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Post by luthermac on Oct 2, 2014 18:37:47 GMT -5
Hey guys, just wanted to say I love your games and love supporting them. Having hacked around a bit with minor game development myself, I know enough to know I cannot comprehend how much time and detail goes into each of these offerings.
Like many of your Shalunians, Star Traders introduced me to you and I'm sure the sequel will have a huge audience, but for a die-hard Master of Orion fan, I just cannot tell you how happy I was to find the Empires 4X release, and that a game in a current format was built that even approaches the pristine balance and simplicity that made Orion such an unrivaled strategy masterpiece.
Like any player, there are a couple of things in the game that think are bugs, or would like to tweak certain valuations in the various formulae, but what is WAY more important is that this is a very fun, accessible and remarkably well balanced 4X, that I think would reach a bigger audience if people could understand it a little easier right out of the box. Let's face it, it's a detailed game but not overly so for the genre, yet after playing 3 games I'm not sure I even understand all the ratios or economic data presented on the screen.
If there is anything I can contribute towards that goal I'm happy to help. A couple of examples would be picking up where the tutorial docs have left off or making screen shots that can be easily labeled with information from someone who understands it. I am of the belief that every number of presented on a GUI needs to be explained not just generally but in a way that can be followed mathematically, and while combat formula should be kept somewhat mysterious, economic formula should be disclosed fully.
Thanks again for building this and let me know what I can do to help!
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Post by slayernz on Oct 2, 2014 18:58:20 GMT -5
luthermacWelcome to the forum!!! It's great that you love ST4x ... like all of the TB games, the amount of depth, design, and complexity is mind-blowing. How the hell do the squeeze all of that stuff into a mobile game?!? You can help a heap of different ways. If you come up with particularly successful strategies, please please document them and put them down in the Tips and Tricks section of the 4x forum. They will help newcomers (and even veterans) significantly. I'm always learning new things about that awesome game! If you have a question that you need answering, then ask away. The forum has a really good culture, along with the most responsive devs I've ever come across. So no question will be ignored or flamed  If you find there are issues with an implementation, or have a new idea that you think would make the game even better, there are of course the bugfix and wish lists for the forum too. In terms of what else you can do - there are a few more things you can do to make the game even better. 1) Tell everyone about how cool the game is - your friends, your family, your enemies, your cat. Okay maybe not your cat. 2) Write reviews in the place you got the software. Positive reviews help demonstrate the game is worth getting and trying for newcomers 3) Invest a little in the ST2 Kickstarter. Cory and Andrew are pioneers in making amazing games and your support there will allow them to keep everything going. Just because you'd be investing in ST2, doesn't mean that they will stop focusing on their existing games. History has shown that they constantly improve and tweak all of the games in their portfolio. To say they're disciplined and dedicated is an understatement. 4) Keep having fun, and participate in the forum. It's a fun place to hang out when you're wanting to share thoughts with likeminded nutters. We also love hearing success/failure stories. 5) Can't think of a #5, but you've gotten the idea ... the name of the game is participation
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Post by abysmal on Oct 2, 2014 19:24:54 GMT -5
I think the hydras would probably flame but thats a wee bit different.
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Post by Cory Trese on Oct 2, 2014 22:03:28 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum luthermac and thank you very much for playing Star Traders 4X. I appreciate you taking the time to join the forum and post your thoughts. I absolutely agree with what our esteemed cat slayernz said -- sharing the game and leaving reviews is critical to encouraging development to continue. I'm dedicated to making Star Traders 4X as good as it can be, and as balanced as possible. Some things come immediately to mind ... help on this thread, either by providing write ups or asking questions: startradersrpg.proboards.com/thread/8981/4x-empires-comprehensive-guideReview the Library and Advisor screens in the next release. The Library grows as you research more technologies and includes specific elements of the economic formula. Ask questions and suggest (or even write) additional Library entries. Develop and test hypothesis and post questions on the forum when you have them. I want to be clear -- this is not an invitation of open 25 threads, with titles like "What is CP?" as we have been down that road and it's exhausting for me and not fun for anyone. So far, I have done my best to include every number in the GUI in the Library, but I'm 100% certain I have missed things and I'm sure their are things I could do better on. And lastly -- play the game. Find new strategies, and share them. Post on Reddit, Amazon App Store, Google Play, iTunes, Desura, Steam and any gaming forum or site you use. I'm not saying to post on other developer's game forums, don't do that -- but there are lots of places to share your enjoyment of the game that directly benefit me and buy me more time to work on the game. |
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Post by fallen on Oct 2, 2014 23:29:41 GMT -5
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Post by Cory Trese on Oct 3, 2014 9:16:54 GMT -5
Another great thing to do is screenshots shared on Imgur or Twitter.
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Post by luthermac on Oct 6, 2014 17:58:41 GMT -5
Hello, Thanks for all the direct responses! Sorry it took me awhile to reply.
10-4 on the marketing aspects, I do recommend this game to anyone I think might like it, and will look for those opportunities to create links. Nonetheless, I'm not sure if that would be my best contribution to the cause. While a multi-faceted approach is great for things like SEO, piecing together a comprehensive understanding to basic gameplay from individual answers and sectional descriptions is frustrating for someone trying to enjoy the game.
I'm excited to see the new upgrades to the library and if there is anything else left over to document, I would be willing to contribute time towards it. I'll read through it and let you know if anything seems like a glaring omission based on my user experience.
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Post by luthermac on Oct 9, 2014 16:09:41 GMT -5
Hello, I got a chance to look at the improved library and did notice a big expansion to the descriptions of the UI, Ships, Warfare, and Political section. I think it's all fantastic, and clearly the best place for detailed descriptions of things is in the game. There will always be lots of small questions in a game like this that makes forum discussions fun, but to me at least, the BIG questions remaining revolve around having detailed descriptions of the numbers on the screen and how they interact with each other... I took some time yesterday afternoon to try to tie out the income and expenses for one planet. It yielded some good results, I was able to figure out the morale factor you are using for 6-10 (This guy believes in happy pops) But really, no one should have to go through these lengths to quantitatively determine the two numbers in the bottom left corner of the planetary page. I intentionally picked a planet without TP so it should be easier to tie this out... still was unsuccessful. Could you help me figure this out or if I'm missing something? I think it would be interesting to all players to know exactly how planetary incomes work.  |
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Post by fallen on Oct 9, 2014 16:36:26 GMT -5
Some others have gone to great length to do and share this depth of calculation. Perhaps we can dig up those old threads?
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Post by Cory Trese on Oct 13, 2014 8:03:03 GMT -5
All the equations use sliding scales based on difficulty -- if you have specific questions and provide the difficulty you want to use, I can answer them.
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