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Post by MintDragon on Sept 25, 2017 13:50:13 GMT -5
This is an offshoot of the discussion Cory Trese was having with contributor on Faction-specific terminology HEREI don't think we'll be trying to build character into the Factions with naming of the basic game functions. Those names are set by the Captain, as he or she is the one navigating the world. That's a Farming Zone in the Captain's Star Atlas, and that's what we're doing the UX about. There are just so many more interesting ways to differentiate the Factions -- and that's where I want to focus. Faction specific stories, Contact types, mission, recruits, items and unique places. I also think part of this is the need for the custom quadrants we are working on, both internally and with backers. The "new worlds and cultures" won't necessarily be the random Cadar Farming world that has flavor (aside from Cadar stories, Cadar contacts types, Cadar mission, Cadar recruits, Cadar crew gear, weapons, armor) but it will be the Tabor Outback, Rim and whatever else Andrew is going to name these places we're building. They'll be part of the carefully designed blend of procedural generated and hand crafted RPG elements. I am hoping that in addition to the cool things discussed above (and others in the thread, such as weapons, gear, armor specific to factions): Is there thought of ways to make the initial Faction choice at game start more compelling? Aside from the (+3 Starport, +2 Economy) differentiators, and number of quadrants/landing zones, I'm hoping that there are specific advantages/disadvantages to playing one faction vs another. Once I'm familiar with a particular map, I can pretty much play any faction on it, no compelling reason to pick one over the other.Also, if I need a mechanic, and I find one on another faction's planet, I'll hire him on the spot. No reason to want to keep all my crew the same faction, and no compelling reason to WANT to hire a CADAR mechanic (because they work faster and always lower maintenance cost by 10% -- example) SO, some food for thought/ideas: 1. A captain will have some high end talents available to him at level xx (ala ST4X), varies depending on faction 2. A captain will have some inherent advantage/disadvantage depending on his faction (ex. Alta Mesa captains will always have 10% more available mass on any given ship, since they are master shipbuilders 3. Regardless of the captain's faction, you really want to hire Steel Song crew for spying if possible, because they inherently have +10 stealth if they become officers. I'm sure you've already put thought in it, thought I'd add my 2 cents The problem I'm trying to solve is how can choosing a particular faction be a strategic choice at game start? |
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Post by fallen on Sept 25, 2017 13:57:15 GMT -5
1. Ship Components will be limited by Faction.
2. Ship Hulls will be limited by Faction.
3. Starting Traits do give a reason to recruit one Faction over another. For example, Alta Mesa recruits are the only recruits who can get the Spatial Talent, for example. They are the best pilots, hands down.
As suggestions, you SHOULD hire Alta Mesa Pilots, Cadar Soldiers, Javat Mechanics.
Thanks for the feedback and we'll keep working to improve the game.
While I understand the desire to immediately make the decision "strategic" I think the better priority for the moment is to ensure that loyalty to a Faction throughout a game has strategic impact.
Would love to hear more suggestions!
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Post by MintDragon on Sept 25, 2017 15:17:29 GMT -5
1. Ship Components will be limited by Faction. 2. Ship Hulls will be limited by Faction. 3. Starting Traits do give a reason to recruit one Faction over another. For example, Alta Mesa recruits are the only recruits who can get the Spatial Talent, for example. They are the best pilots, hands down. As suggestions, you SHOULD hire Alta Mesa Pilots, Cadar Soldiers, Javat Mechanics. Thanks for the feedback and we'll keep working to improve the game. While I understand the desire to immediately make the decision "strategic" I think the better priority for the moment is to ensure that loyalty to a Faction throughout a game has strategic impact. Would love to hear more suggestions! 1 & 2 are very cool, can't wait til we get there! 3. It's exciting to hear about talents that will be specific to a particular faction (your ex. above with the Spatial Talent). Honestly was completely unaware of all of these differentiators. I think my comment of 'Strategic' was misplaced. On the current rev [1.3.29], with same map I've been playing since seed generation started, and my merchant/spy build, feel/felt that I could play any faction/clan/house and would not feel a noticeable change in the game experience. But with the above knowledge of what's coming, feel a lot better about varied gameplay depending on faction. When other ideas pop up, I'll definitely add to the thread! |
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Post by Cory Trese on Sept 25, 2017 15:26:02 GMT -5
Interesting. You feel like the Factions are 100% balanced on that map? What is the seed?
