How to solve all of Star Made's problems

[Snk]

*In the arms of the angels starts playing*
Every day, millions of newbies are dying. They are being shot, killed, looted, robbed, and thrown into stars. This is why you must donate to this thread today. Please. Save the endangered newbie with a dedicated survival mode.

This survival mode would separate those who just want to build ships and have an easy time from those who want actual, meaningful gameplay. It would be much more difficult, but worth it. It would save the hyper intelligent gray cat with a steady supply of newblets. It would appease the forum warriors who have nothing else to complain about. And most of all, it would be fun as hell.
*In the arms of the angels abruptly stops playing, actual thread begins*

This has been suggested a while ago, but here's my take on things:
Please keep in mind that this will be in a drop down menu thing, the config should not be taken into account here. The whole point of this discussion will be to find the best way to implement a survival mode.
The whole point of survival mode:
To create meaningful, challenging gameplay that is quite difficult but rewarding. Here are some things it needs:
1. Food and oxygen.
This is important. It makes a need for an aeroponics bay where you can grow food, or planetside bases where you can have farms. It isn't micromanaging. It provides an incentive for doing something. Like shooting someone for food. Oxygen, as it is another way to die.
2. Fuel:
http://starmadedock.net/threads/a-m...cing-and-various-play-styles.5130/#post-77372
3. Make a need for planetside bases:
http://starmadedock.net/threads/a-m...n-interactions-and-resource-acquisition.4613/
4. Better player-ship interaction.
Basically, crewability.
http://starmadedock.net/threads/save-player-relative-to-ship-upon-logout.1804/
http://starmadedock.net/threads/a-manifesto-on-crewability.4329/
This is a really broad subject. You wouldn't be able to enter a core at all in this game mode, instead you'd need a helm block to fly it or whatever. It doesn't really matter how the ship control is implemented, as long as you need to sit down in a place with good visibility and fly the ship. Cameras would have two blocks: Monitors and cameras. You would like a camera to a monitor and it should show what it sees.
Please read the thread on crewability for a better idea on what it is.
5. Create a supply/demand relationship:
Put 1-2 systems called interstellar systems between star systems. These would have nothing in them. However, implement this: http://starmadedock.net/threads/change-ftl-mechanics.3983/ Coupled with crewability, it would make long voyages interesting and peaceful.
Make it so every system has at least one ore that spawns more than all others. Some systems would have 1-2 ores that are plentiful, and some would have 3. The starting system would have all ores evenly spawn. Of course, all systems would still have each ore so a new player could get his shit together but it would provide a surplus of one ore to whoever settles there. With the interstellar space, you would need traders who are willing to traverse those vast distances. When you claim one system it would claim all the interstellar space around it.
6. Moar boarding combat/hacking.
Pretty self explanatory. I think this is already on the way so I won't bother you with it.
7. For SP, randomly generated factions that kill each other. Each faction has unique ships that are put in by the community. What ships you encounter depend on what part of space you are in.
8. Navigational anomalies
9. Shipyards
10. Limit plex storage's, make a docking cargo system where 1 block = 100 in the cargo area.

You'd still have the default game mode and creative mode. So yeah. What do you guys think?

 

[Star Commander Shepard]

I think this is an alright idea. It would really help with immersion, but it would only make this more of a minecraft clone.

The Newbs would die either way, since food is a valuable resource. However, it would decrease the need for war. If everyone is just "surviving" nobody will have time for battle as soon as everyone on the server has an aeroponics system or farm, other than the occasional pirate raid and the sadistic hinny griefers that run around, killing people for pleasure.

 

[Snk]

I think this is an alright idea. It would really help with immersion, but it would only make this more of a minecraft clone.

The Newbs would die either way, since food is a valuable resource. However, it would decrease the need for war. If everyone is just "surviving" nobody will have time for battle as soon as everyone on the server has an aeroponics system or farm, other than the occasional pirate raid and the sadistic hinny griefers that run around, killing people for pleasure.

First off, how the hell is it any of a Minecraft clone in the first place? And what is not a Minecraft clone? A world where everyone has 2 billion credits and is a god? What made Minecraft fail was a shitty survival mode that was easy.

As for combat, I'm really not sure you have ever played the game. What makes no combat is a linear gameplay experience. Food makes it so you need to shoot people for food.

