions of everything? Wouldn't just the latest be enough?

* A Last-saved check to warn you about quitting a game when turns have been executed since Last save.

'Nuff said!

* Option to use 'enter' and 'escape' for default button/cancel in most dialogues.

Why can't the game use standard Windows services, anyway? SE3 did.

* Some sort of warning in Empire setup when no SHIP NAMES file has been chosen.

Just a small tweak for the absent minded.


[This message has been edited by Baron Munchausen (edited 17 November 2000).]