If u were writing FL2, what would u add?

I don’t know if you have any limitations but DX11 tesselation allows some pretty drastic visual improvements to surfaces. If you’re looking to produce an engine you hope to last well into the future it might be worth consideration.

Many requests seem to be based around things people would like to be able to mod, is that the kind of input you’re asking for or are you asking about content, background, storyline etc as well? Is this a product you’re looking to market or an open source community type project?

LancerSolurus wrote:
For the economy, this part is complete.

O rly? You made space factories working? Factory’s cargo is limited? They produce stuff? They require resources?

Unsurpirsed by the heavy modding related suggestions.
Focusing upon the game play aspects rather than what you wish they’d do to make modding easier/better (graphics, sod that, FL still looks nice to me - so not that bothered).

However, I can’t help but feel one or two (such as seeing from security feeds?) is irrelevant and something that won’t ever get used (what is the advantage it offers? Being able to see…the space?).

I agree with the dynamic economy - it is vital.

Since this is for your work, I’d go with things that would have helped me play the game longer, or more.

1. Dynamic economy (which you’ve got)
2. Make mining an actual possibility, but you require special stuff - mining lasers etc to make it worthwhile.
3. Make it so that piracy IS possible - without necessarily ruining your reputation with everyone. In other words, if you had a “jammer” - you could pirate without too much of a reputation hit as the call never goes out (if in a desolate area of space) - whereas close to bases, you’re going to be toast. However, this would require care… as obviously everyone would pirate everything - so some rep degradation is required.

OR

Ships may be viewable on radar, but only within a certain range (1k) can you actually identify the owner, til then just the class. That way you may sneak around passively, unless actively scanned by cops etc.

Maybe you could implement an ID system to help out - change ID’s if you’re a smuggler, which may pass with civilian ships - but when the military or police scan you deeper, they may work out whom you really are…

Make lane hacking better - you can hack into the lane system, and realise what is coming, and therefore drop it. This may require a skill, or equipment etc. Of course, whilst doing this you may be vulnerable to NPC pirates.

4. NPC bounty hunters (basically an NPC with a mission objective of killing you…) which may be “hired” in the event you cause trouble (if you’re a pirate!).

5. NPC’s respond to changing world - so if a shipping company is having lots of attacks on a trade route, they may either hire bounty hunters to patrol it (i.e. increased bounty hunter activity in the area, looking for YOU), or deploy more of their own patrols.
   Likewise, as markets change, the NPC’s may pick up the profit too…

6. Mission variety - not just go and kill, but go protect, go source/mine, go trade, go escort, go observe/collect information. A lot more variety.

7. If you’re attacked by pirates, the possibility of putting out a distress call. You’re owning, or local legal factions, may respond to such calls for help by dispatching ships from the nearest suitable location (divert a patrol, or from a battleship - as long as it is within a certain range of course - can’t call for help 10 systems away…).

8. The ability to manufacture. So you can source goods and produce other goods, like ships. Or weapons. Or food + spices = luxury food. You get the idea For this, in a base, you would have to “rent” space - which costs, as does storage for goods…and it costs to produce units in time, so you can’t just flood the market with hundreds of goods…
   However, economy may be difficult if everything costs (i.e. NPC’s spend for missiles…).

Maybe trading could require licenses that you have to pay for - certainly with certain goods. Maybe you could pay to become a trader on a station instead - you pay for a license, and get a small amount of space. Then when people sell the type of good you own the license for (or buying a new license starts trade of good at that base) it goes via you (and you net profit).

9. Ability to hire a (note A) wingman (if in a fighter), or maybe two (if you’re a trader). But not to command an army!

10. Ship balance. Whilst VHF in FL is the ultimate, it’d be nice if a LF could easily evade one. It may not be able to beat one, but at least it can get away and out manoeuvre it in order to escape…

11. Ability for players to put out a bounty upon other players heads. Of course, putting up a bounty means that a certain amount of money is required per difficulty level of the hunter AND the money defines the level of bounty hunter dispatched. Requires work to ensure it isn’t abused, or spammed to bully players. One option is to start by only allowing bounty hunters hired by legal against illegal. Pirates only allowed to be hired by illegal against legal.).

12. Player posted missions (transports, kill, protect, etc) where they must provide money up front, although the person taking it may only receive money if the mission is a success. Obviously appears in bars, or where-ever you have missions available from etc.

Just things off the top of my head.

Chips wrote:

I agree with the dynamic economy - it is vital.

Crazy wrote:

• Don’t sell it to Microsoft Games

Agree completely

Apart from good suggestions already made (especially the economy! Even if it’s only a supply-and-demand driver price modifier) and also apart from all the cool hacks that have already been figured out, I’d add gravity, so e.g. flying away from a planet would be harder. Besides, I’d add and involuntary auto-jumping of holes (and gates but that wouldn’t make much sense) In combination with gravity, this could be used to implement a ‘realistically working’ black/white hole.

