Suggestions

[Pandemic]

This isn't really the place for this, but I don't feel like making a whole new topic for it .

How do you get it to keep your damned color o_o? Every time I start a game I'm green, and I want to be yellow . Is there a secret to getting it to remember your choice?

EDIT:
To make this post somewhat relevant, I'm editing in a suggestion . Maybe you should get 100% of your resources back if you delete something, before it's 100% complete?

Another one:
Is there any reason why you can't build something when you have not enough metal? Like, if you have <2400 metal you can't make an Engineer. Is there any reason for this? I find it annoying when I have my net gain at (virtually) 0, while pumping from a few stardocks, but having to stop production for a bit to get >2400 metal so I can start making an engi. Since the materials are gradually taken away, wouldn't it make more sense to be able to make something before you have the required materials?


-Pandemic

[Revenantus]

How do you get it to keep your damned color o_o? Every time I start a game I'm green, and I want to be yellow . Is there a secret to getting it to remember your choice?

You have to change your preferred colour on your profile settings (I had this issue too a while back ).

EDIT:
To make this post somewhat relevant, I'm editing in a suggestion . Maybe you should get 100% of your resources back if you delete something, before it's 100% complete?

While under construction the AI will still target the structure, if you had 100% of the resources returned then there would be no negative aspects to building temporary structures to distract the AI then scrapping them before they're complete.

Another one:
Is there any reason why you can't build something when you have not enough metal? Like, if you have <2400 metal you can't make an Engineer. Is there any reason for this? I find it annoying when I have my net gain at (virtually) 0, while pumping from a few stardocks, but having to stop production for a bit to get >2400 metal so I can start making an engi. Since the materials are gradually taken away, wouldn't it make more sense to be able to make something before you have the required materials?

Similar to how Spacedocks will keep a ship sitting at 99% completion until the required resources are available? I'd be slightly worried by the type of diversionary tactics this might allow, for example, building dozens of decoy structures that the player doesn't have the resources for.

[darke]

Another one:
Is there any reason why you can't build something when you have not enough metal? Like, if you have <2400 metal you can't make an Engineer. Is there any reason for this? I find it annoying when I have my net gain at (virtually) 0, while pumping from a few stardocks, but having to stop production for a bit to get >2400 metal so I can start making an engi. Since the materials are gradually taken away, wouldn't it make more sense to be able to make something before you have the required materials?

Similar to how Spacedocks will keep a ship sitting at 99% completion until the required resources are available? I'd be slightly worried by the type of diversionary tactics this might allow, for example, building dozens of decoy structures that the player doesn't have the resources for.

I'm tempted to comment to the effect that you can't build any more harvesters then you've got gathering points for anyway so it's not really much of a ploy, but that would be unduly cruel to the aXis of Evil's creations.

[Revenantus]

Another one:
Is there any reason why you can't build something when you have not enough metal? Like, if you have <2400 metal you can't make an Engineer. Is there any reason for this? I find it annoying when I have my net gain at (virtually) 0, while pumping from a few stardocks, but having to stop production for a bit to get >2400 metal so I can start making an engi. Since the materials are gradually taken away, wouldn't it make more sense to be able to make something before you have the required materials?

Similar to how Spacedocks will keep a ship sitting at 99% completion until the required resources are available? I'd be slightly worried by the type of diversionary tactics this might allow, for example, building dozens of decoy structures that the player doesn't have the resources for.

I'm tempted to comment to the effect that you can't build any more harvesters then you've got gathering points for anyway so it's not really much of a ploy, but that would be unduly cruel to the aXis of Evil's creations.

That's true in terms of harvesters, but Spacedocks and Generators could still be used to preserve the Command Station.

[x4000]

Another one:
Is there any reason why you can't build something when you have not enough metal? Like, if you have <2400 metal you can't make an Engineer. Is there any reason for this? I find it annoying when I have my net gain at (virtually) 0, while pumping from a few stardocks, but having to stop production for a bit to get >2400 metal so I can start making an engi. Since the materials are gradually taken away, wouldn't it make more sense to be able to make something before you have the required materials?

