Ceo wrote:
The actual exploration is a very short time. You explore the small system that is yours, then wait for wormhole tech and explore again for a very short time until your scout ships park themselves. Your scout ships become absolutely worthless after that. How about this:



Once the game signals you that there is nothing left to explore, after 3 turns or 5 turns or whatever, you gain the ability to do 'hyper-resonance' exploration (or some such sci-fi verbiage) with *scout ships only* because now they are actually converted to Science Vessels. If you choose to participate in 'hyper-resonance' exploration, it allows your Science Vessels to do the auto explore again - only slower because, as everyone knows, it take longer to do 'hyper-resonance' testing. Perhaps the Science Vessel stays in one spot for 3 turns periodically because of the dense fields around Planet X indicates a discovery may be made.



Down side is, if you choose to do the new exploration, it is a 5% drain on your Empire... or on your Dust... or whatever. There is a cost if you chose the option.



If you DO chose the option, there may be random dust found.. or a superconductor found only on your colony on meteor X that increases the production on that meteor by 15%... or a lost satellite found in an opposing faction's area that boosts their dust/production/happiness/whatever that does nothing for you at all... list goes on and on with the possibilities.. including finding nothing worthwile at all (other than the obligatory 'What happened in Hyper-resonance stayed in Hyper-resonance' T-shirt and matching coffee mug achievement).



I guess what I propose is not an Exploration event that is a 'Find X / Receive Y' event, it is more of an Exploration event that extends the life of exploration once the computer tells you your scout ships have explored everything and have become useless.



I am NOT proposing an addition to the tech tree! ick!

+1 I like the idea, plus it will give us the idea that the universe in which we live is in constant change and give us the notion that even after we have found every habitable world on the galaxy, there are still some things to be discovered.

I really liked the event where the guy in the suit shows up and is a skilled negotiator. Reminds me of Mr. Mordan on B5 but then again so does this thread:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUYpUMaEI88



What do you want?

Endless Terraforming Modules

On the surface of the planet you discover the remains of some endless technology and one of your crew accidentally turns it on. Obviously the system is not working to full effectiveness but its on.



Good: Let it run and dedicate some support personnel to maintain it. Terraform a random planet in the system to Arid. And -10% Production/Science in the system for 10 turns.

Selfish: It works, its OURS. Pack it up and take it home. Terraform your last colonized system to Arid. -5 Happiness in last colonized system for 10 turns.

Evil: We aren't here to stay, destroy it with an orbital strike. Terraform a random planet in the system to Barren.





Decaying String Accelerator

The remains of an orbital accelerator are here giving your ship a boost to farther stars. +2 movement on fleet for 1 turn. Refuels ship to max movement immediately.

I have a few ideas.



Endless Stronghold World

An Endless planet devoted to the defence of its system. It's crust is about as thick as a normal world, but underneath that it holds a massive system of undergound bunkers culminating in a small artifical core developed by the Endless. Your colonists probably won't like the spartan living quarters, but they can't deny that the permacrete roof makes them feel safe at night.

+System Defense

+Population slots

-5 Happiness

-1 extra Food per pop

+Science (figured you could study Endless tech on the planet)



Unusual Psy Field

Your fleet passed through an odd veil when they entered this system, it seems to be having some odd effects amongst the crew...

33% chance of: THEY ARE COMING OUT OF THE WALLS! (All crew lost)

33% chance of: I say, Admiral? Lieutenant Jenkins appears to have become a god... (All planets in the system are scrambled, gaining random anomalies or even being terraformed a step in either direction)

33% chance of: Eureka! (+100 Science per ship in the fleet due to every crew member becoming incredibly intelligent)



Uncontrollable Nanite Swarm

A relic of the ancient was activated by one of our ground teams, and a vicious nanite deconstruction swarm is spilling out!

