New Player Suggestions
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:53 pm
I picked the game up a couple weeks ago and here are my suggestions based on what I have played so far. I find that the game is excellent in the base building aspect and is really fun in that manner, but has some gaps in the interaction between biters, game settings and general end game. Some of these have been suggested by others, but I like them so I'll repeat them. I use the format shown in one of the other threads for consistency.
User story: Add a way to toggle off biters completely in the freeplay/sandbox game setting menu. Currently biters can be set to peaceful or not. Change this check box to a drop down that allows biters to be toggled off completely.
Prerequisites: Alien artifacts need to be spawned in some manner by the game to allow completion of the technical tree and assembly of certain items. I would suggest the following potential options:
- Spawn nests with no biters; player destroys nest to get artifacts (simplest method)
- Spawn artifacts on the terrain; player has to continually explore to find more artifacts to keep the factories feed.
- Spawn a new type of "ore" that requires mining to produce alien artifacts. New "ore" should be small in size and mined out quickly.
- Craft alien artifacts from other materials already in the game.
Game-value: Allows users who only want to build a mega factory to do so without having to deal with biters.
User story: Add additional "worlds" to random world generator. My suggested worlds would be:
- Mountainous - current game is very flat. Mountainous maps would have a lot more unbuildable terrain which would require resources to level or more ingenuity to work around. Mountainous would also have more resources as a trade off for the lack of flat, buildable terrain.
- Water heavy - similar to mountainous, only with water. Water would have similar resources to flat (low in comparison), but the advantage is it is easier to defend from biters.
- Volcanic - combination of mountainous and water heavy. More resources and easier to defend, but much harder to build out a traditional factory, less effect of pollution.
Prerequisites: Art has to be created for each tile set and tile sets tied into world generation algorithm. I would suggest the following improvements be made as well.
- Ability to fill in water/lava features
- Ability to remove rocks via explosives (currently removed via shotgun)
Game-value: Adds more variety to game enhancing replay value.
User story: Fill in water features using stone and/or create bridges.
Prerequisites: There is currently a mod that does this. I would assume that all that needs to be done is it incorporated into the base game and the balancing checked.
Game-value: Allows players to fill in areas of the map for use and bridge across large bodies of water.
User story: Allows explosives to be used to clear a 5 square radius. When used, the explosives clear the area of trees, stones and other entities in the area. Use the current grenade mechanics, only allow explosives or a new item (C4) to be used. The explosives should be aggro enemies in the area and have a long enough delay that they are not useful in combat, but a low enough delay that they are useful in removing rocks and creating water features.
Prerequisites: Item has to be balanced and coding added to affect terrain.
Game-value: Allows players to dig canals, remove rocks and clear terrain.
User story: Create a campaign mode where the player crash lands on a planet, must build a rocket to escape and travel to another world, using several jumps to get from point A to point B. Each world is randomly generated so that it may have different combinations of terrain, resource richness and enemies. I would suggest the campaign mode be 4 worlds, with the option to go up to 10. Each jump allows the rocket to take more resources to the next area and retain the progress in the tech tree.
- first world goal = launch rocket with 5 slots
- second world goal = launch rocket with 20 slots
- third world goal = launch rocket with 100 slots
- fourth world goal = launch rocket to win
Prerequisites: Mode has and additional objects have to be added.
Game-value: Allows players to start over on a new different world with more starting resources and depth in the tech tree, but also feels like you are moving forward in game play.
User story: Add in artillery for base defense and mobile artillery for assaulting enemy bases. Spitters bay attack out of range of some current defense technologies. Artillery would be the late game solution to dealing with them. Additionally, assaulting biter nests late game is tedious. Artillery, either space based, from within the base or mobile artillery would allow for faster clears of biter nests.
Prerequisites: New model needed for each item. They could use the current tank shells or a new ammunition type.
Game-value: Dealing with biters late game is tedious and becomes not fun.
User story: Note, I work in the power industry, so the current power model annoys me. We can build a fusion power cell, future tech, for our power armor, but must use reciprocating steam, 19th century tech, or solar to power, near future tech based on implementation, for the factory. I would like to see the three power options below added:
- Steam turbine - tier 2 of the steam engine. Requires boilers, electronic circuits, steel and steam engines to build. Operates on fuel (coal, wood, solid) and water. Produces 10MW at 50% the pollution, water and fuel of steam engine per kw.