Similar to how Spacedocks will keep a ship sitting at 99% completion until the required resources are available? I'd be slightly worried by the type of diversionary tactics this might allow, for example, building dozens of decoy structures that the player doesn't have the resources for.

I'm tempted to comment to the effect that you can't build any more harvesters then you've got gathering points for anyway so it's not really much of a ploy, but that would be unduly cruel to the aXis of Evil's creations.

That's true in terms of harvesters, but Spacedocks and Generators could still be used to preserve the Command Station.

That was my thought, too.  And thanks for responding to the other two, that was right on.  This is an interesting avenue of thought, though, Pandemic, but I think it would be too unbalancing.  Perhaps if I let the metal/crystal balances be sent negative up to a point then that would be one solution (ala Sim City), but that has potentially some problems of its own.  Thoughts, everyone?

[Haagenti]

New suggestion: Time on Target (this term comes from firing massed artillery: to prevent the enemy from taking cover when the first shell hits, all artillery times its first salvo to ensure that all shells hit the target at the same time)

When I destroy a Command Station (and also when I invade a planet), the AI forces start moving towards my fleet all at the same time. As they start from different places, this means that my fleet can usually defeat them in detail. It would be more effective to start moving the various fleets in such a way so that they hit my fleet at the same time. To prevent his from being exploited it could something like:

IF Command_Center=destroyed THEN
  50% Do nothing
  25% Move forces to fleet as quick as possible
  25% Time on Target to fleet

Related to this, but separate would be a tactical time on target: right now enemy fleets move like a clump toward me, each ship stopping as it comes into range. It would be better (especially in F&D mode) if e.g. a group of fighters and cruisers would separate in such a way that the fighters and cruisers would come into firing range at the same time. Or, alternatively (easier to code) the fighters would slightly precede the cruisers, so that they would take the first volley of enemy cruiser fire. This would significantly enhance the tactical combat power of enemy fleets and may not be suitable at lower AI levels.

[x4000]

New suggestion: Time on Target (this term comes from firing massed artillery: to prevent the enemy from taking cover when the first shell hits, all artillery times its first salvo to ensure that all shells hit the target at the same time)

When I destroy a Command Station (and also when I invade a planet), the AI forces start moving towards my fleet all at the same time. As they start from different places, this means that my fleet can usually defeat them in detail. It would be more effective to start moving the various fleets in such a way so that they hit my fleet at the same time. To prevent his from being exploited it could something like:

IF Command_Center=destroyed THEN
  50% Do nothing
  25% Move forces to fleet as quick as possible
  25% Time on Target to fleet

Related to this, but separate would be a tactical time on target: right now enemy fleets move like a clump toward me, each ship stopping as it comes into range. It would be better (especially in F&D mode) if e.g. a group of fighters and cruisers would separate in such a way that the fighters and cruisers would come into firing range at the same time. Or, alternatively (easier to code) the fighters would slightly precede the cruisers, so that they would take the first volley of enemy cruiser fire. This would significantly enhance the tactical combat power of enemy fleets and may not be suitable at lower AI levels.

This would probably be tricky as hell to implement, given the nature of the game, and the scale, but I've added it to the future DLC list because the idea is intriguing.  http://arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,485.0.html

[Pandemic]

Ah... That makes sense. I was thinking about how Red Alert works, and I liked it .

Oh well, I can live with not having it .


-Pandemic

[Kalzarius]

Pre-Game Ship Toggling
It would be interesting to be able to select unit availability for both humans and AI to set up custom scenarios.  This could also incorporate a sort of ranking for the AI to make it favour one type of ship over another.

I know you said you were adding this to the expansion, but I just realized I may not have been clear in the comment.  When I said for both humans and AI, I meant to say unit availability for human players and unit availability for AI players -- they would be separate selections so you could, for example, have a scenario where the player can't use starships and the AI can.