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Post by MintDragon on Sept 25, 2017 16:08:16 GMT -5
This is the main seed I use: st-v01-40-4-180038349 Although there are different challenges with any map, there are a lot of indie landing zones centrally located (marked in red) to trade between and build up a big bank roll; just about everything is available as an indie zone (tradeway, farm, mining, refinery, etc..). In my case (merchant/spy), I build up enough funds and experience to get to the 'indie zones', and get a bunch of credits, use it to drive missions and acquire trade permits. Whenever I'm short funds, I can restock up if there is a trade war or ban on my faction. As my ship gets customized and spy skills improve, I buy my way into factions through selling intel to contacts. So far I've played Cadar, Thulun, Javat, Zenrin, Moklumnue using the same strategy Thulun starts you just 2 jumps from the 'indie zone' on the right, so my favorite to try out when new features get added (like the storyline), so I can be fairly strong quickly when I try new things out. Pic below:  |
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Post by fallen on Sept 25, 2017 16:57:59 GMT -5
3. It's exciting to hear about talents that will be specific to a particular faction (your ex. above with the Spatial Talent). Honestly was completely unaware of all of these differentiators. I wonder how we can better communicate these differentiators. As not every Alta Mesa gets Spatial, this could easily be taken as randomization and just lost in the shuffle. Maybe each Captain should get 3rd trait based on their Faction. |
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Post by Officer Genious on Sept 25, 2017 17:27:21 GMT -5
To play devil's advocate, I kinda dislike the idea of special traits just because it compels early ships to toss out their pilots to get special ones, or when pilots die much later in the game encourage them to shop outside their faction. Then again, you've probably made some enemies by then... Nevermind, no objections. Hey Craig Rittenhouse, do you get downvoted to hell on Imgur for posting those kinds of pictures too? It's irritating the hell out of me! |
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Post by fallen on Sept 25, 2017 17:47:54 GMT -5
Also, all the Loves and Hates <Faction> Traits are still on the list to add, their just a little late to the party.
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Post by Officer Genious on Sept 25, 2017 17:59:36 GMT -5
Oooooh, can't wait! I love DRAAAMAAAAA! Actually I'm going to upload a few pictures of local drama from the game. It's like Drama Island all over again!
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Post by MintDragon on Sept 25, 2017 19:32:17 GMT -5
3. It's exciting to hear about talents that will be specific to a particular faction (your ex. above with the Spatial Talent). Honestly was completely unaware of all of these differentiators. I wonder how we can better communicate these differentiators. As not every Alta Mesa gets Spatial, this could easily be taken as randomization and just lost in the shuffle. Maybe each Captain should get 3rd trait based on their Faction. Ah, a trait. My mis-understanding. I didn't know that either. There are so many traits, hadn't even thought of certain factions having certain traits. Yes, I think that the captain should have 1 trait that is unique to their faction (hoping that these traits are super-significant!) Down the road, would be great to have talents as well that are faction specific (ex. ST4X tech tree) |
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Post by fallen on Sept 25, 2017 19:52:43 GMT -5
Ah, a trait. My mis-understanding. I didn't know that either. There are so many traits, hadn't even thought of certain factions having certain traits. Yes, I think that the captain should have 1 trait that is unique to their faction (hoping that these traits are super-significant!) Down the road, would be great to have talents as well that are faction specific (ex. ST4X tech tree) It is good to dream  It's how we got this far lol |
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Post by bobc on Sept 26, 2017 10:43:57 GMT -5
3. It's exciting to hear about talents that will be specific to a particular faction (your ex. above with the Spatial Talent). Honestly was completely unaware of all of these differentiators. I wonder how we can better communicate these differentiators. As not every Alta Mesa gets Spatial, this could easily be taken as randomization and just lost in the shuffle. Maybe each Captain should get 3rd trait based on their Faction. Why not use the Change Faction screens accessed when preparing your captain for launch. These screens provide a pen picture of each faction, so adding the extra layer of information would fit pretty well. The Alta Mesa screen already explains they are master shipbuilders, so you could carry on to say that Alta Mesans Pilots are renowned for their abilities and that many have traits that are prized by Star Trader captains. |
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Post by fallen on Sept 26, 2017 10:57:51 GMT -5
bobc - definitely a great place to add more detail!
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Post by MintDragon on Sept 26, 2017 11:13:35 GMT -5
To play devil's advocate, I kinda dislike the idea of special traits just because it compels early ships to toss out their pilots to get special ones, or when pilots die much later in the game encourage them to shop outside their faction. Then again, you've probably made some enemies by then... Nevermind, no objections. Hey Craig Rittenhouse , do you get downvoted to hell on Imgur for posting those kinds of pictures too? It's irritating the hell out of me! I just started using IMGUR because postimage.io was down for maintenance. but haven't had any downvotes that I know of. I know some people that randomly look for funny pics on IMGUR, so I'm sure my ST:F map screenshots will get downvotes cuz it's not a singing chipmunk or something... |
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Post by Cory Trese on Sept 26, 2017 11:20:16 GMT -5
I think it depends on if you upload or post them. If you post them they go into some type of voting queue, if you just upload them to an album or something then they never get seen on the front page.
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I don't think we'll be trying to build character into the Factions with naming of the basic game functions.
