jscott991

Some suggestions from someone who did not like the game at first, but has grown to appreciate it since I started playing without pirates. 1. I still would like to see the ability to turn off pirates when generating a random map without using the map design feature. 2. Unit caps need to be significantly higher in order to play the larger maps. All of my efforts to play maps with more than 2 stars have been abject failures because I simply run out of units to conduct the multi-s

[quote]how does one open that gameplay.constants file in order to modify it? it asks to select a program to view it with and i dont want to screw it up by selecting the wrong program there is a patch that turns pirates on and off though, right? [/quote] The patch isn't out yet as far as I know. Use your wordpad to open the file. Its just a text file.

You misunderstood me, I think. I want the option to turn the Pirates off and not have it catastrophically affect game balance, the AI or the economy. I'm not sure how much clearer I can say that. Do I wish that Sins had been developed in a way that Pirates wouldn't be a core game mechanic? Yes. Do I wish that the extreme importance and omnipresence of Pirates had been more transparent before I became excited about this game? Yes. But that ship has sailed and now all I want is a wo

[quote] Still, though, it IS a crutch and I sort of hate it too. The people clamoring to have Pirates removed apparently don't realize that it'd essentially break the single player game. [/quote] I don't think the developers would flippantly tell us play maps without pirates if you don't like pirates if the absence would completely break the single player game. That being said, I'm sort of disturbed by the appearance that Sins developers and loyalists are talking out of

You don't deal with Barbarians in Civ, Spores in Alpha Centauri, Antarains in MOO2 or Minor Races in GalCiv every 12 minutes. Plus, those elements are more flavor or difficulty enhancers than vital cogs to the game's engines. Would Civ be any different if there were no barbarians? Not really. The same thing can be said about Spores and Minor Races (which can be turned off). Plus, those elements fade in importance as the game goes on. Pirates get weaker and easier to deal with as the game g

I know that Stardock will mix most peripheral issues with their games. I have experience with them having bought Galactic Civilizations (both versions) and Political Machine (where Frogboy was much more understanding of the game's issues and responsive than he has been on this forum about this issue). That's why I haven't bothered to come on and rant and rave about siege frigates or unit caps. I know those will be fixed and, really, neither are game stoppers (you can counter siege fri

[quote] I see. So not liking Pirates is the equivalent of not liking the economic side of the game, including the gathering of resources and credits. Yes it is, because it's the only way a economy-focused player can survive without getting slammed a half hour into a game. I use pirates as a buffer to hit/delay other players for a thousand credits or so as I build up my economy and research, otherwise I would get steamrolled by some guy who decides

[quote] im not affilliated with stardock or IC in any way but do feel sorry that this is the way you feel what i cant understand is how somthing as trivial got you the feel so negativaly about an entire game.almost as if there is no good in it at all [/quote] The Pirates are not trivial. According to Blair Thomas, a designer, they are integral to the functioning of the game. According to many beta-testers, the Pirates are the developers' way of dealing with inflation, curb

Yes, I see that. I overlooked that tech in my first games as I was on a map with just one star. Again, thanks. I feel kind of stupid.

I'm playing in a larger map for the first time and I can't quite figure out how to move from one star to another. There don't appear to be phase lanes linking them and I can't seem to order my ships to move to another star. I just couldn't figure this out and the manual doesn't discuss it at all.

[quote] I The Pirates are a controversial CONCEPT as well as being controversial in their implementation. People who dislike the Pirates are not necessarily poor players at SINs who simply can't deal with the 12 minute raid cycle. I can see that Pirates are so integral to this game that I will never enjoy as much as GalCiv II or Europa Universalis or anything in between and that's sad. Pirates . . . in a serious space strategy game . . . I still can't believe thi

I feel dumb. I thought I tried that, but I guess not. Thanks. Sorry for the post in retrospect.

