Twitter Teasers February 6th

[stumason]

Ground Warfare is the most tedious feature in the game right now without much benefits.

Hence why it needs a re-work.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the way Distant Worlds did it was perfect for a Grand Strategy game - minimal micro yet quite engaging. PDS shouldn't be ashamed of copying it (in fact, the way they did it reminds me of the combat mechanics from CK2 and EUIV, so who's copying who????).

But sadly, Wiz isn't a big fan of ground warfare himself, he's in the "but it's spaceships! They beat everything!" camp.

If they removed it entirely, I would be heartbroken. I'd rather they leave as is than remove it entirely. Many a space 4X has failed to capture me because planetary warfare was minimal or non existent - Gal Civ for example, thats just a case of loading a ship full of a planets population and dumping it on another planet, then saying "Fight!". No depth at all.

 

[CassCD]

https://twitter.com/Martin_Anward/status/828623625154654209

 

[Darasuum]

The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father.

 

[Obsidian One]

Ground Warfare is the most tedious feature in the game right now without much benefits. Building all these little armies and equip every single one of them with an attachment in a interface that screams "run away!" at you.

I like the idea of big ground campaings in warhammer style but as the game is right now wars are just : 1. Destroy enemy fleet; 2. bombard planet; 3. Send in Troops; Repeat 2. and 3.

This is just boring and i don´t even want to start a war with anyone owning a big empire because of this anymore.

Better take it out than leaving it as it is...

Agree completely and not just the ground warfare the game repeating itself in someway so that's why they should focus on more contents for mid-late game.

 

[Jabby]

https://twitter.com/Martin_Anward/status/828623625154654209

Fleet Stance set to: "hell naw!"

 

[Cipher3]

https://twitter.com/Martin_Anward/status/828623625154654209

Matrix references. Now we're talking.

 

[BlackUmbrellas]

https://twitter.com/Martin_Anward/status/828623625154654209

The Matrix reference could just be a fun way of saying that this is some other dimension where other rules apply... or it could be supportive of my personal theory on what the Psionics Ascension represents, i.e. the establishment of a collective group-mind of memories and emotions ala the Protoss Khala.

 

[Ikael]

I am SO going into that interdimensional horror show. Hope that you can meet your deceased leaders in that "afterlife"!

That being said, I wonder what would be the process of turning your popullation into psykers / cyborgs / synths. Minerals and energy? Do you apply a tax to be imposed? Build a per-planet project? Does each ascension have its own thematically proper method? Also, could there be some dangers such as rebellions or failed experiments truncate your path towards ascension?

 

[Vityviktor]

In fairness, I find the ground combat portion of warfare far more engaging and fun than the fleet combat part.

Maybe people who make titanic empires and just flood enemy planets with an endless stream of armies have a different experience, but as somebody that doesn't "paint the galaxy" much and runs with a very minimal invasion force (1, maybe 2 small fleets of transports tops) invading a planet takes care and attention and can be approached multiple ways. Alternating waves of troops, armies keyed for high morale damage, attack-retreat-heal-attack grinds supported by sustained bombardment...

Maybe this could be improved with a new UI to make troops management (with upgrades, combat groups, waves, leaders, etc) easier and "prettier".

 

[Nyrael]

I'm all for Traditions and Ascension Perks and think they are great idea, but i'm kind of against about half of technologies\building\diplomacy actions and such being packed into them. IMO, it makes gameplay way too linear and predictable.

The current system, where everything was in technologies, is more predictable IMO. Right now, more than half of them become available to everyone, the rest can be predicted by looking over an AI's ethoses.
Unless you mean the player, in which case it is equally predictable, but now you have to think about when you should unlock a feature.

In any case, has nothing to do with this current teaser.

They should focus on land warfere before this....it needs improvements after that this may become more important feature for now it is not.

Everyone has a different opinion on what area of the game should be the next one focused on, and most of them think that they know better than anyone else.

