- Joined
- Aug 26, 2013
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
I posted this on reddit, however I know that some people use the forums and not reddit - and vica-versa. This is so people can join the discussion.
This was sparked by a short discussion that was had on the Star-Made.org live chat over tactical options as the game grows. What it made me realise is something a little unsettling:
Planets right now are not relevant.
Now, before I explain my points, I must make clear that I am aware the game is alpha and that things will change as time moves on. We don't know what the plans are, so this is very much a "currently" thread.
I must point out that this thread is also not for people who play StarMade to make massive ships/build in a sandbox way. This is more for players who want to go the "hardcore" route.
The Idea
The idea is that as the community on a server or within the game grows, factions would set up and start fighting among each other for resources and territory. The basic premise is that planets could become a major tactical asset during said factional scuffles and that control of planets could be as essential as control over space stations.
The Problem
The problem is that, currently, planets are little more than large asteroids as far as using them goes.
While the materials within a planet are valuable - especially ice planets - the ease of getting to those materials leaves something to be desired. Even if you ignore the build block "exploit", it is a matter of fact that people can - and do - build ships that can strip a planet down entirely within a matter of minutes. On top of this, "valuable" planets (such as Ice) are far too common.
It's very hard to imagine planets as anything more than large resource dumps when you go onto a busy server and find the majority of the planets have become little more than an atmosphere with no core.
With this in mind there is no reason to ever actually land on a planet. A friend of mine played for a solid week before he even realised there was a day/night cycle.
A Proposed Solution
If the end goal is to make planets relevant to the game - past being large collections of easy-to-access material - I would argue that the best solution would be to remove said ease of access.
Imagine that the default salvage cannon did not work on planetary material (lets just ignore the build block for now). Instead you had to buy/craft gear that you had to set up on the surface to mine with - similar to, say, the mining system from Tekkit (as an example).
Instantly, you have a cause for multiple game play elements.
Firstly you would have to find a planet to mine, then actually setup the mechanics to do so. Say the mine can only be used if a faction block is placed on the planet, you instantly have cause to build a small base on a planet to protect that block and to handle the ore you mine.
I'm not saying make mining equipment overly expensive, but make it expensive enough where taking a planet from someone else is a viable option over setting up your own setup. Hell, make it craftable-only (using materials you can find in asteroids).
So you have a tactical reason for a planet to be there. People could setup to mine it, while people from rival factions could possibly want to take the mine - either to slow up production or income, to bolster their own, or both. Factions could make key (rare) planets their base of operations while they are mining it.
Mining out a planet completely (seriously these things have tens to hundreds of thousands of blocks) would take a very long time, so planets wouldn't simply disappear when McDougal the Planet Stripper shows up for ten minutes. This gives them more of a feeling of permanence, something I feel is severely lacking.
As an aside, certain planetary types need to be rarified to make them worth hunting out and fighting over.
Currently the highest value (regular) planet is an ice planet. Unfortunately they are very common and that eliminates any real drive to find them. I've never found a solar system without at least one ice planet, and most have two or more.
If the most valuable planets spawn regularly anyway, nobody will bother to fight for them - they'd rather find one that isn't already claimed. Make the valuable planet types rare, and factions will have something to fight over.
This is Just an Idea.
One that should be discussed at length by the community if you feel it merited.
What do you think? Do you agree with me that planets need more permanence and to be harder to mine? Do you think that valuable planets should be rarer to give a cause for factional conflict? Do you disagree? Tell me your thoughts, pass on your ideas!
This was sparked by a short discussion that was had on the Star-Made.org live chat over tactical options as the game grows. What it made me realise is something a little unsettling:
Planets right now are not relevant.
Now, before I explain my points, I must make clear that I am aware the game is alpha and that things will change as time moves on. We don't know what the plans are, so this is very much a "currently" thread.
I must point out that this thread is also not for people who play StarMade to make massive ships/build in a sandbox way. This is more for players who want to go the "hardcore" route.
The Idea
The idea is that as the community on a server or within the game grows, factions would set up and start fighting among each other for resources and territory. The basic premise is that planets could become a major tactical asset during said factional scuffles and that control of planets could be as essential as control over space stations.
The Problem
The problem is that, currently, planets are little more than large asteroids as far as using them goes.
While the materials within a planet are valuable - especially ice planets - the ease of getting to those materials leaves something to be desired. Even if you ignore the build block "exploit", it is a matter of fact that people can - and do - build ships that can strip a planet down entirely within a matter of minutes. On top of this, "valuable" planets (such as Ice) are far too common.
It's very hard to imagine planets as anything more than large resource dumps when you go onto a busy server and find the majority of the planets have become little more than an atmosphere with no core.
With this in mind there is no reason to ever actually land on a planet. A friend of mine played for a solid week before he even realised there was a day/night cycle.
A Proposed Solution
If the end goal is to make planets relevant to the game - past being large collections of easy-to-access material - I would argue that the best solution would be to remove said ease of access.
Imagine that the default salvage cannon did not work on planetary material (lets just ignore the build block for now). Instead you had to buy/craft gear that you had to set up on the surface to mine with - similar to, say, the mining system from Tekkit (as an example).
Instantly, you have a cause for multiple game play elements.
Firstly you would have to find a planet to mine, then actually setup the mechanics to do so. Say the mine can only be used if a faction block is placed on the planet, you instantly have cause to build a small base on a planet to protect that block and to handle the ore you mine.
I'm not saying make mining equipment overly expensive, but make it expensive enough where taking a planet from someone else is a viable option over setting up your own setup. Hell, make it craftable-only (using materials you can find in asteroids).
So you have a tactical reason for a planet to be there. People could setup to mine it, while people from rival factions could possibly want to take the mine - either to slow up production or income, to bolster their own, or both. Factions could make key (rare) planets their base of operations while they are mining it.
Mining out a planet completely (seriously these things have tens to hundreds of thousands of blocks) would take a very long time, so planets wouldn't simply disappear when McDougal the Planet Stripper shows up for ten minutes. This gives them more of a feeling of permanence, something I feel is severely lacking.
As an aside, certain planetary types need to be rarified to make them worth hunting out and fighting over.
Currently the highest value (regular) planet is an ice planet. Unfortunately they are very common and that eliminates any real drive to find them. I've never found a solar system without at least one ice planet, and most have two or more.
If the most valuable planets spawn regularly anyway, nobody will bother to fight for them - they'd rather find one that isn't already claimed. Make the valuable planet types rare, and factions will have something to fight over.
This is Just an Idea.
One that should be discussed at length by the community if you feel it merited.
What do you think? Do you agree with me that planets need more permanence and to be harder to mine? Do you think that valuable planets should be rarer to give a cause for factional conflict? Do you disagree? Tell me your thoughts, pass on your ideas!
