athios
Templar
[ Star Traders 2 Supporter ]
Posts: 1,611 
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Post by athios on Feb 15, 2017 20:07:47 GMT -5
So I was browsing through missions and accepted two that I thought were run of the mill "pick up data cube at Planet X", but turned out to both be "explore Wilderness Y until you find the lost data cube". Note that this was with a captain who was not an Explorer, so obviously at a disadvantage. In the future, I'll pay more attention to avoid these quests, but I was able to brute-force the explorations and finish both after completely bankrupting myself and keeping crew unpaid. Don't remember exactly, but each mission took 8-15 tries. Maybe this was just bad luck on the RNG, since statistically it should average out to 5 tries. I assume Explorer & Exo-Scout talents will help. - Suggestion: I wish mission description can have specific text highlighted or in bold to stress key words in different mission types.
- Question: Did I take extra long because I wasn't an Explorer? Each attempt is 2-5 days(?). Does mission due date take this into account? With trips back to civilization for healing and paying crew, even my first mission was waaay overdue.
- Suggestion: Please add a warning message if I try to leave the Wilderness when (1) there is still stuff in my stash and (2) I still have space in my Hold.
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Post by Cory Trese on Feb 15, 2017 20:11:11 GMT -5
We will keep doing more to improve the mission description highlights, but if players do not read them no amount of highlighting will help.
By release time, missions will be more varied and woe be to those who accept contracts without signing them!
It took extra long because you didn't get good rolls.
Stashes already highlight, if we decide at some point that isn't enough of a warning (research suggests it is) then we may do more.
UI continues to improve.
We will work to make game better.
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athios
Templar
[ Star Traders 2 Supporter ]
Posts: 1,611
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Post by athios on Feb 15, 2017 20:14:05 GMT -5
I'm satisfied with that. Thank you!
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Post by xdesperado on Feb 15, 2017 20:58:42 GMT -5
Cory Trese question about not just exploration but all the card games. Does having a high level skill to match the activity influence the cards in any way or only the specific ones calling for rolls using those skills? If the later then it feels much more random and less advantageous to make room on your crew for specialists like scouts and spy's than just brute forcing the activity. Realize some jobs do offer talents that will let you avoid/change certain drawn cards but especially for exploration those aren't really available early game. The system is fun and shows a lot of promise but would like see how getting mission specialists with specific skills are giving a more obvious benefit when doing them.
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Post by grävling on Feb 15, 2017 21:09:48 GMT -5
I'm having one of my officers take the job explorer. (Assuming it's not the one I have as Captain). This is working out well for me.
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Post by fallen on Feb 15, 2017 21:19:09 GMT -5
I'm having one of my officers take the job explorer. (Assuming it's not the one I have as Captain). This is working out well for me. Bingo. You can pile up a set of Explorer Talents very quickly if you promote an officer to Explorer and one to Exo-Scout. You can install Exploration specific components on your ship to help increase rewards and decrease damages. Definitely read your missions, cause they are only going to get more involved. |
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Post by fallen on Feb 15, 2017 21:20:17 GMT -5
The system is fun and shows a lot of promise but would like see how getting mission specialists with specific skills are giving a more obvious benefit when doing them. They have huge benefit. One of the biggest benefits is to auto-pass mission saves. Stealth, Negotiate, Intimidate, Tactics, Explorer, -- failing these in a mission is critically bad. You could lose your entire pay and have traveled for it. Don't miss these specialist abilities! |
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Post by Cory Trese on Feb 15, 2017 21:35:10 GMT -5
But no, it is not JUST Explorers, Exo-Scouts, Survivalists and Xeno-Hunters that can benefit from Exploration.
Other Jobs, even Hyperwarp Navigator, can play a key role. For example, when Tactics is required!
I definitely wouldn't worry, I think if you try out the Explorer you'll find there are some pretty awesome features!
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Post by Cory Trese on Feb 15, 2017 21:38:17 GMT -5
Cory Trese question about not just exploration but all the card games. Does having a high level skill to match the activity influence the cards in any way or only the specific ones calling for rolls using those skills? If the later then it feels much more random and less advantageous to make room on your crew for specialists like scouts and spy's than just brute forcing the activity. Realize some jobs do offer talents that will let you avoid/change certain drawn cards but especially for exploration those aren't really available early game. The system is fun and shows a lot of promise but would like see how getting mission specialists with specific skills are giving a more obvious benefit when doing them. I'm going to try to be super clear about this. Seems like it comes up over and over. Five cards. 20% of each card being picked. Literally ZERO other inputs. Totally random. 1 Card. only 1 card is picked. Skills are not involved. At all. ----------------------------------------- What determines my hand (the cards that will be picked from TOTALLY AT RANDOM) All the things determines this. I had about 200 numbers to pick from, and I used them all. Literally everything does something. Sorting it all out and documenting it might take years. So things that influence cards in the 5 card hand ... - Skills - Conflicts - Nearby Contacts - Crew Traits - Planet Attributes - Zone Attributes - Quadrant Attributes - Hidden Planet Traits - Quadrant Traits - Planet Danger - Zone Danger - Character Level - Zone Rumor - Planet Rumor - Quadrant Rumor .... it goes on for like 3000 lines of C++ |
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Post by Officer Genious on Feb 15, 2017 22:27:23 GMT -5
Wow. That's... A lot of code for one feature.
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Post by ntsheep on Feb 15, 2017 22:36:19 GMT -5
Wow. That's... A lot of code for one feature. Hey Queeny! Number three here. You should be careful how you phrase things. That statement above doesn't sound very lady like  |
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Post by Cory Trese on Feb 15, 2017 22:38:38 GMT -5
Wow. That's... A lot of code for one feature. We've been working on it for a while. Explorer was really fun to build and test. We did research on slot machines and games of chance, what makes them fun how the rules should work. Lots of thoughts put into the cascading chances, the risk-reward proposition for the player. I'm super excited to see them get a new UI  |
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Post by fallen on Feb 15, 2017 22:40:23 GMT -5
Especially can't wait to see the gold rimmed cards!
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Post by Officer Genious on Feb 15, 2017 22:51:59 GMT -5
Wow. That's... A lot of code for one feature. We've been working on it for a while. Explorer was really fun to build and test. We did research on slot machines and games of chance, what makes them fun how the rules should work. Lots of thoughts put into the cascading chances, the risk-reward proposition for the player. I'm super excited to see them get a new UI So I'm curious-- why full RnG instead of a skill-based system where skills affect the outcome? |
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Post by fallen on Feb 15, 2017 23:18:15 GMT -5
Officer Genious - Skills and the huge list of things Cory mentioned effect both (1) what cards are laid out in each deal and (2) how those card results are played out. The pick of which of the 5 cards you get? That is random. The only way to effect it is to bring a specialist with a Talent.
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