I don't do this often, but.. I guess I'll throw my 2 cents in:
To me StarMade has always been about one thing, creative choice, and I agree power is most certainly the most restrictive system in the game and really does need a revamp. There are 2 questions here and I’m going to tackle each individually as best I can. This does get a bit ramble-y, sorry.
1) Miniaturization
I agree power needs to be less restrictive and take up less space, and the current scaling doesn’t really work well, so I’m 100% on board with changing the power system. Cool that’s out of the way, now we can get to the meat of this.
2) How it’s done
I agree that power needs to be revamped, and I will agree that the new system proposed is significantly better in the miniaturization department. However, better and best possible are two different things, and while I don’t think I’ve hit on best possible, I believe there is a better solution than what has been proposed.
First off, the new system is still restrictive, and seems to me to be little different than changing out the old xyz minigame for a new one, and that can be improved upon. If the goal is simply to reduce the size of the generators, upping the power generation per block would do that. I understand the conversion to heat mechanics, and I will cover that, however, on a purely gameplay basis, changing power generation to heat doesn’t change much, it’s just a different name for essentially the same thing and you try to keep the heat bar as low as you can instead of the power bar as high as you can. For all intents and purposes, this is just a relabeling of the mechanic. Currently, the proposed idea is very much like From the Depths, and while FTD is fun, I play StarMade because it is not restrictive, FTD very much is.
I’m also not convinced that the switch is necessary. Power is understood, and changing that to heat and getting rid of power seems very arbitrary. I do like the idea of introducing heat as another variable, assuming it adds gameplay value.
Lastly before I go in depth with my own suggestion, I would say that having heat zones around said generators, again seems somewhat arbitrary and restrictive. From my experience almost all if not all moves in starmade thus far have been to increase player choice and freedom, and this seems like a potential step back as increasing the power generation per block of power regen blocks would create the same effect and not have heat zones that people have to work around.
3) The idea
So, after a long discussion on twitch with several viewers, we came up with a rather non-fleshed out idea that integrates existing mechanics and allows for both freedom and creativity, while also allowing for miniaturization, as well as integrates the heat mechanic on top of the power mechanic.
Currently the main mechanic in StarMade is linking, the good old C+V, Logic systems use it, and when weapon systems were redone it allowed for a large amount of customization and player choice while using existing mechanics that players were familiar with. I believe that a similar system for power would be advantageous. Here is how I think it might work:
First, there would be an extra block added, essentially a computer for each reactor that allows for that reactor to be controlled (a reactor dedicated to shields for instance). Each computer would be hooked up via the linking system like a weapons array for power generation.
Second, each of these computers would be able to have effect computers as slave systems, just like weapons, to both increase and augment their capabilities. IE, a power reactor with overdrive slave system might produce 3x as much power but at half the speed, and perhaps increased heat generation. Alternatively, a generator with EMP added might mean less power lost from EMP hits or perhaps less heat generated on a given reactor.
Third, Heat can be used as a balancing factor for these systems and as the trade off for given advantages. When crew is introduced, we will already need living space and access to these areas, so having an engineering bay with power terminals makes sense.
Fourth, Heat zones in and of themselves aren’t terrible, and while I don’t have a direct problem with them, I also don’t see the point. I can understand the usefulness of having heat as a tertiary stat to balance if it is used to balance more creative freedom with the system like the master/slave system stated above, but on it’s own heat zones just seem a nuisance with no real gameplay value. As It stands, there would already need to be a coolant tank etc, so adding heat zones seems a little over the top, instead having the area immediately around a generator/reactor be optimal space for said coolant tanks makes more sense, again, this means that there are less restrictions for players and more choice, while still giving an “optimal” set of options to guide players in a particular direction.
TLDR: Power needs to be miniaturized, but it should be done in a way that maximizes choice, not restricts it. The proposed system restricts choice and adds entirely new mechanics, while a master/slave system like we use for weapons would use existing mechanics that players already understand and would maximize options/choice.
