Looking ahead

[Thargoid]

Or just have a "local sandbox" of stations around Lave (and possibly Lave Academy - I'd defy anyone not to be able to dock with my station there!) of a type with such more easy docking. Or indeed even extend it to having more advanced stations (with more tricky dockings) either as you go from G1 --> G8, or just as the game time advances and stations get rebuild and updated.

Personally I'd like to see things get more advanced as you go from galaxy to galaxy, if nothing else just to give some more variety and differentiation between them. Missions (OXP and native) aside, there is little other than the physical layout of the maps which differentiates the galaxies at the moment. It might be nicer if there are more flavours of ships and stations which only appear in certain galaxies, or after certain game-times, just to make things evolve and maintain interest. I know some of this is now done by OXP, but some nicely subtle "back story" to how things go on might be an interesting addition.

Of course what then happens when you go from G8 back to G1 could require some narrativium and handwavium, but I'd sure some of the clever literary types around here could add something interesting there.

[Killer Wolf]

I like the progressive idea of Thargoid's, however i think it might be more applicable to danger/difficulty? ie, could we assume Galaxy is "core" and 2,3,4 etc are further out and therefore more lawless (ie, Firefly-esque). subsequently, you could expect more pirates, harder pirates, better prices (to compensate gampeplay though it would happen in "reality" if pirates were stopping supplies coming through). if the bulletin board is implemented, a lot juicier bounty-hunting etc missions could be offered.

[Thargoid]

Indeed, the two thoughts aren't mutually exclusive. Indeed I'd say that the progress of ships would go hand in hand with increased difficulty, or chance of better armed and equipped pirates and NPCs (and equipment available at stations too).

There are some nice mission/game scenario opportunities that could be brought in if we're able to manipulate this area of things a little more than we currently can.

The other thought is rather than just having 8 cyclical galaxies as we currently do, why not have a true "galactic map" where the galaxies interlink with one another along the same lines that systems do within a galaxy? Still have a fixed number of them, but that way things could make a little more sense within a universe and also you could have true "long haul" missions between galaxies. Or alternatively the feel of each galaxy could be different - e.g. one near the core being dense in planets and Galcop/government and one near the rim being more sparse, and possibly more "frontier lawless", in the Firefly/Wild West style KW mentioned.

[Commander McLane]

mind you, we were prepared to sit patiently loading games in from cassette tape, watching paint dry (if you were a Spectrum owner) or continental drift (if you had a C=64 and no disk drive).

Mind you, when I got my brand new and expensive C64 I had neither a disk drive nor a cassette. So there was no issue of long loading times at all. Instead—and I am not making this up!—I would type in a program listing from a magazine, play the game I just had typed for as long as I dared to, switch the computer off, and the next day type it all over again! It took me about a week to convince my parents that the already expensive computer was practically useless without making another investment in a Datasette.

Those were the days.

[maik]

Heheh, same here. Mine came with a game collection from Commodore on module though, crappy stuff but a start. And of course endless listings in computer magazines, but I only started with those after I bought a datasette. Elite was in fact my first game that I bought on floppy disk!

But back on track: I like the thought of having some stations where you can learn to dock. Wasn't there a simulator in the NES version of Elite that taught you how to play? That could be something for Oolite 2 as well. I also like the idea of the game getting harder the further you advance through the galaxies. And while we're at it: why not allow the player to select which galaxy to jump to? At least allow the choice of going backward or forward.

[Staer9]

If some ships are no longer going to be player flyable, some previous npc only ships should become player flyable, like the gecko or the krait... Just my opinion

[ADCK]

I first played elite on the Nintendo, now that was hard, even turning the game on was a challenge...

Step 1: Insert Cartridge.
Step 2: Turn on Power.
Step 3: Scream.
Step 4: Turn off Power.
Step 5: Remove Cartridge.
Step 6: Blow on Cartridges contacts.
Step 7: Insert Cartridge.
Step 8: Turn on Power.
Step 9: Scream Louder.
Step 10: Turn off Power.
Step 11: Remove Cartridge.
Step 12: Blow on Cartridges contacts.
Step 13: Insert Cartridge.
Step 14: Turn on Power.
Step 15: Scream like a little sissy girl "Mum... The game's broken"
Step 16: Turn off Power.
Step 17: Remove Cartridge.
Step 16: Stomp on Cartridge
Step 17: Scream.
Step 18: Slam Cartridge at maximum speed into the console.
Step 19: Turn on Power.
Step 20: Perform the Dance of Joy, for you have successfully started the game.

