Edit:  For St Cobalt, sorry for all the run on text, haha, i wish it was shorter, i just talk alot.  

Hi,

           Just thinking that some games, even lots of games have crafting systems now embedded in their games. And was thinking how that could be applied here in Sins.

What if we start with an agricultural planet, no spacecraft yet, low resources, and we build up the planet to a pre-industrial level, raising the resources level and we start building manufacturing where we start building frigfactories and planetmodules and very early space craft, very primitive, small, crude maneuverability, low weapons stats, no abilities as yet. Then move on to post industrial/high tech, we build up our fleets with something more along the lines of our frigates, and keep researching the planet to a high tech/bio-tech level, increasing resources yet again. At this stage perhaps the first of the worlds wars could begin, but not before this. First contact with another race, but instead of instant battle, blood and mayhem, perhaps we could be given a choice of peacefully co-existing or partnership? In this way, we can use our diplomacy in a new way, and early on.

As we move our planet, and our federation, say of two or three other militia's forward, we gain another level of resources and we get into actually researching and developing the technology to produce capitals.

The other races would be under the same scenario. And then of course it would bring us to where we are now when we start a game. I know it means changing the structure of the game, and having things playing out sequentially instead of having it all available for us, like it is now. But building up a planet through several "ages" and having my "resources" fund the next level of upgrade, producing first pre-flight, then early space-flight/planetmodules, then frigates and then capitals makes for a very interesting, even perhaps epic game. Just my opinion of course.

The ship isolation, the pre-flight i cant think of, unless, there were a way to allocate out the resources in stages, and the primitive spacecraft could be added in a mod. The levels of frigates might be done with research tied to "models" of the frigates, say a low level at firat of course and then a high level (same as our normal now). If i can figure out how to get the capitals from coming into the game early, and have them come in later, perhaps with a tier on the combat or non-combat labs?  Or perhaps worse case scenario, simplyl making them so expensive they can't come in early.

Perhaps there could be items we can uncover on worlds in various amounts that in themselves are of little value, or usefulness, but combined with other elements from other worlds, come to be something new. Like maybe a higher level rocket fuel that is boosts our ships speeds? It would be interesting to have the lower level ships have a limited range, perhaps just adjacent planets. And the high level frigates have system wide travel only. With Capitals being the onlly ships capable of Inter-Star travel, where they would have either a frigfactory available on-board, activated by the inter-star journey (event) and now can create new fleets, either in a asteroid or star, or uninhabited gravity well.

With Aregentium, or Mettallix, or Red Crystal, Blue, White, Amber Crystal and/or Electronic plant fiber tendrils from the planet Gormgash and its moons we could create new and interesting technologies? Like Sub-modules? Like engines of various designs, power levels and uses? Sub-space only engines, free for first level ships that only have to a second planet jump. Upgrade costs for system High Thrust Anti-matter engines, and cost increase for Star jump engines for Capitals and several upgrade speed increases for those as well.

In addition of course to engines we can look at weapons, being able to change out beam blasters for rail guns, or magnetic grappling hooks used by Pirates when boarding and taking over lower level ships. Or shielding that has specific purposes, like like gun armor shielding only, but useless against beam weapons. Magnetic field shielding used for higher frigates and capitals that can handle beam weapons and combined with heavy deuterium armor shielding can withstand missile impacts to a degree.

In addition, to of course ship equipment being created/upgraded we could use craft elements to upgrade planets in ways that haven't yet entered the game. Such as an agricultural planet finding a "superwheat" that is then grown on large swaths of the planet surface and reflected in it mesh image and exported to friendly planets or opponents even at a rising/falling market scheme already in use for metal and crystal.

Some elements we could find, or build from other lower level combinations, we might learn to manufacture high level computer boards and circuitry that is then exported in navigational or weapon or engine components again on the market for a price.

Perhaps high range scanners, extra-system, or extra-system weapons could be developed?

Perhaps we could be given a population on a planet that we have to micro-manage, can micro-manage to certain jobs, agricultural? Industrial, Technology, Bio-Tech? That would only give us access to those technologies when we have xx amount of population in those areas? Or education to raise the level of ability in our populations?

What i am leading to of course, if its not obvious already is a campaign style or approach to the game, not asking for the devs to build one, or even for an editor (which by the way would be wonderful either way!!) but simply by changing the pacing, and the "when" of things coming available would change the "feel" and the way we could play the game.

No doubt others might holler "Heck No!!!"  Because they want it the way it is now. But for those of us that would like things to be a little different, it would mean alot.  And I would appreciate it immensely immensely!!  Not that that will make a difference, but just passing on my ideas.

Sins is a wonderful game, its just not "quite" perfect yet, but i keep trying!! 

-Teal