ElipticArc
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Joined: 6/25/2017
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I was watching Science and Futurism with Isaac Arthur last Night on Youtube and I realized how in depth DW2 Could get, this started me on a chain of Ideas that I Pondered quite furiously, which here in the South, is much Preferably done with a AC Kicking Narnian frost out the vents. There are three topics I would like to discuss- A comparison of the competition Distant Worlds has Primarily with Stellaris, The Possibilities of massive techs available to research just from gleaning science fiction and fact, and the clear lacking definition to the ship classes. Frosted lightly with some Ideas, alot of this is drawing connections and making out possibilities.
One, the competition with Stellaris- there is none. Lets be clear, the graphics leave much to be desired, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating as it is said, and even with Ring worlds and Dyson spheres, Stellaris is a shallow pool compared to the Ocean that is Distant worlds. I don't much look forward to buying thirty different expansions from Paradox, Even though I enjoy their game, the ten dollar purchase of the plant people gave me an inkling that this is going to be less of a game for awhile, and will be more of a little shop of horrors, and I don't much feel like being Seymour. The Expansions that were provided by Matrix and Slitherine for DW were in my opinion, Much like buying a burger from a joint that hasn't forfeited their quality and service to the dread lord inflation; A bit expensive, but it's the whole package deal, well worth the money, and they throw in the curly fries with the drink too! DW:Universe goes all the way, and I have never seen a 4X game, particularly in this case, Space grand strategy, that has so much depth to it, it could have more, Like with the Industrialist, Enviromentalist, famous or disliked traits, sounds like there was an entire in depth political system with factions and policies in the works, However I get the feeling that Gene Wilder realized his monster was getting a bit large and decided to shove the whole, glorious creation onto the slab and have Igor pull the lever (Young Frankenstein) so he could Scream "It's Alive, It's ALIVE!" The economic system is marvelous, well thought out, and there are pirates that actually pirate; I never figured how I bartered my rocks and batteries for battleships in Stellaris, and with such massive construction projects, I would assume there would be an equally massive private sector supplying the material, with at least one guy peddling deathsticks to the contractors, but it all seems to be a Command economy.
When it comes to technology, Distant worlds is straight forward- there is no random, arbitrary, Card system- you can see the tech, and path your way to success or failure depending on your investments, it allows for a long term strategy knowing what you are getting, and the ability to build ships, Bases, and facilities, actually build them, not just snap on parts, means you can actually have a truly Clausewitzian buildup of power so long as your economy can support it (Vote Arc 2132, Every Planet a Citadel, Peace through Strength). Now there are so many technologies that are possible, in science fiction and fact, that it would all have to be whittled down, but you could have powered exo-suit research, armored mech research, airbase facilities, orbital rings launch loops, it would all have to be worked out; for instance, I would assume that an orbital ring would provide an extreme boost to a planet's quality as well as population cap, and if built around a gas giant allow for actual colonization and improved output from mining facilities, and upgrades to the orbital ring would allow for the construction of shell worlds, and the more complex structures associated with them. Isaac Arthur Explains and lays out these possibilities better than I can, I'm just waving the flags here; I know that you've got planet destroyers in DW, but imagine what you could do with a weaponized star- all of a sudden the conflicts and battles between the Shakturi and the Ancient guardians and their allies seem restrained, a civilization that could weaponize a star has all of a sudden the capabilities to atomize planets, fleets, star systems, and with enough energy, probably the stars themselves. The ability to transverse the stars as well can be expanded, starting with warp drive, you can proceed down this path to wormholes, which is point to point instantaneously through space compared to having to transverse it, which could lead to the construction of transit stations between the stars, and proceeding down this research can lead to hyperlane gates, which could upgrade Transit stations to Star Highways. Each one of these research possibilities means that in the beginning, your private vessels have to have warp, and later wormhole generators, but towards the mid to late game, your private economy can save money by ditching the warp or worm drives, and investing in engines and storage capacity to get to their planet, using state or privately owned station or lane gates to travel the stars; of course space distorts closer towards planetary or stellar masses, so at first these will have to be built on the edges of the system or planetary gravity well, but there can be research to help that too, and in DW the private sector just warps in close to the planet anyway, the main reason for these gates would be for the private sector to reduce cost and increase profit be reducing design complexity. I can go on, the further down this rabbit hole you go, the more amazing this game can be, and it all doesn't have to be in one go; DW was a really in depth game, and the expansions were beefy, I am certain and have complete confidence as a satisfied customer that they know what they are doing.
Third And Finally, Ships and their classifications, they seem to be the only arbitrary part of the design process, and except for a few instances such as troop transports, exploration ships, and construction Vessels, they don't have much use; when you can fit an escort like a battleship, a battleship like the Carrier, and a Carrier like Battlestar Galactica, the classifications become slightly pointless. I would like to see them stay, I love having Escorts and Frigates and destroyers, but how about having it be built into the design system itself and based on size, some small 56 sized ship could be like a pinnace, but as you head up you have Corsairs, Corvettes, Frigates, Destroyers, Light and Heavy Cruisers, and those Ships-of-the-Battle-Line such as Battlecruisers, Battleships, Flagships, Dreadnoughts, and Carriers. With the classification based on the size of the ships, you can still have the whole build-order screen with the specifications, but now it is automatically applied based on Size, and if you tallied the Number of Engines, armor, shields, and guns, in a rating system, a rating system like that of the Royal Navy before the 1900's could be added, allowing you to have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rate ships available on the build screen so if you want to Kekeke the enemy with a hundred-thousand cheapo third rate corvettes, you can do that, want to have modestly armed second rate frigates patrolling your Trade routes, that works too, Need to Exterminate the Roaches next door with a first rate Battleship or carrier, That's on you if the neighbors start arming themselves (Just in case). There is no "Corvette" or "Battleship" research, the size research remains the same, 750 ship size, 1000 ship size, the ships are automatically graded by tonnage(Size) and rated by equipment. To eliminate the whole "useless Classification" Argument, why not have research branches that provide specific component that have bonuses to ships in a certain size range, nothing game breaking, but in space, sensor range is basically unlimited unless there are obstructing objects, like nebula or dense asteroid belts, or planetary rings. smaller ships can have components that allow them to hide in debris or for larger craft, nebula. It would all have to be thought out, and I've spent the better part of the night thinking on this.
Overall there's just oodles more gameplay that could be possible In DW2, I can only speculate. The only thing that Matrix and Slitherine need to do is near the end of the development cycle, get that advertising spin going, backed by factual gameplay, of course, but spin it right round like a record.
< Message edited by ElipticArc -- 7/3/2017 3:06:29 PM >
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That's Dr Jacobs to you! Men of Lesser Minds would see that I was Thrown away in the loony bin- Mad they called me -I prefer the word Inspired. Although I cannot deny That I am Verily, Quite Mad.
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