Started playing yesterday - yes, I know that is no time at all and I still don't have a full idea of how the game works... BUT I think first impressions count and if I wait a week I will forget my current feelings / thoughts.
Oh and I do realise the game is in ALPHA and that there are many planned features still to come - including some I will suggest... but as I say - need to get these thoughts down.
Most important point - Newtonian physics or not?
I have played I War with Newtonian physics and think it works great.... but it has to be done properly to be done well. It's great to be able to thrust in one direction... then drift and pivot on your axis and shoot... but a lot of players have trouble with it too.
This game seems to be going in the same direction except at present there is a speed limit of sorts?And it also seems that with enough thrusters even a monster of a ship can turn like a fighter?
I have read the suggestions of some kind of directional thruster requirement (calculated aroud the centre of mass?) > but maybe use mass squared times a factor? Maybe make this a server setting set by the Admin? So you could have a private server and turn this off to allow massive ships ---- or dial it right up to keep the ship size right down. And don't forget to factor in the mass of docked ships and turrets too!
(I will leave that there - for the math guys to think about)
Guns (and missiles)... bigger is better and faster?
My suggestion is to make bigger better...and slower. Should be easy enough to do?
Simply have gun recharge time = number of blocks x time factor
For example:
5 block gun recharge time = 5 x 0.1sec = 0.5 sec = 2 shots per second
100 block gun recharge time = 100 x 0.1 sec = 10 sec reload time
So, you can go with small rapid fire guns or large guns where you had better not miss!?
Shields would need looking at if this was done though?
Energy:
Maybe to prevent massive overgeneration have some kind of power overload penalty?
Perhaps causing intermittent short outs of computer modules?
Have some kind of 'compensator unit' but it should have mass (see above)
Navigation:
I am finding it to be a PITA (Pain in the...) at the moment.
I looked at the nav interface and it looks like much more is planned...
Then I thought why not give the player the ability to build Nav Beacons?
A beacon that can be detected and locked on to from a distance depending on type of beacon, power output and installed modules?
For example:
Broadcast a signal and the distace it can be detected is proportional to the generator output?
Broadcast a signal constantly (active)
Broadcast a signal in response to a 'ping' (passive)
Broadcast a signal in response to a coded ping (so it would only work if you knew the correct code). This would allow factions to drop nav beacons that only those in the faction could lock on to.
Sensor Beacons (as above) but would also detect and report certain events (for example a certain mass passing by within a certain radius?)
Lots of possibilities here.
Computer modules:Has the possibility of 'locking them' been considered? So that to access someone elses module would require some kind of "hacking" mini game?
Which leads to my final suggestion at this point:
How about different computer modules for everything?
You could even make them player designable (moddable?) maybe?
For example: A missile control system with a faster lock on... that costs more (and is harder to make)... but also doesn't like jamming?
Player choice is a slower (but more reliable) lock on... or a fast lock on that is prone to being lost or jammed?
And computer modules for everything;
Engine / thrust control
Shield Recharge
Power Generation
Targeting
Jamming
Anti Jamming
Radar
Navigation
Scanning (mass, power generation, light, momentum)
Firewall Module for anti hacking
Alarms (in response to hacking detection or scanner detections)
Diagnostics (returns status of object: power output, settings, etc - particularly useful for unmanned Beacons)
HUD
** I am not suggesting the basic functions should be removed from the Core Module - but I am suggesting that by installing other modules the performance could be improved?
The HUD modules are the ones I can see a lot of players designing themselves - allowing player made HUDs to be 'built' and sold in game.
For balance: you could for example have a great HUD that shows lots of information in great detail but is very expensive and only works with certain other modules (otherwise it doesn't have the required information) and has a high power use verses a cheap module that can only track (and display) one target at a time?
My suggestion to the Devs was that you could allow a Module design interface with sliders (to prevent players simply maxing everything out)
Ideas for Beacons / Scanners
For example I could build a beacon / scanner which detects
any mass over 10 blocks at 1000 metres (performance decays beyond that)
any object with momentum greater than 200 (blocks x m/s) at 1000 metres (performance decays beyond that)
Sends a response to a coded ping (faction signal in this case)
has an alarm module
has a basic firewall module
has a basic communications module attached to the alarm module
So, an enemy faction ship (100 blocks) zooms by at 30m/s at 1000m. This triggers the mass and momentum alarms.
But the communication module is the cheapest one I could buy.
So everyone in the faction gets: "Beacon #13 ALARM!" and that's all.
Not happy, I upgrade the communications module
Now we get "Beacon #13 has dectected an unknown mass. Beacon #13 has detected a high momentum object."
Upgrading further might give: "14:15:35 UT: Beacon #13 has dectected a mass of 100 at 1000m. 14:15:35 UT: Beacon #13 has detected a momentum of 3000t.m/s at 1000m"
The enemy locate the beacon and decide to hack it to change the settings. They approach slowly in a small ship (avoiding detection). They easily avoid the firewall (because I used a cheap one) and so I get no alarm. Etc.
Anyway...that's all for now.
Fun game though.... Lots and lots of potental here.
