Feature Request: More Interdependence Between Component Blocks

steven neiland shared this feedback 39 days ago
Not Enough Votes

One feature I really feel that needs to be expanded with the next version of SE is that of making blocks more interdependent. Right now many component blocks are too OP by themselves in SE1.

For example weapons i.e. turrets. In SE1 you build a turret and you immediately have an AI assist. Granted they have limited range until you add an AI defense block to increase the range. But it would add the the challenge of later games if building a turret gave you a dumb weapon that needed either a gunnery seat to control or a dedicated computer to control it. Then you could link to multiple turrets to a computer with dedicated ai but the computer might have an upper limit on how many it can manage. Make it so that the computers need late stage assemblers and rare minerals to assemble or upgrade them. Thus increasing range or number of weapons they can control.


This could apply to multiple components. Take a cockpit. Building one gives you all the basic flight controls, but you need to build a flight computer to handle things like dampeners. Or a flight computer could have a specialized function such as maintain altitude above ground, enabling the creation of star wars like ground speeders. etc

Nav computer: Jump drives a nav computer to do anything beyond a blind jump. Remote controls could work as they do now but require a nav computer and a flight computer to allow autopilot functions..or some combination of ai blocks.


With the new grid system these would not have to be large blocks but they would add to the potential ways you could build or limit a world or a particular ship.

Replies (2)

photo
2

No, just no. You're asking them to essentially nerf everything for no valid reason while also basing your request on verifiably false information. In other words making things needlessly complicated for the sake of adding unnecessary complication that would not be fun at all.


Turrets: weapon ranges are set in the SBC files themselves and the AI Defensive blocks do NOT increase the range of the weapons. The only thing the AI Defensive block does when it comes to this stuff is detect foes within a certain range and allow automated behavior to protect a target and/or flee when the time comes. If for example a weapon's range is limited to 1km, the Defensive block does not magically make the range of that weapon into 2km, nor will it attempt to fire the weapon until it's in range. Currently turrets have computers in them that can be said to be controlling them. What you're proposing would essentially strip turrets of a means of automating themselves and relegate it to another block. Should this other block be destroyed it renders the turrets to be static weapons. By adding the gun seat requirement should one not have a controller block, you're essentially forcing solo players to choose between being able to defend their ships, and being able to fly the thing at the same time. Sorry but that's bad design. Turrets are fine as they are and do not need to be changed. Especially not for something like this.


Nav computer: Another needless nerf for the sake of nerfing that add nothing of value to the game. Once again Jump Drives already contain computer components and can calculate their jumps from those computers. The only way I would consider a nav computer is if it allowed me to store extra jump destinations I program into it like speed dial on a phone, or if it allowed me to increase the range of my existing jump drives by its presence. Otherwise this has no value and is purely a nerf for the sake of nerfing.


Cockpits: I'm sorry but removing the ability to control dampeners from cockpits and relegating it to a "flight computer" has got to be the most moronic thing I've read lately. This is again another nerf for the sake of nerfing and making things more complicated than it needs to be. I don't find the idea of having to constantly be tapping my spacebar to maintain altitude to be fun, nor trying to finetune my thrusters to the perfect level of thrust just to float. That would be a deal breaker for me if something this dumb were ever to happen. If you want to have ground speeders like in star wars, there are FAR FAR better ways to go about it.


Blocks in SE1 are fine as they are and we do not need to nerf everything into the ground and make it overly complicated in SE2. Respectfully and to be frank, you don't know what OP is nor do you understand how badly what you're asking for would destroy the game before it could ever get started or have any clue what you're talking about or asking for. I really hate to say that, but nerfing for the sake of nerfing and having to micromanage everything with a ship is NOT fun to me, nor would it be fun to most other people. So if this stuff is what you mean by independence between component blocks, this is a non-negotiable hard pass of I'm not buying the game if it were to happen.

photo
1

Space Engineers 2 - The everything Game!

Many players, many play styles.

Simplicity with operational ease vs Complexity with challenging depth.

Is it possible for both to exist?

I think in this alpha stage functionality will be balanced against performance, I personally would like to see a higher PCU limit to increase the available grid activity, but I do see the need to extend engineering complexity without adversely affecting new players or players that wish to just play the game as is. On top of that new features are promised that players have been waiting on for many years.

As for engineering depth I have looked at games like 'From the Depths', 'Starship Evo', 'Stormworks', 'Scrap Mechanic', 'Starbase' and 'Archean', and I do envy some of the features. I look at 'Empyrion' and 'No Mans Sky' and see the extensiveness of the worlds and the life within. (Except for the dinos, I do not like.)

The balance in Space Engineers has the pull to keep me playing, in designing, building, and battling.

Will SE2 give us more than this, I hope so.


Given the choice between more engineering, keeping simplicity, or having an open living world with conversable character NPCs, what would you choose?

It would be good to keep a balance and get a little of all of these.

Leave a Comment
 
Attach a file