I know you can do this, but its not in the manual or command list that I could find. How you select all units of a particular class at once? For example, if I want to select all the siege frigates in a particular system, what is the clicking that I have to do? I know this seems like a stupid question, and I've been playing without knowing this for days now, but I simply can't remember and a quick run through of the tutorials didn't help. Thanks.

I like that those who don't like the pirates are savaged by the designers and loyalists in this thread as whiners or new players who can't possibly have a valid complaint about how a group called "Pirates" shouldn't amount to a fourth faction and a more dangerous opponent than the AI (especially in the early portion of a game) in a serious space strategy game. Ironclad and Stardock have a fanatical fan base, but constant catering to that small fan base does not necessarily make someone

Another solution posted in the other thread on pirates is to increase the delay on pirate raids to such a large number that the pirates never raid or raid only once. This would allow you to keep the pirate base in the galaxy and earn the bonus for destroying it, while eliminating the need to deal with pirates every 12 minutes and the fact that the game forces you to treat the pirates as a fourth faction (and a more potent opponent than the normal AI levels). The games I've pla

[quote][quote] Some maps have pirates. Some don't. Pick maps that don't have them or design one that doesn't. [/quote][/quote] [quote]BTW, Pirates are great if your enemy is the target. They suck if you're the target. [/quote] This is not the response I would have expected from the person behind Galactic Civilizations. Very, very disappointing. The problem with the pirates is not who they are attacking and its not an annoyance in that it makes the game harder or easier.

[quote] For me, this doesn't feel quite right - the Pirate termininology and the large massed fleets are grabbing the limelight from the opposing faction/s. Cheers! [/quote] This is exactly my major problem with the Pirates. You've expressed it better than I have and I thank you. With that, good luck all.

[quote]I edited the title of the thread to reflect the change in direction. It seems to be becoming a global location for people to express their love and hate for the pirates. [/quote] Thanks. I was hoping to have my opinion distorted and the tone of the thread changed to be pro-Pirate. I'm finished posting here (I'm sure no one cares), but I'm frustrated with the direction of the thread and the developer's responses. The Pirates seem to be an integral part of t

Again, not a single person who has criticized pirates in this thread has asked for them to be removed completely. That is a "straw man" proposition put up by the people who like the pirates to mask the true question in the thread: why some people aren't allowed to turn them off in the random map generator.

No one is asking for the Pirates to be removed completely. What kind of study needs to be done to determine whether the user should have the option to turn pirates off in a random map? The question is why the user is forced to deal with pirates now, whether he wants to or not. As I said earlier, if the Pirate concept is so integral to the functioning of the game then it raises much more serious questions in my mind about the game, itself, that goes beyond simply the ridiculous

Thanks for the reply. I should have followed the development of this game on the minute level apparently before purchasing. I heard good things and I see good things in the game, but the pirates are a huge part of the default settings. You can't play random maps without them and there is no indication which pre-made maps don't include them. Randomness is NEVER a substitute for innovation. Pirates randomly effect the game. Its not pleasant, but some people enjoy the idea o

[quote] Doesn't that seem an excessive amount of work to turn this "feature" off? Yes, it is. Question is, why you are complaining about pirates in the first place... That said, there are maps without pirates. [/quote] I see. Its inconceivable that someone would find random fleets of space Pirates to be slightly annoying in a space strategy game? Let's say that I wasn't even interested in the game's

So the only way to play a game without the Pirates is to design a new map any time I want to play the game and leave them out? Doesn't that seem an excessive amount of work to turn this "feature" off?

Add Pirates to the list of things that need some ironing out and I agree with your post 100%.

Is there really no way to turn off the Pirates? Why are Pirates even in the game? What purpose do they serve besides increased difficulty? I understand all the intricacies with bounties and using Pirates to your advantage, but their prevalence is absurd. How do Pirates have enormous fleets in sectors I'm just starting to exploit? Doesn't it hurt the immersion to have this universe set up as it is and then there are just enormous random fleets of advanced warships out there under a space age Blac