Breakthrough RNG is ridiculous

[Syn]

I understand a certain level of randomness to make things interesting, but the disparity between some breakthroughs and others is really silly.

Extractor AI and Eternal Fusion for example make aspects of the game completely trivial.
Nanorefinement and Plasma Rockets give far too much of an advantage.

These aren't just bonuses, they're significant game-changers and rather out of place in a city-builder.
You can have the perfect setup on the perfect map but it won't matter because you'll still have a harder time if you don't randomly get the make-everything-easier breakthrough.

[Emmote]

That's basically the point. It's an attempt to make each game different so that you play to the breakthroughs you got - not to the breakthroughs you want.

[Syn]

Originally posted by Emmote:

That's basically the point. It's an attempt to make each game different so that you play to the breakthroughs you got - not to the breakthroughs you want.

Then the point is stupid. My strategy in a city/colony builder should never rely on RNG to this extent.

[Emmote]

So you don't agree with the design of the game. Good for you. Go and download a mod that lets you get all breakthroughs, or specific ones.
There's mod support for a reason.

[Syn]

And you can disagree with me without being a condescending waste of particulate matter.
I'm aware of mods. I am simply pointing out objectively bad design when I see it.

[Wantoomany]

You are advocating altering the game to remove the randomness. I happen to like the randomness, Im sure many do as well.

You basically called the game design stupid and want it changed. Taking this aspect away from people who might disagree with you. On a game you know can be modded and can provide the very game play you want without the need to take it away from anyone else. And you find Emmotes tone insulting? Seriously?

[SkiRich]

Originally posted by Syn:

And you can disagree with me without being a condescending waste of particulate matter.
I'm aware of mods. I am simply pointing out objectively bad design when I see it.

Emmote was actually nice to you in his posts.

You as a player can choose not to use the RNG breakthroughs , as you call them.

When you post the way you did, no-one will care about your "Objective" opinion.

[Emmote]

The randomness in the breakthroughs is one of very few aspects of the game that adds to the replayability of it. Remove that and the game becomes identical every single time. Boring.

[berandro]

"objectively bad design".. Lol, gotta love the internet

[AtmaDarkwolf]

OPs point is very valid.

Look at the breakthroughs, and you can easily see how some are simply game breaking (to point of making the game not even moderately challenging) where as others are just.. pathetic. (About half total are 'balanced' and fine, and should stay as is, but many are just stupid.)

Example as he said above, eternal fusion, it should be a MUCH smaller amount (25 instead of 150) or massively reduce the needed job force (from full to 1/4 slots)
Extractor AI should be similar, reduce the needed job force to 1/4, or make it a severe reduction in efficiency, so that one still wants to use them as 'designed' (Hell allow extractor ai to work instead anywhere, BUT u need dedicated 'geologists' in a dome somewhere 'controlling' them remotely)

Others seem like they were afterthoughts and should simply be removed (or boosted up quite a bunch) like superfungus as example, which is not even a 'bonus' in that it costs 2x as much to produce 50% more.

I feel like vector pump, plutonium synthesis, hypersensitive photovolaics(And the like) breakthroughs are about on the level of what each should 'boost' the game... nice bonuses but don't destroy any sense of challenge once obtained.(and any of them above can 'change' how one would play though a game without being that 'ONE' breakthrough that the player rides to endgame)

[Emmote]

Originally posted by AtmaDarkwolf:

some are simply game breaking (to point of making the game not even moderately challenging)

Sorry, what? The game isn't even moderately challenging to begin with.

Yes I'm aware that some Breakthroughs are OP like Eternal Fusion and Nano Refinement but again, that's the whole point.
When you get the OP breakthroughs you can be really happy you got them, and if you don't you have to 'struggle' without. It's what adds to the replayability of the game and if you don't like that you have mods to fix it.

[Nucleotides]

I will 100% agree there are some breakthroughs that are amazing and game changing. Then there are ones like losing flaws in flight that are useless if you are playing with the Ark game rule. I would like to see a mod, similar to Cherry-Picking, that lets you pick from a few random breakthroughs.

This would at least give a little control for higher difficulty playthroughs to try and min-max.