Would anyone be interested in more planet development?

[Taqwus]

I could see strip-mining facilities (harvest resources quickly at low cost, but also damages *both* value and conditions quickly, as well) being useful -- particularly for nomadic races ala the ID4 aliens.

Possibly, a planetary shield facility which protects friendly ships in that sector as well, although it would take a goodly bit of coding perhaps.

Maybe there should be a psychic facility which attacks the minds of attackers (giving significant attack penalties to 'em out of fear), perhaps with additional effects on invading ground troops (*large* attack penalties, possibly partial or even full conVersion upon arrival). Only works on that sector, 'natch.

Ship component idea: a battle technology analyzer, which may give a small RP boost if higher technology levels are observed.

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-- The thing that goes bump in the night

[Baron Munchausen]

Yes, there ought to be options to modify planets more extensiely and build more interesting things. If planet ENVIRONMENT was more than a single factor we could have more interesting techs related to terraforming. Rather than this vague "conditions" thing there ought to be GRAVITY, TEMPERATURE, and RADIATION. Then, you'd need seperate techs to deal with each of these. The current "Conditions Improvement" plants probably deal with temperature. Some mild penalties, maybe 10-20 percent production for incompatible gravity or radiation levels would make the other types of terraforming useful. It doesn't have to be some catastrophic difference. As high-tech spacefaring races the major players have the machinery necessary to survive in these environments, it's just expensive to use it and so the net return on a colony is reduced. We're talking about actually CHANGING the environment with the terraforming techs so the compensating machinery is not needed and the 'tax' on various activites is removed.

As for planet 'development', how about orbital elevators? The theory is that with strong enough materials you could build a 'tower' on the equator of a world that goes straight into orbit. Put a high-speed elevator in it and you've got direct access to near orbit without rockets or other messy propulsion systems. Then, you could build a continuous orbital structure around it -- a "ringworld" around a planet rather than around a star. In practical game terms this sounds like a great way to justify extending the facility space of a planet, and you could make a cool graphic of an orbital ring appear on the planet once it was built.

I'd also like to see some simpler additions, too, like an "Arcology" facility that boost the population capacity of a planet by a few hundred million. This could be very useful when a planet suddenly becomes 'unstable' and you have to evacuate the population before it breaks up.

[dmm]

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Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
If planet ENVIRONMENT was more than a single factor we could have more interesting techs related to terraforming. Rather than this vague "conditions" thing there ought to be GRAVITY, TEMPERATURE, and RADIATION. Then, you'd need seperate techs to deal with each of these.

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How about making the number of conditions something that is modable? So those who mainly want to fight wars on a grand strategic scale can keep things simple, but those who like the colonization aspect can make it as complex as they like. (What other conditions might people think of? How about atmospheric pressure, for instance?) Also, you could allow/disallow various forms of terraforming. Like, some people might think that changing gravity is going too far, but others wouldn't. And maybe you could allow some types of terraforming for some races but not for others.

[phalen]

I think he has the right idea... I also like the idea of moding this... i dont know if they will put in a mod selection option but they need to... also the idea of a elevator is cool to

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An alternate possibility might be to create ome new double-duty facilities that would free up some slots for other things. Maybe like a space port that also works as a resupply depot, or a combo value enhancer/climate control facil, or a "space complex" that acts like a space port, resup depot and space yard all in one. Hmm. maybe factor a robotic factory into one of those space port combos, too.

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