Addon Discussion

[Brainsucker]

Ok guys, we have already know the Ring World and terraforming world concept. But how to implemented it to the game? Because as far as I know, in DW, when you get certain species who could colonize any kind of planets in the game, you don't need any kind of colonization technology anymore.

[Gertjan]

I think we will get a problem with scales if 1 ringworld = 3 000 000 normal planets.

[Shark7]

ORIGINAL: Gertjan

I think we will get a problem with scales if 1 ringworld = 3 000 000 normal planets.

Right, I was working under the assumption of Halo sized ringworlds.

[Webbco]

I feel ready for a bit of an update. How's things going Erik?

[profanicus]

Wow over 2 pages on ring worlds etc, what does this actually add to the game apart from flavour? Not that I am against adding flavour, but 2 pages?

I would like characters/heroes; people you can hire and add to your fleets and structures such as Admirals, Scientists, Diplomats, Assassins, Explorers etc.

[Baleur]

ORIGINAL: tornnight

I stand by my opinion that ring worlds and dyson spheres are ridiculously impractical.

Even if you had an army of nanobots constructing one it would likely take many thousands of years to construct or longer. And for what benefit over just teraforming a barren world?

The argument that regular worlds will be considered preserves is silly when you think of the number of barren worlds out there.

You're thinking in human timescales. The construction of a ring world or dyson sphere (not the actual solid sphere one, but the millions-of-satellites version), at least the first one, would be an immense undertaking for any civilization no matter how advanced.
Most likely it would be built for the future, as a galactic hub for millions of years to come (who knows, perhaps as a galactic "capital" for an alliance of civilizations working together).

Point is, even if it took a hundred thousand years to construct, it could last for millions, or indefinetly if it is continously maintained and populated. If it's build around a red dwarf, it could potentially last for as long as the red dwarf, too long to even contemplate.

I'm sure every civ would still go about their way, colonizing and terraforming every viable planet they come across.
But a ringworld wouldnt be a substitute, it'd be an incredible project for the future, for the long long term, a safe place to retreat to when the previously mentioned colonies are threatened by their solar system stars reaching the end of their lives.

I doubt there'd be many ringworlds and such out there, i think its more likely that if there is one, there's literally ONE in our entire galaxy, if even that.
Think Mass Effect lore, in terms of a galactic hub (or capital, again) that is so ancient and magnificent that the creators are long since gone, or that it has been build on by several successive civilizations, not completed by just 1 single uber civ. It'd take several uber civs to make

[Wade1000]

For a thought comparison, theorectically speaking and opinionated, an ancient village person that somehow imagined super construction beyond huts, something like modern skyscraper buildings might imagine them taking hundreds of years to construct. He could not imagine all the various tools, robotics, computers, materials, etcetera, that allows them to be built in months or a few years.

His rational might be that his hut took several days to finish thus a skyscraper that can hold thousands of his huts must take hundreds of years to construct.

Some of us could be compared to that ancient village person imagining the construction time of a Ringworld or Sphereworld/Dyson Sphere. Some of us might rationalize, with only our current understanding or closed imagination, that those future constructions must take thousands of years to construct.
I think it could take weeks to months... using sort of future technologies like energy to matter conversion, teleportation, nanites that self replicate exponentionally using the energy to matter conversion and then link themselves and other atoms and mollecules together, etcetera.

[WoodMan]

Well, since its impossible according to the laws of physics for anything with mass to travel at the speed of light (no matter how advanced the civilization that builds the transport), it would have to be one hell of a big cargo ship to get all the stuff there in one go to build it in a month [;)]

[adecoy95]

features i would like to see in the game:

carriers/fighters/drones

mines

jumpgates

ship design have less restrictions in what you can and cant put on a ship to give a bonus IE, mobile shipyards, stacking countermeasures, colossal sensor arrays.

a race that does not colonize planets (nomads, mobile populations)

an extra weapon or two area effect torpedos, rapid fire extremely short range weapon, a long range hyperspeed disruption weapon.

boarding pods

ground suppression systems on space ports for those of us with the need to quell our rebelling citizens or hostile troops

and of course, more modding support. preferribly one of those spiffy, easy to use document codes that has easy to understand code that easily identified (games like sots and medeval 2 has alot of this)

cant think of anything else right now

[Wade1000]

ORIGINAL: WoodMan

Well, since its impossible according to the laws of physics for anything with mass to travel at the speed of light (no matter how advanced the civilization that builds the transport), it would have to be one hell of a big cargo ship to get all the stuff there in one go to build it in a month [;)]

The star would be used for energy to matter conversion to get unlimited building material: nanites and other molecules and atoms. This is assuming the theorectical technologies. There will be advances in our near and far future that we can not even imagine.

Think more about science fiction advances and maybe possible real life future advances. You did not even seem to take note of some of the advances I mention.

[T_K]

I wish troop transports didn't unload troops so quickly that it doesn't matter if you have your entire fleet defending the planet.

[Bartje]

With that I actually agree but on the other hand you should have had more troops there

I think that hostile troopships heading for planets should automatically be priority #1. Too often does a station not focus on it in time.

[WoodMan]

The star would be used for energy to matter conversion to get unlimited building material: nanites and other molecules and atoms. This is assuming the theorectical technologies. There will be advances in our near and far future that we can not even imagine.

Think more about science fiction advances and maybe possible real life future advances. You did not even seem to take note of some of the advances I mention.

