thecrazyscot
Spiffy
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2012
- Messages
- 3,110
Starships does what it was designed for well, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the game. After playing several games, I've got a short wishlist which I think would enhance the game tremendously. Nothing on this list would change the focus of the game or change what type of game it is - I like having a good light strategy game I can play through in a few hours. 
In short, I just want to be able to immerse myself a little more and really feel like a fleet admiral.
Agree/disagree? Comments? Additions?

- Mod support: if nothing else is ever done with the game, I would be happy if mod support is opened up. Allowing us to tweak the game would create much greater replayability over the long run.
- Custom ship names: Sid said that he wanted us to have a connection and investment into our ships, well, allow us to name our ships whatever we want! I'm a little puzzled why this wasn't included given the design goals laid out in the preview videos.
- Beam lasers: I know from a purely technical point of view we wouldn't even see the lasers as they were fired, but right now they look just like another version of the cannon. Making the lasers look like beams would differentiate them and make them feel more, well, laser-like.
- Mission ship selection: I love the missions where we're only allowed to use our flag ship, but why not take it a step further and allow us to choose which of our ships we would take into battle? This would also give us an opportunity to challenge ourselves in the late game when we are face-rolling the AI on Impossible. We could choose to go up against the enemy armada with just one or two ships as a challenge. The missions aren't as fun when you know the only way you could lose them is if you have a stroke in the middle of your turn.
- More classes: Seriously. I want a fleet of carriers. And what about dreadnoughts? Super-dreadnoughts? Frigates? Sloops? Heavy Cruisers?
- Classes that make sense: Having classes tied only to ship HP doesn't allow us to truly customize the feel of our ships, as more HP is pretty much always a good thing. What if you let us customize the requirements for each class?
- "Surprise" missions: Why not include a few missions where we cannot see the enemy fleet makeup? Another way to increase challenge.
- Mercenary ships: when you conquer the Marauder and Pirate homeworlds, you get a buttload of population, but there's no other real benefit. Why not allow us to recruit some of their ships into our navy?
- Medals of Valor: the rank system is nice in that it gives you a minor sense of progression, but what about getting medals of valor or some other bonus we can award ships that do something incredibly heroic? Like my flagship which managed to single-handedly take out a marauder battleship, cruiser, and a fleet of 5 fighters when the rest of my fleet had been annihilated.
- Ironman mode: give us a mode which we can toggle to make our ships actually die when we fight. This alone would create much more tense games. Having this mode would not negate the design considerations put into the regular game, but give those who want more of a challenge the option. Even if just the flagship couldn't die but all other ships could would be a good option.
- Auto-capitulation option: right now Epic map size is the only size you can play where you or the AI can lose your homeworld and keep playing - why not make it an option we can toggle for any map size?
- Customizable victory options: let us choose more than just all victory types or one specific type, rather a range. Also, the AI should be limited to the same victory types as the human player.
- Kill/shot cam options: let us turn off the shot camera and the kill camera, as this can seriously slow down the game later when each side has 8 or more ships.
In short, I just want to be able to immerse myself a little more and really feel like a fleet admiral.
Agree/disagree? Comments? Additions?