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Tormodino -> Suggestions - Improving the awesomeness (3/27/2010 10:35:15 PM)
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I compiled some ideas here. These mainly cover things I'd like to see change in the game, but I have tried to keep them moderately realistic.
I realise that many of these are somewhat pipe-dreamy, that the post is very long and require a lot more in-depth thinking, but brain-storming is half the fun :)
I'd love to hear what you guys think about them, and what you would like to see added to the game.
User interface and presentation
tl.;dr. -> Suggestionsf for general improvements to the UI and presentation
More accessible menus.
Multiple items are grouped as (engine_type1 x 2) rather than (engine_type1, engine_type1) in the component list.
Larger, more readable fonts. I need it cause I am old, and my eyesight is poor. :P
Ability to turn off the galactic backdrops.
QUICKFIX: Open the galactic background pictures in Paint, delete the entire picture and fill them with black in Paint. I did this this and everything is so much easier to see. SAVE THE ORIGINALS FIRST!!!
Silence the stars.
I'd like to turn off the twinkling stars. This is partly because I am a minimalist when it comes to games like these, but it is also a matter of not being distracted when zooming out.
Possibly the stars could stop blinking when you have explored them.
Empire borders.
I'd like to see a quick mask toggle to see the Empires influence.
It know it doesn't work quite like GalCiv2, but still, I'd like to get a more graphical presentation of the state of the galaxy
With a quick colour overlay to show where bases and colonies of different empires are, and where they overlap would give a better impression of conflict zones.
The supernovas look pretty bad. Their graphics seem very low-res.
Priority lists
tl;dr -> Controlling AI priorities at a macro level
Being able to set up lists where you can prioritise what fleets, ships, bases, planets should be weighed most to least heavily when distributing resources, producing ships and troops and such would be a great tool for manipulating the AI at a macro level.
Perhaps a newly colonized world should be totally ignored by your freighter routes because it is very far away from the rest of your empire, and it's priority increased when there is sufficient transport infrastructure and resources available to supply it properly, rather than having an even distribution across all your colonies.
AI suggesting retrofitting
I'd like to have the AI suggest retrofitting ships as new technology becomes available, or perhaps set lists of priroties for this as well.
Interacting with AI suggestions
t.l.;dr. -> Modifying the suggestions that the AI makes
When the AI suggests actions, I would like to be able to modify them on the fly, rather than saying no and doing it my way.
If the AI suggest building 4 construction ships, a resupply ship and 3 exploration ships, I'd like to go "hell no" and tell it to build only the exploration ships, no resupply ship and a single construction ship.
Automatically responding to diplomatic messages
Sometimes I like to just see what the AI does, and the game pausing to wait for a reply to a diplomatic message seems like something that could be switched on or off.
Quick-view
I want to see a quick-view of how much money and how many resources are going to be spent creating a ship/base when the I order something or the AI suggests building something, as well as my empires available resources.
Command and control : Fleets as objects
tl.;dr.- > Ordering fleets to be built, giving them orders and priorities.
Rather than building individual ships, the player could order a fleet to be built, or a fleet to be gathered at a certain location using available ships, consisting of a set number of ships of various types with preset orders and priority settings for refuelling/repair and retrofitting.
The AI could prioritise building ships and keeping them at operational levels according to their "importance".
Example:
Name: Homeworld Defense Extravaganza Fleet of Extreme Prejudice
Base: Capital solar system, capital planet
Prioirty for repair/refit/refuel: high/high/high
Orders: System defense, Capital defense
1 x Capital Ship (type_soandso)
4 x Cruiser (type_soandso)
8 x Destroyer (type_soandso)
etc.
By being able to change these settings on the fly ships could be added and removed, orders changed without creating a new fleet.
Order queuing
Right-clicking on an object in space (asteroids, planets etc) to order constructions ships to go there when available and build the selected structure.
Removing private ships and bases
This could have a negative happiness modifier
The effect could be linked to government type, where a democratic or mercantile government would have to compensate the private sector for the loss.
Resource flow and resource control
tl;dr -> Cool things to do with the resources and trading
I keep thinking that I should be able to dedicate freighters to a single planet or solar system, or perhaps a trade route between two trade hubs.
Since the amount and type of resource available can be seen in the planner I'd love to be able to assign certain resources to certain planets and bases to more effectively control the flow of resources.
Example: I want to ensure that my high-priority worlds always receive the largest amounts of the ten closest available luxury resources.
On the same note, control of resource in terms of what can and cannot be moved outside the empire would lead to some interesting possibilities for creating anything from aid packages to empires rich in strategic resources but poor in luxuries and demanding access to a certain resource causing grounds for a low-intensity trade war in the private sector as well as smuggling.
I have to stop some time… At least for now.
Peace
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