[x4000]

I know you said you were adding this to the expansion, but I just realized I may not have been clear in the comment.  When I said for both humans and AI, I meant to say unit availability for human players and unit availability for AI players -- they would be separate selections so you could, for example, have a scenario where the player can't use starships and the AI can.

Cool stuff, thanks for the clarifications.  I've added your notes over here:  http://arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,356.0.html

If you have any further thoughts on that, please add them directly in the feature thread to keep them all together, if you don't mind.  Thanks!

[Blam Stokel]

I have been away for a long time so I'm unsure if any of the following has been suggested already, but here are a couple things I found myself wanting as possible DLC:

A "custom" starship, something that you could pick from a small set of abilities like choosing 3 out of a set of 10-15 attributes, I was thinking things like cloaking, extra armor, cloaking detection, ship production, range increase, or fighter bays as examples of possible things to pick from. You would build the ship hull, and then buy the add on parts after production.

I would also be interested in maybe having starships gain experience as they fight, possibly every time they kill an enemy they get slightly better at fighting that particular type of ship, so preserving the life of your starships could have even more incentive as they get better over time. This will also help keep starships effective in the late game battles, allowing them to scale up in combat prowess as the rest of your ordinary forces grow in firepower and number.

[x4000]

I have been away for a long time so I'm unsure if any of the following has been suggested already, but here are a couple things I found myself wanting as possible DLC:

Welcome back!

A "custom" starship, something that you could pick from a small set of abilities like choosing 3 out of a set of 10-15 attributes, I was thinking things like cloaking, extra armor, cloaking detection, ship production, range increase, or fighter bays as examples of possible things to pick from. You would build the ship hull, and then buy the add on parts after production.

I've added an entry for this in the future expansions list (this is a pretty intensive feature, too much so for the weekly DLC):  http://arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,510.0.html  Any added notes that anyone has should go over there so that they are available for future reference.

I would also be interested in maybe having starships gain experience as they fight, possibly every time they kill an enemy they get slightly better at fighting that particular type of ship, so preserving the life of your starships could have even more incentive as they get better over time. This will also help keep starships effective in the late game battles, allowing them to scale up in combat prowess as the rest of your ordinary forces grow in firepower and number.

This has been requested (also an expansion thing), but I've added your notes to it:  http://arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,332.0.html

Good to see you again!

[Kalzarius]

Select Control Group In Another System

It would be helpful to select a control group without going to the planet it is at.  Right now, we press the control group button and it goes to that group at another planet.  An option could exist to make it so the first press of the control group button will select them without changing the current planet.  Any further presses will cycle the view through the different planets they happen to be at.  This can then be extended to allow a movement command to bring them to a planet at a particular location.

Follow Through Wormhole

Right now, holding space follows selected ships.  It would be nice if it could follow them through wormholes.

Travel Distance

I'm not sure if AI War already does this, but it would be nice if ships would factor in the distance between wormholes in its hop calculations to determine the fastest route to a given destination.

Hop ETA

Would it be possible to calculate an estimated time of arrival for a group of ships to reach its destination, displayed on the galaxy map when selecting a route?

Moving Construction Yards

Would it be possible to add engines to all constructors that would allow them to relocate?  Obviously, while preparing to and relocating, they could not construct ships (and this could include a cooldown time before they can begin again).  Alternatively, would it be possible to have multiple space tugs able to haul these constructors (again with the cooldown and preparation time restrictions)? 

Long Distance Travel

As an additional suggestion for long distance travel (http://arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,355.0.html is best suited for forming beachheads), I propose long-distance jumping with a 5-10 minute cooldown and a 1 or 2 minute preparation time.  This would allow convenience or emergency jumps of whole fleets from one planet to another.  Both planets must be occupied by the human team.

