Now, I know I'll be shot down for this (because Buddy Squad, that's why), but Gigantism isn't a problem. In fact, successfully detailing and building a detailed and efficient large vessel is a difficult challenge that takes more time and effort than any other singular act in Starmade. It should be celebrated when someone comes out with another amazingly built ship of massive proportions - it's what sets Starmade apart from Space Engineers and other wannabe voxel-in-space survival games. We have these massive spaceships. Space Engineers has these tiny fighters and frigates that wouldn't break a thousand mass in Starmade.
Truly massive ships require millions of blocks to build. Space Engineers doesn't have a system in place to build that many blocks in a decent amount of time - neither does Interstellar Rift. In this, Starmade stands alone. We'll attract tons of players to the game through that fact alone. It'll be amazing!
Now, what are the arguments commonly thrown out against Gigantism?
They're fairly simplistic, actually. I'll list the more common ones so we don't have to deal with those in this thread. I want to get to the heart of the problem. That problem is as follows: the people who don't like big, oversized vessels are all people who (in general) don't build big combat ships in the first place. They build compact vessels. In other words, they don't like the idea because it isn't theirs. They are promoting their agenda instead of supporting what's best for the game. Now, that's a bit of a leap for most of you - but I've been dealing with these guys for almost two years now. Trust me on this one.
Anyway, here's the common arguments:
1) Building a bigger ship to beat out your opponent with a *normal* ship is lazy and you should just build a *better* ship of the same size to kill him.
Look, I hear this one a LOT. And there's a simple counter argument - if both ship's builders are NOT incompetent, their ships will always be around the same level of performance. Yes, you can always make it more efficient, but efficiency only really matters when fighting larger or smaller ships. Ships of similar size? It's usually up to skill and how well you know the enemy's weaknesses. Sorry. This is not the place to *git gud.* And unless something blatantly points to it, assume the builder ISN'T incompetent.
2) Everyone just flies around in these massive space vessels they built in SinglePlayer on my MP Server! ITS SO BORING. Why can't people use smaller ships?
First off, SuperJumper technology can't work past a certain mass (around 50000 last time I checked), so those will always be small. Second, WHY THE HELL is that boring? Those massive vessels took FOREVER to build. I know people who have spent months on their Titans. MONTHS. Their work should be celebrated and enjoyed, not ridiculed because *it causes too much lag.* There are exceptions, of course - some people try to break Starmade on purpose. But the majority are almost works of art in their own right. Doubt me? Go check out some of Skylord's replica UNSC ships. Awesome, right?
3) Big ships always win in PvP. It's not fair.
Remember what I said earlier about efficiency? This is what I was talking about. Drones win every time. They are more efficient than larger vessels and thus can utterly demolish ships three and four times their combined mass. The only reason we don't see constant *Drone warfare* is because we don't have the proper tools to repair and rearm drone carriers in a timely manner. There is also no way to recall drones to their previous docks. Thus, one player per ship, and people bring more mass for better survivability. Until we get a gameplay feature update in this area, there is no reason to change anything.
4) Turrets Wreck EVERYTHING. A big shielded ship with lots of turrets can lay waste to entire fleets on its own.
Again, Drones win every time. That said, turrets have their own issues and they have nothing to do with the size of the ship. I'm actually planning a ship based around the idea that the turret system is broken, but that's a different problem.
Now that we are all on the same page, what do you guys think? I know the Buddy Squad will be coming out with their usual *we don't like it so you shouldn't either* BS, but I want to hear from the players, not the admins. The players make this game what it is.
Truly massive ships require millions of blocks to build. Space Engineers doesn't have a system in place to build that many blocks in a decent amount of time - neither does Interstellar Rift. In this, Starmade stands alone. We'll attract tons of players to the game through that fact alone. It'll be amazing!
Now, what are the arguments commonly thrown out against Gigantism?
They're fairly simplistic, actually. I'll list the more common ones so we don't have to deal with those in this thread. I want to get to the heart of the problem. That problem is as follows: the people who don't like big, oversized vessels are all people who (in general) don't build big combat ships in the first place. They build compact vessels. In other words, they don't like the idea because it isn't theirs. They are promoting their agenda instead of supporting what's best for the game. Now, that's a bit of a leap for most of you - but I've been dealing with these guys for almost two years now. Trust me on this one.
Anyway, here's the common arguments:
1) Building a bigger ship to beat out your opponent with a *normal* ship is lazy and you should just build a *better* ship of the same size to kill him.
Look, I hear this one a LOT. And there's a simple counter argument - if both ship's builders are NOT incompetent, their ships will always be around the same level of performance. Yes, you can always make it more efficient, but efficiency only really matters when fighting larger or smaller ships. Ships of similar size? It's usually up to skill and how well you know the enemy's weaknesses. Sorry. This is not the place to *git gud.* And unless something blatantly points to it, assume the builder ISN'T incompetent.
2) Everyone just flies around in these massive space vessels they built in SinglePlayer on my MP Server! ITS SO BORING. Why can't people use smaller ships?
First off, SuperJumper technology can't work past a certain mass (around 50000 last time I checked), so those will always be small. Second, WHY THE HELL is that boring? Those massive vessels took FOREVER to build. I know people who have spent months on their Titans. MONTHS. Their work should be celebrated and enjoyed, not ridiculed because *it causes too much lag.* There are exceptions, of course - some people try to break Starmade on purpose. But the majority are almost works of art in their own right. Doubt me? Go check out some of Skylord's replica UNSC ships. Awesome, right?
3) Big ships always win in PvP. It's not fair.
Remember what I said earlier about efficiency? This is what I was talking about. Drones win every time. They are more efficient than larger vessels and thus can utterly demolish ships three and four times their combined mass. The only reason we don't see constant *Drone warfare* is because we don't have the proper tools to repair and rearm drone carriers in a timely manner. There is also no way to recall drones to their previous docks. Thus, one player per ship, and people bring more mass for better survivability. Until we get a gameplay feature update in this area, there is no reason to change anything.
4) Turrets Wreck EVERYTHING. A big shielded ship with lots of turrets can lay waste to entire fleets on its own.
Again, Drones win every time. That said, turrets have their own issues and they have nothing to do with the size of the ship. I'm actually planning a ship based around the idea that the turret system is broken, but that's a different problem.
Now that we are all on the same page, what do you guys think? I know the Buddy Squad will be coming out with their usual *we don't like it so you shouldn't either* BS, but I want to hear from the players, not the admins. The players make this game what it is.