 

[Star Commander Shepard]

First off, how the hell is it any of a Minecraft clone in the first place? And what is not a Minecraft clone? A world where everyone has 2 billion credits and is a god? What made Minecraft fail was a shitty survival mode that was easy.

As for combat, I'm really not sure you have ever played the game. What makes no combat is a linear gameplay experience. Food makes it so you need to shoot people for food.

I admit, I usually only play singleplayer, and when I do play online, its with close friends and not random people. I'm only speaking in theory. I also do not mean to aggravate you, I was simply speaking my mind, which is technically what you're seeking with this forum article. Otherwise, this shouldn't've been posted.

However, I've had experience with Minecraft, and seeing as the two are at least somewhat similar (voxel-type creation games) Bandits will always look to kill people, whether for kicks or laziness or ignorance of the survival aspect of the game. However, with a massive galaxy with huge systems and easy-to-access (and respawnable, I think) asteroids, the "every system has at least one ore that spawns more than all others" would mean that a faction would only need about twenty, max thirty systems before they become entirely self-sufficient and without need for killing away other factions except in self-defense, but even that would be minimal, since there are so many stars to a galaxy. The only reason to claim more systems is through pure greed.

A way to fix this would be to have one system that gave more ore per block mined than another, or similar bonuses to food, trade, lower pirate activity, and even manufacturing, or, hell, maybe even randomized ancient technologies or factories that allow you to create a unique, utilizable subsystem on your ships, such as a hull type that blocks 75% of damage, or reactor cores that are 100% more efficient than the standard ones. You could even just make a galaxy favor only certain ores, promoting both intergalactic trade, exploration, and war.

Again, just speaking my mind. If you're offended, you have a right to be, but please, lets make this a rational conversation.

 

[Snk]

I suppose I did overreact a little bit, I apologize for that.

"A way to fix this would be to have one system that gave more ore per block mined than another, or similar bonuses to food, trade, lower pirate activity, and even manufacturing, or, hell, maybe even randomized ancient technologies or factories that allow you to create a unique, utilizable subsystem on your ships, such as a hull type that blocks 75% of damage, or reactor cores that are 100% more efficient than the standard ones. You could even just make a galaxy favor only certain ores, promoting both intergalactic trade, exploration, and war."

Good idea. +1 to that.

 

[Valiant70]

We need something along these lines, and stuff's been suggested before. Good call on linking so many other threads to this one - I think that will prove useful. Some of the stuff you suggested, like interstellar space, different levels of ores in systems, and even crewability seem more like general game enhancements than survival aspects.

1. Food and oxygen.
This is important. It makes a need for an aeroponics bay where you can grow food, or planetside bases where you can have farms. It isn't micromanaging. It provides an incentive for doing something. Like shooting someone for food. Oxygen, as it is another way to die.

2. Fuel:
http://starmadedock.net/threads/a-m...cing-and-various-play-styles.5130/#post-77372

10. Limit plex storage's, make a docking cargo system where 1 block = 100 in the cargo area.

These, along with a nerf to build mode, are the essence of what starmade's survival game mode could be. The rest are complimentary and to a great extent necessary for decent survival gameplay, but they also go with the sandbox game mode fairly well.

 

[Snk]

I've noticed people want a creative mode and an actual survival mode. This basically compiles all the things people have been wanting into a seperate mode.

 

[Crimson-Artist]

7. For SP, randomly generated factions that kill each other. Each faction has unique ships that are put in by the community. What ships you encounter depend on what part of space you are in.

what would be better is that we do something similar to Spore and have players games auto-populate factions with ships and stations by using the website uplink.

We could have an official faction registry on this website so that players can create factions and assign ship and station blueprints to specific roles in that faction. so when players use the uplink our games will get info about the registered factions and populate the universe with said factions under their predefined settings.

for instance I could register Crimson Corp as a faction on the website and link all of my ships to it. when a player uplinks their universe will get info on Crimson Corp and my faction will appear in their universe using the ships/stations that i have assigned them to use.

 

[The_Onion]

what would be better is that we do something similar to Spore and have players games auto-populate factions with ships and stations by using the website uplink.

We could have an official faction registry on this website so that players can create factions and assign ship and station blueprints to specific roles in that faction. so when players use the uplink our games will get info about the registered factions and populate the universe with said factions under their predefined settings.

for instance I could register Crimson Corp as a faction on the website and link all of my ships to it. when a player uplinks their universe will get info on Crimson Corp and my faction will appear in their universe using the ships/stations that i have assigned them to use.

