small-ish list of ideas/feature request related to 1.1

[pixelfck]

A list of ideas/features I collected during several playthroughs:

General ideas

• Introduce a 'hardcore mode' -> no resurrect.
• Auto pause the game when the window inactive?
• Add scrolling by scroll-wheel support for the select ship screen when staring a new game.
• Make the game work without windows admin privileges (UAC [User Account Control] compatibility) c.q. without the remove-the-readonly-flag from-Transcendence-folder-requirement?

Gameplay ideas

• When on the map and pressing '.' (stop) I would like the map to automatically close.
• When a self-installing ('use') item is installed, it should no longer be available in the 'use' items list?
• Instead of just friendly and hostile, there it would be nice if there where 'neutral' entities (with their own identification color)?
• When a station or ship is destroyed, it should become a neutral structure/wreck.
• Beacons should identify themselves on your directional awareness screen with some kind of visual effect (they are beacons after all).

Scriptable ideas
(Yes, I could script them myself, but I included them here because I think they would increase the vanilla gameplay experience).

• Add a maximum round time to the battle arena fights, call it a draw afterwards 'the crowd is getting angry' (and refuse to pay offcourse).
• When using an item to repair or enhance an armor plate and if you have more of the same type left, show screen to apply the item to another armor section instead of closing the dockscreen.
• Make the initial reactor take up a slot (yeah, I read the debate).
• When an armor plate is beyond repair, armor repairing consumebles (barrels, patches, etc.) and patcher arms/spiders should also no longer be able to repair the armor. (regenerating enhancement should act as patcher arm, armor plates that have regeneration as a native abiltiy should be able to repair themselves, provided at least 1 point of armor is available?).
• Stations could select the ships around them by looking them up based on attributes. This would make it easier to add new ships into the universe without touching the core-files.

[PM]

I would like to see hardcore mode where permadeath is enforced. People will play differently; I (and others) did in Diablo 2 during its heyday.

Did you know that armor repair consumables not only repair armor that is supposedly beyond repair, but also armor that is too high level to be repaired (e.g., neutronium armor)? This "beyond repair" business is bogus; it is too easy to circumvent with armor repair items. Even NPCs with greater than 75% damage cheat and get repairs at stations (as if infinite fuel was not enough). Either armor repair should be enforced with all methods or abolished. (I prefer the latter.)

[Atarlost]

Responses in red, because otherwise the quote tags will get out of hand.

A list of ideas/features I collected during several playthroughs:

General ideas

• Introduce a 'hardcore mode' -> no resurrect.
  This is probably a good feature to have, though the game does acknowledge if you successfully play without death.
• Auto pause the game when the window inactive?
  Sounds reasonable at first hearing, but lots of people rely on the game not pausing, forting up near a star with a solar panel to conduct repairs. Solar equipment and regenerating armor is nearly worthless without this trick. Changing armor and fuel regeneration rates may be more appropriate than retaining background running.
• Add scrolling by scroll-wheel support for the select ship screen when staring a new game.
  Mouse wheel support is always a nice thing; I definitely second this one.
• Make the game work without windows admin privileges (UAC [User Account Control] compatibility) c.q. without the remove-the-readonly-flag from-Transcendence-folder-requirement?
  I'm still running the design system so it's not an issue for me, but if the nanny-OS can be made to shut up that's a feature I can get behind as well.

Gameplay ideas

• When on the map and pressing '.' (stop) I would like the map to automatically close.
  This sounds a bit like change for change's sake.
• When a self-installing ('use') item is installed, it should no longer be available in the 'use' items list?
  Self-installing items also self-uninstall. They remain on the use list for this reason.
• Instead of just friendly and hostile, there it would be nice if there where 'neutral' entities (with their own identification color)?
  What is the difference between friendly and neutral? Friendlies don't shoot at you. Neutrals don't shoot at you. Friendlies become hostile if you shoot at them. Neutrals become hostile if you shoot at them.
• When a station or ship is destroyed, it should become a neutral structure/wreck.
  I haven't played for a while, but I believe they do become friendly wrecks in 1.1. There is no meaningful distinction between friends and neutrals.
• Beacons should identify themselves on your directional awareness screen with some kind of visual effect (they are beacons after all).
  That's probably a good idea. They do show up on the map screen without exploring, as do stations sufficiently near them.

Scriptable ideas
(Yes, I could script them myself, but I included them here because I think they would increase the vanilla gameplay experience).

