Options for Increasing your RC points

[-=DWM=-]

When I look at the reactor options, I always wished that I had more RC points, realizing that this also gives a lot of opportunities to make Starmade a lot more interesting, because this give the game also an RPG option.

It would be interesting to spread some blocks around that can increase the RC points from 20 to 50 percent. You can hide one in a planet, or station, which can encourage the players to explore the galaxy. You can maybe earn it by winning a lot of battles, or you can create one, but it will be very difficult or expensive.

Maybe the RC points can be faction based, that also encourage players to join a faction.

From what I see, there's a lot of potential with these RC points. But whatever, it's just an suggestion.

 

[JNC]

RC points... Reactor Capacity?? But that goes to 100%

I do like the idea of having a few powerful artifacts hidden throughout the galaxy.

 

[MacThule]

When I look at the reactor options, I always wished that I had more RC points, realizing that this also gives a lot of opportunities to make Starmade a lot more interesting, because this give the game also an RPG option.

It would be interesting to spread some blocks around that can increase the RC points from 20 to 50 percent. You can hide one in a planet, or station, which can encourage the players to explore the galaxy. You can maybe earn it by winning a lot of battles, or you can create one, but it will be very difficult or expensive.

Maybe the RC points can be faction based, that also encourage players to join a faction.

From what I see, there's a lot of potential with these RC points. But whatever, it's just an suggestion.

I think this is a cool suggestion. Very much like a RPG buff to increase skill capacity. If it was only for Single Player this would be a fantastic addition. Good idea. Creative.

It would be bad for an multiplayer server that allows PvP though. +1 more to reasons we should have two different versions - one for SP, one for MP.

 

[CockADoodleDoo]

I always thought larger reactors = more RC... although in a perfect world it would level off after a point.

 

[-=DWM=-]

JNC
Yeah, I do love artefacts. Too bad, it's very rare in Starmade.

MacThule
I don't see a problem with PvP. Don't forget the RPG online games. If they don't have a problem with it, will it be any different with Starmade? But the most obvious problem would be the cloaking system.

 

[Nosajimiki]

This will be doable once custom chambers are working correctly. Basically you would just need to be able to create premium versions of chambers. One possible attribute of this would be chambers that consume fewer RP. For example, I could forsee a server like LvD using the bar system as a way to purchase such premium chambers or giving them as quest/event rewards. Or you could make them punishingly expensive to manufacture such that putting them on full sized warships would be so expensive that you'd rarely see it happen.

These would work just fine in a PvP universe. Even if someone used them to make a perma cloaker, there are still perma recon ships that could see them, it would just be a matter of knowing your enemy.

I don't think this needs to be an out-of-the-box feature of starmade, but it will certainly be cool

 

[EricBlank]

I have to agree with the above, this would be a great feature and they can be balanced by being true artifacts, something nearly impossible to create on yoir own in large quantities.
maybe even out of the box, but only after finding a permanent game balance, so not an alpha feature.

 

[MacThule]

JNC
Yeah, I do love artefacts. Too bad, it's very rare in Starmade.

MacThule
I don't see a problem with PvP. Don't forget the RPG online games. If they don't have a problem with it, will it be any different with Starmade?

Yeah, it would be very different.

Starmade isn't a Roleplaying game. How could it be the same unless you turn it into a roleplaying game first, with the ability to PvP as a sort of "secondary consideration."

This is a sandbox game with PvP as a fundamental element. People are able to play space-dolls ("RP") with the game elements if they want to, but really only because it's a sandbox and nothing is stopping them. There's no real support for RPGs though. There's no questing engine (although at least one server has built their own), no good options for NPC characters, and so many other complex elements missing for defining areas and event conditions that would be needed for building engaging roleplaying scenarios.

The real problem for PvP on public multiplayer servers is that what you are suggesting would cause a major imbalance between players with outrageous amounts of time and those without. Currently that imbalance is fairly minor. Introducing quest-based power-ups would seriously gentrify the balance of power.

Quests take time to do. If I don't want to quest, and you do, you gain a default advantage.

Now I'm forced to grind quests even if I hate them... or leave MP because I can't compete.

Yay?

It puts far more power in the hands of people who have time to quest more, instead of those with more engineering and piloting skill the way the current system does. This would be very bad for PvP servers. Each server would basically end up ruled by a tiny elite of players who had 6+ hours a day to play, and no matter how skilled you got, you could never compete if you only got on once or twice a week.

That's not fun for the majority of human beings who have jobs and families and houses to take care of - it's only fun for minors and other dependents and the very privileged. Plutocratic elitism has no place in a game ruled by technocracy - there are already (as you say) lots of games out there that pander to the wealthy and exclude those with obligations.

It's a seriously great idea for SP. Terrible, terrible idea for multiplayer.

 

[Nosajimiki]

Yeah, it would be very different.

Starmade isn't a Roleplaying game. How could it be the same unless you turn it into a roleplaying game first, with the ability to PvP as a sort of "secondary consideration."

This is a sandbox game with PvP as a fundamental element. People are able to play space-dolls ("RP") with the game elements if they want to, but really only because it's a sandbox and nothing is stopping them. There's no real support for RPGs though. There's no questing engine (although at least one server has built their own), no good options for NPC characters, and so many other complex elements missing for defining areas and event conditions that would be needed for building engaging roleplaying scenarios.

