"Blank" decoration blocks for the blueprint system

[Gerion]

So, one of the bigger complains about the new buy-with-blocks-system is that it punishes decoration and nifty design by having the need to craft about 5000 new block types for every ship. Lets cut that down a bit, shall we?

Firstly: Deco blocks (and armor, for that matter) shouldnt be crafted as separate types anymore. This means that it doesnt matter if you use deco block 2 or 5, you get one "deco block" and can use that in a recipe.
Types included in that (each gets one blank block):
Lights
Deco blocks
Light rods
Armour (so that just having an ornament on the outside of the ship doesnt require a whole new factory)

I think i missed something.... Screw it, you get the idea.

Secondly: Make deco blocks cheap. No capsules, just some mesh. Something that doesnt help your ship shouldnt cost you too much. Doesnt apply to armour of course.

If you salvage a ship or station with decorations, you still get specific blocks and you can still use specific blocks in the blueprint. I think thats better for immersion, but i would fully support a crafting recipe to turn those back into blanks.

 

[ltmauve]

Maybe a "transformer" type-factory which switches blocks around between equviliant types?

 

[Megacrafter127]

Or just treat blocks, which can be placed in the same multislots, as one and the same?

 

[Thalanor]

Switching around blocks would still be one major annoyance. +1 to the OP, I want the following to be possible:

- Buy every of the five block shapes with every other (e.g. be able to buy a penta with a solid).
- Blank deco blocks are a very good idea indeed. They should apply to everything that has no function besides it's visual appearance. One single deco block placeholder is enough for this, really.


The current system is too much of a "beautiful from a dev perspective", but it is not what I'd like to be forced to do... the crafting mechanics aren't fun, they are a chore. At least make the chore stand in relation to the output so both the economy and the players are happy. Why should a ship built with only solid blocks (no shapes) be easier to make? Why should I simplify the decorative areas of my ship?

Decoration really should be almost free both in resources and factory infrastructure.

 

[SkylordLuke]

i love the idea of "one decoration block to rule them all" :P
but the idea of grinding for materials and resources,and working a bit more for your ships,giving it a sense of great achievement when you build your new ship.. i like more ,but if it ever happens that this idea gets accepted,i would be ok with it

 

[Megacrafter127]

Decoration really should be almost free both in resources and factory infrastructure.

Unless it's "bling type" deco.[DOUBLEPOST=1417625186,1417625087][/DOUBLEPOST]

but the idea of grinding for materials and resources,and working a bit more for your ships,giving it a sense of great achievement when you build your new ship.. i like more ,but if it ever happens that this idea gets accepted,i would be ok with it

It is indeed a nice concept, but humans are lazy, and will get tired of such achievements eventually(by getting used to it).

 

[Thalanor]

Yup, that I think is a huge point Megacrafter127
The part of the game mechanics you cannot avoid must be "bearable" enough for a single player over the timespan of 1+ years, especially now that this is hitting steam. The current BP system as-is has a very steeply falling "amazeness" curve. It is logically sound and makes sense from an economy POV, but are you still going to get a kick out of having to scramble for that exotic deco block a few months into the new game?

It must be sustainable in terms of fun. That is why I would personally say, deco blocks "appearing out of thin air" (god I hate that term, but well) are totally ok. There is not going to be a financial crisis or an economy downfall because some frood got his hands on "decorative panel 2" some hours earlier than intended. Needless to say, it makes very much sense he will have to wait obtaining that jump drive computer until he has the crafting resources for it together.

Bottom line: "decorative panel 2" doesn't shoot people. People do, and indirectly cannons, missiles, beams and jump drive computers do to. But "decorative panel 2" is clearly not guilty as charged.