[Disembodied]

Heheh, same here. Mine came with a game collection from Commodore on module though, crappy stuff but a start. And of course endless listings in computer magazines, but I only started with those after I bought a datasette. Elite was in fact my first game that I bought on floppy disk!

But back on track: I like the thought of having some stations where you can learn to dock. Wasn't there a simulator in the NES version of Elite that taught you how to play? That could be something for Oolite 2 as well. I also like the idea of the game getting harder the further you advance through the galaxies. And while we're at it: why not allow the player to select which galaxy to jump to? At least allow the choice of going backward or forward.

<has sudden flashforward to the old folks' home>

Back on track indeed ... advancing difficulty as you go through the galaxies is something to consider, certainly, although it could interfere with some OXPs (as well as putting a dent in the Copernican principle). Eight increasing gradations could be a bit tricky, although it could be done with increasing the likelihood of pirate and/or Thargoid attacks. Maybe Galaxy 8 is on the front line in the war with the bugs?

[Commander McLane]

advancing difficulty as you go through the galaxies is something to consider, certainly, although it could interfere with some OXPs

On the other hand the existing in-built missions and mission OXPs tend to do that already. There's the set of beginner's missions in Gal 1, there's Assassins which is deliberately set in as high up as Gal 7, there's Cataclysm which requires you to complete a full turn before it even starts.

So the principle of it-gets-harder-the-further-you-get is not completely new to the Ooniverse.

[DaddyHoggy]

If some ships are no longer going to be player flyable, some previous npc only ships should become player flyable, like the gecko or the krait... Just my opinion

Ships which have no inherent Jump capability were always denied to the player - it required illicit unlock oxp to allow the purchase of such ships.

I actually like the idea of owning such ships - as you would have to genuinely make use of other's Wormholes to move about the galactic chart - other acting as an escort must remain firmly in the player's head as the game doesn't really care what you do in this regard.

[Disembodied]

advancing difficulty as you go through the galaxies is something to consider, certainly, although it could interfere with some OXPs

On the other hand the existing in-built missions and mission OXPs tend to do that already. There's the set of beginner's missions in Gal 1, there's Assassins which is deliberately set in as high up as Gal 7, there's Cataclysm which requires you to complete a full turn before it even starts.

So the principle of it-gets-harder-the-further-you-get is not completely new to the Ooniverse.

You're right ... it might be better to leave this kind of escalation in difficulty up to the OXP authors.

[DaddyHoggy]

Could/Should it also be possible <dum dum dum> to... not start at Lave in G1?

[Killer Wolf]

i agree but at the same point, there should (so *i* think!) be some incentive to push on. some people roam all over as it is, but i tented to get stuck in one local chart, just running fixed routes etc. making things progressively more tempting - in, say, the more lawless worlds get 5% more on sales prices as you go on - might tempt people to upgrade, go to a slightly harder galaxy for more money/kills etc, repeat as needed.
of course, travel back and forth would really open things up, if, eg, you could get a contract to supply food from G1 (at say 2c a ton) to G5 (at say 25c a ton). would need a rethinnk about GH prices tho but might make it a bit more interesting/exciting than just trading between a nearby Agric/Indust.

[Commander McLane]

Could/Should it also be possible <dum dum dum> to... not start at Lave in G1?

That was discussed and split off this thread here. (I've linked the most relevant part.)

[DaddyHoggy]

Could/Should it also be possible <dum dum dum> to... not start at Lave in G1?

That was discussed and split off this thread here. (I've linked the most relevant part.)

Ah-ha! In the real world there's a name for it - something like "coincidental evolution" - two things which appear very similar arrive there by completely different evolutionary mechanisms.

EDIT: That thread is familiar to me in parts, I obviously scanned through it at some point... (so perhaps not so surprising that I brought it up again...)