 

[grandad1982]

I would like to see smaller fleets with much more durable ships instead to have space battles take longer and not ending in the total annihilation of one side but cause damage for both sides and leading to a shattered retreat of the loosing side instead of total destruction.

This, very much this. Total annihilation is rubbish. If fleets/ships had some sort of moral or organisation mechanic and would automatically jump out of combat (you could even set the preferred level to do this at) and then need repair that would be great. Of course you need some sort of logistics mechanic too so that the enemy can't just follow you with a huge fleet into your core and destroy your weakened force.

 

[Wizzington]

Guys, if you want to discuss ground combat, make a thread for it instead of derailing one that is very much not about ground combat.

 

[Esurnir]

My instinct tell me the psionic techs have just been removed from the tech tree .

To be honest....

I'm fine with that.

If you weren't spiritualist, psi techs were basically a lucky dice roll, it was just down to sheer luck. Psi jump drives were an even bigger luck check, I think amongst all my games I got psi jump drive 3 times, twice from tech once from wrecks, and some game where i went spiritualist specifically to unlock psi jump i never saw it ever.

Making psi less "I'm feeling lucky today" and locked behind some hard to reach ascension perk ?


... I'm fine with that. Makes it more rewarding as you work toward it instead of playing the lottery until you win...

P.S. for someone who never watched babylon 5 what's the corp, and can I make hamburger out of it ?

 

[Caspoi]

I hope there will also be associated policies like sanction psionitly gifted (in a xenophobe empire this would make sense -> Babylon 5 as an example). These already exist for synthetics and it could very well be made for these as well. Same may go for cybernetically enhanced pops living in your empire.

The reverse should also be possible with the psionic pops being seen as a "higher" form of your species and as such being given preferential treatment compared to your other pops.

 

[scaper12123]

my thoughts immediately turn to Jedi.

 

[Obsidian One]

Everyone has a different opinion on what area of the game should be the next one focused on, and most of them think that they know better than anyone else.

Well good for them....

 

[scaper12123]

My instinct tell me the psionic techs have just been removed from the tech tree .

To be honest....

I'm fine with that.

If you weren't spiritualist, psi techs were basically a lucky dice roll, it was just down to sheer luck. Psi jump drives were an even bigger luck check, I think amongst all my games I got psi jump drive 3 times, twice from tech once from wrecks, and some game where i went spiritualist specifically to unlock psi jump i never saw it ever.

Making psi less "I'm feeling lucky today" and locked behind some hard to reach ascension perk ?


... I'm fine with that. Makes it more rewarding as you work toward it instead of playing the lottery until you win...

P.S. for someone who never watched babylon 5 what's the corp, and can I make hamburger out of it ?

wiz confirmed on twitter that the psionic tech is not removed from the default tech tree, nor will we need the DLC to have psionics. Apparently he's going to go over the details in the next dev diary

 

[Army Pea]

Did the Matrix just cross over to Stellaris?

There is no spoon...

 

[praftd]

Ground Warfare is the most tedious feature in the game right now without much benefits. Building all these little armies and equip every single one of them with an attachment in a interface that screams "run away!" at you.

I like the idea of big ground campaings in warhammer style but as the game is right now wars are just : 1. Destroy enemy fleet; 2. bombard planet; 3. Send in Troops; Repeat 2. and 3.

This is just boring and i don´t even want to start a war with anyone owning a big empire because of this anymore.

Better take it out than leaving it as it is...

No no no.

I'd rather they leave it as is than take it out. So few space games have ground combat and it adds another dimension to the game evem if it is tedious

Fix the system. Improve the system. Dont remove the system.

That is the lazy way out and it only hurts the game. Taking it out doesn't make the game more fun and interesting. It only gives players less tech/toys to play with and makes war even more boring and simplistic.

 

[Me_]

Isn't this last picture quite similar to the background the Unbidden have?