Wow... I read through your Ad Astra game years ago (but still long after it closed out) and then I was poking around the Aurora 4x forum recently and saw a link to this playthrough and I was so excited to see it still in progress! I've only read (in depth) up to page 40 or so, so I've got a lot of catching up to do, but I was hoping to get myself inserted into the game world in some capacity, if possible! I see there are some stealth ships coming out... if one of them lacks a commander (if that's how it works) please sign me up! If those slots are already taken, I'd be happy on a geosurvey vessel or commanding a combat ship all the same. I'd just love to be part of the game world in whatever capacity
- We are laying down four Spy-class Stealth Scout vessels this week. It'll be most of a year before they are completed, but one is yours if you want it.
Also, and I don't want to clutter up the game thread with a ton of my own questions... but if I may be permitted a few:
I was only a beginner back in the previous version of Aurora 4x and now that I'm coming back to the c# version, enough has changed that I really feel lost. I am seeing things in this playthrough that I didn't even know were possible. So I'm learning a ton just by reading through, but learning that things are possible isn't the same as learning how to actually DO them. Is there a good place I could go for step by step instructions/tutorials on the mechanics of the game? This game is obvious dense with an absolute learning CLIFF, but I think it'd be worth the time investment if there was a place that would help me work through the mechanics a bit at a time.
- Aside from the Mechanics sub-forum on Steve's Aurora forum, I'm not aware of any documentation, no. I just played a few games. I'm still learning the mechanics and hunting for controls as well.
Also, just some general questions...
- It seems to me that resources in this game are physicalized, in that resource don't go into a universal pool as soon as you collect them and then can be used by any factory/shipyard wherever it may be located. So, how crazy are the logistics of having multiple star systems and balancing resources between them?
- Crazy indeed. You may have noticed that the core of our empire, both mining and manufacturing, is pretty linear; running from the comet mining sites in 25 Ursae Majoris through Tau Ceti, Luhman 16, Sol, and into Alpha Centauri, with only some minor mining operations taking place off that linear path. I've built about 130 Freighters, each with five cargo holds. I have groups of five of these Freighters (so... 25 cargo holds) cycling on auto-repeat on two different runs up and down that chain... with single Freighters (instead of groups of five) cycling along the feeder routes (eg: out to AX Microscopii and back). As for balancing resources, any place that makes repair parts requires occasional shipments of Duranium, Uridium and Gallicite.
- In the previous version of the game, it seemed like missiles were the only useful way to go for combat (leastwise, that's all I really saw on the forums). That doesn't seem to be the case in what I've read so far here. In the new version of the game, are all the various avenues of military might viable? In particular, you're doing a lot of carriers and fighters, which is cool. But if I wanted to do more classic warships without depending on fighters... would that be doable?
- So far in the game, only one enemy ship has been killed with missiles, as I recall. Certainly during that massive battle in Tau Ceti, twenty-four out of twenty-five enemy ships were destroyed by gunfire. Guns seem to be the new meta, or at least perfectly viable.
- And I know this is a really dumb question, but I'm overwhelmed by the research options... How do you know what you need to research for what's coming down the line? It seems like only game after game of experience will help with that when you hit a point of critical failure because you didn't know to plan properly? And so perhaps you get wiped and so you start again trying to correct that mistake? Rinse and repeat on down the line?
- Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a diagram of the tech tree and experience seems to be the only guide.
I'm really enjoying reading through your gameplay and its been years, but I remember having a ton of fun with this game myself. But coming back to it is so overwhelming. So any help anyone can offer, particularly in pointing toward any effective, streamlined explanations/tutorials (whether text based or video, I don't care) would be so helpful.
- I know Quill18 put out a Let's Play video for the C# version, but I'm not sure how much detail he went into. You can always PM me an occasional question.
Thanks!