The real problem for PvP on public multiplayer servers is that what you are suggesting would cause a major imbalance between players with outrageous amounts of time and those without. Currently that imbalance is fairly minor. Introducing quest-based power-ups would seriously gentrify the balance of power.

Quests take time to do. If I don't want to quest, and you do, you gain a default advantage.

Now I'm forced to grind quests even if I hate them... or leave MP because I can't compete.

Yay?

It puts far more power in the hands of people who have time to quest more, instead of those with more engineering and piloting skill the way the current system does. This would be very bad for PvP servers. Each server would basically end up ruled by a tiny elite of players who had 6+ hours a day to play, and no matter how skilled you got, you could never compete if you only got on once or twice a week.

That's not fun for the majority of human beings who have jobs and families and houses to take care of - it's only fun for minors and other dependents and the very privileged. Plutocratic elitism has no place in a game ruled by technocracy - there are already (as you say) lots of games out there that pander to the wealthy and exclude those with obligations.

It's a seriously great idea for SP. Terrible, terrible idea for multiplayer.

This is part of why I think it should be customizable, but not vanilla. To many players, a server that offers this would create a lot more reason to get involved in the politics and economics of the server which would lead to much more PvP. Servers with their own Quest system like LvD will benefit from it a lot, but more generic places like Brieire may be better off without.

Also, you seem to be over-approximating the value of a few extra RP. A good player can kill an inexperienced player several times his size (the weapons update has not changed this one bit). Some premium chambers may be enough to shift the balance between two similar forces, but the better pilot with the better design will still win more often than not.

This also creates a compromise that has been heavily argued about which is the size meta. The argument has existed for a while now that big ships are always better than small ships and that you can't change that balance because big ships are also more expensive. however, by creating scarce custom chambers, most people can only afford to outfit smaller ships with this more advanced tech; so, smaller ships could achieve greater versatility than bigger ships without being cheaper. This gives small ship builders more incentive to participate in PvP.

 

[Algoroth]

I give this a A+++++ in my opinion i like the new chamber system but i find it very restrictive to how much you can use and i find that to be disappointing and somewhat a damper on the experience like a infi clock on a warship would be awesome

~Rocket

 

[MacThule]

Also, you seem to be over-approximating the value of a few extra RP. A good player can kill an inexperienced player several times his size (the weapons update has not changed this one bit). Some premium chambers may be enough to shift the balance between two similar forces, but the better pilot with the better design will still win more often than not.

You make an excellent point. I was substantially overvaluing the effect it would cause if the increase isn't massive.

 

[-=DWM=-]

MacThule
Seems RPG isn't for everyone and I agree that's something for LvD. Btw, the problem that some players have more time then others will be always an issue. You can call mining also a form of grinding, until they improve the AI and players can command them properly like the AI factions do.

Nosajimiki
I agree also with the fact that the most experienced player has a better chance with a good designed ship, even with the size difference.
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You can call the RC option that I suggested, a lazy upgrade. I know for a fact that you can easily switch things, if you turn the base of the tree on and off. It's probably even possible while battling. If I'm correct, it will be in the future even possible with logic switches in the hud.

What I suggested with this idea, that it would motivate the players to explore the galaxy, or motivate the players to join a faction, if it is faction based. The idea that you need to enter a station or even a pirate station after scanning, to find such an RC upgrade block sounds like fun. Or if you're lucky, when you're digging in a planet and you find such treasure. It doesn't need to be a quest of course.

It's an RC option that experienced players don't really need, but it would be a nice addition.

 

[MacThule]

You can call mining also a form of grinding

And do. Which is why my play time has dropped drastically since fleet mining went back to being broke. It was super nice being able to tell the drones to mine, park ship and do creative work on it for 10 minutes while they mine two sectors. It turned mining in MP into into build and chat time instead of RMB-humping time. Still - having one grind doesn't mean having two kinds of grind wouldn't be worse.

I love RPGs, but dressing a ship as a star destroyer isn't RP, IMO. I ran tabletop games for almost two decades, so my definition of RP seems to be substantially different than most of the people talking about RP in Starmade. In my experience.

 

[Nosajimiki]

And do. Which is why my play time has dropped drastically since fleet mining went back to being broke. It was super nice being able to tell the drones to mine, park ship and do creative work on it for 10 minutes while they mine two sectors. It turned mining in MP into into build and chat time instead of RMB-humping time. Still - having one grind doesn't mean having two kinds of grind wouldn't be worse.

I love RPGs, but dressing a ship as a star destroyer isn't RP, IMO. I ran tabletop games for almost two decades, so my definition of RP seems to be substantially different than most of the people talking about RP in Starmade. In my experience.

I totally agree that StarMade RP is not the same as RP as a general term. That said, when you refer back to general development goals, "exploration" is an end goal of the game. While I agree there needs to be more ways to get passive income, there are also supposed to be factors to get players outside of their safe little ship building bubbles, and something that sends people exploring derelicts, fighting over capture points, etc to do this.

Premium blocks are a good way for exploration and passive income to resolve as part of the same system.