Search found 149 matches

by Sapphire Wyvern
Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:53 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Habitable moons
Replies: 16
Views: 3567

What are those Scientists on about anyway? I mean, some say pluto is a moon, some say it is a planet. The are using size to determine this, but they should be using orbit. I think that if a smaller object orbits a bigger object, then the smaller object is the moon. If the bigger object orbits the s...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Wed Mar 08, 2006 7:49 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Are Ginormous Ships Necessary?
Replies: 140
Views: 27550

But the idea is that that mass or (whatever it would be called instead) is more a measure of a weapon's requirements from the hull, than actual size/weight. Say a weapon has a mass of 20, this means it needs a ship hull designed to fit mass 20 weapons and remain structurally stable. Not a bigger sh...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Fri Mar 03, 2006 2:10 pm
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Fuel
Replies: 103
Views: 21719

There are two ways to reduce Micro in games like this. One: Model less stuff. Two: Automate more stuff. And there is the third way: model stuff in such a way that no automation is necessary. For example, Civ IV Unhealthiness vs. cleaning up pollution in Civ II. This is, IMO, the ideal solution. Abs...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:00 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Fuel
Replies: 103
Views: 21719

There are two ways to reduce Micro in games like this. One: Model less stuff. Two: Automate more stuff. And there is the third way: model stuff in such a way that no automation is necessary. For example, Civ IV Unhealthiness vs. cleaning up pollution in Civ II. This is, IMO, the ideal solution. Abs...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Thu Mar 02, 2006 10:55 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Are Ginormous Ships Necessary?
Replies: 140
Views: 27550

If a player wanted to use ships to fight other ships, it would be so inefficient to do this using large numbers of small ships that you wouldn't have any player motivation to do so, and instead players would just build relatively smaller numbers of medium or large ships for direct combat. This is a...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:40 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Are Ginormous Ships Necessary?
Replies: 140
Views: 27550

acutally, a traditional approach would lead to fewer vessels, because they are all big and better than smaller ships. Geoff's approach, if managed to have it worked out properly, will have a mixture of different classes of ships. they won't be few ships. they would have roughly equal ratio in terms...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:23 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: One species per planet.
Replies: 52
Views: 11376

I say the foreign race loses it's technology and racial traits and is idle when you first colonize or annex. then during tranistory period, the foreign race works as if there were your own citizens (with your traits and techs). any new population growth are your own citizens, and foreign races can'...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:20 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Fuel
Replies: 103
Views: 21719

In particular, if there were explicit fuel ships, these could be attacked and destroyed only by attacking the fleet itself, whereas supplies could be cut off just by blocking all supply routes. In theory, yes, this is possible. However, to my mind, the idea that fuel ships can mystically penetrate ...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:14 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Fuel
Replies: 103
Views: 21719

Practically speaking, there's no such thing as a fuel limit to range. If an empire wanted to expend the effort, they could use the "Napoleon crossing the desert" strategy: send a force out some distance, drop a fuel dump, and then return to home base. Refuel, travel out to the first fuel ...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:35 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Are Ginormous Ships Necessary?
Replies: 140
Views: 27550

Hmm. If I'm interpreting Geoff's writing correctly, perhaps the thread topic should not be "Are Ginormous Ships Really Necessary?" Perhaps it should be "Are Very Large Numbers of not-Ginormous Ships Really Necessary?" Now, the idea of balancing smaller ship classes so that they a...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:22 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Fuel
Replies: 103
Views: 21719

Let's define the requirements of a Supply system: SUPPLY COVERS FUEL/AMMO/CREW/FOOD/ETC *Fuel should limit range. *Should be able to travel with safety limits off (ie don't care if you run out of fuel, range increased as a result). *Ships can refuel, either at a planet, in space (refuel ship), via ...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Wed Mar 01, 2006 8:49 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Uplift
Replies: 44
Views: 9356

I love the uplift idea. I don't think the new uplifted races should form a new empire though. I could use the realism argument and say that the span of time isn't long enough for that to happen but I won't. I think it's better just to let the new uplifted race, serve in your empire. Kind of similar...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Thu Feb 23, 2006 6:43 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Are Ginormous Ships Necessary?
Replies: 140
Views: 27550

Well, small ships don't necessarily have to have a significant tactical role. Consider the nature of space combat in the Star Trek setting - I'm no Trexpert, but it seems to me that with the exception of Borg cubes most combat-worthy Trek ships are in the same order of magnitude, size-wise. There's ...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Mon Feb 20, 2006 7:43 am
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Fuel
Replies: 103
Views: 21719

The system in stars actually had a bit more complexity than what you posted. Each fleet had a shared fuel capacity. The fuel usage was determined by the engine type, fleet mass(measured in kilo tons), and warp speed you were traveling at. Fuel was produced at space stations. Fuel was also measured ...
by Sapphire Wyvern
Sat Feb 18, 2006 11:10 pm
Forum: Other Game Design
Topic: Ship Design
Replies: 53
Views: 9958

Not to mention that mere fission reactors are likely to be at the very bottom of FO's tech tree, if present at all!