Is it just me or the ending of Space Age was lacking?

[Antonio (BR)]

I mean, you unlock the final destination with a science pack. You don't get new space buildings, nor recipes for new stuff to improve your platform. The only thing you get are new turrets to deal with the meteors. Space travel has lots of challenges, and I was expecting you would find ways to deal at least with some of them in the course of the DLC, but nope, instead they create a challenge that doesn't actually exist in practice, meteors (even in an asteroid belt, they aren't that close in real life). I know this isn't a heavy science game, but I was expecting at least a new engine to reach relativistic speeds, it's kinda an obvious one. Don't get me wrong, it's still good. And I'm sure the mods can improve upon it, but I really feel like they rushed the ending. What do you think?

[POWER WITHIN USER]

It's an automation game, it's not about the destination but how you got there.

[Antonio (BR)]

Publicado originalmente por Hurkyl:

Publicado originalmente por Antonio (BR):

I'm sure you noticed ...

You missed the point. You're explaining what it would do for you in real life. The question, though, is what it would bring to the game.

It would be flavor on one additional hurdle to accomplish at the end. Massive production to put together an FTL drive and when you get it you win!

They already did the "massive project you just dump a resources into and then you win" thing in vanilla, though. For Space Age it's about cranking up to 10 the actual challenge they put in space. (It's cranked up to 11 for the post-game goal they dangle in front of you after getting the game complete screen)

And there is no realism whatsoever in the space travel for the FTL drive to build on top of thematically. Space Age leans hard into the "Space is an Ocean" trope.

That said, I can understand wanting to have some not to realism in the flavor. But would it really do much for the game?

Aren't we trying to go back home? I mean, the entire game begins with your ship falling into Nauvius, and in original factorio you have to build a rocket, presumably to go back home, so if the planets in the system aren't you home, to go back home you have to leave the system.

What it would bring to the game? Accomplishment, same thing with buiding a rocket, it's a milestone, a goal for you reach. First you built a rocket to leave Nauvius, now you build a FTL engine to leave the system and go back home. I don't feel that much accomplished, it just make me think that if my platform could already leave the system, why did I have to do all that stuff? To get weapons to destroy meteors? Sorry, but that's a little lame to me. In Krastorio 2 you waste a ton of energy to build a freaking wormhole to go back home. I can't believe you can't see the problem here.

As for the space ocean, you may reach Africa with a trireme, but you won't get America or Austrailia with it, you gonna need something a lot bigger, with a lot of supplies and ways to deal with the wind and waves.

[Antonio (BR)]

Publicado originalmente por Chindraba:

If they give the ability to reach relativistic speeds, or even close, they would also have to create some reason to use that. Another star system seems like the only decent destination for such speeds. A new star system would need new planets. 4 new planets is enough, I think.

With no place to go there is no need of the means to get there.

What about back home? Wasn't that the reason we built that rocket in original Factorio. No, you don't need a make a new system. Just waste a ton of resourses making a FTL engine and it's fuel with some rare mineral from one of the planets, and then bang, you beat the game.

[JustSmile]

I mean, it's in line with how vanilla Factorio finale was set up. You built the rocket, it flied up, and you unceremoniously won. I don't think many players actually cared about "winning" a Factorio run, it was always just a step on the way.

[Antonio (BR)]

Publicado originalmente por POWER WITHIN USER:

It's an automation game, it's not about the destination but how you got there.

Yeah, and how did we get there? With the same platfrom you leave Nauvius you reach the deep space, so all the research and visits to other planets served only to build more weapons to deal with meteors? Sorry, but that's a little lame.

[Shurenai]

Publicado originalmente por JustSmile:

I mean, it's in line with how vanilla Factorio finale was set up. You built the rocket, it flied up, and you unceremoniously won. I don't think many players actually cared about "winning" a Factorio run, it was always just a step on the way.

This, came to say exactly this. The very vanilla game ends unceremoniously. The 'Victory' condition is not the end. Vanilla ends by launching a rocket, you don't really gain anything from it- Just a science pack that leads to infinite researches further increasing the bonuses you already had.

Factorio is not and never has been a story heavy game, Indeed the story is more of a label stuck on the front to set up the gameplay. Vanilla is: "Crashed ship! I should make a new ship. Rocket built, Aaaand go, story done." And now the expansion is "Crashed ship! I should make a new ship. Rocket built, ooh I should build a thing in space so I can travel space. That's built, Aaaaand go, Story done."

