Bugs and Improvements

[molp]

Thanks for your feedback @Rumble. I’ll try to address a few things:

@Rumble

CXOS always displays a maximum of ten trades per page? This is a buffer that could default to always open large enough to display all the information inside without scroll bars.

We have received a lot of feedback on this tile and we are going to improve it. In fact all tiles that contain tables will be improved in some kind to make them sortable and filterable.

@Rumble

CXOS always displays a maximum of ten trades per page? This is a buffer that could default to always open large enough to display all the information inside without scroll bars.

@Rumble

CXL looks as though it might also display a max per page and could also default large enough to display everything

Has been discussed before. We are probably going to implement a list that can dynamically load more data if being scrolled to the end.

@Rumble

POP opens a buffer slightly too small to display all the information

True, but I won’t make it bigger since it needs to display even more once the consumables for the higher level populations have been created.

@Rumble

Add a View Inventory button to BS baseID alongside sections, construction, population, production

Thanks for the suggestion! I added a button.

@Rumble

BSC baseID may be the only command that opens up a buffer with a menu inside(or would you call them radio buttons?) This may cause it to be more easily overlooked. I certainly did not notice it immediately. Perhaps color the menu options more like big colorful boxy buttons? Or use a dropdown box instead of a menu?

I would call them tabs We added them to keep order since there are and will be a lot of buildings. Personally I don’t like dropdown boxes too much, so I rather prefer the tabs.

Autocomplete: We have an issue for that in the bug tracker for ages now and we will implement a suggestion system that is context sensitive and all. But since such a system would mostly be a luxury we postponed it.

[fruxi]

• concerning the commodity exchange deposit: I am not sure if it was intended like that, but according to the financial overview you pay your deposit, then when the request gets accepted and gets paid, you get your deposit back. I think that the deposit should go to the seller, rather then back to yourself and at the same time paying the seller. It as well overfills the financial overview by the additional step and appears for me somehow not logical

• and what about a note buffer, just a simple text box to write something down?

Not sure if maybe these ideas have been mentioned but here you go

[csikes91]

when trying to sell an item in alpha 4 you can not select a location to sell it from.
I have plenty of what I am trying to sell at my base

[molp]

@csikes91 You can only sell something if it is at the location of the commodity exchange. Is that the case?

[csikes91]

i was at the wrong planet market place!!!

[csikes91]

When you demolish something I guess you dont get any of the resources back out it. Can there be a way that could occur?

Also would like to have a start over button/option without having to bug one of developers

[molp]

Demolishing a building will not get you any resources back.

We know that restarting a company is important if someone messes up or gets stuck, but we didn’t implement it yet, because it has a lot of implications to all aspects of the game. Since the implications are almost the same as if a player stops playing we will implement it eventually.

[firefighter4x4]

canceling an order on the market would be great. I have entered several orders because i have the fields flipped around and now i need to cancel them.

also you can not used the slider on the buffer screens, you have to scroll with the mouse.

[firefighter4x4]

ability to do private trades

[Prosac]

@firefighter4x4 Try the CXOS command.

[yukawa]

I suggest an “help”-thread, because- with all due respect - most of the “suggestions” since the start of test 4 sound like questions on how to play the game.

and may I point out to all of the new players that there actually is an in-game help-channel?

[molp]

@yukawa is right. Please use this topic for questions and getting help.

[discount]

the map will disappear when clicking thru multiple planets. it could be 3 or 5 when it will. it is not a consistant thing.

[molp]

Thanks for reporting! I can reproduce the behavior! Will look into it when I am back in the office.

[Rumble]

@martin

How does early-game content allow players to have “easy successes” while still be challenging/interesting enough for people to stick around.

The conversation in game chat today got me thinking about what would make an interesting start and what is frustrating to deal with. I wonder if players would prefer to be able to build a self sufficient starting position and only afterwards be forced to deal with the market for expansion and specialization. To ease people into the game by dividing the learning required into stages. First the interface, then base construction, production queues and supply management, and finally market interaction with other players, spaceship flight, and interplanetary travel.

For Example: A player might have enough starting resources to put up a farm, food processor, smelter, BMP, and prefab plant 1. Also a collector, extractor and rig.

• To reduce frustration all resources necessary for self sufficiency are available on each planet. In the current tech tree that is something like water, oxygen, limestone/silicon ore, iron ore
• To encourage trade and use of the exchange the resource abundance could be split into high production of iron and oxygen on one planet and high production of limestone and water on the other.
• To prevent runaway self sufficiency and hermit kingdoms the area used by settler tier and higher base sections could be set quite high and the materials used to expand base size placed in an even higher tier.

[Rumble]

One game design aspect that Martin and Molp need to define is: How hard can a player fail? Use up your starting resources without creating any sort of production facility? Stranded at a gas giant with no fuel and no ability to build a base?

I think that situations like those could be avoided in the interest of player engagement and retention. The guard rails don’t need to be obvious, rather a function of game design suggesting one logical action that flows into another. So that is why I’ve proposed that every player will start with a base already planted on a newbie planet with fertility and access to all necessary tier one resources. Perhaps also the tutorial buildings cannot even be deconstructed so a player will always have basic production.

For the really basic first time introduction to the game I suggest a sort of scripted tutorial. I realize that this is quite a bit more hand holding and less freedom than currently allowed.

