Version 0.78.022 ideas for improvement.

And the forums grew silent as LORDKOSC posted.....

from Sins Forums
Some things on my mind...

Game speed :

I'd love to have the option available to have ships in controlled territory get a speed bonus, so they can move around behind the scenes a bit faster. I am not talking about hyperspace speed, nor jump charge time, I am talking about gravity well travel in systems under your control. (I got this idea from the new COH OF expansion, as the British move faster in their own territory and go into defensive mode once they enter enemy territory).

Logistics of Research / Parallelism :

So now we have 2 types of research stations that take up 2 logistics spots each... I can deal with that as I just need to control more territory to have more labs. What irks me is ,I cannot do research in both labs at the same time. That HAS to be a bug. This is a huge game slow down for me, if I have the money and want it invested in research for both CIV and MIL reasearch PLEASE let them at least research at the same time (in parallel).

Planetary Shield Generators :

Make them cost more, and give them a reserved logistics spot (which must be researched) that does not take away from the tactical logistics number. Also why doesn't the shield generator have its own shield? Come on...

Capital Ship Logistics :

The 16 unit cap is FINE for systems with 3 stars and around 15 planets per star. Once it gets bigger than that I foresee issues unless you have teammates to help you. Perhaps capital ship limits should be effected by if you set teams at the beginning of the game or not. A team of 2 with 16 ships per person is a different story... I don't know , but it needs tweaking. Also adding the need to research for more ship logistics spots slows down the game.

Planet Exploration :

Cool feature, and 2 levels is fine, but if you do discover something during the first 50%, I have yet to ever find anything in the remaining 50% (unless the first 50% came up with no results, then it seems I have a 3 in 5 chance of discovery). And I've tried this on at least 30 planets/asteroids. Is that a bug? Else once you do discover something, why even bother exploring again ? This also slows down the game, and seems to cost a lot.

Little Issues :

~ Gauss cannons still seem useless late game.
~ Culture should still be an offensive option, it doesn't seem like it is anymore.
~ Repair Facilities need some kind of better animation than little sparks flying out of 1 repair arm.
~ Why are we still using the Vasari Refinery?
~ Would be nice if bombers/fighters that come from hangers around a planet were a bit faster. (say they know the area better, and are expert pilots)

Thats just a few thoughts, I might update this with more later today. Replies as always are welcome!
5,744 views 14 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
Good ideas, I like the faster speed within your territory idea. That would help with defense a lot when trying to move a bunch of ships to get to another planet to defend it.

Exploration I have the exact same experience, if I find something in first 50% no point in researching to 100% on that planet.

Bombers/fighters also a good idea as the hangar defense has to be placed inside the buildable area and it takes a while for the fighters to reach the edge of the gravity well to engage newly arrived ships.

Civ/Mil research i've noticed the same annoyance where you can't research both at the same time which is silly since we are forced to use separate labs now we should get separate research gueues..
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
Logistics of Research / Parallelism :


Agree. This is a must have.

If you think research will then happen too fast, up the time for the research a bit.

Planetary Shield Generators :


Disagree. You will need to sacrifice a bit of defense to have shields up, which I think is a good trade off. Also the shield should be much more useful, once long range attacks like the Novalith cannon are implemented.

Capital Ship Logistics :


Doesn't really slow down the game for me. It just makes capitals a bit more expensive for me while the rate at which I get them roughly stays the same.

As for the limit, imho the last research should remove the limit altogether.

~ Gauss cannons still seem useless late game.


Build repair stations behind them, station flack frigates behind them, ie. support them a bit and they can survive quite well. As they're currently, the AI is unable to break through a planet defended with a decent number of gauss cannons.

Imho multiplayer is necessary to balance them.
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Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
I don't see the capital ship limit needing to be removed. Once the AI is more capable at attacking, or once there's multiplayer, I suspect you won't be able to keep those Capital ships alive for long.
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
I don't see the capital ship limit needing to be removed. Once the AI is more capable at attacking, or once there's multiplayer, I suspect you won't be able to keep those Capital ships alive for long.