Would be cool until trolls started uploading factions. There would need to be a feedback system prior to a faction being made available to automatic upload to filter out the riff-raff.

 

[godmars]

Would be cool until trolls started uploading factions. There would need to be a feedback system prior to a faction being made available to automatic upload to filter out the riff-raff.

I'm almost 100% positive there is already a system in place for moderating uploaded content, so we'd be fine on that bit. As long as have more interactions with any generated NPC faction besides shoot them, it'd be pretty ace

 

[Snk]

Would be cool until trolls started uploading factions. There would need to be a feedback system prior to a faction being made available to automatic upload to filter out the riff-raff.

Yeah, no one can just upload a faction to a server unless they're an admin.

 

[Clockwork Alpha]

First off, how the hell is it any of a Minecraft clone in the first place? And what is not a Minecraft clone? A world where everyone has 2 billion credits and is a god? What made Minecraft fail was a shitty survival mode that was easy.

As for combat, I'm really not sure you have ever played the game. What makes no combat is a linear gameplay experience. Food makes it so you need to shoot people for food.

What made Minecraft fail was a horrid community and a lack of good content that you pretty much need to be a programmer to figure out.

 

[jorgekorke]

Newcomers are losing interest on the game. I can say that because I've recruited and teached a good ammount of people of how to play the game. The slowness of getting a good ship is what's buggin' them, I supppose.

 

[Snk]

Right, they need to kill things to survive. Maybe a starter Isanth or something would fix that problem, and teaching them how to use a radar jammer.

 

[Lecic]

what would be better is that we do something similar to Spore and have players games auto-populate factions with ships and stations by using the website uplink.

We could have an official faction registry on this website so that players can create factions and assign ship and station blueprints to specific roles in that faction. so when players use the uplink our games will get info about the registered factions and populate the universe with said factions under their predefined settings.

for instance I could register Crimson Corp as a faction on the website and link all of my ships to it. when a player uplinks their universe will get info on Crimson Corp and my faction will appear in their universe using the ships/stations that i have assigned them to use.

There would definitely need to be moderation of that to make sure people don't, say, steal ships or make factions that are just system bricks. Perhaps you could set a faction difficulty level ("This faction is a level 5 out of 5. The smallest ship in it's fleet is 600m long and armed to the teeth" and "This faction is level 2. Some fighters and corvettes, mainly") so people know exactly what kind of AI faction they're getting.

Right, they need to kill things to survive. Maybe a starter Isanth or something would fix that problem, and teaching them how to use a radar jammer.

Starter Isanth would be great, starter miner would be better. Maybe a choice, so players can pick between a combat ship, mining ship, or explorer (jump, overdrive, and antenna pre-installed)

 

[questorhank]

Good idea!

Just one thing i think would be awesome in a survival game mode

http://oldsite.star-made.org/conten...r-weapons-boarding-robots-and-medicine?page=8

And yes to a starter ship.

 

[Stucuk]

As it currently stands i don't think food/fuel would be a good addition since you already have the problem of getting/buying the blocks required to make ships(Well decent sized ships). Food/Fuel would just add another drain on money and make new people die alot more.

In re-guards to supply/demand imo it would be good if you had a Freelancer like system where you can see the best price for goods for stations (or shops in StarMade's case) once you have visited them. That would allow people to play the game as traders as they could go about buying and selling goods. Since you would have to visit shops before you can see there price it would encourage exploration. It would also be good for ships to be able to have an overall inventory that you could access while flying the ship(In addition to accessing the separate storage inventories), which would make trading easier.

 

[CaptainTaz]

what would be better is that we do something similar to Spore and have players games auto-populate factions with ships and stations by using the website uplink.

We could have an official faction registry on this website so that players can create factions and assign ship and station blueprints to specific roles in that faction. so when players use the uplink our games will get info about the registered factions and populate the universe with said factions under their predefined settings.

for instance I could register Crimson Corp as a faction on the website and link all of my ships to it. when a player uplinks their universe will get info on Crimson Corp and my faction will appear in their universe using the ships/stations that i have assigned them to use.

THIS. THIS IS WHAT I NEED.

Of course, the game would need to first fix larger ship spawning/bumping lag, but I'm all for this idea.

 

[ltmauve]

I could see, as part of set-up for a single-player game, an option to go online and download faction packs, that not only include ships but also stations and behavioral parameters, to use.