True, its perfectly acceptable that some of that stuff may be available in the future [:)]  You are more optimistic than me about such things it would seem [:D]

However, in the context of DW i don't think such techs "fit" properly.  The game establishes certain rules such as ships can travel between stars quickly (faster than is scientifically possible) and that the Empires use mines to extract minerals and building materials from planets which are transported via fast moving transports to the building site and used to construct whatever object is under construction.  Energy to matter conversion would eliminate this entire part of the game changing the game significantly and making it (in my opinion) less fun.  Trade would be pointless, unlimited numbers of ships could be created quickly at shipyards near suns etc.

So, even if it is unrealistic (like the ship speeds, so unrealistic is acceptable in DW and nobody minds) the Ringworlds should probably be constructed using normal means, i.e. transporting mined materials to the building site and taking a very long time to build, or not being able to build them at all and finding them like the world destroyers.  Using energy to matter conversion or nanites for just this one construction might be more realistic considering the scale of the project, but it would be out of context with the rest of the game.

[SilverRocket]

While I'm in favour of both broadening and deepening the tech tree to allow for an evolving experience over (say) several hundred years of game time, I don't really see how dyson spheres / ringworlds would work in the current game.

At the moment, Distant Worlds is a model of an extractive economy... planets are valuable for the resources they have and population acts as a multiplier but there is no manufactured economy (apart from ships) or service economy. So what would be the value of ringworlds? If they don't have any resources then they are just a store of (untaxed) population. If you are saying that resources are created by some advanced technique then why not just create those resources directly?

This may be a reason to improve the game's economic model but that's another issue [:)]

Anyway, while I'm here...what I'd like to see in the expansion is a better diplomatic system (please, please, please give us buttons for greater amounts than 10,000 credits [:)]) along the lines of what has been posted in the diplomacy thread and what I have previously posted on the wishlist. I'd also like to see some simulation of internal politics (democracies should be very different to monarchies) and perhaps some more varied story elements (I think it would be good if this were randomised - the story is good fun the first time round but gets a bit stale after a few plays).

[Bingeling]

It is a bit since I saw this, so it may have been changed.

The snappy speed of invading is even more annoying if you got your own troop transports in the system. Reinforcing troop transport are left in docking queues, while attacking paratroop. The only likely way to "save" a planet with a single defender from a single troop transport slipping through (4 troops), is to have your 10 full troop transports in the system being ready to invade once the low strength planet is captured.

If you are able to land on the planet instantly when attacking, one should also think it would be possible to land instantly when defending, and not be left in lines at the immigration office, or whatever.

[Bozz]

I always saw planete invasion as it is in the book halo reach [:D]

Troop ships sending small ships with soldiers on the planete, so this could be done quickly, once the troop transporter is near the planete he will lunch the small ships and once they enter in the atmosphere it is impossible for other ships to destroy them...

I agree that these ships should be engaged as quickly as possible,In one of my games I managed to lose 7 planetes in 5 different systemes because of a fleet traveling accros my empire and invading undefended planetes, it took me a lot of time before I finally managed to destroy the troop transport but I think that they used all of their troops [:D]

[Shark7]

ORIGINAL: Bozz

I always saw planete invasion as it is in the book halo reach [:D]

Troop ships sending small ships with soldiers on the planete, so this could be done quickly, once the troop transporter is near the planete he will lunch the small ships and once they enter in the atmosphere it is impossible for other ships to destroy them...

I agree that these ships should be engaged as quickly as possible,In one of my games I managed to lose 7 planetes in 5 different systemes because of a fleet traveling accros my empire and invading undefended planetes, it took me a lot of time before I finally managed to destroy the troop transport but I think that they used all of their troops [:D]

Of course your planetary defenses should be trying to shoot down the LCIs (for lack of a better description) and LCTs. That's what air defenses are for...say about a 25-30% kill rate by air defenses...in other words the troops should arrive with damage.

[J HG T]

ORIGINAL: Shark7

ORIGINAL: Bozz

I always saw planete invasion as it is in the book halo reach [:D]

Troop ships sending small ships with soldiers on the planete, so this could be done quickly, once the troop transporter is near the planete he will lunch the small ships and once they enter in the atmosphere it is impossible for other ships to destroy them...

I agree that these ships should be engaged as quickly as possible,In one of my games I managed to lose 7 planetes in 5 different systemes because of a fleet traveling accros my empire and invading undefended planetes, it took me a lot of time before I finally managed to destroy the troop transport but I think that they used all of their troops [:D]

Of course your planetary defenses should be trying to shoot down the LCIs (for lack of a better description) and LCTs. That's what air defenses are for...say about a 25-30% kill rate by air defenses...in other words the troops should arrive with damage.

Agreed with the fact that planetary defences should affect the land invasion in some way. The AI players are well aware how cheap and effective tactic spamming troop transports through planetary defences is. In my current game the Dhayuut used this tactic on me and I couldn't do absolutely nothing. Even if my planet has medium starport and modified defence platform the transports just throwed the troops through the defences and retreated. Super annoying.
Also if you think about in the perspective of ground forces fighting in the ground, orbital defences could easily bombard enemy troop formations if they land outside of cities and other infrastructures.

Bottom line: Orbital defences need to do something to invading troops. It feels pretty much pointless to build them sometimes if they can't do anything to troop spamming, which both player and AI know as effective tactic. Shark7s idea is good, but I say make the percentage of casulties caused depentend on the amount of platforms in the orbit and/or the combined firepower of orbital structures.

[adecoy95]

hey look, a dyson sphere in game!

ok, its a little lopsided, but it works! [:D]

[Shark7]

Yes, but does the game crash because of it?

Try adding gas clouds, suns or systems...crash city. [:(]