[x4000]

Select Control Group In Another System

It would be helpful to select a control group without going to the planet it is at.  Right now, we press the control group button and it goes to that group at another planet.  An option could exist to make it so the first press of the control group button will select them without changing the current planet.  Any further presses will cycle the view through the different planets they happen to be at.  This can then be extended to allow a movement command to bring them to a planet at a particular location.

The game does not support selecting ships at a planet you are not at, and I don't have any plans to change that.  It would let you then cross-planet attack orders, etc, which would not be evaluated right by the engine, anyway -- it's meant to be very separate between the various planets in that regard.

Follow Through Wormhole

Right now, holding space follows selected ships.  It would be nice if it could follow them through wormholes.

Added to the short-term list:  http://arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,512.0.html

Travel Distance

I'm not sure if AI War already does this, but it would be nice if ships would factor in the distance between wormholes in its hop calculations to determine the fastest route to a given destination.

They don't do that.  There are too many possible factors there anyway, such as obstacles and things that you can't see (such as mines or enemies, etc).  Their pathfinding logic is based on the planets and who controls them, but that's it.  It's currently on the todo list to let players mark wormholes as not-to-be-traveled through, which would let you block off a "bad" route (that is too long, that has mines, whatever).  At the moment, you can simply do shorter routes and hold shift to string them together, if you like.

Hop ETA
Would it be possible to calculate an estimated time of arrival for a group of ships to reach its destination, displayed on the galaxy map when selecting a route?

I guess I'll add these both to the "maybe" list and we'll see what the general populace thinks.  But really, an ETA would be almost impossible to do since your ships have variable move rates -- I'd have to show an ETA range, like I do with the damage range when you have many ships selected and you hover the mouse over an enemy.

http://arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,513.0.html

Moving Construction Yards

Would it be possible to add engines to all constructors that would allow them to relocate?  Obviously, while preparing to and relocating, they could not construct ships (and this could include a cooldown time before they can begin again).  Alternatively, would it be possible to have multiple space tugs able to haul these constructors (again with the cooldown and preparation time restrictions)?

The solution is to scrap and rebuild if they are space docks or whatever -- this is part of the "tower defense" aspect of the game, where it essentially is penalizing you for poor planning if you need to change things later.  With the Advanced Factories, they are fixed on purpose so that you might have to defend a really bad position in order to get them.

Long Distance Travel

As an additional suggestion for long distance travel (http://arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,355.0.html is best suited for forming beachheads), I propose long-distance jumping with a 5-10 minute cooldown and a 1 or 2 minute preparation time.  This would allow convenience or emergency jumps of whole fleets from one planet to another.  Both planets must be occupied by the human team.

Very cool.  I added this to the future expansions list:  http://arcengames.com/forums/index.php/topic,514.0.html  We need to come up with a cool name for that.

[Kalzarius]

Select Control Group In Another System

The game does not support selecting ships at a planet you are not at, and I don't have any plans to change that.  It would let you then cross-planet attack orders, etc, which would not be evaluated right by the engine, anyway -- it's meant to be very separate between the various planets in that regard.

I guess this is a situation where turn-based strategy-friendly pause will come in handy then.  It was really only needed to call another control group of back-up ships to the current location -- a movement order -- without having to leave the micro-managed battle.

Moving Construction Yards

The solution is to scrap and rebuild if they are space docks or whatever -- this is part of the "tower defense" aspect of the game, where it essentially is penalizing you for poor planning if you need to change things later.  With the Advanced Factories, they are fixed on purpose so that you might have to defend a really bad position in order to get them.

I have no problem rebuilding the things I can closer to the front lines.  As we gain more territory, we tend to move our constructors anyway.  Unfortunately, we can't move the Advanced Factories, so we spend most of our game waiting for reinforcements to arrive at the front lines.  At this point, it takes roughly 30-45 minutes just waiting for reinforcements to arrive from the advanced factories.  While we're waiting for our 100 Mark IV ships, the AI increases its ship count by two to three thousand.  Of course, the long distance jumping idea below would solve this problem.  Defense was never an issue, it's the waiting an hour for reinforcements that kills us.