Sequel. what would you like?

[Xcede]

Hey guys...
My last post put the game outta sight.....Cliffski would almost need a fulltime crew to code all the things I put there.

So to keep it simple how bout...

I personally would like to see a score...
Something that would take into consideration all of your expenses and income and based on the days it took to complete a mission give you a total score or score per day.

Positive Bonus Modifiers on finishing early
Negative Modifiers for repairs and esp towing

I would also like to be able to transfer Droids between ships without selling them and purchasing them again.

Something easy...yes?
any thoughts are welcome.
Xcede

[D2ARK]

How about a tech level limit on not only planets, but parts which can be used in a ship... ie, if the engines are a tech level of 7, but the controller computer is a tech level 4, then either the engines won't work, or they work at reduced efficiency / capacity? also, it would be nice to actually see the tech level of the parts / modules / faults so the best plan for a planet landing can be made.... :P

In addition, I also agree with ship types of some kind, like a ship predisposed as a luxury / hotel liner, a cargo hauler, or "reefer" (refrigerated) delivery ship. Each kind could have a certain number of tons devoted to a specific type of cargo, and so many free tons available for configuration. The player might then have the option of paying a modest sum of money to increase the tonnage capability (and add more modules). Heck, what about certain planets offering custom-built ship hulls, or general-use ship skeletons the player could fill out as desired from the beginning without buying a used, pre-configured ship?

What about multiple objectives needed to complete a map? Instead of just "make money" or "get cargo delivered", you could stipulate something like "Deliver 80 tons of [cargo or modules type 1] & 40 tons of [cargo or modules type 2] to [destination], and have [number] of credits on-hand by [time limit]." 8)

I like the other ideas of space platforms - maybe they could be configured much like ships, with storage units (for non-perishable / hazardous cargo), fuel supplies (bought from planetary refineries and shipped to the platforms to refuel ships - both company and independent), repair shops, hotel housing (and possibly resort / casino modules), or maybe even greenhouses? :D

A couple of suggestions about the maps: How about actual simulated planet systems, complete with movement of the planets? This would present a higher challenge to get from one planet to the next, even in a system modeled after our own solar system. The other suggestion on the maps is the ability to have larger maps, with the ability to travel between different star systems, and ships priced accordingly on tiered prices for interplanetary, intergalactic, and both. :wink:

Also, a good editor would be really nice, with the ability to import and/or create new ship and item pictures (possibly in bitmap, jpg, or gif formats?), create new general all-game items and also challenge-specific items, along with custom star systems which could all be uploaded to a central sharing point online so anyone can download them... Or maybe even online capabilities for co-op or competitive play?

These are just some of my thoughts. :lol:

[chillmonster]

I would like to see some crossutilization of crew skills. For instance, although pilot who is a good steward won't have the time to look after passangers enough and allow the ship to carry more, he could do a good bit to affect for customer satisfaction. Next, if you coulple this with a suggesstion made earlier about crewmembers having a chance to automatically repair the ship, those beta skills could act as a bonus for maintenance and repair.

If the beta skills have a different effects depending on what job of the crewman, you could add yet another layer of strategy to the game. ie. a pilot effects almost everything else on the ship and has a stronger effect on morale and ship maintenance. Stewards effect moral more than anyone else and a ship where the crew is more personable and inclined to take care of passangers would have a happier crew because they would get along whith eachother also.

I'd like to see different ship options opened up dependino on who you have on your crew. A crewman who's associated with the black market effects passenger moral, but he opens up different smuggling options on different planets. Certain modules would go offline or not be available to a ship if they didn't have an Engineer of a certain level (I think someone else had a very simmilar suggestion).

Ship customization and many more alien races would do a lot for the game. Differences in the races such as regional prejudices that effect customer/crew satisfaction aliens that require special modules to transport. A larger map with different concentrations of different races in different areas would lend much to this suggestion.

I would like to take the territory argument in another direction. Instead of buying planets, you could drive your out competition by having a good reputation and a certain number of ships servicing that and the surround area planet to take over transport form the planet. This opens up fee discounts etc.

Last I want to see half a dozen to a dozen galaxies that present different challenges. One with a lot of space debris, another with very hot planets, another at war, etc. And any company would have to have special special subspace travel equipment for intergalactic travel. Taking over transport in every galaxy would be an excellent ultimate goal.

[D2ARK]

Hey guys...
My last post put the game outta sight.....Cliffski would almost need a fulltime crew to code all the things I put there.

You know, Xcede, that's not a bad idea. I wonder if Cliffski would be averse to the idea of an open-source style of game creation with a whole bunch of us working on the game part-time, each one of us on individual parts or modules? Maybe we could ask for a copy of the completed game as "payment", or something like that?

What do you think, Cliffski?

[Sind]

I started playing this game, after purchasing it years ago. . .

I'd like to see more interaction with other shipping companies. It would be pretty cool if we could have actions to take to hinder rival competitors. They could then also do the same.