If you have either 'Depleted Isotopes', 'Fusion Batteries' or 'Flawless Machining' tech: Fire the main batteries! (No effect)

If you have the 'Baryonic Shielding' tech: Thank god our shields were up! Now call for backup! (All planets becomes Barren in the system)

If you have neither of those techs but you do have 'Compact Fusion Reactors': Detonate the warp drives. Tell them we made it count. (Fleet lost, all planets become Barren in the system)

If you have none of those techs: AAAAARRGH- (All planets become barren, fleet lost, and the swarm remains in the system until you have the requisite techs!)





So there are three, one positive, one with random chances of being good, mediocre and bad, and one very bad if you are ill-prepared for your exploration!

Any thoughts?

Sparks wrote:
How hard would it be, realistically, to have isolated clusters programmed into the map seeds?



Like, as it stands the early game is a land grab. Get what systems you want while managing a sustainable expansion. Mid game and late game are both about the back and forth of each faction, warring over high value systems, trying to control choke points and that sort of thing.



It would really be a good mix-up if an entire new set of uncolonized star systems was made available around turn 100-150 or so.



Put some new technologies halfway up the tree that do long range scans, then have ten-fifteen isolated stars, not connected by phaselanes or wormholes just sitting on the outer rim of the galaxy, or something.



Think of it like this; Europe battles for control over their lands for a thousand years, then America is discovered and it is a gold mine of untapped wealth. Proxy wars and resource gathering become hugely important to the battles at home. It would add another layer of importance to the cold-war status and would drastically increase the need for secure trade routes and peaceful co-operation among allies.



Seed it so these new systems are more fertile. Lots of terrans and jungles, lots of rich sources of luxuries and resources.



I think it would keep the exploration going. Because as it stands, especially if you're Amoeba, exploration of the entire map, even large maps, is done by turn seventy five or so, depending on how many scouts you want to pump out. Exploration doesn't actually open up possibilities, it just reveals limitations. Every faction has their home systems and a buffer around them, then it becomes a form of trench warfare, with frontiers being quite fixed and rarely any decisive attacks.

I like this idea a lot actually. It's similar to Civ when you research Astronomy and get acces to caravels, it gives factions who are losing the turf war back home a chance to perhaps do some long-range expansion, at the cost of some very specific research choices. Maybe ships would need to be fitted with some sort of module or engine in order to reach these far off places.



Perhaps this could be implemented in the form of one or more minor satellite galaxies hovering above the main map, something like the Magellenic Clouds, only becoming visible if you zoom out to almost max, forming a new map plane. This way these new systems will be reachable by all factions, not just the ones who are closest to them.



On a side note, I don’t feel scouts are completely useless late game. I’ll usually retrofit them with all the torpedo launchers they can carry. They may not last long, but they put up an impressive fireworks display

+ Find ancient map:

1) Randomly uncovers pieces of the map.

2) Find a treasure (dust).

3) Uncover location of an strategic resource.



+ Stranded Hero (you are not told who it is):

1) Hire now for free (level 1)

2) Hire now for XY dust (level 3)

3) Make available for hire in academy



+ Refugees:

1) Randomly adds population to one of your systems.

2) A colonization ship appears.

3) Get industry and science bonus for XY turns.

Sparks wrote:
How hard would it be, realistically, to have isolated clusters programmed into the map seeds?



Like, as it stands the early game is a land grab. Get what systems you want while managing a sustainable expansion. Mid game and late game are both about the back and forth of each faction, warring over high value systems, trying to control choke points and that sort of thing.



It would really be a good mix-up if an entire new set of uncolonized star systems was made available around turn 100-150 or so.



Put some new technologies halfway up the tree that do long range scans, then have ten-fifteen isolated stars, not connected by phaselanes or wormholes just sitting on the outer rim of the galaxy, or something.



Think of it like this; Europe battles for control over their lands for a thousand years, then America is discovered and it is a gold mine of untapped wealth. Proxy wars and resource gathering become hugely important to the battles at home. It would add another layer of importance to the cold-war status and would drastically increase the need for secure trade routes and peaceful co-operation among allies.



Seed it so these new systems are more fertile. Lots of terrans and jungles, lots of rich sources of luxuries and resources.



