SE5, Tell Aaron what's on your Wish List

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

You're completely right.

And I now I've said it about two times before, but I still think it should be implemented in SEV:

Bigger Galaxies.

I think it's best of you have a dialog box (like was proposed for maximum amount of ships/units a while ago) where you can input length&width of the galaxy. There should be no maximum, but I know that's practically impossible, but I still think you would have to have the option to create IMMENSE galaxies (IMHO something in the order of 500000x500000 ly or bigger) and to have a maximum limit of something about the size of the Great Wall (large group of galactic clusters, near our own cluster - galactic clusters consist of many galaxies (ours is called the Virgo cluster), and the Great Wall consists of a VERY large amount of clusters, in an approximate wall shape. so its at least several billion (or trillion) lightyears wide. I'd like to have the option to play in maps of that size... won't have made contact with aliens after 5000 years of real time lol (no, but seriously, with modern-day computers, a feasible maximum would be about 10 million x 10 million ly or something, excellent for multiplayer games, you can have games going on for years)) (this would also open up options like i stated before, of multiple galaxies to play in) (but you would have to have an unbelievable amount of maximum systems, like millions or billions of systems, which would make gameplay not only VERY complicated (no objections to this, btw) but also VERY large-scale if you do it right. think your galactic empire shouldn't be limited to a puny 255 systems? Simple, conquer 255 thousand systems! Then take 255 MILLION systems! lol This would create a real "Massive Galactic Empire/Republic/whatever feeling, would appreciate it very much Aaron )

Sorry if the above is an unreadable mess. Just print it out and take a weekend to decipher it. If it takes longer and you get fired/dumped because you didn't show up for work/your girlfriend/wife for a week, don't blame me, I'm simply putting my thoughts into text directly, without barriers in between

[AMF]

I think "larger quadrants" are one of those things that is going to be in. But, I doubt that they will be THAT big...



I totally agree that quadrants should be bigger...

But...I was just about to also write that it seems to me that it would be very unusual for someone to want to play in a game with 250 Million systems...*however* I just realized that the coolest use for such a thing would be to provide a "real-time" background universe for role playing. For example, if I was still GMing space opera RPGs, I would use my empire in a certain game as the backdrop for it. If one wanted to run a "realistic" Traveller (or whatever) RPG game, one could set up an SE5 game in the largest possible universe and run a turn in it every time "RPG-time" advanced...that way, you could use SE5 to provide your RPGing with a living, breathing background universe...that would be nifty as heck.

Hmmm...the possibilities are pretty vast, especially once you factor in modd'ing...

I might ust get backinto RPGing if ultra-large SE5 universe come about...

-Alarik

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

Yeah, I know it's going to be a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong game if you have millions of systems to explore/colonize/conquer, but it would, IMO, add to the fun.

As I said, there should be a dialog box for the length/width of the galaxy with a maximum allowable value of something in the order of 10 million... I know it's gonna be 1 million grid squares, but it would be fun. Also, add a dialog box to set the "average gridsquares-per-system" where you could specify the average number of empty grid squares for each system with a minimum of about 5-10 so you could play on a tiny map crammed with systems so a warp point opener level 1 (100 ly, ie 10 gridsquares, ie standard, not modded) could be used to reach dozens of systems without moving. The maximum should be about 100 or something, so you can play on a gigantic map with only a few dozen/hundred systems, making warp point opening less easy, and you need to plan out wp rooutes to get to a system just beyond your reach... would be interesting for trader-games!

(Trader-games are something I dream about sometimes... games where the main part is not necessarily "colonize, research and conquer" but "trade for prosperity". There could also be a small amount of small Empires that were the only ones allowed to go to war with each other, as mercenary-style empires, and such empires could be hired by any party to attack any other party (perhaps even the large trading-empires) for money. This could be fun for the small mercenary-empires, playing two empires against each other by drawing higher and higher bids from them, or driving bids up yourself by stating another empire made you a better offer. That'd be nice to play, with lots of diplomacy involved - and backstabbing. For instance, you covet the systems occupied by one of your Partnership friends, and so because you still want to keep the treaty you hire a mercenary empire to attack the other covertly so you can colonize his former planets. I have even made the "Star Credits Price Table" for these types of games; i.e. "I attacked that planet for you, you owe me 1000 SC" "I can give you 20k organics, 10k rads, and 25 medium fighters" "You bastard! That's only 700 SC! I want my payments! Now!" etc. Exchange rates are fixed - boarding ships, racial-specific ships, etc. to hire/buy, 1k of resources is 2 SC, small troop is 1 SC, medium 3, large 5, etc. This makes trading objects (units, ships, planets) much more interesting than trading resources, since it's much more efficient to trade a ship than to trade 10x its cost which amounts to the same amount of SC.)

[Fyron]

Tnarg said:
Is there a link or post that details a majority of what is already known to be in SEV for sure, and maybe some ideas that are being toyed with?

You can read the chat logs of the IRC chat sessions with Aaron Hall on:

http://seirc.spaceempires.net/archives.php

[Fyron]

StrategiaInUltima said:
AgentZero, as for your statement about Russian, it's pretty simple (I think):

You detect what the other person is thinking. Even if you're only thinking in abstract text, you will automatically trigger memory "files" with related subjects, which incorporate images. You can extrapolate what the other person is saying through analysis of these images.

The problem is that if you are thinking in a different language, you have different thought processes... Combine this with entirely different brain chemistry of an alien... Images only go so far, and do not convey abstract thought very well, only basic concepts.

[vanbeke]

While I am in favor of a HUGE game, there would appear to be some real issues with the computer required to manage all of that information - either you need massive amounts of memory, or you need a totally different structure of the game mechanism to store everything back to disc when it moves on to something else. Would tend to slow the entire experience to a crawl.

The aspect that I would like to see would be to extend the tech trees so that in a large game, you haven't researched everything there is to research before you are half way through the game (I know - it has been mentioned before).

[Fyron]

vanbeke said:
The aspect that I would like to see would be to extend the tech trees so that in a large game, you haven't researched everything there is to research before you are half way through the game (I know - it has been mentioned before).

SE5 will support virtually infinite tech trees. Adding more levels to a component will just be a matter of increasing the maximum level, since each family will be defined by a single entry filled with formulae to determine the attributes of each level of component (like in Starfury, only not extremely simplistic).

[larrybush]

Here's a quick one

Allow for more than 100 letters in the SectType text file. This allows for better descriptions of the planets and stars.

[AgentZero]

StrategiaInUltima said:
AgentZero, as for your statement about Russian, it's pretty simple (I think):

You detect what the other person is thinking. Even if you're only thinking in abstract text, you will automatically trigger memory "files" with related subjects, which incorporate images. You can extrapolate what the other person is saying through analysis of these images.

Aye, that would work reasonably well when dealing with two humans who speak different Languages, but wouldn't do you a lot of good with an alien. Assume you're telepathic/psychic, and I'm an alien. Through the use of a 'Your Pile, My Pile' system, you propose a trade with me, then scan my mind to find out what I am thinking. The unintelligible giberish you recieve activates a memory 'file' that brings up an image of a large, hairy, six-legged carnivore attempting to mate with a tree.

Question is, what do I think of the deal?

[Strategia_In_Ultima]

Yeah, you're both right (Fyron and AgentZero), but I think you should still see the basic type of message - if it's war, you would always see some sort of combat activity (ship-to-ship combat, predators eating prey, and so on). And I don't mean "trigger memory files" in YOUR memore, but in that of the alien. Even though their brain chemistry might work on a miniature plasma ball. You should still be able to get a general outline of what the message is about.