offworld trade and resources

[The_J]

Here is a preview pic of the next update. Maybe you can use that for inspiration.

that looks fantastic.
I'll definetly have to look at it.

 

[Deliverator]

@Koma: Is the top panel going to be stretched or can we have something like this for a background?

 

[koma13]

I will try to keep aspect ratio, placing the top panel behind the monitors.

I had a look into that mercenary mod by thelopez/strategyonly and I think we can use it. I will remove all features not needed, adjust the rules to feedback and add the interface I presented a few days ago. This should help making a formidable new version.

 

[Deliverator]

If you can give me the final dimension for the background panel I can try and make Civ unique graphics.

Sounds good. Reading the description here.

We can probably rename the Self Preservation promotion to Elite and perhaps to the Mercenary promotion to Homeworld Unit (or something better).

We will probably have to customize a few things that done make sense in the importing from Homeworld context.

 

[davidlallen]

(redirect from 1.4.6 feedback page)

Hmm. I do worry that with the current system it is too easy for the first to get to offworld trade to monopolize all the good resources.
How about a combination?
a) Limit Landing stage to a national limit of 4. (And remove landing stage as a building requirement for other buildings if any).
b) Have three classes of resources: URUs, Major import resources, minor import resources.
Have each civ that is eligible for a URU (Corrino and Ix atm) automatically get that as their first resource. (Otherwise the AI might screw up and not get it if it picks 4 other resources, and the human player can strategically delay the resource to their 4th pick getting others first, knowing no-one else can take their one.)
Have the major import resources like the +2 luxury goods are now. These provide 3 copies and only 1 contract is allowed for the world.
Have the minor resources give +1 bonuses, provide 2 copies, and have 2 contracts allowed for the world. Marble would be a minor resource.
Have the AI make sure that they know that major resources are better than minor. Just hardcode the AI a preference order for its picks.

Then, once all the contracts are taken, then any additional landing stages do not give any further contracts.

So, there is still a nice bonus for the early researchers of offworld trade; you can get a bunch of the best resources, but its harder to lock out later people from still getting somethnig useful, and we don't get the craziness of 15 marble resources.

Caladanian wine could be a +1 happy minor resource. Pundi rice could be a +2 health major resource. Elacca could be a +1 happy resource. Fogwood could be a happy resource. Whale fur could be a minor happiness resource. etc.

I like Ahriman's ideas for limiting the number of landing stages and expanding the list of imported goods. We should also be more imaginative with the effects of offworld goods - health and happy bonuses only are a bit dull. Having them be building requirements and having amplifying buildings for some of them might be a start.

Not sure Elacca is the best for +1 happy. The main use in the book is to destroy the will of slaves in gladiatorial combat. I suggested a possible strategic use here. Now Ecaz are back in we should think about giving them some distinct trade advantages - better URs or buildings that amplify bonuses from imported goods maybe.

I wonder if there is more fun from more resources. At some point, we would have a whole pile of resources with very little game difference. For example, how many +2 happiness resources are interesting?

My suggestion is to aim small and do the following:
1. National cap of two landing stages.
2. Make sure that the URU have a higher weight so the AI will choose them first.
3. Give marble the same limit of one contract.
4. Make sure if there are no available contracts, nothing happens.

If anybody can suggest specific things that would add more fun, instead of just making the list longer, please suggest.

 

[Ahriman]

My suggestion is to aim small and do the following:
1. National cap of two landing stages.
2. Make sure that the URU have a higher weight so the AI will choose them first.
3. Give marble the same limit of one contract.
4. Make sure if there are no available contracts, nothing happens.

This sounds reasonable, at least for now. We don't want happiness to be too available, limiting you to 2 resources of your own would help achieve this, and help make sure that if you want multiple resources you have to trade for them, you can't just get the contracts yourself.

I would make sure that there are ~10 resources available then, including the strategic ones. So in an 8-9 player game there is still competition, but everyone could still get one, or half the players could get two.

I like replacing wine with Pundi rice; its more fun to have a mix of health and happy, so you could pick whichever you needed more.

I'd also make sure that Marble has the lowest AI weighting.

