Some thoughts and wishes

[archmagexin]

After soaking countless hours into this game, I have some suggestions:
(note: I am still noob)


1) Embargos don't work for your home faction-It does not make sense for me, Senior officer of the Cadar army, to get a faction hit for buying fuel for my own faction. If Steel song hate me, you would think they would take more issue for gunning down two of their destroyer on the way to the job.

2) Purchasing water fuel during an embargo/trade war. Technically, water fuel is pretty much a netrual resource (i.e keep the galaxy running), and I feel buying gas alone shouldn't result a faction hit. If I could visit House Thunn and arm myself with new armor, new weapons and a cache of missiles without a faction hit, why buying gas piss off House Javat?

3) Weapons should grant a bonus against ground alien attacks (during exploration)...I always get tired of my crew getting slaughtered by "unknown primitive aliens" come on! There is a gun locker with 20+ rifles in them. Use it!


What do you think? Am I being too unrealistic with this game?

[Cory Trese]

Welcome to the forum!

I think you have some good ideas and I think everyone appreciates you taking the time to post them.

I'm not sure what you mean about Embargos -- are you talking about a Trade Ban Conflict, or the actual Trade Embargo rumor?

Water-Fuel is a critical military resource. I would probably debate that WF is more important to war-efforts than clothing or chemicals, which are second tier economic resources.

I do REALLY like what you just said about the Star Dock. I'm going to start looking into what it will take to tie reputation and rank penalties to hostile Faction Star Dock operations. I cannot (literally shocked) believe I didn't think of that before.

The Alien are immune to traditional boarding Weapons. However, if you have Records of the Alien's activities (or the Alien War Vet) you can reduce the number of casualties at the hands of these foul creatures.

[slayernz]

Damnit ... I was hoping you'd not realise the ship dock thing. It's so convenient being able to get your ship polished up and tuned irrespective of factional disputes <grin>.

If you do decide to go down the path of implementing rank/reputation penalties in the Star dock, then I think it should only be fair that you add the whole "Smugglers Den/Black Market" concept in the Spice Hall.
startradersrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=wish&thread=421&page=1

[archmagexin]

Hi, thanks for the reply:

1) I just mean trade ban, I.E I pick up some fuel at a port, then suddenly pow Steel Song clan, who I had no deal with, decided to slap me silly with a major faction loss.

2) perhaps water fuel is a critical military resource, but if faction A and faction B is going to on in a trade war, who do they care faction C's merchant is going for a quick run in gas? Especially if said merchant had no dealing with both A and B?

Note: I mean just faction trade wars. If it is a "hot war" and you march into your enemy's star dock, they ought storm your ship and be done with it.

3) RE: weapons. Cory, I don't mean fighting those Merdian or whatever their name the aliens that goes around. I meant those "primitive" aliens. I could understand if they are high-tech monsters, but if they are edwok-with-a-stick type...I think we should be able to fight back. So can you at least change the flavor text?

4) Explorer/seize type situations where your hold gets over load from loot-would it be possible to include an "set cache" option and leave the goods for a later return?

5) Technology-Also, would it be possible to include certain faction-specific tech? Just to make things more "flavor up"

6) Have you ever thought about making this game into a medival fantasy version? I.E travel throughout the land, spell casting, fight monsters, and other sim?

Archmage


Edit: One more thing: It would be absolutely great if I stop flying back to orbit after each contract. If I recall, that waste water fuel. There should be a button that say "depart world" so I could have all the time without accidentaly travel back to orbit.

[leuthesius]

Cory--go ahead and trade water for armor/weapons.
Water shouldn't be a "military" resource. You don't need permission to go out and buy a bottle of Smart Water. You shouldn't have to have permission to buy a few million gallons of it. My brain spins with the way you have it set up now. It just makes no sense. At all.

[nytefyre]

hi, this idea of mine came from a question i posted in another part of the forums...instead of retyping it, ill just put a link...in the event the link doesent work, it is titled "Independent Ships?" posted by me under the "Strar Traders RPG" section...
...thanks in advance for reading and considering!

startradersrpg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=rules&action=display&thread=1006

[Cory Trese]

My brain totally spins on this thread! I cannot understand why the title "Water-FUEL" is being shorted out to "Water" and the ultra purified heavy water that powers the Void Reactor is being equated with a bottle of SMARTWater!

Does SmartWater power the warships of your enemy nation?