• Add a maximum round time to the battle arena fights, call it a draw afterwards 'the crowd is getting angry' (and refuse to pay offcourse).
  Solves the interminable bad matchups that can happen with weak weapons and a solon shield.
• When using an item to repair or enhance an armor plate and if you have more of the same type left, show screen to apply the item to another armor section instead of closing the dockscreen.
  Appropriate for enhancers, may not be appropriate for repair items.
• Make the initial reactor take up a slot (yeah, I read the debate).
  The initial reactor cannot take up a slot because if it were an item it could be uninstalled and you could be left with no reactor at all.
• When an armor plate is beyond repair, armor repairing consumebles (barrels, patches, etc.) and patcher arms/spiders should also no longer be able to repair the armor. (regenerating enhancement should act as patcher arm, armor plates that have regeneration as a native abiltiy should be able to repair themselves, provided at least 1 point of armor is available?).
  I would go the other way and have armor always repairable. Being unable to repair armor can be a game over if you're not near a source of level appropriate replacement armor.
• Stations could select the ships around them by looking them up based on attributes. This would make it easier to add new ships into the universe without touching the core-files.

Yes. I fully support this suggestion. Replacing XML ship tables with mutable lisp lists would also work I think.

[PM]

Differences between friendly and neutral.
* Friendlies warn you with "Watch your targets!" when you shoot them, then attack if you continue to shoot at them. Neutrals usually shoot-to-kill without warning when hit. Black Market usually shoots back if shot at once. Teratons usually warn, given how tough they are, but do not take much to aggravate.
* Neutrals generally do not shoot at your enemies (that do not have the alignment destructive chaos).

Auto-pausing would not only interfere with solar regeneration, but also any Ingenuity exploitation. (I often go to St. K's or Elysium, sit on star, use Ingenuity, switch out of Transcendence to work on something else, play another game, or leave computer. After few minutes, check on Transcendence again, and use Ingenuity again, repeat.)

[digdug]

most of them as good suggestions, as Atarlost and PM pointed out.

I have a couple more answers:

Stations could select the ships around them by looking them up based on attributes. This would make it easier to add new ships into the universe without touching the core-files.

Yes. I fully support this suggestion. Replacing XML ship tables with mutable lisp lists would also work I think.

You can also typCreate XML tables and that allows you to include any ship to any station.

Auto pause the game when the window inactive?

you can pause with a single button any time ingame That's how I take screenshots for example. You can also advance the game tick by tick using the spacebar

[greatchicken]

When an armor plate is beyond repair, armor repairing consumebles (barrels, patches, etc.) and patcher arms/spiders should also no longer be able to repair the armor. (regenerating enhancement should act as patcher arm, armor plates that have regeneration as a native abiltiy should be able to repair themselves, provided at least 1 point of armor is available?).

Well, disagree. There is merit since the shipyards won't repair armor *that shot up*, but in this case I value fun over consistency. Being able to save the armor from ND should be a good thing.

(Or, more like the chance to: Note that already implemented is the fact that repair barrels/patches have a chance of failing and causing further damage to the armor. I've flown around with 0 health segs before! :3 )

When a station or ship is destroyed, it should become a neutral structure/wreck.
I haven't played for a while, but I believe they do become friendly wrecks in 1.1. There is no meaningful distinction between friends and neutrals.

Actually, station wrecks still mark red. Starships become green (unvisited) or white (visited). I kinda support changing the "visited wrecks" markers to include stations as well.

[Song]

With regards to armor, it'd be kinda cool if armor kept track of how badly mangled and patched-up it became, and without a specialist refit eventually lost levels/HP/enhancements...eventually becoming worthless. The trouble is that this would be extremely complicated. I kinda like it the way it is.....although armor-patching items could do with turning up in some enemy ships for the player to loot.

[digdug]

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although armor-patching items could do with turning up in some enemy ships for the player to loot.

and for enemy ships to use

[Song]

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although armor-patching items could do with turning up in some enemy ships for the player to loot.

and for enemy ships to use

Yes, that's actually fairly easy to do....I never got around to it back when I modded, but it's certainly possible to do.

The downside is that you then need to make it so that it's balanced.....which isn't that easy. If they just use them as needed, the player doesn't get their hands on them, and it's basically just an HP buff. If it's too slow....you might as well just have them sit in the hold. The cooldown time and exactly when they use the segment is quite important so that it isn't wasted, but still gives the player a chance to kill the ship and steal the repair items.

[pixelfck]

Gameplay ideas

• When on the map and pressing '.' (stop) I would like the map to automatically close.
  This sounds a bit like change for change's sake.

The thing is, this is maybe the issue I found the most annoying in my list of gameplay ideas. When I fly on autopilot, while looking at the soloar-system map, and something unexpected shows up (hostiles instance), my initial reaction is: hit the brakes and fight back. When I hit the brake button, I always want the map closed as well. At that point, I don't want to be manually closing the map, I want to be selecting the correct weapon to blast the hostile into dust.

[Ttech]

the interalias drive (now how do I spell that??) can do something similar with the hard core breaks. it shows up later in game.