My quick general opinions of the of the 3 starting FTL methods.
1. Hyperlane (beginner) - Should never be in a space game imo. Far too contextually limiting. Only use as "only allowed FTL" setting. Compartmentalizes and simplifies empire defense, limits offense.
2. Warp - More freedom but is too slow. Has less range at max tech than middle tech wormholes. Has scaling costs on both warm up and cooldown. Currently underpowered.
3. Wormholes - Good freedom. Must be strategically placed (logistics is fun) and at times defended. Good range. Good speed. Severe warm up scaling costs on fleet size. The gold standard of starting FTL
(Note: I haven't teched up warp yet so my analysis is based on Wiki numeric values and my short lived games testing warp at tech level 1). I only play with wormhole FTL. Now let's bring warp more in line with wormholes and more fun at the same time. Warp will remain shorter and slower than wormholes but will have a nice strategic advantage.
Warp Changes
1. Change the range from 40/60/80 to 50/80/110. Less range than wormholes but gives it a nice range buff which will hopefully work well with something special we will add later.
2. Increase the travel speed. The Wiki says it's 2/2.4/2.8 ly-day. Assuming those values are correct Increase to 2/4/6 ly-day. (test values on large galaxy)
3. Now that warp (speed and range) is more viable lets add the strategic element that warp lacks. At tech level 2, allow warp drive fleets to redirect to a new destination while in warp. The redirect range would need to be represented by a dynamic range circle that shrinks around the fleet as it travels. Currently maximum warp range is represented by a yellow dashed circle around the fleet. This circle needs to dynamically shrink around the fleet as it travels. For more fun, at tech level 3, "warp analysis and drive optimizations" allow for a 25% warp speed increase upon redirecting the fleet. Let the warp shenanigans commence!
There we have it. A perfectly viable and fun alternative to wormholes.
1. Hyperlane (beginner) - Should never be in a space game imo. Far too contextually limiting. Only use as "only allowed FTL" setting. Compartmentalizes and simplifies empire defense, limits offense.
2. Warp - More freedom but is too slow. Has less range at max tech than middle tech wormholes. Has scaling costs on both warm up and cooldown. Currently underpowered.
3. Wormholes - Good freedom. Must be strategically placed (logistics is fun) and at times defended. Good range. Good speed. Severe warm up scaling costs on fleet size. The gold standard of starting FTL
(Note: I haven't teched up warp yet so my analysis is based on Wiki numeric values and my short lived games testing warp at tech level 1). I only play with wormhole FTL. Now let's bring warp more in line with wormholes and more fun at the same time. Warp will remain shorter and slower than wormholes but will have a nice strategic advantage.
Warp Changes
1. Change the range from 40/60/80 to 50/80/110. Less range than wormholes but gives it a nice range buff which will hopefully work well with something special we will add later.
2. Increase the travel speed. The Wiki says it's 2/2.4/2.8 ly-day. Assuming those values are correct Increase to 2/4/6 ly-day. (test values on large galaxy)
3. Now that warp (speed and range) is more viable lets add the strategic element that warp lacks. At tech level 2, allow warp drive fleets to redirect to a new destination while in warp. The redirect range would need to be represented by a dynamic range circle that shrinks around the fleet as it travels. Currently maximum warp range is represented by a yellow dashed circle around the fleet. This circle needs to dynamically shrink around the fleet as it travels. For more fun, at tech level 3, "warp analysis and drive optimizations" allow for a 25% warp speed increase upon redirecting the fleet. Let the warp shenanigans commence!
There we have it. A perfectly viable and fun alternative to wormholes.
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