Does the game have a range mechanic.The screenshot doesn't show anything.

The map also looks pretty small and with planets close together.Are there maps with epic breadth.

Game looks great BTW.

From my limited time with the game so far there is a range mechanic which is the pretty standard "within X AU's of your colonized worlds" setup as seen in MOO2. I think there are outposts in the game to extend the range as well, but I haven't messed around with them yet and a dev could probably answer that better.

To your other question, the devs have made mention of bigger maps in responding to some of my feedback so it is certainly a possibility but I would wait to hear from them on that one.

Range is based on your current hyperdrive technology; you can travel X distance from any of your colonies or outposts. There is also an optional ship component (currently called "Warp Lane Amplifier") that extends the range of the individual ship at the cost of a System slot.

The current beta build only has one random map type that is relatively small, with 7 players. There will be more map setting options in the future.

Cool.

The beta has no NDA?

What are your thoughts about it Echo?

Ashbery76 wrote:Cool.

The beta has no NDA?

What are your thoughts about it Echo?

That is actually a good question about the NDA. I know the devs would like us to refrain from sharing screenshots, videos, and so on, but they haven't mentioned anything about the testers just sharing their thoughts on the game on the general forum.

To the devs: Is it ok if testers share their thoughts and answer basic questions on the forums about the game? If not, I apologize for jumping the gun a little in answering Ashbery's questions as best I could and I will refrain from doing so in the future.

echo2361 wrote:

Ashbery76 wrote:Cool.

The beta has no NDA?

What are your thoughts about it Echo?

That is actually a good question about the NDA. I know the devs would like us to refrain from sharing screenshots, videos, and so on, but they haven't mentioned anything about the testers just sharing their thoughts on the game on the general forum.

To the devs: Is it ok if testers share their thoughts and answer basic questions on the forums about the game? If not, I apologize for jumping the gun a little in answering Ashbery's questions as best I could and I will refrain from doing so in the future.

My view is that's it's fine to answer questions about the game, as we will be doing so as well. Naturally, we would prefer it if you didn't elaborate in too much detail about things that are broken, etc. But otherwise, Sven and I are as interested to hear your thoughts as anyone else.

My view is that's it's fine to answer questions about the game, as we will be doing so as well. Naturally, we would prefer it if you didn't elaborate in too much detail about things that are broken, etc. But otherwise, Sven and I are as interested to hear your thoughts as anyone else.

Yup, I'll second that. Please try to err on the side of discretion when posting about broken content or missing features, but, otherwise, discussing the game on the game discussion forums is entirely correct and appropriate

Arioch wrote:My view is that's it's fine to answer questions about the game, as we will be doing so as well. Naturally, we would prefer it if you didn't elaborate in too much detail about things that are broken, etc. But otherwise, Sven and I are as interested to hear your thoughts as anyone else.

Got it. Thanks! No worries on the over elaboration on things that are still a WIP. I tend to usually limit myself to answering basic questions and giving general thoughts, not harping on incomplete things or anything like that.

Ashbery76 wrote:What are your thoughts about it Echo?

Now back to your question Ashbery. Having only spent a few hours with the game thus far, I am enjoying it quite a bit already. Visually it is very impressive, as I'm sure you can tell from the screenshots. I definitely get a SOTS-meets-MOO2-type vibe when playing the game, which is a good thing for sure. The game mechanics are pretty straight forward and easy to understand. I needed to have a few things like trade routes explained to me better, but I'm sure as development progresses such details will be added into the game itself. Some of the UI's are in the midst of being overhauled, but generally they are very well presented and user friendly.

I am really liking the very descriptive explanations of the various technologies. Some of the best I've seen in a 4x game. They do a good job of stating what will be unlocked with the tech, where the tech will lead to next, etc. Ship design is easy to understand and rewarding when you get to watch your new weapon systems in action during combat. Combat itself is getting an UI overhaul, but so far I've managed to get the hang of it and pulled off a few victories after some initial defeats at the hands of dastardly pirates.

All in all, I'm glad I'm a part of the testing community and I'm looking forward to each patch already

Ashbery76 wrote:Cool.

The beta has no NDA?

What are your thoughts about it Echo?

You're not asking me, but I'll answer anyway. The game has a great deal of VERY REAL potential. The things that aren't quite ready or up to snuff are, for the most part, small stuff and changes that I don't imagine would be giant feats of effort.

What I mean by that is that it's already a very solid foundation. It's aesthetic is extremely pleasing, the gameplay is moderately simple, yet addictive. It's pretty much exactly what you'd expect of a modern Master of Orion. The gameplay is very similar and the graphics feel modern and hi-res.

I'm trying to curb my enthusiasm because I don't want to sound like I'm trying to sell it, but as a fan of the genre, it's hard not to be extremely hopeful that these guys might actually pull it off.

