SE5, Tell Aaron what's on your Wish List

[Anthony Briggs]

I'm not necessarily all that fussed with this new feature or that new feature -- I'd like to see some user interface improvements, dammit!

Things like:

o being able to sort by multiple columns in table views, for example, by ctrl or alt-clicking on a second/third/fourth column header. (I think there are even some tables in the game that aren't sortable, but I can't remember them off the top of my head). Actually, I just checked - I think it was that you can't sort by planet type in the planets screen.

o mini-maps for some of the ship navigation (or waypoint setting?) screens - I can't remember which ones off the top of my head...

o Perhaps some sort of search facility at the top of tables (eg. Show me only the combat ships in these three sectors, only the planets with Replicant Centres, etc.)

o Having more detailed load/unload orders would be a *BIG* plus, particularly when queueing orders/shuffling pop around. ie. Load 30 pop from this planet, 60 from this one, drop all 90 to a separate planet. Or, load 1200 pop into a pop transport, and drop 100 pop here .. here .. here .. etc. Repeating that order could save about 90% of the work moving pop/troops/mines from place to place.

o A more detailed multi-add screen would also be good. Currently you can't do a one turn's worth of units, lather, rinse, repeat. Alternatively, you could have a build order for a fleet that would do much the same thing.

o Also, it would help if you could queue up ships before a ship-yard was built (ie go shipyard - ship - ship - ship in one fell swoop). Currently you have to wait until the yard's built before you can queue up ships.

o One more for build queues - the way that queues are reordered seems very strange to me - it would be a lot more intuitive to be able to (eg.) drag items into the right place, instead of having a separate menu.

o For research - I seem to recall that if you split points evenly, you can invest more in a tech than you need to. So if you have a cheap tech (5k) and an expensive one (50k), and 20k points to spend, you get 10k in each. I'd have to check that one to be sure, though. Probably the same thing happens for intel, too.

o Fleet management, particularly with fighters and other units - I can't merge multiple Groups of fighters in space without slurping them all up into a carrier or planet, and spitting them out again.

o Also, what about the ability to remotely launch fighters from a planet/ship? ie. launch them and select where to send them. Or a 'dock' command for fighters to rendezvous with carriers in motion?

o Another thought about tables - perhaps the ability to sort ships and ship yards by location (both system name and (x,y) coordinates)? It'd help coordinate space yards as well - ie. stop you from having to do the rename them by planet and sort by name trick.

o How about renaming systems? I guess that would be open to abuse in Online games, but the GM could always switch it off.

o Ooo.. and another minor niggle - you can't jump back to a sector screen (ie with planets and ships) from any sub-screen except 'details', which means you either have to click back on the main system window, or click back to details, and then go out.

o In some screens (ie from the detail view of a planet or ship) you can right-click on the flag to get a race report. This would also be very useful from a lot of the Empires screens, but doesn't seem to work in any of them.

o Empire comparisons don't seem to be very robust - they break in a lot of the Online games that I play. Not sure what's going on there - could be a game setting perhaps?

These sorts of things would definitely help - particularly in the really massive, 100-planet simultaneous games. Anything that helps make micro-management more bearable is a big plus in my book. I can probably come up with some others - I'll have a think about it over the next few days.

Anthony

[Slick]

Some good ideas there.

o Also, it would help if you could queue up ships before a ship-yard was built (ie go shipyard - ship - ship - ship in one fell swoop). Currently you have to wait until the yard's built before you can queue up ships.

This one has a workaround. See the FAQ:

4.4.15 Q: How do I set up a planet�s construction queue to build a spaceyard and then build ships without having to edit the queue after the spaceyard is built?

A: Normally you can�t add ships to a planet�s construction queue until after the planet has a spaceyard facility. However there is a neat interface workaround. First, go to another planet that has a spaceyard and add your ship to its construction queue. Then save the construction queue using the process in section 4.4.13 above. Now, when you colonize a new planet, you can set up the build queue to build a spaceyard using the normal method and add ships to the queue using the saved queue.

Slick.

[Chronon]

Originally posted by Anthony Briggs:
Anything that helps make micro-management more bearable is a big plus in my book.

I agree! Moddable ministers, lists that remember where you were, sortable statistics, detailed repeat orders, and anything else that helps me focus on grand strategy rather than tedious repetitive tasks like laying mines and shipping population around.

Also, I do hope we get some new artwork for the race pictures - especially the Phong.

[Gavinfox]

Well, a few things that I want. How about, when you are looking at any given specific planet screen, you can click a "next" or "previous" button to go to the next planet, without having to go back to the planet list and open up that planet?

Also, how about this idea: being able to do MAJOR planetary system changing. Don't like the fact that one system is full of a bunch of small moons? Blow em all apart, tow the resulting asteroid fields to a certain distance from the star (depending on what type of planet you want to have), create one big asteroid field from them, and use that to create whatever type of planet you like!! Use this to get rid of all of those tiny, unproductive planets and give you fewer, better planets in the late game. Of course, there is a problem with getting rid of all the facilities and population on your planet, but nothing that an experienced player shouldn't be able to handle!

Also, constructable space lanes that are like "roads" that lower the amount of points needed to get from here to there, inside a system and in between systems. This would be VERY useful!!

