Poll: Big Items For 8.0

[doctorfrog]

I don't know if they'll do that, but it would be hilarious to have the AI try to get you to quit the game through IRC messages. "You smell something burning?" "Hit ALT-F4 for a free Zenith Reserve!"

[onyhow]

Too many important choices...

I do view Champ rework as priority though...

[keith.lamothe]

And the results:

Promoting Hacking to a full resource   41
Revising Champions   33
Diversifying Fallen Spire events   21
Reworking relationship between superweapons and non-superweapons   20
Reworking Armor   19
Downscaling health/attack/armor/etc stats   19
Improving Hybrids   18
Turret cap rework   18
In-game IRC client   15
UI improvements to make it more "accessible" to new players   12
Improving Spirecraft   10
Improve consistency of balance across different Unit Cap Scale and Combat Style settings.   9
Tweaking balance of player economy, especially harvester vs econ station upgrades, and early game vs late game income levels   9
Balancing energy, especially early game vs late game dynamics   6
Defender mode rework   4
New Sentinel types   4
Revising the Astro Trains plot (again)   4
Revising the Hunter plot   3
Revising the Beachheads AI Plot   3


Which basically means the top 3, then the 4th and 6th since doing the 4th requires the 6th (and they're only one vote apart).  Reworking Armor would be after that, though we'll see how things go with the higher items.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback   I'll probably be working on the hacking-resource stuff on Monday before getting back to the Bionic prototype.

[keith.lamothe]

I'll probably be working on the hacking-resource stuff on Monday

Just fyi: most of the underlying work for this is now done, the existing hacking types have been folded in, and two new (fairly important, imo) hacking types have been added.  More to come, though I'll try to get what's already done out in a prerelease soon once I get few of the recent bug reports dealt with.

Crystal's not being excised just yet (the new hacking-progress resource is still consigned to the alert box, but will move up when Crystal retires), but presumably soon.

[TIE Viper]

Sweet! 

[Aklyon]

Those notes sound interesting.

[madcow]

I read the notes and had somewhat of a cool idea inspired by the hacking additions.  What about a type of hacking that corrupts one of the AI's bonus ship designs, effectively removing it from use by them. Of course that requires finding whatever data store holds that ship design, and would cost a hefty hacking fee. 

Or is that idea too cheesable?

[keith.lamothe]

I read the notes and had somewhat of a cool idea inspired by the hacking additions.  What about a type of hacking that corrupts one of the AI's bonus ship designs, effectively removing it from use by them. Of course that requires finding whatever data store holds that ship design, and would cost a hefty hacking fee. 

Or is that idea too cheesable?

Subroutine: "Master Computer! Master Computer!"

MC: "What now?"

Subroutine: "Um, well, you see..."

MC: "Out with it!"

Subroutine: "It seems that our Spire Blade Spawners, um, well..."

MC: "Do prefer the possibility of annihilation, or the certainty of it?"

Subroutine: "The Spire Blade Spawner factories are now turning out rubber ping-pong balls."

MC: "Nooooooooooo!"

[Tridus]

That's awesome.

Removing a bonus ship type would be a great use of hacking, though I'd assume a fairly expensive one. I know I'd be happy to remove Spire Stealth Battleships from my current game!

[Zeyi]

Has anyone suggested a counter hack by the AI?

A small chance that a hack is unsuccessful and has an adverse or opposite effect would help prevent cheese and make for some occasional hilarious consequences.

"Sir, we think we've disabled the blade spawner production facilities.."
"..think..?"
"SIR! WE LOST LIGHTNING TORPEDO FRIGATES"

No doubt someone is sat somewhere thinking "Good job we have 2000 torpedoes stocked in transports".

[MaxAstro]

Has anyone suggested a counter hack by the AI?

A small chance that a hack is unsuccessful and has an adverse or opposite effect would help prevent cheese and make for some occasional hilarious consequences.

"Sir, we think we've disabled the blade spawner production facilities.."
"..think..?"
"SIR! WE LOST LIGHTNING TORPEDO FRIGATES"

No doubt someone is sat somewhere thinking "Good job we have 2000 torpedoes stocked in transports".

While that is a cool idea, I think it runs into the same problem distribution nodes had.  Namely it becomes "hacking has a 20% chance of causing a savescum".

[keith.lamothe]

The counter-hacking could be more subtle.

"Wait, I didn't order that missile silo built on my homeworld..."

"OR THAT NUC-"

(boom)

[MaxAstro]

I'm... not sure in what world nukes count as subtle, Keith, but if you say so...  :p

[Tridus]

It's subtle because they only built a mk I nuke?

[madcow]

I would have figured its subtle because the game doesn't say what caused it and it was coincidentally left out of the patch notes.