- Gas plant - tier 3 of steam engine. Requires steam turbine(s), processing units, steel and level 1 production module. Operates on petroleum gas or light oil. Produces 50 MW at 25% pollution, water and fuel of steam engine per kw.
- Fusion power - requirements should be processing units, alien artifacts, steel and level 3 production modules. Operates on water. Produces 250MW at 0 pollution.
- Orbital array - requires rocket to launch and ground based receiving station. Basically a solar array in orbit that doesn't ever "go dark".
Prerequisites: New models and associated integration needed for each item.
Game-value: The power model seems to lack options and doesn't make sense. It is steam engines to solar while we get fusion on our power armor. Reality is steam engine to steam turbine to fission/combined cycle steam to fusion steam with solar with accumulators still in the future. I would like to some more options.
User story: Add win condition where the player can win by wiping out the biters (nests in case there are stragglers that get stuck somewhere).
Prerequisites: Map would need a boundary and not truly be infinite, even if set to infinite. Respawning of biters would need to be limited in some way so that player isn't a perpetual game of whack-a-mole on big maps.
Game-value: Allows player to win without leaving the map.
User story: Add bulk rail cars for oil and ore and associated rail loading centers. The current box cars revolve around each resource being touched by an inserter to load the car. Bulk goods do not need the same level of "gentle" handling an inserter would provide. Rail cars for ore are loaded by massive belts (already in the game) and the cars are unloaded by dumping into a hopper.
- Add hopper cars - transports ore, coal and solid fuel, holds 5000 ore, cannot haul anything other than ore
- Add hopper car loader - holds 5000 ore and loads a 5000 ore into a hopper car in 20 seconds
- Add hopper car unloading station - unloads hopper car at 250 ore per second, holds 5000 ore, allows direct unload to belts
- Add tanker cars - holds 5000 fluid, cannot haul anything other than fluid
- Add tanker car loader - holds 5000 fluid and loads a 5000 fluid into a tanker car in 20 seconds
- Add tanker car unloading station - unloads hopper car at 250 fluid per second, holds 5000 fluid of one type, allows direct unload to pipeline
Prerequisites: New models and associated integration needed for each item.
Game-value: Allows more reasons to use trains and more closely mirrors how current production works.
User story: Add a way to toggle off biters completely in the freeplay/sandbox game setting menu. Currently biters can be set to peaceful or not. Change this check box to a drop down that allows biters to be toggled off completely.
Prerequisites: Alien artifacts need to be spawned in some manner by the game to allow completion of the technical tree and assembly of certain items. I would suggest the following potential options:
- Spawn nests with no biters; player destroys nest to get artifacts (simplest method)
- Spawn artifacts on the terrain; player has to continually explore to find more artifacts to keep the factories feed.
- Spawn a new type of "ore" that requires mining to produce alien artifacts. New "ore" should be small in size and mined out quickly.
- Craft alien artifacts from other materials already in the game.
Game-value: Allows users who only want to build a mega factory to do so without having to deal with biters.
User story: Add additional "worlds" to random world generator. My suggested worlds would be:
- Mountainous - current game is very flat. Mountainous maps would have a lot more unbuildable terrain which would require resources to level or more ingenuity to work around. Mountainous would also have more resources as a trade off for the lack of flat, buildable terrain.
- Water heavy - similar to mountainous, only with water. Water would have similar resources to flat (low in comparison), but the advantage is it is easier to defend from biters.
- Volcanic - combination of mountainous and water heavy. More resources and easier to defend, but much harder to build out a traditional factory, less effect of pollution.
Prerequisites: Art has to be created for each tile set and tile sets tied into world generation algorithm. I would suggest the following improvements be made as well.
- Ability to fill in water/lava features
- Ability to remove rocks via explosives (currently removed via shotgun)
Game-value: Adds more variety to game enhancing replay value.
User story: Fill in water features using stone and/or create bridges.
Prerequisites: There is currently a mod that does this. I would assume that all that needs to be done is it incorporated into the base game and the balancing checked.
Game-value: Allows players to fill in areas of the map for use and bridge across large bodies of water.
