Mid-Late Game Gameplay

[RabMan]

First let me say this game is a gem. I needed that X3 itch scratched.

I like to jump into these games and sandbox mode most of it, messing around with each part of the game separately. Starting campaign after campaign with some different end goals or missions to accomplish.

The early game and entry into mid-game is the most fun for me, you can come and go as you want and do whatever. Once you have a base, you're now tied to it and the war system forever, but I'm rambling.

I recently finished a game in Sandbox where the sole goal was to have a Triton as fast as possible. I avoided a head on conflict with the TSF as I assumed they would swarm me with their seven bases. I managed to take Campus in 8 hours of starting with a handful of swordfish and ronin, which I felt wasn't bad. You come in with 10 Hercs to drop ore, build the shipyard, get another ore batch, and queue the Triton. Once my Triton was made, I sacrificed the base as the TSF Warfleet had arrived, but it was to late for them. The Triton was made and the player can't lose with one. I went back and doubled the size of my Ronin/Swordfish fleet, with a Triton flagship. Once that was done, there was no way to lose. I moved Campus to Sanctuary and used it to pump Ore into Campus and built a death fleet.

Now for the logistics, which is what I wanted to get into. That campaign ended, with a host of war fleets, trader fleets, and hermes shuttles. Some tools to manage the host of fleets and trade ships aren't there. That small sidebar isn't enough and doesn't let you really manage those fleets remotely. I feel at minimum this is needed. I often avoid any late game grindy sameness in games, because it starts to feel less like game and more like busy work, without these tools, it ads to much tedium to the late game gameplay.

It would be nice to assign trade ships, as base ships and let the AI figure out where to go and what to do, to solely supply my base. I found it much easier to automate energy platform traders, and simply bring in 500k ore myself in a few ore runs and simply ignore everything else. Waypoint trader doesn't indicate stock, cashflow, or if its working, or makes up magical stock sometimes if you enter an invalid route; it works, but just barely. In a typical storymode/sandbox campaign I generally do platforms to be effecient, but would prefer to just use automated fleets.

Mutlibase management is really non-existant and makes building up in multiple bases really not worth it unless you're letting time dialation run. Ultimately these small forces you could amass wont stop a hostile destroyer fleet, so your main war fleets will screen as they push on to the next base, and knock the domino's down. It's possible to mobilize 35 trade fleets (I have), but wholely impractical and not worth it. Considering the enemy is throwing some 700,000 ore in retaliation ships at you, per wave.

Ironically the AI doesn't come hard enough, imo, and I was surprised at my TSF war, that mostly one or two destroyer fleets were all they would send. It doesn't really discourage what I did, to attack the biggest power in the region, with nothing, and basically steal a Triton out from under them. Granted I know Sandbox is easier(no missions), but you would simply Build a bigger doom fleet to start it all off to getting your first Triton out.

Ultimately I think the root problem is supply for their bases. In the ten hours it took me to go back to take Campus for the second time, they had barely built 5 corvettes (60-70k ore), and there was zero penalty for me in doing what I had done. Granted I was at war with them permanently, but they couldn't strike back at me, and the pirates provide unlimited wealth. The AI needs more econ ships that haul more goods, right now there is no need to siege them out, their production drops off sharply in all but the Asteroid bases once you knock out the initial fleet.

One area that could greatly improve the flow of the game is creating some diplomacy system, to make short or long term alliances or force terms on an enemy, paying tribute, ships, money, resources. More factions and more faction conflicts to keep the spice of replays going. I I enjoyed the story mode, but found the secret sauce Triton a bit much as a mcguffin.

A war goal for a war would be nice, it would stop the permanent war or I destroy you through peace option that exists now. You either defeat them, or defeat them (peace). They can lose 100 Cruisers and keep coming. Why not use a war exhaustion type of system, make it increasingly harder to stay in a war when you are losing fleet after fleet for the AI. Have peace terms, associated with the war goal and the war score (platforms destroyed, ships destroyed, stations blockaded).

Sorry this ended up being so long. I want to reiterate that this is a fantastic game, and I haven't had this much fun in a long time. I've probably started ten or fifteen campaigns, just to mess around with each faction or system, lots of fun. I just wanted to throw my thoughts out there.

[chaosavy]

Thanks for the feedback.


The mid/late game is the last part of the game I developed - thus had the least development time - and the part I hope to polish this year with the goal of having a much fuller 4x experience.

Then launching "the new game" where you can generate random maps for ever more shenanigans like you describe - though with more tools and polish at your disposal - as well as improved enemies.

[RabMan]

Well that sounds fantastic, I look forward to them; thanks for the reply.