Race specific:
Water debt (palace, not landing stage)
Sardaukar
Thinking machines

Strategic:
Kindjal (could we replace this with Swordmaster Training? The kindjal is just a type of weapon, and this is a tech now)
Sapho
Marble

Luxuries/health:
Slig meat (maybe +1 health, +1 happy with banquet hall)
Opafire (+1 happy, +1 happy with spaceport?)
Pundi rice (+1 heath, +1 health with greenhouse?)
Soostones (+1 happy, +1 happy with guild bank?)
Semuta (+1 happy, +1 happy with theater hall?)
Whale fur (+1 happy)

 

[Ahriman]

Another thought:
If Ecazi are going to be a Trade-oriented civ, maybe they should be able to get a third Landing stage? Create a unique building for them (national limit 1) that has the same effect as a landing stage.

Also: isn't the Ginaz swordmaster school on the Ecazi planet? So should the Kindjal/Swordmaster training resource be an Ecazi-only resource, like Thinking Machines are for Ix?

 

[koma13]

If you can give me the final dimension for the background panel I can try and make Civ unique graphics.

I plan to make it 1024x512 px. Width will be stretched to resolution but I will keep a fixed aspect ratio ( height = width / 2 ).

 

[koma13]

I have a short question: I want to put some logo/slogan on top of the monitors in homeworld screen. Now I am trying to think of a name for a Guild news/intelligence network. CHOAM net? SPY-SAT? Something like that... Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

 

[keldath]

galactic bulletins
"the grid"
com-sat
com-array
shadow reports

 

[Deliverator]

I like the film opening: "A Secret Report within the Guild". Here's the master logo I used for the Guild when it was a faction. I've also taken another close up of a Guild helper.

 

[koma13]

Cool, I totally forgot about that film opening. Do you can get the logo in a higher quality ? Else I have to resize it to 512x512px.
Btw, please don't do any further work for homeworld background art until I have released a new version. I drastically changed look in comparision to the last preview pic. There are hardly any static graphics left beside the monitors...

Hehe keldath, great ideas! I think I go with 'shadow report'. But "The Grid" is very cool too.

 

[Deliverator]

That is the biggest guild icon I have - resize and maybe a slight shapen filter is probably your best bet for now.

Don't worry, I'm not doing any work for the homeworld screen. The only reason I took the navigator shot is because I have been going through the movie and TV series to get material for the tech tree icons, and I picked that one up on the way.

 

[koma13]

I tried guild logo ingame and it is looking fine.

 

[Deliverator]

I was a fan of making "Truthsayer cooperation" a trade good. This makes sense to me: the Bene Gesserit carefully loan out truthsayers to selected parties (or marry them), like how the Emperor has his truthsayer.
The resource could be required for building Reverend mothers, and for building a structure that boosts influence and espionage.

As I've mentioned before I don't think Truthsayer Coop is the best name since they Truthsayers effectively outrank RMs. Blessing of the Sisterhood or something like that would be more appropriate. Something that captures the fact that the BG are happy to work with this faction. I'd say Sisterhood Cooperation, but that is samey with Sardaukar coop.

The concept is good though.

 

[koma13]

Ahriman said about homeworld screen:

Are we abandoning the idea of having different pictures for each factions with a graphic of their home planet on it? I thought that was really awesome in some of the earlier concept art, though I understand it is obviously more work.

Now that 1.5 is out for a few days I want to make another update for the homeworld screen. What do you guys think of the new interface art? Do you like it? Or still prefering the homeworld planet style presented by Deliverator (here)? I am fine with both variants, current implementation was just a quick idea I had...

 

[Deliverator]

I quite like the current one. I'm wondering where we can go for a best of both solution. Perhaps the majority of the window could be as now, but then we fit a planet graphic over to the left by the unit pool which would be an appropriate place for it.

Can you display animated NIFs in the over a screen? I had a crazy idea you could actually have a spinning globe for each homeworld displayed. Sort of like a holographic projection or something. I can make the NIF, but I don't know if you can display 3D art in screens like that.

 

[koma13]

Exactly. I am thinking about joining both styles. I can play nif and bik files, both no problem.

 

[Deliverator]

That could be cool then. I'll make a spinning planet NIF so you can test the concept.

 

[koma13]

I'll make a spinning planet NIF so you can test the concept.

That doesn't make any astronomical sense, but I still think it would be very cool.