Hello DEVS and CMDRs--
So I've been playing since the launch of Horizons, and it should be noted that I've been waiting a long time for Colonization. So here are my first thoughts on the good, the bad, and what could be done to improve the system as it currently stands.
1) The Good-- There are numerous different types of orbitals and surface ports, with different aesthetics and versatility. Each has little blurbs on the side which will likely affect the BGS. It's a good method to help Architects plan their systems and build outs.
The stations have a lot of resource needs, which is good for immersion. Planetary exploration and colonization is a slow process. Some players have complained that it cannot be done without a Fleet Carrier (Spoiler: It can be done. I ran half of my runs in a bareback Cutter just to get enough CMM Composites. For steel/ titanium I used by FC.) The drawback is time. But nobody said building a colony would be easy....
The interface seems to be OK so far. But I'd highly recommend a buyback or an "undo" function.
2) The Bad -- The grind is obviously the big concern here. I build an orbital outpost and it took me 5 days in solo to get it running. Obviously, I could probably get a Coriolis in place in about 2 weeks of grinding. But that's it-- two weeks of essentially space trucking. You have ask yourself as Devs-- do we want to punish a player who's invested in system colonization with two weeks of a mindless hauling grind?
Obviously the FC time slot is an issue at the moment. I figure that a rapidly changing station point from place to place would be a strain on the servers. Honestly, I'm ok with a 75 minute wait so long as it guarantees the servers don't go . That being said being able to park the FC nearby the Colonization Ship and hit the "Transfer Needed Commodities" would be a hell of a time saver, even if it required 8-24 hours of game time. Imagine having to gather 23000 tons of commodities aboard your FC, only to have to then run from FC to Colonization Ship 29 times to unload it all. That's what people are doing right now.
Limited range. I've done a lot... LOT.. of exploring. And I've mapped a new area that would be a nice little proto-bubble. But it's 33,000 ly from the Bubble. At 18 ly from system to system, that would require 1,833 colonizations to get there. And suppose I just manage to drop an outpost in each system that requires 5 days of haulage, that would mean I could reach my desired destination in... 25 years of continuous game play. Ouch.
3) Recommended Improvements. So there ae some recommendations to improve the experience and reduce the grind without breaking the immersion too much.
The first is putting in the undo function, especially for planetary settlements. You should have until the Thursday update to undo your decisions if you decided to go in a different direction.
The second is a "quick transfer" option from FC to Colonization ship or Orbital/Planetary construction. You can lock out additional supplies until the wait period is over (so if some does a partial delivery, they won't be able to make any more deliveries to the goal until that cooldown is over.)
The third is.. why not make an Elite Badge for Architects? Start at "Homeless", then once you colonize your first system, go to "Homesteader", then proceed to other ranks.. Like the following:
Homeless --> Homesteader --> Pioneer--> Generator--> Developer --> Designer --> Architect --> Mastermind
Then base each of those ranks off of total number of build points. Each step also opens up new tiers of planetary outposts and other bonuses? Homeless starts at tier 1 and then you can get to tier 3 for Homesteader up to tier 15 planetary outposts at Mastermind. As you increase in rank, you need 5% less materials for each type of base. Also, each tier increases the Colonization range from a colonized system. So 16 ly for Homeless, 32 for ly for Homesteader, 48 at Pioneer, 64 at Generator, 80 at Developer, 96 at Designer, 112 at Architect and 130 ly at Mastermind.
Also, your planetary outposts should have the option for the commodities generated. If you build a refinery, you can chose Market, Intrasystem Focus, and Intersystem Focus. Market is a standard market that can generate credits. Intrasystem will generate materials needed for outposts in-system. And Intersystem focus will generate materials needed for outposts out of system. The system state will affect the materials generated (due to piracy, civil unrest, disease, famine, natural disaster, etc.) so rectifying that state would be important in getting the system producing at top efficiency. But for Intrasystems/Intersystem Focus, those materials will be applied to the construction needs of that base. As the outpost tier increases, it generates more materials that can be used for system construction.
Also, there should be some specialty buildings at higher tiers. For example, at Developer, a tier 9 Research Outpost can be developed for specialty goods in the system. Or at Designer, a system can construct a Colony Support Facility (non-dockable orbital) that can increase the maximum colony range of that Architect. The more CSFs one Architect has, the longer the Colony range. In addition, there can be an Intersystem Transit Authority (non-dockable orbital) that can increase the range and materials of Intersystem Focused outposts.
Finally, and this has always been a personal want of mine, is to build a Terraforming Station over a terraformable planet. It needs tons of commodities too (a huge amount, 100x that of an orbital), that will start the Terraforming process. Ultimately, having Intersystem ports that support such a huge project will be necessary to see it done.
But those are my thoughts on a beta, and suggestions on how to improve and make it less grindy and give more impactful goals for players who really want to invest in Colonization.
o7 DEVS and CMDRs.