User story: Allows explosives to be used to clear a 5 square radius. When used, the explosives clear the area of trees, stones and other entities in the area. Use the current grenade mechanics, only allow explosives or a new item (C4) to be used. The explosives should be aggro enemies in the area and have a long enough delay that they are not useful in combat, but a low enough delay that they are useful in removing rocks and creating water features.
Prerequisites: Item has to be balanced and coding added to affect terrain.
Game-value: Allows players to dig canals, remove rocks and clear terrain.
User story: Create a campaign mode where the player crash lands on a planet, must build a rocket to escape and travel to another world, using several jumps to get from point A to point B. Each world is randomly generated so that it may have different combinations of terrain, resource richness and enemies. I would suggest the campaign mode be 4 worlds, with the option to go up to 10. Each jump allows the rocket to take more resources to the next area and retain the progress in the tech tree.
- first world goal = launch rocket with 5 slots
- second world goal = launch rocket with 20 slots
- third world goal = launch rocket with 100 slots
- fourth world goal = launch rocket to win
Prerequisites: Mode has and additional objects have to be added.
Game-value: Allows players to start over on a new different world with more starting resources and depth in the tech tree, but also feels like you are moving forward in game play.
User story: Add in artillery for base defense and mobile artillery for assaulting enemy bases. Spitters bay attack out of range of some current defense technologies. Artillery would be the late game solution to dealing with them. Additionally, assaulting biter nests late game is tedious. Artillery, either space based, from within the base or mobile artillery would allow for faster clears of biter nests.
Prerequisites: New model needed for each item. They could use the current tank shells or a new ammunition type.
Game-value: Dealing with biters late game is tedious and becomes not fun.
User story: Note, I work in the power industry, so the current power model annoys me. We can build a fusion power cell, future tech, for our power armor, but must use reciprocating steam, 19th century tech, or solar to power, near future tech based on implementation, for the factory. I would like to see the three power options below added:
- Steam turbine - tier 2 of the steam engine. Requires boilers, electronic circuits, steel and steam engines to build. Operates on fuel (coal, wood, solid) and water. Produces 10MW at 50% the pollution, water and fuel of steam engine per kw.
- Gas plant - tier 3 of steam engine. Requires steam turbine(s), processing units, steel and level 1 production module. Operates on petroleum gas or light oil. Produces 50 MW at 25% pollution, water and fuel of steam engine per kw.
- Fusion power - requirements should be processing units, alien artifacts, steel and level 3 production modules. Operates on water. Produces 250MW at 0 pollution.
- Orbital array - requires rocket to launch and ground based receiving station. Basically a solar array in orbit that doesn't ever "go dark".
Prerequisites: New models and associated integration needed for each item.
Game-value: The power model seems to lack options and doesn't make sense. It is steam engines to solar while we get fusion on our power armor. Reality is steam engine to steam turbine to fission/combined cycle steam to fusion steam with solar with accumulators still in the future. I would like to some more options.
User story: Add win condition where the player can win by wiping out the biters (nests in case there are stragglers that get stuck somewhere).
Prerequisites: Map would need a boundary and not truly be infinite, even if set to infinite. Respawning of biters would need to be limited in some way so that player isn't a perpetual game of whack-a-mole on big maps.
Game-value: Allows player to win without leaving the map.
User story: Add bulk rail cars for oil and ore and associated rail loading centers. The current box cars revolve around each resource being touched by an inserter to load the car. Bulk goods do not need the same level of "gentle" handling an inserter would provide. Rail cars for ore are loaded by massive belts (already in the game) and the cars are unloaded by dumping into a hopper.
- Add hopper cars - transports ore, coal and solid fuel, holds 5000 ore, cannot haul anything other than ore
- Add hopper car loader - holds 5000 ore and loads a 5000 ore into a hopper car in 20 seconds
- Add hopper car unloading station - unloads hopper car at 250 ore per second, holds 5000 ore, allows direct unload to belts
- Add tanker cars - holds 5000 fluid, cannot haul anything other than fluid
- Add tanker car loader - holds 5000 fluid and loads a 5000 fluid into a tanker car in 20 seconds
- Add tanker car unloading station - unloads hopper car at 250 fluid per second, holds 5000 fluid of one type, allows direct unload to pipeline
Prerequisites: New models and associated integration needed for each item.
Game-value: Allows more reasons to use trains and more closely mirrors how current production works.
