#Science and Research!

18 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

wintry ether
#

Currently there is a TINY tech tree (for ex ample ya gotta develope small laseras before developping big lasers, etc.), but this is extremely "instantaenous" and simplistic. Just pay the credits and WHAM voilà
done! Now your crew instantly knows how to build the part!

It think it would be much more interesting if you have to progressively "learn" and "teach" your crew. You do research on bought blueprint for the part and then studying sveral of those parts (say, you need to do it say around 10 to 12 times) from damaged enemies, using a "Research Center" where your crew basically studies the not-too-damaged part (the more damaged it is, the less "research valuable" it is, and it ain't linear: 50% damage means much less than 50% of the full research possible. A 100% intact part would give a boost. This is a backwaredss engineering studying: the researched part is then destroyed and fully "used up". Do it enough times, and you "learn" how to manufacture the part.

You can also just buy the part from a station, let the station built it on your ship, the "backward engineer" your part means it gets destroyed, so that can be costly. You could even research parts without first buying the "blueprint" for it, but it would go much slower. Maybe think of the blueprints as each having some kind of progress bar.

sterile sundial
#

sounds more like a pain then what its worth

tawny gulch
#

i don't think reverse-engineering should be the way

#

at least, not the only way

#

that's just a pain

#

my suggestion would be to make the blueprints still instant and credit-only, but more expensive, and to allow you to independently research it, perhaps with reverse-engineering, perhaps time-based, perhaps other stuff

lone sky
#

Remember: game should be fun. And this feature isn't fun

twin cave
#

Just pay these 2 micro transactions to claim 37% of the next item on your tech tree

vast lion
#

Limiting blueprint accessibility is just going to be annoying.

Reverse engineering should be fun, especially early game, but not if it's exclusive.
Much like in real life you don't have to take apart someone's car piece by piece to understand the mechanics online course or the troubleshooting manual.

white laurel
#

maybe just a research progress bar that lasts 1-2 minutes, so you do your research while playing and fighting (maybe a "Research lab" part that consumes credits to start a new research)
with an option to make this time longer or instant (for player interest)

vast lion
# white laurel maybe just a research progress bar that lasts 1-2 minutes, so you do your resear...

That's just the buying of blueprints with extra steps.
What good is waiting for a progressbar in a game that lets you speed up time to make 2 minutes into a few seconds?
And without the speed boost it would still be bad game design. You force an extra ship part on a player, which they will never use again. You force them to wait for the results. And you don't involve them in any associated task. A boring menial process which requires time is a recogniseable mobile strategy game feature, but has no place in a sandbox ship builder.

twin cave
wintry ether
# white laurel maybe just a research progress bar that lasts 1-2 minutes, so you do your resear...

I was thinking like this:

  • In addition to mining/harvesting resources from crippled ships/, you could tag a non-destroyed part as to be SALVAGED. In that case, the crew will disassemble the part as normal, but it drops, not the raw resources, but "salvaged part" resources instead. Amount depend on part size and damage %. Each "salvaged part" resource "remembers" the part type it comes from, and also the damage %, and hovering over it reveals that. This resource stacks at only 1 per cargo stack.

  • You can never skip blueprints parts in the tech tree for example you can't buy the large engines before the standard engines.

  • Costliest way to get blueprints would be to simply buy them directly. Current prices would need to be jacked upwards very noticeably. In the Game options, the would be an "I don't like research" option for those that prefer not bothering with R&D and just buying blueprints at the current low cost.

  • Specifying current research is done in the blueprint screen (not per ship). Swapping ok, and you don't lose previous progress. Each % of R&D progress gives a corresponding rebate on buying the blueprints. At 100% research it simply means you instantly get the tech for free.

  • Cheapest, albeit super lengthy, way would be to R&D something from scratch. But you still have to follow the tech tree order.

  • Best way is to R&D something from salvaged parts. Longer than buying blueprint, but much cheaper. Extra salvaged parts not used for research can't be sold, extra parts get disassembled by R&D Lab (if there is sufficient cargo)m however you get somewhat less than if you salvaged for raw resources directly, done as a distinct job.

#
  • New part, R&D Labs. Requires low-moderate amount of energy to operate, (no energy if no job going on). X crew amount determines work speed. A machine can accept a salvage part and output resources (same as loading ore into or outputting ammo from a factory).
#

The smallest R&D lab is 2x2, 1 crew only, and that one can't disassemble extra salvaged parts into their raw resource. There is also a 4x4 R&D lab, max 4 crew. (thus it can work up to 4x faster).

#

Both labs have a hatch door for salvaged parts to be directly loaded there.

vivid sequoia
#

i don't think a part for just researching would be good

#

otherwise it's just another part u throw onto ur factory/salvager/storage