-- CMDR PrimusNethicus (formerly NethicusPrimus)
So I've been playing since the launch of Horizons, and it should be noted that I've been waiting a long time for Colonization. So here are my first thoughts on the good, the bad, and what could be done to improve the system as it currently stands.
1) The Good-- There are numerous different types of orbitals and surface ports, with different aesthetics and versatility. Each has little blurbs on the side which will likely affect the BGS. It's a good method to help Architects plan their systems and build outs.
The stations have a lot of resource needs, which is good for immersion. Planetary exploration and colonization is a slow process. Some players have complained that it cannot be done without a Fleet Carrier (Spoiler: It can be done. I ran half of my runs in a bareback Cutter just to get enough CMM Composites. For steel/ titanium I used by FC.) The drawback is time. But nobody said building a colony would be easy....
The interface seems to be OK so far. But I'd highly recommend a buyback or an "undo" function.
2) The Bad -- The grind is obviously the big concern here. I build an orbital outpost and it took me 5 days in solo to get it running. Obviously, I could probably get a Coriolis in place in about 2 weeks of grinding. But that's it-- two weeks of essentially space trucking. You have ask yourself as Devs-- do we want to punish a player who's invested in system colonization with two weeks of a mindless hauling grind?
Obviously the FC time slot is an issue at the moment. I figure that a rapidly changing station point from place to place would be a strain on the servers. Honestly, I'm ok with a 75 minute wait so long as it guarantees the servers don't go . That being said being able to park the FC nearby the Colonization Ship and hit the "Transfer Needed Commodities" would be a hell of a time saver, even if it required 8-24 hours of game time. Imagine having to gather 23000 tons of commodities aboard your FC, only to have to then run from FC to Colonization Ship 29 times to unload it all. That's what people are doing right now.
Limited range. I've done a lot... LOT.. of exploring. And I've mapped a new area that would be a nice little proto-bubble. But it's 33,000 ly from the Bubble. At 18 ly from system to system, that would require 1,833 colonizations to get there. And suppose I just manage to drop an outpost in each system that requires 5 days of haulage, that would mean I could reach my desired destination in... 25 years of continuous game play. Ouch.
3) Recommended Improvements. So there ae some recommendations to improve the experience and reduce the grind without breaking the immersion too much.
The first is putting in the undo function, especially for planetary settlements. You should have until the Thursday update to undo your decisions if you decided to go in a different direction.
The second is a "quick transfer" option from FC to Colonization ship or Orbital/Planetary construction. You can lock out additional supplies until the wait period is over (so if some does a partial delivery, they won't be able to make any more deliveries to the goal until that cooldown is over.)
The third is.. why not make an Elite Badge for Architects? Start at "Homeless", then once you colonize your first system, go to "Homesteader", then proceed to other ranks.. Like the following:
Homeless --> Homesteader --> Pioneer--> Generator--> Developer --> Designer --> Architect --> Mastermind
Then base each of those ranks off of total number of build points. Each step also opens up new tiers of planetary outposts and other bonuses? Homeless starts at tier 1 and then you can get to tier 3 for Homesteader up to tier 15 planetary outposts at Mastermind. As you increase in rank, you need 5% less materials for each type of base. Also, each tier increases the Colonization range from a colonized system. So 16 ly for Homeless, 32 for ly for Homesteader, 48 at Pioneer, 64 at Generator, 80 at Developer, 96 at Designer, 112 at Architect and 130 ly at Mastermind.
Also, your planetary outposts should have the option for the commodities generated. If you build a refinery, you can chose Market, Intrasystem Focus, and Intersystem Focus. Market is a standard market that can generate credits. Intrasystem will generate materials needed for outposts in-system. And Intersystem focus will generate materials needed for outposts out of system. The system state will affect the materials generated (due to piracy, civil unrest, disease, famine, natural disaster, etc.) so rectifying that state would be important in getting the system producing at top efficiency. But for Intrasystems/Intersystem Focus, those materials will be applied to the construction needs of that base. As the outpost tier increases, it generates more materials that can be used for system construction.
Also, there should be some specialty buildings at higher tiers. For example, at Developer, a tier 9 Research Outpost can be developed for specialty goods in the system. Or at Designer, a system can construct a Colony Support Facility (non-dockable orbital) that can increase the maximum colony range of that Architect. The more CSFs one Architect has, the longer the Colony range. In addition, there can be an Intersystem Transit Authority (non-dockable orbital) that can increase the range and materials of Intersystem Focused outposts.
Finally, and this has always been a personal want of mine, is to build a Terraforming Station over a terraformable planet. It needs tons of commodities too (a huge amount, 100x that of an orbital), that will start the Terraforming process. Ultimately, having Intersystem ports that support such a huge project will be necessary to see it done.
But those are my thoughts on a beta, and suggestions on how to improve and make it less grindy and give more impactful goals for players who really want to invest in Colonization.
o7 DEVS and CMDRs.
-- CMDR PrimusNethicus (formerly NethicusPrimus)