Of course there's still some work to be done, but Sven and Arioch seem to be very receptive to good suggestions. It's a great recipe for success.

The thing lacking from most recent 4x games is immersion and interesting exploration.Does the game have a strong theme? Do you discover mysteries while exploring,super techs,space monster,minor races,ect.

I have also noticed they have racial population points.What meaning does this have politically.Yes we know many games model the +1 racial industry etc from this but that is kind of standard.

Ashbery76 wrote:The thing lacking from most recent 4x games is immersion and interesting exploration.Does the game have a strong theme? Do you discover mysteries while exploring,super techs,space monster,minor races,ect.

That most of the interesting consequences of exploration are not yet implemented is the main reason that the beta is presently so small. Arioch and I both feel that this sort of stuff is critical to the sort of gameplay experience we want to create -- and until it's there, at least in a rough way, there's an important sense in which the beta builds can't accurately reflect our intentions for the game.

Getting these features in and working is my top priority right now -- hopefully, we'll have some related content to share with all of you guys within the next week or two.

Ashbery76 wrote:I have also noticed they have racial population points.What meaning does this have politically.Yes we know many games model the +1 racial industry etc from this but that is kind of standard.

This is also a very good question. Right now, population units aren't doing anything more than showing different habitat affinities (reflected in their population caps) and different production stats -- i.e., the old +1 beakers/coins/hammers behaviors.

We have ambitions of making the distinctions more interesting -- and, exactly as you say, more political. Within the next few months, we're hoping to put together a morale system that, at the very least, changes the growth rates and productivity of your population depending on how happy they are -- and one of the major variables involved in happiness will be how well each population group gets along with the other species on the planet.

This is where the game design process gets treacherous, however. We want multi-species population management to be "interesting" and "immersive", but we don't want "tedious" or "confusing". There's delicate compromises to be made here. And when the beta really gets into gear, I'm looking forward to some lively discussions with you folks about just how to best balance those competing goals.

As i understand it, and this is purely by imagination and logic, the game is in its earliest days where all these thing that aren't "standart" can be just a "would like to implement". First off the the main technical and gameplay mechanics are the focus most probably, and all the add on content is mostly a theory and will be only later. That leaves us only with "would like" "want to" "hopefully we'll have". For now.

But hey, the game is just a baby, let it grow a bit so we will have real things to speak about, and be able to see how and which direction the devs are taking us on this journey.

sven wrote:

Ashbery76 wrote:The thing lacking from most recent 4x games is immersion and interesting exploration.Does the game have a strong theme? Do you discover mysteries while exploring,super techs,space monster,minor races,ect.

That most of the interesting consequences of exploration are not yet implemented is the main reason that the beta is presently so small. Arioch and I both feel that this sort of stuff is critical to the sort of gameplay experience we want to create -- and until it's there, at least in a rough way, there's an important sense in which the beta builds can't accurately reflect our intentions for the game.

Getting these features in and working is my top priority right now -- hopefully, we'll have some related content to share with all of you guys within the next week or two.

Ashbery76 wrote:I have also noticed they have racial population points.What meaning does this have politically.Yes we know many games model the +1 racial industry etc from this but that is kind of standard.

This is also a very good question. Right now, population units aren't doing anything more than showing different habitat affinities (reflected in their population caps) and different production stats -- i.e., the old +1 beakers/coins/hammers behaviors.

We have ambitions of making the distinctions more interesting -- and, exactly as you say, more political. Within the next few months, we're hoping to put together a morale system that, at the very least, changes the growth rates and productivity of your population depending on how happy they are -- and one of the major variables involved in happiness will be how well each population group gets along with the other species on the planet.

This is where the game design process gets treacherous, however. We want multi-species population management to be "interesting" and "immersive", but we don't want "tedious" or "confusing". There's delicate compromises to be made here. And when the beta really gets into gear, I'm looking forward to some lively discussions with you folks about just how to best balance those competing goals.

I'd like a dynamic galaxy that spawns new minor races.

...like "Sol pirates", that operate from a hidden moon or starbase in a nebula to cut into a profitable trade network.

Random alien race rebels that get formed for imperial races when morale is low for too long.

Freighters should be visible doing their thing.

Civilian or private sector would be nice too, an AI player that does interplanetary and intergalactic transport services and other stuff to make the galaxy feel more alive. This could be per race.

Space monsters interfering with more than just the player, for example an aggressive amoebae consumed the recent Sol pirates starbase and turned it into an amoebae
nest.

Galactic menace, that harasses all players providing a difficult chance to tech up if you capture and scrap their ships, as in MoO2.
AI should try to do this as well through dedicated boarding ships (assault shuttle, tractor beam, teleporter) when they have the tech.

Independent warlord minor factions similar to pirates, that attack foreign races from a starbase and hurt your political standing if you don't deal with them.


Just some ideas floating in my head.

how many star systems is the largest possible map setup?