I think it would keep the exploration going. Because as it stands, especially if you're Amoeba, exploration of the entire map, even large maps, is done by turn seventy five or so, depending on how many scouts you want to pump out. Exploration doesn't actually open up possibilities, it just reveals limitations. Every faction has their home systems and a buffer around them, then it becomes a form of trench warfare, with frontiers being quite fixed and rarely any decisive attacks.

I also like this idea it would make thinks soooo much more interesting. I would definetly like to see it implemented... and it would be nice if it would be possible to good to this new part of the map during certain times... Idon't know something with the alignment of the starts. So at least you won't have permanent and possibly easy access to the new zone from the begining. After you develop certain techs then it should be possible.

WhiteWeasel wrote:
I do have a suggestion, but I'm bickering with my self about whether in should be an exploration award or natural wonder, but it could be changed to fit either role. But I really feel the game needs more wonders. If your still interested, click here



[EDIT]:I made up my mind now and it should be a wonder.

I have seen your post and I think it is a fantastic idea.

I wonder if two mechanics can be chained together.



For example:



Say you enter the system and there's a neutral fleet sitting in orbit. Medium strength, perhaps even scaling in power determined by the turn number. As long as the system is uncolonized, the fleet is docile. It doesn't block movement or do anything, it just sits there. Once someone brings in a colony ship and claim it, they become hostile and start attacking anything and everything.





I think one thing that is missing from the exploration is a bit of danger. Aside from stumbling upon an enemy faction, the space in Endless Space is fairly empty. I think it would be interesting to have to bring along more than just a scout ship, maybe even an escort fleet. Or even outfitting a scout with some weapons just to give them a fighting chance.



I like that exploration in this game is wondrous right now, a whole lot of cool things to uncover and see. But if we look back on history, exploration hasn't been so ponderous or methodical. It's been bloodthirsty and fraught with a million ways to die horribly.



The way pirates operate in the game so far actually prohibits exploration, because you have to keep ships back on your home systems to keep them in overwatch. But they shouldn't really be spawning in your back yard, they should be lying in wait, setting traps and claiming systems for themselves from the get go.



Make them super weak if you have to, but delaying the land grab by even a dozen turns in this way would allow more of the game mechanics to breathe. Tech research would be less of a routine, it would require some hard choices early on.



I dunno. I just think that a lot of the early game as it stands is very repetitive from game to game. You grab a hero, a couple of systems, get the same five starting techs. It feels like a game of chess except there's only one opening salvo. There should be a more gradual, methodical progression into the mid-game.

One think I would love to see is a bit more narration-text about what exactly you find. Right now it's just the same thext and the reward...

Buecherwyrm wrote:


- finding an Endless Terraformer, which can change one planet of your choice into some other planet-type

I love this idea. I was hoping to get a race added eventually with a racial trait that allowed them to slowly terraform planets they had colonized automaticlly (say, 1 terraform every 25 turns or something). The idea you had would be nice though, and they could both exist within the game without breaking it :P

- While scanning a drifting asteroid you find an ancient facility buried beneath the surface, its power supply almost entirely spent. Just before it shuts down, you can ask the inbuilt AI for one final gift from the past. Choose between a 20% boost to dust or research per turn, for a total of ten turns.



- Upon entering the system, your ships are overloaded by a surge of electrical power coming from a charged accretion disc surrounding the star. Each ship takes 25% hull damage immediately, but are also supercharged by this effect, dealing double damage as long as they remain in the same system. The disc is dispersed by this event, meaning it is not repeatable.



- Gravimetric sensors have detected strange anomalies within the outer corona of the system's star. Deep scans reveal a long dormant research facility left by the Endless. You can choose to reactivate it or ignore it. If you reactivate, one of the following effects is triggered at random:

• The facility's date cache reveals habitable systems in the area, uncovering all systems two star lanes away from the current one.
• The watchdog AI that automates the facility reacts with hostility to your intrusion, activating ancient base defenses and dealing 75% hull damage to your fleet.
• You uncover an Endless manufactory that can upgrade and refine your fleet's design, providing every one of your ships with two levels of veterancy.
• Upon entering a sealed vault, one of your away team is infused with a virulent swarm of dust particles, allowing you to recruit another hero for no dust cost.
  
