Instead of the stock ship & preassigned crew, could we get an option to select crew and/or ship options at the beginning of the game? Maybe a budget to use to hire crew or add weapons to the ship.
Dev 9 is a big improvement - keep it up!
Hi,
Having ship customization at the start is something I've been playing with. My main worry is that if there's too much stuff to do before the game actually starts, that will get tedious to do each time. I also worry that newcomers may be overwhelmed.
One thing that will definitely go into dev 10 is that you start out with some space gold - so when you find someplace to buy things / hire people, you can actually buy/hire them without having to hunt for gold first.
Out of curiosity, do you feel that the initial crew overview screen is actually helpful? Or is it information overload?
- David
I don't typically look too close at the start of the game, since I can't make any changes. I try to select based on perceived suitability when forming task teams - the inclusion (or exclusion) of an archaeologist in the crew seems to have the greatest effect on my mission success.
To avoid information overload at the beginning of the game, you might want to limit the options - better weapon vs better engine vs more fuel (pick one)
You could also assign the ship's officers (navigator, gunner, etc.), but allow the user to select the specialists.
That would still allow the user to optimize for their style of play.
I second this proposal,
some limited customization at the start would be welcome.
e.g. sometimes I would like to do some fighting, but can't find a way to get an additional gun before I run low on fuel.
The possibility to select one from the start would help here.
offer some packs to pick one:
Combat - extra laser turret (or replacement for )
Trader - extra gold
Explorer - extra fuel
Scientist - some equipment usefull in scientific encounters
Diplomate - some equipment usefull in diplomatic encounters
And you could give a small selection of potential members to hire,
so you would still mostly have to work with what you get but have some influence.
I do look at the initial crew list, but mostly to se if any specialization is missing and how good the combat related skills are.
Oh, and I would like an optional random name generator for captain and ship :)
I would suggest that if you do go with the "ship packs" option, the sector generation should probabilities be tweaked in the same direction as the ship pack. For instance, if you decide to go for a combat loadout, generate more things to fight and more weapons to find; if you go for a trader loadout, generate more money-making opportunities (and maybe an extra trader ship!).
And to answer your question: I don't even look at the initial crew overview screen, since there's nothing I can do about it.
Eh, the problem with Reek's suggestion is that the game itself takes about five minutes to play. Setting up something using point values like that will at least double the play time. I think ship/crew packages are a better way to go - just click "prepare for combat", "prepare for diplomacy", or "prepare to trade", and off you go.
I see the benefit to loadouts, but I think the random, "you gotta play the cards you're dealt" aspect of this game is part of what makes it so interesting. At the very least, any loadouts feature should have a 1-click "roll the dice" button for people who would rather leave it up to chance.
Here's an idea I really like: how about if players have to earn the additional loadouts? This increases the replay value even further, and encourages every player to try different strategies, by giving the player rewards (in the form of new ways to play) that extend beyond the missions themselves.
For example:
- A player who wins at least 6 battles in a single mission unlocks the "warrior" loadout, and may choose to start games with an extra weapon and a guaranteed gunner
- A player who manages to earn 1000 extra fuel over the course of a mission unlocks the "explorer" loadout, and can start with more fuel
- A player who obtains 12 buckets of space gold unlocks the "trader" loadout, and may start games with extra gold.
Of course, each loadout would have cons as well as pros... in fact, perhaps the cons should even outweigh the pros slightly, so that the extra loadouts also provide an additional challenge for experienced players. If you wanna start with guns, you had better make good use of them, since you won't have much else to work with. (I imagine you'll start with less fuel, so you'll have to siphon more from your vanquished foes... assuming it becomes possible to do so!)
I quite like the idea of players having to earn different loadouts.
Another way to achieve a similar result would be to allow loadout selection only at higher difficulty levels. So at easy/medium you can only play with the default ship, while at hard/very hard, you could get a "freebie" where you can select one of, eg:
* A 2nd laser turret
* A 2nd doctor
* More gold
* More initial fuel
Though I'm also thinking of adding an achievements system - time permitting. Hence, you could get rewarded for your deeds with the option to choose a different loadout. Ultimately, it's a "amount of work to make it work properly and get it balanced" vs "amount of fun added to the game" question. :)
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