[^4Steel ^1Jackal^2~FYANB~]

at this point in time i choose to believe the exploded planet was our home and we were fleeing its destruction.
we picked the planet that seemed most hospitable at a glance, and the asteroids hit us and forced us to crash land.
we built rockets and launched satellites into orbit to learn more about the other planets, then decide to visit them for their resources.
eventually we build a ship capable of flying back to our home world in search of any other survivors, only to find the broken remains of our former home.
upon realizing there is no home to return to, we simply return to our factory and make the factory continue to grow.

perhaps in time the engineer could turn himself into a brain in a jar and become one with the factory, or maybe he will develop genetic engineering and either clone himself, or spawn some new species to carry on the legacy of his fallen civilization.



does it make perfect sense? not really, but i think its kinda fun.

[Serendipitous]

Publicado originalmente por ^4Steel ^1Jackal^2~FYANB~:

at this point in time i choose to believe the exploded planet was our home and we were fleeing its destruction.

He was the one who blew it up, also.

[^4Steel ^1Jackal^2~FYANB~]

Publicado originalmente por Serendipitous:

Publicado originalmente por ^4Steel ^1Jackal^2~FYANB~:

at this point in time i choose to believe the exploded planet was our home and we were fleeing its destruction.

He was the one who blew it up, also.

a fly got into his workspace and landed on his face one too many times, and after all conventional means had been exhausted he resorted to drastic measures

[Galileus]

Publicado originalmente por Antonio (BR):

Sorry, but that's a little lame to me. In Krastorio 2 you waste a ton of energy to build a freaking wormhole to go back home. I can't believe you can't see the problem here.

I don't, honestly.

It sounds like you have an idea in mind and refuse to accept it is not accepted as "the best idea ever" by other people. Sure, I can see how you can find FTL engines cool and how the story you told yourself (the game didn't) is a fun one. For me, FTL engines sound like an incredible waste of time and energy - making a whole new entity and chain, just to serve as a glorified "you win" screen.

You need to accept the fact that "you liking something else more" does not mean there is neccessarily a problem.

[Serendipitous]

Publicado originalmente por ^4Steel ^1Jackal^2~FYANB~:

at this point in time i choose to believe the exploded planet was our home and we were fleeing its destruction.
we picked the planet that seemed most hospitable at a glance, and the asteroids hit us and forced us to crash land.
we built rockets and launched satellites into orbit to learn more about the other planets, then decide to visit them for their resources.
eventually we build a ship capable of flying back to our home world in search of any other survivors, only to find the broken remains of our former home.
upon realizing there is no home to return to, we simply return to our factory and make the factory continue to grow.

perhaps in time the engineer could turn himself into a brain in a jar and become one with the factory, or maybe he will develop genetic engineering and either clone himself, or spawn some new species to carry on the legacy of his fallen civilization.



does it make perfect sense? not really, but i think its kinda fun.

Also, no, it doesn't make a lick of sense. If the civilization engineer is from is capable of such insane feats like being able to build fully automated factory being able to launch rockets into space as a single person, there can't be a good reason why they don't have already settled on other planets, at least have outposts there, and have zero space satellites around them. The only reasonable assumption is that they are not from this system and a capable of achieving faster than light travel and engineer somehow got himself (and perhaps crew of the ship) in trouble and landed somewhere on the unsettled and undiscovered solar system.

I would say a good ending would be not necessarily to build a wormhole, but to reach the edge of the solar system and build some transmitter to call for help. Why need for edge? Well something like to prevent the interference of solar radiation or something. Imo that would make sense and explain engineer action. Also would be nice endgame challenge, like with rocket in vanilla, but you would need to supply this megaproject through space and use every resource available on other planets.