  

- Long range scans have detected an Endless outpost within the system's oort cloud. You can investigate or ignore it. If you investigate, you are rewarded with an ancient holographic codex retrieved from the ruins that immediately levels up one of your heroes. However, all ships are destroyed in the process as they navigate the treacherous, comet filled region of space.

On discovering a local lifeform, a science team manages to collect and bring home samples for seeding on a specific planet. The seeded species has a beneficial effect on the planet on which it is placed - +1 food/pop on that planet.

How hard would it be, realistically, to have isolated clusters programmed into the map seeds?



Like, as it stands the early game is a land grab. Get what systems you want while managing a sustainable expansion. Mid game and late game are both about the back and forth of each faction, warring over high value systems, trying to control choke points and that sort of thing.



It would really be a good mix-up if an entire new set of uncolonized star systems was made available around turn 100-150 or so.



Put some new technologies halfway up the tree that do long range scans, then have ten-fifteen isolated stars, not connected by phaselanes or wormholes just sitting on the outer rim of the galaxy, or something.



Think of it like this; Europe battles for control over their lands for a thousand years, then America is discovered and it is a gold mine of untapped wealth. Proxy wars and resource gathering become hugely important to the battles at home. It would add another layer of importance to the cold-war status and would drastically increase the need for secure trade routes and peaceful co-operation among allies.



Seed it so these new systems are more fertile. Lots of terrans and jungles, lots of rich sources of luxuries and resources.



I think it would keep the exploration going. Because as it stands, especially if you're Amoeba, exploration of the entire map, even large maps, is done by turn seventy five or so, depending on how many scouts you want to pump out. Exploration doesn't actually open up possibilities, it just reveals limitations. Every faction has their home systems and a buffer around them, then it becomes a form of trench warfare, with frontiers being quite fixed and rarely any decisive attacks.

I would like to maybe have a event were you unlock new ship types. from say minor factions or pirates.

I would actually like to see a reduction in the number of events that require a hero to be present. In the early game, it's not really practical to wait until you can afford a to hire a hero to send with every scout ship, and these events are essentially wasted if no hero is present. Or at least give all of them an alternate outcome that provides a benefit to a heroless fleet as well. My last game spawned four hero-only events in a row, followed by a pirate event which destroyed my ship. Sigh.

Clocknova wrote:
I would actually like to see a reduction in the number of events that require a hero to be present. In the early game, it's not really practical to wait until you can afford a to hire a hero to send with every scout ship, and these events are essentially wasted if no hero is present. Or at least give all of them an alternate outcome that provides a benefit to a heroless fleet as well. My last game spawned four hero-only events in a row, followed by a pirate event which destroyed my ship. Sigh.

Yea, this is actually kind of annoying. Can't the game just detect if you have a hero and then alter the results accordingly? That would be nice.

Travisk wrote:
Yea, this is actually kind of annoying. Can't the game just detect if you have a hero and then alter the results accordingly? That would be nice.

I agree I had a start with almost all starting events needed a hero.

*Ancient navigation systems, map reveals two-three close star systems



*Alien Horrors, ship retreats to previous star system with all power available +1



*System malfunction leads to asteroid collision, -20% hp for all ships in fleet

Neat idea, maybe you could have it so that occasionally you find star systems with a planet already colonized. If you try to colonize the same system the game gives you the option of taking the previous colony as a two population start, raze the colony and put the previous owners to work for an initial production boost, or strip them of their valuables and send them into space, giving you a free 100 dust bonus. It would seem simple enough, but they have a neutral fleet in orbit that attacks your own if it stays for more than two turns, and is moderately strong to warrant a larger attack force.



In regards to pirates, it would be neat if they could set up bases if you go too long without setting up a colony, (say max 5 bases for galaxy) and then use it as a production source that sends out occassional battle craft. These colonies would have to be invaded, but conquering them would give you the system plus a gold boost from their "treasure hoard"



Exploration is probably the greatest thing this game does, so seeing it get even more interesting would be a great plus for myself.