Jester Fool
Emperor
@ Ahriman - Priceless! Totally LMAO. My favorite is 'Scooby Doo 2010'.
Goody Huts into Botanical Testing Stations
- Thread starter Deliverator
- Start date
Iluwen
Chieftain
I finally got a chance to play with the patch installed this evening. It is striking what a great addition to the setting such a small improvement can accomplish.
Having date plantations and other helpful plants or water sources amongst the treasures of the planet, rather than endless gold and helpful smugglers weaves the tapestry of the book around one so much more effectively. The botanical testing stations also look much nicer.
Is it possible to implement granting beakers towards to techs one is not researching? Having these scientific testing stations grant research seems appropriate, but having it grant research towards whatever random tech you happen to be working on doesn't. Since they are botanical testing stations, concerned with the habitability of the planet, it seems that all research gained should be towards things like Water Conservation, and such. Having them give a give a bonus towards say, Faith, or Prescience would seem odd.
I also like the idea that they grant some beakers, but not a whole free tech. That goes well with the whole generations of development idea going on in the books.
Perhaps if some way is available to only put the research towards appropriate techs, those particular techs can have their beaker cost increased slightly to compensate, making the testing stations even more valuable.
I think that giving hammers works fine as is, though. Cannibalized parts could be put to many uses. Besides which, we have a society were aristocratic houses are both the major industrial powers and the major buyers of goods, technology seems pretty stabilised, and the whole philosophy of society is more human-oriented, so one would assume less of a cheaply mass-produced, planned-obsolescence, brand-x-products-only-work-with-brand-x-accessories style of manufacture than today, and greater modularity and interchangeability amongst simpler, less electronic and and longer lasting systems. Aristocratically oriented people want reliable, durable and customizable products. X wants your house to buy their power units, even of you have a House Y ornithopter which won't stop working in 5 years, and anyway, the Duke of Z may swear by House W focusing lens, but be equally convinced of the superiority of House V cooling systems, and insist that his troops' lasguns are made to conform to his views. Consequently, using the hammers towards whatever is heading your production queue doesn't strain credulity the way the beaker issue does.
Whatever the case with the beakers, the new BTS are a large improvement over the bland tribal villages.
That's my .004 Solaris for the evening.
Having date plantations and other helpful plants or water sources amongst the treasures of the planet, rather than endless gold and helpful smugglers weaves the tapestry of the book around one so much more effectively. The botanical testing stations also look much nicer.
Is it possible to implement granting beakers towards to techs one is not researching? Having these scientific testing stations grant research seems appropriate, but having it grant research towards whatever random tech you happen to be working on doesn't. Since they are botanical testing stations, concerned with the habitability of the planet, it seems that all research gained should be towards things like Water Conservation, and such. Having them give a give a bonus towards say, Faith, or Prescience would seem odd.
I also like the idea that they grant some beakers, but not a whole free tech. That goes well with the whole generations of development idea going on in the books.
Perhaps if some way is available to only put the research towards appropriate techs, those particular techs can have their beaker cost increased slightly to compensate, making the testing stations even more valuable.
I think that giving hammers works fine as is, though. Cannibalized parts could be put to many uses. Besides which, we have a society were aristocratic houses are both the major industrial powers and the major buyers of goods, technology seems pretty stabilised, and the whole philosophy of society is more human-oriented, so one would assume less of a cheaply mass-produced, planned-obsolescence, brand-x-products-only-work-with-brand-x-accessories style of manufacture than today, and greater modularity and interchangeability amongst simpler, less electronic and and longer lasting systems. Aristocratically oriented people want reliable, durable and customizable products. X wants your house to buy their power units, even of you have a House Y ornithopter which won't stop working in 5 years, and anyway, the Duke of Z may swear by House W focusing lens, but be equally convinced of the superiority of House V cooling systems, and insist that his troops' lasguns are made to conform to his views. Consequently, using the hammers towards whatever is heading your production queue doesn't strain credulity the way the beaker issue does.
Whatever the case with the beakers, the new BTS are a large improvement over the bland tribal villages.
That's my .004 Solaris for the evening.
Ahriman
Tyrant
Iluwen, thanks for the feedback.
I think the current system works better for gameplay purposes. Its not much of a benefit to get a few beakers towards something you aren't researching, particularly given that (I think??) beakers invested in a tech degrade slightly over time if you aren't researching that tech.
[Though I might be confusing with production here.]
Its also very plausible that they could have leftover equipment which could assist in any of the technological . A leftover shield generator, some suspensor fields, some manufacturing equipment, a deactivated thopter.
I agree that its weird for them to assist in developing social/political/religious techs,, but the gameplay impact is worth it.
I think the current system works better for gameplay purposes. Its not much of a benefit to get a few beakers towards something you aren't researching, particularly given that (I think??) beakers invested in a tech degrade slightly over time if you aren't researching that tech.
[Though I might be confusing with production here.]
Its also very plausible that they could have leftover equipment which could assist in any of the technological . A leftover shield generator, some suspensor fields, some manufacturing equipment, a deactivated thopter.
I agree that its weird for them to assist in developing social/political/religious techs,, but the gameplay impact is worth it.
Iluwen
Chieftain
Well, at the least, given the choice between adding to any tech, and adding to none because we can't define it, or of having the beakers degrade, I definitely agree that the first is preferable. I was unaware of the beaker degradation thing. I have yet to pass beyond dabbling with XML, and am not entirely familiar with some of the partially hidden game mechanisms like that.
You may have a point about game play. My first instinct in game design is to think "realism" as far as modelling whatever the game models, and only last, if at all, about game play, game balance, etc.
Anyway, it's not too much of a problem, in my own game experience. Most of the starting techs are kind of desert survival oriented, and by the time I get into more of the social stuff, there usually aren't any BTS' in sight.
You may have a point about game play. My first instinct in game design is to think "realism" as far as modelling whatever the game models, and only last, if at all, about game play, game balance, etc.
Anyway, it's not too much of a problem, in my own game experience. Most of the starting techs are kind of desert survival oriented, and by the time I get into more of the social stuff, there usually aren't any BTS' in sight.
Deliverator
Graphical Hackificator
It is odd. I suppose ideally for techs like Mysticism and Faith the message would say something like "You come across an wandering preacher who shares his wisdom with you", but that would be a fair bit of code and complication for what it a reasonably rare occurrence.
Other than a weaker Waterstealer unit I'm not planning any further changes to testing stations at the moment. Possibly having the Poorly Maintained promotion be removable somehow would be a good change, but there's plenty of other stuff to do...
Jester Fool
Emperor
A really impressive list I might add.
Can't wait until 1.9!
