A good batch of suggestions, my friend. Thought I'd weigh in with my thoughts as well.
Xaphedo wrote:
Conveniences
1. Hotkeys for the Gazetteer.
1 for the first option, 2 for the second one and so on. RPG style. Hotkeys for everything would eventually be nice (cards, fuel boosting and docking are just some examples), but the Gazetteer can prove to be quite grindy-sh. This is a problem FL also has but, with limited actions, it isn't as big as an hassle there. For example, take carousing the Docks when your terror scratched the Neath's roof. Or the Scholar when you just returned from an unbelievably lucky expedition. Or the Admiral when you've got reports from half the Zee. Or an Official when you just had a supposedly &quotskilled&quot game of chess.
I wouldn't mind hot keys, but I don't think they're super necessary. I feel like hot keys for the gazetteer would make it really easy to rush through choices without reading them, which given the quality of the writing is a crime. A docking hot key would be lovely though!
Xaphedo wrote:
2. Minor collisions shouldn't stop your ship, only slow it down.
It doesn't feel right at all. If steaming at full throttle I scratch the side of my hull on a reef, I don't expect my engines to die and my momentum to get instantly lost. I did hear you say your boats are supposed to handle as boats as much as cars in GTA handle as cars: then let us stroke the coast in an attempt to dodge out of the way of those pesky Khanate Warships! These sons of rats have blades (I say: blades!) protruding from their decks!
I like collision mechanics as they stand right now. And I imagine if they allowed the throttle to remain during a collision, you'd eat through your hull as soon as you hear the grating noise.
Xaphedo wrote:
3. Defeated ships could be stripped down to repair yours.
We have zailors cannibalizing each others, you can even turn tomb colonists into supplies, but why can't ships cannibalize each other? I can see that being the most convenient and cheap (yet risky) way to get some nifty repairs. Maybe a certain level in Iron or a skilled enough engineer should be required.
Yes please. This would be awesome. Though Ian there an option to scrap it, which gives supplies, which allows at sea repairs?
Xaphedo wrote:
4. There could be an option to automatically dock whenever possible.
I don't know about you zailors out there but, when I enter port, it's always to dock. It's not exactly a waste of time, although getting an option to have that button pressed for you would no doubt be quite nice. Maybe it could trigger only once the boat hits the quayside: whatever works for you.
I feel like a Hotkey to Dock would be fine. I'd rather efforts were put elsewhere.
Xaphedo wrote:
5. You could have an affair with one of your own officers.
Some of them look rather fascinating. I don't see why not.
The officers all have stories to play through (though the stories are currently locked.) Knowing FB, romance is almost a given.
Xaphedo wrote:
6. Different deaths could mean different things.
If you die ashore (happened to me twice), you could be given the option to start as the same captain, losing only what your ship had - most echoes included. Or, if you are killed by Dreadnaughts, you could restart having your old bandaged self as an Officer, whose bonuses could depend on your previous past or your begone abilities.
Hmm. Interesting idea. More legacy options would be cool. What I would really enjoy attached to the legacy is an achievement system similar to FTL where new starting options become available upon completing certain large stories (for example playing through the whole of the Hunter's Keep story could unlock a different starting ship or officer) I'm not sure if FB wants that sort of "permanent" unlock rather than the softer carrying over from the previous game, but I feel like it'd be cool.
Xaphedo wrote:
7. You could adjust the amount of prize crew you send back port.
There could be three amounts: bare (1 in the case of the pirate steamship), decent (hence the standard 3) and worthy (5, the maximum). More crew would mean higher chances of making it to port, and bigger boats will of course mean even higher chances. The bigger the stake, the higher the chance of winning it.
Brilliant idea. Doesn't seem like it would be difficult to implement either.
Xaphedo wrote:
Additions
8. Some flavor events could have minor in-game effects.
For example, approaching the Tomb Colonies or the Iron Republic could give you 1 terror while approaching London could remove some of it (of course, the latter should only work once a trip, and be reset only once you actually undock from London again)
Not a terrible idea, but as you say, minor. I'd much rather see a temporary reprieve from terror events when a ship is in lighted waters.
Xaphedo wrote:
9. Neutral ships and monsters could also be a thing.
Imperial frigates. Giant turtles. Mind-bogglingly slow cruisers. A crew of pirates stranded on an algae raft. They could all lead to interesting choices (with uncertain outcomes!) and shape a reputation, if that's something you're planning to implement.
Yes, please! If everything encountered on the seas is hostile, then there is no fear of uncertainty. See a foe, kill a foe, sail on. But if you give us hope that this might be a fellow merchant or a benevolent crew of freed souls, then we never know what to expect. Adds such an element of "I need supplies and I see a light... Maybe they blow me out of the water, but they might just trade some food for these trade goods I've got in my hold..." Neutral seafarers = good.
Xaphedo wrote:
10. AIs could have specific habits.
Packs of megalops could migrate further in the Zee. Pirates could, lights turned off, patiently prepare ambushes in strategic passages. Ships could be travelling from docks to docks (maybe taking some fancy paths), resting in one from time to time. Monsters of all kinds could occasionally hunt each other, given the natural and human instinct of showing the Neath who the boss really is down here.
I know there still working through AI behavior, and imagine these are all things they plan to implement.
Xaphedo wrote:
11. Relevant cards could be drawn during combat.
Maybe your enemy is so battered he wants to surrender. Maybe you see your opportunity to do so. Maybe you realize that the monster is pregnant (a weak point!) or that it may have a baby following it (a live specimen!). Maybe it's something so risky and spooky that only FB's perverted Victorian Minds could ever conceive it.
Love it. Combat has a fair amount of work yet to do, but more variety would be grand.
Xaphedo wrote:
12. Officers could also improve their own skills.
For example: an officer that would normally give you a +6 +3 bonus straight away would instead give only a +5 +2 bonus at first; once you provide them with certain increasingly exotic objects (the Genial Magician comes to mind) that bonus would rise, maybe up to +7 +4 or even more.
I suggested the same thing myself in a different thread.
Xaphedo wrote:
13. You could swap your ship for a defeated yet afloat one.
That would also mean that you could savage or send back as a prize your previous ship. And, it could also change your faction... if that kind of liberty is ever given. Anyway, this is something I personally really look forward to. Other than determining the storage, there isn't much to do per se before allowing the player to take over a carefully won vessel... I almost wish I could code that in myself.
Fun! I like it.
Thank you for your suggestions!
edited by StormKoala on 5/7/2014
edited by StormKoala on 5/7/2014