Well, you should play once on a 200+ planets map, and then say it again.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top

I don't see the capital ship limit needing to be removed. Once the AI is more capable at attacking, or once there's multiplayer, I suspect you won't be able to keep those Capital ships alive for long.


Well, you should play once on a 200+ planets map, and then say it again.

200+ planet game is modded, so your argument do not fit but i do think the last tech should allow for unlimited cap ships, as long you got the Logistics for it.

I agree with most of what lordkosc says but:

Planetary Shield Generators should have there own shields
i dunno, i like the idea they sacrifice there own protection to protect the planet.


I like that the game is long, and it is afterall a 4X game and therefor means there is gonna be alot of tech, and some techs you may not be able to get within an 1 hour game.

Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
I am not talking about hyperspace speed, nor jump charge time, I am talking about gravity well travel in systems under your control. (I got this idea from the new COH OF expansion, as the British move faster in their own territory and go into defensive mode once they enter enemy territory).

explain to me why this works...?
Would be nice if bombers/fighters that come from hangers around a planet were a bit faster. (say they know the area better, and are expert pilots)


spork is angry

this whole idea makes no sense
1) all space is teh same, avoiding a few asteroids wizzing around is not "terrain"
2) I've never heard of a time when the defensive reserve are more experienced/capable than the offensive army
3) even if they were more experienced what does that have to do with their movement speed (which is the capacity of their fighter craft)
4) is there really any logic to it?


other than that I think the ideas are fine, excluding
Gauss cannons still seem useless late game

because of what Von Van said.
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
I am not talking about hyperspace speed, nor jump charge time, I am talking about gravity well travel in systems under your control. (I got this idea from the new COH OF expansion, as the British move faster in their own territory and go into defensive mode once they enter enemy territory).

explain to me why this works...?


Because your units KNOW the area of SPACE they are in, and can move about quicker with that knowledge...

Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
Because your units KNOW the area of SPACE they are in, and can move about quicker with that knowledge...


Well, space is really quite empty. So, what does this pilots know more about space then the others? More knowledgeable about the amount of emptiness?

Sorry about that. I had to say that, really.
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
just give lordkosc his pre ate cookie and he will be happy
Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top
huh... ive never seen a metal spork in real life... wonder where they hide em....
Reply #12 from Sins Forums Top
I have yet to ever find anything in the remaining 50% (unless the first 50% came up with no results, then it seems I have a 3 in 5 chance of discovery).


Well, I have seen Kalanite Deposits on the first survey, then ended up with expert miners on the next one (or was it the other way around?) but pretty much, you're right.
Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top
I think what explains the movement concept is such

A. friendly space means the ship is not taking the time to avoid say random collisions of possible hidden space mines... For whatever reason the idea is that cautious ships IE ships in combat zones would be slower... in ground warfare certainly true, and under some circumstances or technical issues I can see this in space... not easily though

B. In friendly space one can argue the nearby planet is providing logistical supply support, and the ship is running on full burn because supplies are not being consumed from its own personal stores, whereas in a combat zone, they may wish at times to reserve some power/supplies for weapons or endurance escapes/fights... in a friendly zone they could argue power is diverted from shields to provide extra speed.

That being said, I'm sorry but I'm not a big fan of the idea either...

I would like to see a way to do this, where you construct a building or something which increases local ship speeds... or hell a device which decreases the gravity well would be awesome too... or alternatively increase one.

food for thought
Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top
I agree with the cap ship limit... maybe the final tech could be dependant on number of planets owned, say minimum of 16, increasing by 1 for every 2 or 3 planets owned over 32. This would add a way for larger empires to still have a restricted but fair chance of defending themselves, and provides a balance between absolute limitation and empire size. Perhaps call it "Empire-wide Officer Co-ordination" or something a little less cruddy... and make it really expensiive because people with 32 planets should have enough goodies to pay for it .