I’d also like reputation-dependant jump gates (so a gate could be set to be accessible from a given rep level)

And maybe a moving or somehwat dynamic radiation clouds (that could be used for solar flares or gamma ray bursts)

Chips wrote:

6. Mission variety - not just go and kill, but go protect, go source/mine, go trade, go escort, go observe/collect information. A lot more variety.

Very good and important point. As they are now, the missions are indeed so limited in variety, it could make one cry.

Which begs the question. Are you using jumpgates and holes, or a jump drive? If you’re using jump drives, that could be an upgradeable device which could allow you to jump greater distances.

A tractor beam which allows you to tow things would be an idea to, as opposed to being dependant on cargo hold size alone. Could also be upgradeable to allow for towing greater masses, larger containers for example. Towing would slow a ship down and make it less maneuverable, which could again be offset by upgradeable engines or some kind of inertia negation device maybe.

Upgradeable repair droids, defence droids, decoy droids, mining droids etc is another idea.

Point defence turret types for larger ships or freighters.

As Xarian mentioned, modular ship addons, wing extensions for increased agility, hull plating, extra weapon mounts etc.

Thought about a fuel system? Have to land to refuel, not necessarily at cost. If you use jump drives to travel between systems make them have a recharge time so you can’t just insta-jump between systems, another upgrade feature to decrease recharge times.

Enough for now.

Chips:

However, I can’t help but feel one or two (such as seeing from security feeds?) is irrelevant and something that won’t ever get used (what is the advantage it offers? Being able to see…the space?).

Seeing as it’s going to be a bit more player faction oriented than FL, it makes sense to have a better means of command and control to orchestrate system / base / resource defense. Some well placed comm sats could provide advance warning of the attacker’s route of approach. Conversely, these comm sats need to be taken out to ensure attackers go unidentified in faction and number, thus it provides a little more strategy to faction wars.

Allies gathering resources in an area monitored by you come under attack. Switching over to a live feed could help assess what kind of a response needs to be sent to secure the area, rather than rely on reports from those under fire and busy trying to keep their lives / cargo safe. Same as above, pie-rats need to locate and avoid or take down comm sats to surgically get in, gank cargo, and get out before responders arrive. Or perhaps provide decoys to lay a trap for responders thinking only a couple ships are attacking.

Cap ship / Base drone. Why not send a drone to scout the situation ahead, rather than stumble into an ambush? No weapons, low life, speedy, replenish-able via manufacturing / trade. If base monitoring is part of the game (which can be sort of a game within a game - monitoring stock prices and resource levels, assigning / hiring NPC convoys to fill orders, etc), it would be nice to be able to monitor trade routes to ensure safe passage of your high value cargo in and out.

There are plenty of applications for having a changeable viewpoint. Plus it fits in if multiple players per ship becomes doable.

LancerSolurus wrote:
Moonhead
1 - it has that already, need to make a video showing it

You mean the Economy, or Gravity??

If you mean the Economy: is that downloadable as a module?

If you mean Gravity: I know there’s the interference drag, but it’s not quite the same. It’s not directional imho (although I’ve not experimented wildly with it. To be honest, I wouldn’t even know how the format is, without looking it up)

LancerSolurus wrote:
3 - this would be limited to player create jumpgates

I don’t understand what you mean… In fact I don’t know what you’re refering to… Rep-dependent Jump Gates? I imagine these would work analog to the stuff you can only buy if you’re friendly to a certain degree (“You need to be on friendlier terms to buy this item.”)

From your responses, I understand you’re really working on all of this?? Will this be a new prog altogether? Or an expansion kit, like a heavy mod?

1 - working space factories - yes
2 - factory cargo limited - yes
3 - produce stuff - yes
4 - require resources - yes, up to 4 types per item, a specific quantity and usage settings (usage is so I could add artifacts and use those without destroying the artifact, ie quantity = 1, usage = 0 )

O.o HOW???

Erm… you talking about FL?

That’s where the title sort of misled me I questioned the use of external cameras and whatnot as, to me, I thought this was a “what should FL have had”, and not “If you had your ideal space strategy game where you can command dozens of players in intergalactic warfare…”

To me, FL is near perfect in many respects - there are deficiencies, but overall it is one of the best games I’ve played.

1. It’s simple.
2. It works like a dream online (no levelling up for months, no major issues or being forced into roleplay roles etc).
3. You could play for 5 minutes and still have massive fun, or you could play for hours. You didn’t have to invest hours in order to enjoy the game - 20 mins could see you across the universe.

This is, along with the thread title, why my post features on aspects of FL that were deficient.

I can understand the focus onto some sort of command and coordinate lots of player features - all I will say is if this game is heading into a real nice release realm, please don’t forget us folks that like a casual gameplay and so on.

LancerSolurus wrote:

It is about that if you had the ability to actually write your own space game in the same genre as FL then what would you add. Please click the GE link in my sig to see what this is about. I am writing just such a game an like to hear my fellow FL users ideas on what they would add even if it isn’t possible to reasonably add.

[…]

I have modded FL for many years and know of many places it should have been fixed, since Im writing the game, I can make it work like I think it should.

Very cool!!!

Does it use .ini files in a similar way as FL? Maybe even the same way?