[psimancer]

as a part of gavinfox thing about roards

when opening warp points allow me to set both the open point and the end point even if i have to make a secondary device that can be picked as the target point for the wqarp point if its in the target system

[HP Delron]

Holy Honking Radioactive Ducks, this thread is huge! Well I certainly don't have the time to read through it all, so chances are i'm going to be giving some major repeats. I also don't know if some of the more minor changes haven't been added in the most recent patches as I haven't played in a couple of months. In any case, here I go:


Supply:

I'd love supply to play a larger role, and be a much bigger issue to worry about. First, I think that ships should take damage when at 0 supplies, and be unable to move at all. Secondly, every component on the ships should have minumum per turn supply consumption, so even if the weapons aren't being fired they take up a small amount of supply to be in ready to use condition.(perhaps there could be some kind of option to power-down indvidual parts with a supply cost to power them up again, to help stranded ships save on fuel). Also, i'd like to see more in the supply generation. In other words, "Reactor" type parts, that generate X Supply per turn, independant of any of other factors (like solar panels.. without the sun(s). Seconldy supply depots on planets should work simliarly, no more instant re-fill or all and any ships in orbit. They should, have huge amounts of supply generating capacity.. but not so much as to make multiple supply depots per planet, worthless for large fleets. This change would affect bases too, while they would have reduced supply demands and mabey even the ability to have larger more powerful reactors, so they can serve as re-fueling points as well. After all this, i think it goes without saying (but i'll say it anyway), that I want to see the Quantum Reactor Component gone, forever.

Space Yards:

I'd like the ability to have multiple space yards per planet. Each space yard on a planet would have its own queue but you could always have multiple space yards work on the same project for a pleanty to their overall production rates, since you would be constructing different parts of the ship at different locations on the planet. For example

Planet Z has 2 Space Yards, each of these space yards can construct at 1000 mineral units per turn. The player has put "Happy Cow Ship" for the two space yards to work together. Since this project is being completed at two space yards, it gets completed faster, but not at double rate. It might go at 1500 instead of 1000 mineral units per turn. If you had 3 working on that same project, perhaps 2,250, instead of 3,000. There could also be some kind of faclility such as "Construction Coordiation Building" (or something like that) would decrease the loss from having multiple space yards work in conjuction. It would also probably be a good idea to make it so that when space yards work together they have to work at the same rate, if one is at emergency build rate the others must be too, if one is at slow build so must the others be. Of course, multiple space yards on a planet could each keep indepedant projects with no loss to overall effiency.

Ground Combat:

I'd like to see this play a bigger role, and have more things invovled. Defensive faclities, being able to drop troops from multiple ships at once. More viable Troops designs.

Weapons:

More complex weapons system. Weapon and damage types, with proper armors and Shiels to resist them. Weapon types, would be like "Beam", "Projectile", "Seeker", "Burst" etc.., and would be based on delivery method for the weapon. Anti-Mater/Quantum Torpedos, Deletped Uranium Cannons, Shard Cannons would all be "Projectile" weapons. An actual projectile is fired from ship A to ship B, with the intent of harming it. Things like Wave Motion Guns, Lightning Rays, Tractor Beams etc.. woudl be "Beam" weapons things that send a stream of energy to the ship to harm it. "Burst Weapons", could be things like Meson BLasters, Null-Space Cannons, Telekinter Projectors, things that shoot some kind of energy ballish thing at the ship in attempt to make it go kaboom. Seekers would be well seekers. Different shields and armors would have different resistances to each type.

The second part of all this would be the damage type a weapon deals. Something like "Direct (phsyical), "Direct (energy)", "Explosive" etc.. A captail ship missle might do, explosive damage. While a meson bLaster would do Direct eneryg damage, and shard cannon did direct phsyical etc..

Each armor/shield type, would have a certain level effectivness vs each kind of weapon type and damage, and those together would detemrine how the damage was dealt, and how much damage was dealt. I won't try to speculate on specefic numbers here, as thats the kind of thing that really just needs to be balanced out with trial and error.


I have tons more ideas, but i'll save them for later. I don't wanna make any cluttered Posts.

EDIT: I inetionally left out the fact I would like to see area-damage weapons. As I know for fact there was no way nobody else wants splash damage in the game. Just consider this another vote in that direction.

[ July 06, 2004, 21:46: Message edited by: HP Delron ]

[Colonel]

Originally posted by HP Delron:
that I want to see the Quantum Reactor Component gone, forever.

NO

anyways i want to be able to set up bases that if placed right can easily be concealed like on moons or in astroids or storms where sensors dont work so then even if a sector is taken over it will be hard to detect without a combination of every sensor type including taychon

[bearclaw]

Variable construction rates sort of like what was avaliable in SEIII. Instead of having a planet emerg build at 150% for 10 turns, perhaps you could choose to have it build at 90% or 115%? I also liked the idea of happiness being affected by increased construction rates in SEIII. Something like that would justify the racial point cost of the Emotionaless trait.

[Paul1980au]

Jump gates (seperate from warp points) ie you build to jump gates on a planet (perhaps a limit of one per star system or 1 per every 10 or 20 planets a player owns)

Anyway you would (transport) one warp point to anywhere you wanted it on a special (jump gate transport) ie you could build in on planet 1 in system 1 and transport to a planet on the far side of youre empire (perhaps 10 systems away) and allow a x amount of ships to travel through it per turn.

This would be a middle game tech allowing you to transport ships perhaps from a back planet to a frontline planet or it could be a cloaked transport ship and go deep into an enemy territory and allow ships directly into the heart of his empire (although you would only be able to jump between the specific jump gates - other seperate jump gates at different locations built on different plantes would not be cross transferrable)

Anyway you would be able to send ships directly to the frontlin - but if the jumpgate was captured the enemy would be able to send his forces direct to youre planet of origin. (although you could destroy it if it was captured) closing the loop.

This would be useful say for sending colonizers across the galaxy to have distinct zones - although the tech would come before warp point opening and closing that would make the tech less strategic.

You guys get my idea

[Paul1980au]

Variable consturction rates would be useful i think.

Yes and perhaps some racial trait that would allow it or increase the "time frame" you could do it over.