Edit: Oh and the block orientation interface is painful at the moment. I know thats on the 'to do' list though.
Oh and I do realise the game is in ALPHA and that there are many planned features still to come - including some I will suggest... but as I say - need to get these thoughts down.
Most important point - Newtonian physics or not?
I have played I War with Newtonian physics and think it works great.... but it has to be done properly to be done well. It's great to be able to thrust in one direction... then drift and pivot on your axis and shoot... but a lot of players have trouble with it too.
This game seems to be going in the same direction except at present there is a speed limit of sorts?And it also seems that with enough thrusters even a monster of a ship can turn like a fighter?
I have read the suggestions of some kind of directional thruster requirement (calculated aroud the centre of mass?) > but maybe use mass squared times a factor? Maybe make this a server setting set by the Admin? So you could have a private server and turn this off to allow massive ships ---- or dial it right up to keep the ship size right down. And don't forget to factor in the mass of docked ships and turrets too!
(I will leave that there - for the math guys to think about)
Guns (and missiles)... bigger is better and faster?
My suggestion is to make bigger better...and slower. Should be easy enough to do?
Simply have gun recharge time = number of blocks x time factor
For example:
5 block gun recharge time = 5 x 0.1sec = 0.5 sec = 2 shots per second
100 block gun recharge time = 100 x 0.1 sec = 10 sec reload time
So, you can go with small rapid fire guns or large guns where you had better not miss!?
Shields would need looking at if this was done though?
Energy:
Maybe to prevent massive overgeneration have some kind of power overload penalty?
Perhaps causing intermittent short outs of computer modules?
Have some kind of 'compensator unit' but it should have mass (see above)
Navigation:
I am finding it to be a PITA (Pain in the...) at the moment.
I looked at the nav interface and it looks like much more is planned...
Then I thought why not give the player the ability to build Nav Beacons?
A beacon that can be detected and locked on to from a distance depending on type of beacon, power output and installed modules?
For example:
Broadcast a signal and the distace it can be detected is proportional to the generator output?
Broadcast a signal constantly (active)
Broadcast a signal in response to a 'ping' (passive)
Broadcast a signal in response to a coded ping (so it would only work if you knew the correct code). This would allow factions to drop nav beacons that only those in the faction could lock on to.
Sensor Beacons (as above) but would also detect and report certain events (for example a certain mass passing by within a certain radius?)
Lots of possibilities here.
Computer modules:Has the possibility of 'locking them' been considered? So that to access someone elses module would require some kind of "hacking" mini game?
Which leads to my final suggestion at this point:
How about different computer modules for everything?
You could even make them player designable (moddable?) maybe?
For example: A missile control system with a faster lock on... that costs more (and is harder to make)... but also doesn't like jamming?
Player choice is a slower (but more reliable) lock on... or a fast lock on that is prone to being lost or jammed?
And computer modules for everything;
Engine / thrust control
Shield Recharge
Power Generation
Targeting
Jamming
Anti Jamming
Radar
Navigation
Scanning (mass, power generation, light, momentum)
Firewall Module for anti hacking
Alarms (in response to hacking detection or scanner detections)
Diagnostics (returns status of object: power output, settings, etc - particularly useful for unmanned Beacons)
HUD
** I am not suggesting the basic functions should be removed from the Core Module - but I am suggesting that by installing other modules the performance could be improved?
The HUD modules are the ones I can see a lot of players designing themselves - allowing player made HUDs to be 'built' and sold in game.
For balance: you could for example have a great HUD that shows lots of information in great detail but is very expensive and only works with certain other modules (otherwise it doesn't have the required information) and has a high power use verses a cheap module that can only track (and display) one target at a time?
My suggestion to the Devs was that you could allow a Module design interface with sliders (to prevent players simply maxing everything out)
Ideas for Beacons / Scanners
For example I could build a beacon / scanner which detects
any mass over 10 blocks at 1000 metres (performance decays beyond that)
any object with momentum greater than 200 (blocks x m/s) at 1000 metres (performance decays beyond that)
Sends a response to a coded ping (faction signal in this case)
has an alarm module
has a basic firewall module
has a basic communications module attached to the alarm module
So, an enemy faction ship (100 blocks) zooms by at 30m/s at 1000m. This triggers the mass and momentum alarms.
But the communication module is the cheapest one I could buy.
So everyone in the faction gets: "Beacon #13 ALARM!" and that's all.
Not happy, I upgrade the communications module
Now we get "Beacon #13 has dectected an unknown mass. Beacon #13 has detected a high momentum object."
Upgrading further might give: "14:15:35 UT: Beacon #13 has dectected a mass of 100 at 1000m. 14:15:35 UT: Beacon #13 has detected a momentum of 3000t.m/s at 1000m"
The enemy locate the beacon and decide to hack it to change the settings. They approach slowly in a small ship (avoiding detection). They easily avoid the firewall (because I used a cheap one) and so I get no alarm. Etc.
Anyway...that's all for now.
Fun game though.... Lots and lots of potental here.
Edit: Oh and the block orientation interface is painful at the moment. I know thats on the 'to do' list though.