The Power of Stellar Manipulation

[DirectorTsaarx]

Technically, the star-destroying component DOES destroy the entire ship when it's used - along with everything else in the system. Same for the components that create black holes or system-wide nebulas.

I'd also have to say I agree with everyone else's points here: they're already pretty expensive to build, expensive to maintain, and use a lot of supplies (which is tricky until you research the Quantum Reactor); but I also think they're fairly expensive to research. Don't you need a level or two in Astrophysics, and then up to 5 levels of Stellar Manip to get star destroyers? Granted, the warp closer and the planet creators are pretty low on the Stellar Manip tree, but you're still sacrificing a lot of weapons research to get them.

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by DirectorTsaarx:
Technically, the star-destroying component DOES destroy the entire ship when it's used - along with everything else in the system. Same for the components that create black holes or system-wide nebulas.

No. Technically it only destroys the star, and the star blowing up is what destroys the ship. But if you were a crew member of the ship, I am sure the difference would not mean a lot to you at the moment.

Geoschmo

[Rollo]

IIRC only emergency resupply and emergency propulsion need a space yard. I am sure that stellar manipulation does not.

Rollo

[bearclaw]

Originally posted by ckotchey:

I would suggest:
- making the process (e.g. planet creation) take several turns to achieve once the process has started.

THIS idea, I like. I also think that Warp Openers should not always create stable Warp Points.

Perhaps, when a warp opener is used something like the following would happen:
- 33% chance of a stable warp point,
- 33% chance of an unstable (damaging) warp point
- 34% chance of a warp point that will collapes withing 1-5 years.

Similaraly, with a Warp Closer there could be a 33% chance that the closure is temporary and the Warp point may re-open naturally within 1-5 years.

[Suicide Junkie]

What if you had to use your opener multiple times, in order to widen/stabilize the warppoint?

IE each time you use the opener from one point to another, the warppoint goes from temporary/small to medium to stable/large.

Where the size relates to the maximum size in kt of a ship that can safely navigate the WP.

Or maybe automate it, so when a opener is stopped over a warppoint, it will widen or stabilize it at the end of each turn.
Similarily with a closer. Each turn, the WP would shrink and destabilize a little bit.

Higher tech openers would stabilize faster in addition to having longer ranges.

[DirectorTsaarx]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
What if you had to use your opener multiple times, in order to widen/stabilize the warppoint?

IE each time you use the opener from one point to another, the warppoint goes from temporary/small to medium to stable/large.

Where the size relates to the maximum size in kt of a ship that can safely navigate the WP.

Or maybe automate it, so when a opener is stopped over a warppoint, it will widen or stabilize it at the end of each turn.
Similarily with a closer. Each turn, the WP would shrink and destabilize a little bit.

Higher tech openers would stabilize faster in addition to having longer ranges.

I'd be happy if "small" warp points in the game actually enforced maximum ship sizes somehow. I'd also suggest that the ranges on warp point openers should be lower than they are now (say, half the current range, or even less). Even the low-tech opener is extremely useful (in a large galaxy, at least); IIRC, in SE3, the warp point openers were much less powerful. Of course, SE3 didn't have a facility that could block the opener from working... (I've noticed that the AI is pretty good at building that facility, at least in "not connected" games).