[^4Steel ^1Jackal^2~FYANB~]

Publicado originalmente por Serendipitous:

Also, no, it doesn't make a lick of sense. If the civilization engineer is from is capable of such insane feats like being able to build fully automated factory being able to launch rockets into space as a single person, there can't be a good reason why they don't have already settled on other planets, at least have outposts there, and have zero space satellites around them. The only reasonable assumption is that they are not from this system and a capable of achieving faster than light travel and engineer somehow got himself (and perhaps crew of the ship) in trouble and landed somewhere on the unsettled and undiscovered solar system.

nah the engineer is just senkuu

Publicado originalmente por Serendipitous:

I would say a good ending would be not necessarily to build a wormhole, but to reach the edge of the solar system and build some transmitter to call for help. Why need for edge? Well something like to prevent the interference of solar radiation or something. Imo that would make sense and explain engineer action. Also would be nice endgame challenge, like with rocket in vanilla, but you would need to supply this megaproject through space and use every resource available on other planets.

thats pretty reasonable. i can imagine building a permanent installation at the edge of the solar system would be fun. sending the signal for help would keep the engineer in the system which would allow the game to continue, and you could get science from that instead of promethium packs.

thats a mod id be willing to try, but thats not what we have been given so i want to read between the lines and find some kind of fun explanation for whats going on

[Chindraba]

Publicado originalmente por ^4Steel ^1Jackal^2~FYANB~:

at this point in time i choose to believe the exploded planet was our home and we were fleeing its destruction.
we picked the planet that seemed most hospitable at a glance, and the asteroids hit us and forced us to crash land.
we built rockets and launched satellites into orbit to learn more about the other planets, then decide to visit them for their resources.
eventually we build a ship capable of flying back to our home world in search of any other survivors, only to find the broken remains of our former home.
upon realizing there is no home to return to, we simply return to our factory and make the factory continue to grow.

perhaps in time the engineer could turn himself into a brain in a jar and become one with the factory, or maybe he will develop genetic engineering and either clone himself, or spawn some new species to carry on the legacy of his fallen civilization.



does it make perfect sense? not really, but i think its kinda fun.

That's the beauty of having your own head canon for a game. It fits wonderfully in your head. Your head cares not how it fits in my head. It doesn't even matter if your head canon turns into my head cannon.

My head canon, at one point, had me spending over a month just designing names for train stations. (A system completely annihilated by the generic interrupt system ). It even included a rationale for a "Ministry of Isotopes". That same canon would be utter rubbish in the minds of others. So would the waste of a month when they could have been making the factory grow.

[Hurkyl]

Publicado originalmente por Antonio (BR):

What it would bring to the game? Accomplishment, same thing with buiding a rocket, it's a milestone, a goal for you reach. First you built a rocket to leave Nauvius, now you build a FTL engine to leave the system and go back home. I don't feel that much accomplished, it just make me think that if my platform could already leave the system, why did I have to do all that stuff? To get weapons to destroy meteors? Sorry, but that's a little lame to me. In Krastorio 2 you waste a ton of energy to build a freaking wormhole to go back home. I can't believe you can't see the problem here.

In the story you have in mind, you didn't build an FTL engine. The character in the story built an engine in-story. What do you, the player, accomplish to allow the character to achieve that feat?

I've never played Krastorio 2 so I don't know how it plays out, but you make it sound like I get to the end of the tech tree, copy paste a dozen more copies of my uranium plant, wait a bit for things to charge, and I win.

To navigate the route from Aquilo to the Solar System edge, I, the player, had to use the tools I unlocked throughout the game to design a grand ship capable of making its ways through the harsh space route, and identify/prioritize the infinite researches that better enable the journey.

To get to the Shattered Planet I'll have to do that much better. Heck, the platform that made it to the edge barely survived the journey home! I have a new platform that has no problem getting to the edge and back, but hasn't gotten too far yet towards the shattered planet -- only the first achievement. The process has been slow going since I'm still having fun improving my factories, so I haven't taken too many stabs at platform design.

As for the space ocean, you may reach Africa with a trireme, but you won't get America or Austrailia with it, you gonna need something a lot bigger, with a lot of supplies and ways to deal with the wind and waves.

The picture this paints in my head is a very good parallel for how I feel about the process of progressing beyond the inner planets to Aqulio, then to the edge, and then to the shattered planet.

I suppose YMMV since, I guess you imagine it being analogous to the story you have in mind. *Shrug* But I'm just saying this because it might help you better understand what other people are getting out of the gameplay of the Space Age endgame.

[Serendipitous]

Publicado originalmente por ^4Steel ^1Jackal^2~FYANB~:

thats a mod id be willing to try, but thats not what we have been given so i want to read between the lines and find some kind of fun explanation for whats going on

Sure i was just offering my perspective and possible solution to some of the problem raised up in this discussion.