spike
Exemplar
Posts: 360
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Post by spike on Mar 9, 2011 11:43:14 GMT -5
Sometimes in the game you can get into a Stalemate condition where there is literally nothing you can do. For example, you are out of fuel and rations on a planet, and the Exchange closed as you landed (this just happened to me). Or the Exchange could be open, but with no fuel (this also just happened to me).
You can do some actions to advance 'the clock' in the Urban Zone but pretty soon you run out of actions. What you really need in this situation is an option to wait, and do nothing, and let time pass until the Exchange re-opens.
I realise that phone-screen real estate is at a premium and this Wait button would be used only very rarely. Maybe it could be a button in the Spice Hall. If hit you would just hang out there for say a week. It would be nice if you got a toaster when anything changed state, or regenerated, or whatever.
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Post by oldalchemist on Mar 9, 2011 14:41:32 GMT -5
Buying a round, buying a rank, entertaining the crew, and visiting the doctor all use up time on a planet.
If you've got a wild side, you can explore or harvest to kill time.
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spike
Exemplar
Posts: 360
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Post by spike on Mar 10, 2011 6:05:37 GMT -5
Buying a round, buying a rank, entertaining the crew, and visiting the doctor all use up time on a planet. Yeah, but, as I noted, eventually you run out of options for all those things. If there was even one option that could be repeated indefinitely, and used up time, that would be fine. But they all run out eventually. If you've got a wild side, you can explore or harvest to kill time. ... and kill crew. Also doesn't work if you're out of fuel. |
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Post by oldalchemist on Mar 10, 2011 9:52:55 GMT -5
Harvesting is a pretty good option if you're out of fuel.
Also, free, safe waiting would make it very easy to get certain awards.
Blockading, surveillance, and patrolling use time. I know Blockading doesn't use fuel, but I don't know about the others for sure. You could always pirate some fuel from a poor, defenseless pilgrim liner. Desperate times call for desperate measures...
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spike
Exemplar
Posts: 360
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Post by spike on Mar 10, 2011 10:15:41 GMT -5
Blockading etc requires you to get in to space, which requires a working ship and fuel and exposes you to crew casualties if you have low fuel. Seems like every turn that passes in space, you have a good chance of crew casualties with no fuel. That's why I think you need a waiting option on the Urban Zone.
Good point about exploiting Wait to get certain survival-based Awards, I hadn't thought of that.
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Post by oldalchemist on Mar 10, 2011 11:05:14 GMT -5
If you're going to 'wait' in an Urban Zone, it ought to cost cash. You can't just crash a ship of 120 crew on your buddy's couch. There are dock fees and the crew clearly will drink lots of local water.
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spike
Exemplar
Posts: 360
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Post by spike on Mar 10, 2011 11:35:13 GMT -5
I kind of agree but
1. Remember that "small money" for stuff like your entire crew's salaries, is insignificant and not even equal to $1. They are paid for shillings or groats or somethings. So I guess Waiting would only cost shillings or groats. Let's face it, however long I stay on a planet doesn't cost me any credits right now.
2. What if the reason your stuck is, you have no money, and you are waiting for a Contract or something. Maybe no money = game over.
An alternative to Wait would be Cryosleep. You put yourself and your officers and your crew into Cryosleep, costs you some money, you wake up 6 months later or whatever duration you want. Maybe you leave your crew or even your officers and hire them when you wake up.
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Post by slayernz on Mar 10, 2011 16:52:21 GMT -5
The longer you are at port, the more likely it will be that your crew run off and join a circus err another ship.
I like the Cryosleep concept, but in reality, given how valuable ships are, I wouldn't be surprised if when you woke up, you're in a different sector of the galaxy, with a new crew/captain who stole your ship while you slept. and that's if they're nice enough to keep your cryo-pods on board after they took off on their joy ride.
If there were cryo-pods, it could be a good thing to trade ... I'd love to buy up a cargo hold of cryo-pods full of crew, then dump them on a planet cache. Then when I lose my current crew during an exploration mission, I'd just thaw out some replacements. Ha! Popsicle Crew - dibs on the marketing rights to that trade mark!
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Post by Kelvin Zero on Mar 11, 2011 0:04:28 GMT -5
If you are on a planet you have military rank with what about buying a military shuttle? It should be cheap and it ought to have some water-fuel on it and some crew. You could buy that run to another planet with favorable water supplies, sell them on the planet you are stranded on and hope you can hop into your main ship and buy those.
However, if you are on a planet where you hold military rank why can't you go to the Military Base and requisition emergency water-fuel? They HAVE to have some for the military ships! If you are a high muckity-muck in their military, they had better cough up some for you.
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spike
Exemplar
Posts: 360
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Post by spike on Mar 11, 2011 5:18:49 GMT -5
Yeah in the actual situation, I did not have Rank for that planet. And I agree about being able to requisition fuel - or at least, buy some of the military fuel stock - if you have enough Rank.
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Post by oldalchemist on Mar 11, 2011 11:59:28 GMT -5
If you are out of water and stuck on a planet, you can always fly somewhere else at great risk to your crew and morale. Maybe you'll have a mutiny. A better captain would have planned for this eventuality.
It's never a stalemate. Sometimes it's just defeat on the horizon.
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Post by Cory Trese on Mar 11, 2011 16:45:16 GMT -5
oldalchemist I think this part of the game probably tells you more about me as a person than it does about me as a game designer. In this situation I don't give and my Captains keep pushing until they scrape past it ... or die. I think this thread dove-tails into another one I'm preparing myself to read ... a poll about water - fuel.
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Post by oldalchemist on Mar 14, 2011 9:57:58 GMT -5
Buck up! There's plenty of water on this rock.
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Post by jamobey on Mar 14, 2011 10:38:53 GMT -5
I'm thirsty. Can someone pass the sweat-bucket?
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