[Sind]

I have edited the previous post to formulate my ideas more clearly after learning more about the game.

I would really like to see improved interface with ships.

What I am thinking to to revamp the module/ship interface.

A ship would be an empty hull to which modules could be added. The hulls would vary by size, which would affect the total number of modules that could be added to a ship.

There would be a variety of different types of hulls for each size. Each type would have a designated number of slots for various module types. Some hulls could have more slots for engines and power while others could focus more on cargo or passenger/crew modules. (Additionally hulls have bonuses/penalties for appearance. Stylish hulls would appeal to passengers and such.)

The benefit of large hulls is obvious. Smaller hulls would have benefits such as fuels efficiency and maintenance costs. Additionally smaller hulls could attract less attention which would be of benefit to smugglers.

[wolfdaddy2002]

Things I would like to see:
1. When purchasing a ship, something that lets you know how many "slots" it has.
2. More than two types of engines.
3. Keep it combat free.
4. More company control. For example the ability to name your company, PERHAPS sell stock, (that's a maybe, a stock price emulator could be a memory hog if done realisticaly). Have your company buy a stardock, a shipyard (I think they should be different things, or the shipyard be an add on to the stardock) and a warehouse. Even a "talent pool". As it is if i want a person to be a pilot on a second ship and they aren't on the same planet, my first ship has to hire them haul them to my second ship, fire them, and THEN my second ship has to hire them.
5. Rival companies that actually do things. Even if it's just keeping track of your companies rating.
6. Someone (i forget who) suggested being able to buy a planet. I love that thought, but it might not be a feasible thing due to what would be involved in running a planet.
7. A "fame" feature. Heck you could make it "good" and "evil" with you attracting ships (with crews) based on that. However i admit it doesn't quite keep in context of the game.
8. The ability to put a second (or third) ship on a "route". For example, Ship A will buy grain at World A and then sell it at world B, then go back to World A Etc. Maybe make this a feature of the "company menu" (see above). Say, you buy a contract.

[pearldrumbum]

I would like to see some more practical numbers when refering to what a ship can do. (ex: instead of just adding fuel tanks until you think you have enough, or fuel saving devices to make long trips, have the game actually calculate how many LY your vessel can travel with a full load and with an empty load, to get a better idea of which passengers and cargo you can pick up.) I always find myself exiting the starport screen and clicking "set course" so i can test how far my range is.

Also, its already been discussed a lot, but i really like the idea of being able to purchase entire planets and all the suggestions that have gone with that so far.

I also think it would be cool to be able to give a ship a route (for example between 2 or 3 or more planets) and let it run, automatically picking up passengers and cargo bound for destinations on its route.

[DWBryan01]

Reading thought this a little I seen some I like.
Transfer Droids between ships without selling them and purchasing them again.
Certain planets offering custom-built ship (prepay or pmts plan w interest).
Rival competitors: interface with ships to offer to buy them out or hire their crew and also the reverse of competitors bribing your crew.
A larger display window or drop menu for the ships config (to see all installed)
Hmm perhaps certain races that work well together on the ship as a team to up the satisfaction of the passangers and will inform you if a rival Co trys to bribe?

Im still leanring the trade of the game ( just got it ) and have been loving it.
I seen in another post somone that played Starflight.. I still have it on my C=64 and got the idea of the races having a diferent language.. and the steward can only understand his/her own race untill trained?
and a option to train any crew memeber to up their skill level to perform tasks better
:roll:

[Xcede]

Well Cliffski... It looks like everyone has something to input....lol...you asked. Of course
since you might *theoretically* be working on it, what we asked for and what we get are
two completely different animals.



I personally would like to *theoretically* get on the waiting list for the new Starship Tycoon
when it goes retail. :mrgreen:
But if you just sell it online you can count me in when it comes out. Let me know.

Xcede

[D2ARK]

Just curious, Cliffski, but is a Starship Tycoon 2 still in the works? :|

I've enjoyed my time playing Stardock's "Galactic Civilizations II", but I would really prefer to play a new Starship Tycoon. I prefer the peaceful management approach of ST over war-centric games. 8)

[cliffski]

Not right now. I did start it, but never go past 20% into it. That was a while ago. I would like to revisit it one day though.

[Bashe]

If you manage to get out a sequel please avoid adding weapons. I want to play Starship Tycoon not Starship Tyrant.

If there's any combat it should be between some sort of hired escorts or drone fighters that accompany the ships and is resolved through some combat odds system. A little pop-up that says like the pirates strength is 100 your strength is 400 do you want to fight or pay and then it happens automatically. This could also allow for VIP escort jobs.
One game i suggest you take a look at if you haven't is EV Nova. One aspect of the game was missions that could be high priority requests for passenger or cargo transport and this would trigger a chance of ambush or malfunction. Essentially high risk for high pay.
I could see it in starship tycoon as missions that require certain crew levels or x amount of this or that module for VIPs.

