Recommendations?

#1

Sorry this is so long. I also wanted to ask if we could recommend stuff.

In the original Battlestation (Now BattleVoid- actually fits the three games a bit better, since the second is more of a fleet manager) you could board ships, and take them over. You could also target weapons, shields, etc. I don't know if you guys take recommendations, so I'm sorry if this comes off as rude, but those two features are something that I really miss from the original/BattleVoid First Contact. Being able to target specific systems would really be helpful, and increase the tactical depth of the game overall. For example, you fire a missile into the enemy's main/more 'annoying' weapon, to disable it, such as an Ion Cannon or 'Mega' weapons of any type. Or, you can disable the enemies carrier so you can safely bombard them with your plasma bombers as to protect them. As for things to target, I think you should be sent to a screen similar to your Engineering tab, except you can't see the stats of the enemies' weapons. From here you choose what you want to attack- the enemies gatling guns stopping your missiles, their neverending fleet of fighters, Maybe their hull, etc. Once you chose what things you want to attack, you then get sent to another tab similar to Engineering but with your ships, and you choose what weapons, carriers and point defense to attack your target. To balance out attacking weapons, weapons would do less damage to hull, unless the weapons is being repaired. You could also attack with individual fighters; as in, if you are using the default Nightengale, with five Bolter Fighters, you could have three focus on surrounding fighters, while the other two attempt to disable the enemies' main weapon(s). Of course, you could also take a more, 2nd BattleVoid approach, and simply set it to focus on weakest, strongest, etc. That also has limitations, but, it's your game, and it is already pretty complete. Also, Fighters in general should work more as a team, I tend to move them towards an enemy ship in formation before having them actually 'attack.' As for Marines, they should be able to board any ship (Or maybe just ones with carriers) and take over the ship for the duration of the battle/time you are in the sector. This will allow you to salvage more from the ship, all it's weapons, etc. Similar to FTL. Of course, you'd need enough Marines. Upgrades could include number of Marines, advancement in weaponry, and perhaps escorts and their boarding ship. Advancement in weaponry could make each Marine .5 more effective in combat, So each Marine can take down 1.5 hostiles, and then 2, etc. per Marine. That way, 10 Marines can take down 30 enemies before they are completely wiped out. OR, you could make each individual boarding a 'mini-game.' Ever heard of Door Kickers? Another Indie game, but I think you could make something similar to that. You'd need to make an interior for each individual ship, and if you don't want to do that, make it so the enemy doesn't board your ships- although that wouldn't be so fun, huh? Anyways, if you read this, please send me an email of your thoughts. I know how hard it would be to code a whole new AI for the second part of the Marine idea, and perhaps even to be able to intelligently target player weapons, but I think this would all be good additions to the game.
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#2

Greetings!

Yeah we know Door Kickers, neat looking game! Your ideas are solid, one hard thing about targeting the individual turrets is that its hard to make it matter in a meaningful way. What I mean is that it wouldn't always be obvious and right to pick a certain turret, then a certain next one... Every time. Not saying it isn't possible, but that kind of balance takes a lot of time and effort.

Will certainly put your recommendations into our thoughts Smile
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#3

That's what I meant when I said simple 'focus' orders like in the second Battlevoid. You could have a turret or fighters focus on enemy turrets, or shields, or simply fire at the hull. I, personally, like control over things, and perhaps you could have it 'remember' your previous configuration? Maybe not from previous playthroughs, but throughout that single 'game.' Perhaps you could make it so that, while you can do it for each individual weapon, you could do it by ship? So, you could have a destroyer with Nuke Silos and Flak, have them target Hull, while a backup Frigate fires and disables enemies weapons in general? I was just trying to make it REALLY in depth, but something similar to First Contact would definitely make battles more in depth- they just seem, hollow. The game is great, don't get me wrong, but it seems a little too simple, and the player would be a little more engaged if they had to put a little more thought into their strategy- such as disabling enemy weapons, and moving in. Still, I appreciate the work you guys put into your games, and I can't wait until Space Haven is ready.
Thanks for reading it by the way, ha ha.
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#4

No problem. Totally understand where you are coming from and we know it would be awesome to have more depth in the battles. We will take those into consideration!
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#5
(This post was last modified: 11-21-2016, 06:45 PM by Ghost993514.)

I understand this game is supposed to be rogue-like, and you start with a random amount of Scrap and Green thingies, but ships should rather start with a smaller amount of scrap and a limited armament. For example, the Nightengale will start with a basic Projectile Cannon, Energy Cannon combo, and maybe fighters, and you start with 500 scrap and 5 Green thingies, like FTL, but with a limited amount of scrap.
Or, perhaps before the initial sector, you have a limited budget based on a ship and it's size, and it'll be the only time you can refund stuff full price- since you haven't actually entered a sector. I've also noticed I start with more Scrap when I use bigger ships, and that there is already a similar setup already, but this would be a little ore user friendly.
Either-or, the idea is that people starting out can have an easier time understanding the game, and basic weapon combinations. Also, it would help more experienced and mediocre players (Me) on harder difficulties, so they don't get too unlucky and start with a meager 982 scrap. Granted; I personally like the challenge sometimes- sometimes -but it can happen, while typically not that extreme.
Also, keep a 'classic' mode. That way, you can still play it the same way it is now.
Also, looking back, my last ideas were a bit far fetched, with this game being multi-platform, but not impossible I suppose.

Oh! I forgot to mention Fighter/Bomber ROEs. Bombers seem to drift way to close to enemy ships, and should prioritize staying as close to maximum range as possible as to engage enemy ships safely. I manually have move alongside the enemy ship and not directly. While they try to do this now, it would increase their effectiveness greatly.
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