• An Introduction to Tiles, Buffers and other aspects of the interface
• Sector selection (once the different factions are implemented)
• Planet selection (choice of three? easy, easy, advanced)
• Choice: basic or advanced start. Advanced start constructs the starting building package automatically and frees the player from the tutorial.
• Base construction (Hab domes, Basic resources: Rig, Collector, Extractor)
• Basic Production: player queues initial extraction tasks. Information about worker satisfaction and production efficiency is provided.
• Pioneer construction: player builds Farm, BMP, PP1, SME, FP and more hab sections
• Advanced Production: player queues rations, drinking water, steel and MCG
• Intro to the market: info different planets have different resources and resource abundance
• Intro to space travel (load fuel into ship, travel to corporation beacon and back, receive resource reward)
• Intro to the galaxy map and the possibility of FTL info on exotic higher tier resources available only outside the newbie system
• Wrap up: additional useful info, reminder that tiles can be configured, new screens created. Ability for a player to configure tiles and do game actions granted.

So the question becomes how do you transition from that incubator to the larger galaxy. How do you move players from candyland into the wild and woolly yonder?

• Limit the resources traded on the newbie planet exchanges. Tier one and two materials only!
• Also limit the currency accepted by the exchange to company scrip, something with no exchange rate elsewhere. The idea is that a giant newbie game position means nothing in the wider galaxy. So that creating dozens of throwaway accounts or allowing account reset for a new materials package means very little in the larger scheme.
• The small size of newbie planet base plots restricts the amount of production available there. However, newbie materials are prevalent enough that a player can construct and deconstruct freely to allow experimentation and give a feel for the various different production elements.
• All materials for STL fuel available on starting planets. Give spaceships a solar sail for (very very slow) zero fuel movement.
• All materials necessary for planetary base construction present on the starting planets.
• Put the resources for FTL fuel on other planets in the newbie system so players have incentive to build the production chains to plant bases and harvest them. A player starts with zero FTL fuel.
• The goal is to create enough wealth to stock your ship with FTL fuel and plant a base outside the starting system
• Base size outside the starting systems are by default much larger than newbie planets so that the pressure is to move out of the cradle and not return. Maybe a tier 3 or 4 project that eliminates the newbie base entirely in exchange for something valuable? Prohibit new bases on the newbie planets except by new account creation.

[Prosac]

I appreciate your elaborate thoughts, but having played a ton of browser games in the past 15 years and thus from my experience, i can tell most players are lazybones, who doesn’t read manuals or do tutorials, but rather want to jump into the action and figure out, what the thing is about and if they want to stick around.

@Rumble

I wonder if players would prefer to be able to build a self sufficient starting position

As i understand it, the game should be about economics and trade, self-sufficiency would be counterproductive to this, but nevertheless most people would try to achieve this, i think, so they don’t have to deal with constant buying/selling stuff and it’s also cheaper.
That’s why i made the suggestion in chat to force players into roles, to force them to trade and it’s an option to put research into game, besides of developing ship parts or higher tier buildings.
I played a Battletech based browser game once, where it took several years of research to build only the lightest mechs, like a Firefly.

@Rumble

One game design aspect that Martin and Molp need to define is: How hard can a player fail? Use up your starting resources without creating any sort of production facility? Stranded at a gas giant with no fuel and no ability to build a base?

I think there wil be a reset button sooner or later.

@Rumble

The guard rails don’t need to be obvious, rather a function of game design suggesting one logical action that flows into another.

I think a well thought-out tech/material tree could serve as such a guarding thread.

@Rumble

So that is why I’ve proposed that every player will start with a base already planted on a newbie planet

I’m sorry, but i don’t like the idea to be placed on a newb planet, you should rather be able to choose between tutorial and advanced start.
And once starters made it through the tutorial, they should get the same assets as the advanced starters.
But the whole point brings me back to my initially mentioned observations, that most noobs will skip the tutorial, not to mention the effort to code this stuff.

IMHO there is an easy way to do a tutorial, which doesn’t require reading or coding and they’ve already done it, yes, i’m talking about video tutorials.

Who doesn’t bought games after watching Let’s Plays and already knew the basics this way or looked up youtube for hints, i can name 4 games right off the bat.

[Rumble]

Thanks for the feedback Prosac.

To clarify, I was imagining a tutorial that a player could click through in a minute or so. Or spend some time reading carefully if they chose. But much quicker than a video. I suppose it would also be helpful to put the tutorial information in a place where it could be referenced again.

Is there a section of help topics in game? I’m forgetting where, if so.

I’m also curious if the game engine supports embedded video. Some people learn better that way, though I’m more of a in one ear and out the other sort of person.

[molp]

Martin and I have been discussing tutorials and tutorial videos and eventually there will be some. We decided not to include any help besides the videos and forum posts we have so far because we think that the alpha players could figure it out themselves and would not throw in the towel at the first hurdle. Since the alpha test opens up now more and more help of any kind gets more and more important.

There is no in-game help sections (maybe besides the chats) yet. Since the game is just HTML5 we could embed videos.

[Skolind]

HI
I started as an Farmer. And i seeing that the Farmer is unnecessary. Every one will producing his grain in his own plant. So you have to make some changes or remove the farmer.