More modules would be nice. The ability to build up a cruise ship with spas, baths, theatres, etc... transporting 50 first class passengers sounds like a nice thing to make as a potential path to riches. And similarly for each cargo. Maybe low-high crade cargo holds that are similar to the passenger cabins and higher hold ratings let you take more valuable goods as well as charge more.

To go with the business feel it would be interesting to see the ability to set up permanent somethings. Someone mentioned starbases and some of the perks that were mentioned sound good. I was thinking more like corporate headquarters for a large sum of money. It could improve your rep automatically so you could get more passengers/cargo as well as charge more at that planet. Get cheaper gas, modules and ships like a 15% discount or something.

To make it more immersive it would be neat to see a sort of RPG like inclusion. Maybe some of your cash or just as you hit certain accumulated wealth check points. As in in your lifetime you've collected a total of 200,000cr in that time you've improved x and you put a point into a stat like Company Finances = each point 1% interest per year, Bargaining = each point is a 2% discount, Engineer Training = your ships go 5% faster and have less malfunctions, Corporate Expansion = You can set up a corporate headquarters on a planet and you need 1 point per additional headquarters.

Of course larger maps would be nice too.

I'd say i like the game being a mostly single-player non-competitive affair and i don't see any need to add competitive AI which could just get very messy buggy. A couple things other things that have been mentioned, would definately like to see a current fuel = x distance number somewhere. And maybe too just the things of how many modules/engines/passengers etc... your current crew is able to handle.

Without adding AI competitors i'd still like to see factions/relations scores of some sort. If planets were also assigned either grouped or individual reputation tracking then like doing a lot of missions/jobs to and from a couple planets could build up status which would then also make it easier to get jobs or smuggle in goods if you so desired. Similarly there could be some missions i.e. to smuggle weapons from one planet to another for a rebellion that you get out of the bar in a planet with a good relation and it further raises the rep for the start planet but drops rep for the target planet. Enough of that and then they one that hates you just won't let you dock etc...

Finally, if you've managed to read this far, crossutilization of crew skills came up. Maybe something like let players know their ships overall ratings in each category as determined by full points from an assigned crew member and quarter points or half from all others. That way a very overall talented crew might be able to handle more or just as much as a more membered but specialized crew. This would also justify the cost of wages vs droids since if you got some crazy person who was all 10s or something they'd also contribute 2.5 or something to the other stuff. Or if you could assign Primary and secondary job where primary is full points and secondary is half points.

Anyways, this was a heck of a long post. Hope you've had a good read if you've made it this far.
Hopefully i also think most of my suggestions could be accomplished by adding to the existing idea of starship tycoon.
Also, i think youv'e done a very good job of how the trading works which i haven't seen in other games. Usually everything is determined by what the planet is selling you cargo at vs what another planet is buying at and the same for passengers having a hard offer of money. Self-determined prices feels much nicer and also makes having something like a small fast low cargo/passenger ship for long trips worthwhile which usually isn't a good option in most games.

We believe in you cliff!

P.S. if you put in something like a mission system - remember you can always slap up another request post and i'm sure you'll be overwhelmed with suggestions. Congrats if you've read this insanely long post.

[dcornewell]

1) linux support. even if it is just under wine. (I'd volunteer to help for a free copy. I write a little code.)
2) I think i'd like some combat in the game. Jump on your AA gun or in to your tie fighter-look a like and take out some hostiles. A little change up from 3rd person to 1st. Maybe an option?
3) multiplayer over network/internet

[EricDerKonig]

I've just tried the demo so far, but once I get a bit of spending money I'll pick up the full game. It's quite fun!

My comments:
No combat, please. Handwave it by saying that weapons are strictly forbidden on private craft, just like with today's cars. I'd just rather see all the focus on trading and business.
Missions: occasionally when you land, you may be approached with a business proposition, maybe smuggling some high-risk goods, or something like that. Some could be one-shot, others recurring.
Events: Some planets could be hostile towards each other, and if you have good trading relations with one, then the other will be less likely to want to trade with you, and more likely to charge you more for docking, or find reason to turn you away. Tying in with point one, you could also get events to bring in spies or extract spies from one planet or another, or even engage in blockade running. Smugglers compartments, or a really fast ship with a good pilot, would have a much better chance of breaking through. Governments you get friendly with might even grant you a monopoly, if they're a more autocratic government, on certain routes or goods, allowing you to make greater profit on them.
"Loose" goods: you could buy goods on one planet, then shop around to find a buyer on another planet, rather than just getting contracts to deliver something, as seems to be the case now. You might even be able to start your own profitable trade route, and obtain a monopoly.

My apologies if some of this is already present in the game - like I said, I've just played around with the demo so far, and if I come up with other ideas after buying it, I'll be sure to post them.

Finally, I want to name my ship Serenity. ;)