Historical Context:
--------------------
I am an American Merchant during World War II.

I sell Fuel to the Axis Powers.

I loose reputation with the Allied Powers.

If I keep doing this, the Allied Powers will declare me a war criminal.

[gearheadwhat]

Part of it is we use water crystals when low. There just isn't enough separation for your average person to realize water fuel isn't just plain water. Maybe just call it fuel. You'll have less problems.

That aside, i am all for underfunded deals for water fuel in the spice hall at maybe triple prices, not subject to any reputation point loss due to embargo. Possibly similar in how doctor prices fluctuate due to reputation.

Of all things though, no one from America got mad at Germans for buying fuel from Germans during wwii. Merchants working for cadar to cadar would also be hit hard by an embargo if they worked the same way our reputation works. Your analog doesn't quite fit to the players. We aren't selling to Germany, we aren't the fuel merchants. We are the buyer. ( now selling fuel during an embargo I still see as possibly incurring rep loss, which meshes with your example).

Perhaps you could make water fuel incur less of a rep loss than other things at least. Satisfying a middle road perhaps.

As a thought, where do you draw the line between happy new players vs realism? Solar sails do not really work for star to star journies since we clearly are faster than light travel for example. But its a fun game mechanic and we suspend disbelief for it. It's close enough at any rate for people to accept.

Just a few thoughts. I like the game. But I understand peoples frustrations here too. When i just started it was maddening as well.

[Cory Trese]

In Game Advice: Investigate using Independent Worlds more. These function as rep-free trade zones and are very carefully placed around the map. You'll find that they fill an important play gap, especially for the Water-Fuel trade.

-----

I do not know what "water crystals" are, which you reference. We do have Crystals which are identified with the speed component of the ship (sails.)

The forum has around 600 active members and there are around 40,000 active Star Trader players (assuming 30% of the people who have the game installed play it.) I understand that you consider the game "maddening" and that you have many issues with it. I have the privilege, however, of taking the phone calls and answering the daily e-mails. Trust me, I am working night and day to reduce the top frustrations with the game. I'm also working to make it more accessible -- to new players, new/old phones, countries, markets and networks.

The most important thing for me is to make the game fun and playable for the largest number of people for as long as possible.

I very much work to satisfy the player demographic over "realism." Originally, Solar Sails were called something else, but a new player suggested we change the term so that they would be more commonly identified by the new player population. Solar Sails appear as FTL transport systems in a number of science fiction works and some debates led us to use that term.

Star Traders is a huge set of changes, all suggested by new players manipulated and negotiated by members of the forum and referred by yours truly.

Trade Embargoes are a key type of Conflict in the Star Traders RPG game. I do not think the game is much improved if they are turned off on the most critical military trade good in the quadrant. Like I said above, I think the answer may be found in Independent Exchanges.

Historical Context:
--------------------
I am an American Merchant during World War II.

I sell purchase Gold from the Axis Powers, putting Credits in the war coffers.

I loose reputation with the Allied Powers.

If I keep doing this, the Allied Powers will declare me a war criminal.

[leuthesius]

I half figured you were using 2H2O for the fuel, so maybe the smart water wasn't the best thing to use as a comparison. I guess a better point is....

If you have a trader out there, and he's out of gas. Are you seriously going to blame him for filling up with gas at an enemy base? I mean... it's not like he can get out and walk. I wouldn't blame him.

[Cory Trese]

Then you, sir, are an Independent. =)

Stick to independent worlds and no one will ask you where you are getting your Fuel.

[Cory Trese]

And really, if you are a good Captain of the Faction, why the heck does that other Faction even let you stop there.

Don't you realize we have a Trade Ban against them?

A Commercial Holy War has been declared and you are at the Exchange?

It is not like the game takes reputation away at random for ANY trade. Only when the Faction has sworn a Shalun Oath to the Senate and declared a quadrant wide ban.

There are officers that warn you and we're working to add more warnings in the future!

[gearheadwhat]

admin said:

I do not know what "water crystals" are, which you reference.

when you are out of fuel.

x crewmembers died collecting water crystals..

Does that help?

[Cory Trese]

Gotcha, will update the text to clarify.

I had forgotten about that message altogether!

Thanks.

[leuthesius]

I'd have less of a problem being a total independent if you could buy all of the upgrades at a capital independent world.... I haven't found one you can get all upgrades on.

Also, if I could start as Independent Faction, that too would be utterly badass.