Sharidann wrote:
And what for?

Well i ask you the same question then.

There are exactly 3 type of weapons and 3 types of defences to counter them. with something like 3-4 support modules to add on other stuff.

Taking a normal situation into account, you will probably research 1, maximally 2 weapons and the same in defences, so you got yourself like 5 or 6 things to design a ship with.

Yes. We indeed have a ship designer. But what for?



I will be blunt.

This is like painting fire stripes over your trabant





Even tho it falls apart above 80Km/h, it still looks like a ferrari.

Having a ship designer with 10 items works the same way. It gives you looks and nothing behind it.



And alas... people wont be forgiving about this after the official release cause its only natural that they will feel cheated and suckered about it.

A ship designer automatically implies that there is something to design, and currently ES offers ~10 items in that area which is (no offense) a joke.



Im just saying.

If you would be buyin that car based on whats promised by the looks, you would hate to find out that it dies once you reach 100Km/h with it.

-For me especially the shipbuilding and designing could need more options.

-Bigger difference between Races (aside from some stats) you created those cards why not use them for race specific ones

The current systems are elegant and well put together without the kind of feature bloat that usually slows 4X games down. Are there areas that should be expanded? Sure, more races, heroes, combat cards, planetary anomalies, shiptypes and random events are fine since those are pool items that slot neatly into the design at large. Adding new systems is something I'm not thrilled about however since it's likely to be busywork for no tangible benefit. For instance, the combat system is brilliant at the moment, it's fast and elegant enough that I don't mind playing most combats myself while offering enough choice so that I feel involved. Adding another ten things purely for the sake of having more things to do is like adding sequins to a tailormade suit.



To be perfectly honest the sleekness of the design is what's most attractive about ES at the moment, it's a clear contrast to very busy games such as Distant Worlds or the Horrendeous Sword of the stars 2.

I think one of the risks of this early of a preview is that every forum user has a favorite parts of classic games. If *any* forum were to create a game, it would be the most absurd design-by-committee nightmare imaginable. It would have have every bell and whistle ever thought of and likely take an hour per turn. I say that as someone who plays Star Fleet Battles and Federation & Empire board games: two grotesquely bloated and overlong games. (In fact, Star Fleet Battles takes an hour and a *half* per turn with more than two ships on the board).



Thus I keep my hopes that the strong minimalism will be honored and the improvements be improvements in streamlining and adapting rather than bloating and slowing.



With that out of the way, I do like the fact that MOO II "locks" technologies as you advance them. That is actually a rather elegant system that makes races distinct over time. However, I don't think that is applicable here: at least not as far as colonization goes. To lock planets away forever would undermine the simple colony system directly.



I also think the current combat system is good, but I would prefer to lock in my basic tactics before the battle and use the battle resolution to make choices like "priority target" and other decisions that make sense in real time.