If factions are going to be invading each other, then this kind of info is going to be very important.
I call up the Intel screen and go to the planets tab and click the ‘inhabited’ filter. it shows all the populated worlds in a list. To see where one is just click the ‘location’ and it brings up their system map.
OTOH, adding another layer of complexity to the game won’t necessarily make the it better.
I mean, scrolling through a list of dozens of worlds looking for ones owned by a certain faction still doesn’t seem like good UI to me. If there was a filter by faction that would be quite a bit better.
There’s a lot of things to recommend this game, but ease of use isn’t one of them. Some really basic functionality like weapon comparisons showing up when mousing over weapons in the equipment list that seem like a complete no-brainer are missing entirely. You can’t see extremely relevant information on the individual refit screen, things as critical as Top Speed and Deployment Cost. You literally have to swap to the fleet screen and get the information from yet another different information tab, from where you can make no changes, so back to the refit screen once again.
For some ships, it isn’t even clear if they are classified as a Cruiser or Capital Ship, even though there are relevant differences with a number of modules. Is a Battlecruiser a Battleship or a Cruiser? Despite having the word cruiser in the name, they are Capital Ships and not Cruisers, at least in the latest experience I can remember. The game is so mired in stuff like this that I could go on and on and on about it. It says something that I enjoy the game as much as I do, despite all that.
I agree. The default view with the inhabited filter on is to sort by distance, which tends to group factions somewhat together but adding a faction sort column there would really help. Someone with a Starsector forum account should make that suggestion to Alex over there.
Don’t forget this is in alpha - you should consider posting this suggestion on the official forms. It’s a great idea, but I don’t imagine anyone here will be able to implement it. :)
jpinard
658
I really wanna play this, but I also only wanna play it when 1.0 hits. Argghh!
In my books, version 0.9.1 of Starsector is vastly superior to version 1.0 of many other games.
@jpinard This is great advice, and you should listen to it. Starsector, in it’s current state, is probably the most obsessed with a game I got this year - it’s brilliant and feels incredibly content rich and entertaining. And there will just be more to come! And it’s only fifteen bucks! Basically the most “no-brainer” decision you will make this year.
I’ve not been able to stop playing it, and all I’ve done so far is probably the most mundane part of the game, exploration and some trade. Still having a blast.
jpinard
664
What is “battle size” option for in settings?
Also, dang you guys weren’t kidding about how hard the text is to read. It shouldn’t be that bad, it’s clear, but makes me go cross-eyed for some reason.
If you enjoy big battles, just increase it to max.
I recommend that you edit the vm options file to increase the memory for java. I think it’s located in the main directory of the game if I’m not wrong.
It increases the number of deployment points for battles. Each ship has a DP number (bigger/better ships cost more to deploy) and you can only deploy so many ships into battle at a time. When ships are lost you and your opponent can bring in reinforcements from the rest of the fleet that weren’t deployed initially. If you increase the battle size slider you will start with more ships and the battles will be bigger and more complicated. Until you get used to the game a bit, I would recommend you leave that on the default setting.
I had no idea that the question mark was up there at the top of the screen. Which is even crazier when you consider that I moused over that same icon all the time in the fleet screen.
Once you know it’s there, great! I’d still rather “Recovery Cost (supplies)” not require a mouse-over to know, as it’s an extremely important stat. You will bump into deployment limits not terribly far into the game. I’d even go so far as to include that number next to their icon in the Fleet screen, as seen in your screenshot next to the strike craft. And I’d rename it “Deployment Cost” which tells you a lot more intuitively what it does than “Recovery Cost (supples)”.
And I should try to get motivated to make a forum account and compile my suggestions in some sort of neat list. It’s all just quality of life stuff.
Going to shelve this again. While it has come a long way, I am one of those people that needs some guidance in most games. Achievements or development paths in PDX games, the final rocket in Rimworld, the creeping heat and finite resources in Oxygen Not Included, etc.
With Starsector I find myself getting bored after a hour of trade and exploration missions. The combat model is awesome, but not enough that I want to just play that. The universe is oozing with atmosphere, but I’ve never been one for games of simple space trucking, so that also isn’t quite enough. It sounds like they’ll eventually have some larger motivations, so I’ll wait to dive back in then, rather than burn out forcing myself through the motions while it’s still in beta (or whatever he’s calling it).
It is written in Java?! Doesn’t that mean game engine performance takes an automatic 50% hit?
With the current state of the game the big challenge is mostly about finding some decent planets and getting some colonies established and profitable so that you can go do whatever you want to do without worrying about money. I agree that you do kind of have to decide what’s fun for you to do.
For me the fun of the game is hunting for good colony planets and rare ship and weapon blueprints so I can field my dearth armada and take on the high danger Remnant systems.
I am as amazed as you are! Java! Surely it can’t be!
Gendal
672
Not if it’s well written and doesn’t piss off the garbage collector (which is the downfall of most java games).
