| Author |
That thing that's missing in DS |
*Storm*
Marshal
Joined: September 21, 2009
Posts: 6
|  Posted: 2014-01-31 03:16
Hi all,
Let my start by excusing myself for any grammar mistakes I might make with this post since english is only a second language for me. But, hopefully, everyone will be able to understand what i'm trying to say. I've been playing this game on and off since that time you could refit heavy beams (CL2000 for those who remember) to a Claw destroyer and you could customise your ship's weapon loadout almost anyway you saw fit. Lately, i've been browsing the forums, read on suggestions players are making, new weapon types, armor, ships etc. The feeling i've got from this is everyone is saying the same thing: DS is missing something. I've seen discussions on this topic but i'm not really sure of the progress made on the issue. This is a mmorpg, right? Someone was saying something about introducing missions to the game. Escort this or atack that. Great idea. Introducing bigger events might work too. Like a "boss" event, maybe. Daily, two times a day... Missions, quests, call 'em however you like but maybe things would be more lively. Something that would attract players to the game, with proper incentives for players involved in... I dunno...defeating the Boss. Undertaking some other type of quest.Team up, group, whatever you call it, we have that already. Party missions/quests might be interesting. Maybe this wouldn't be hard to implement. It's annoying when I see a flash browser game that's attracting more players than DS when, in fact, there's no comparison. For high ranking players, DS doesn't offer much more. For beginners, it's confusing. Just a thought...
Thank you for your patience.
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Chewy Squirrel
Chief Marshal
Joined: January 27, 2003
Posts: 304
From: NYC
| Posted: 2014-01-31 12:50
Honestly, yes. This game doesn't need new types of bombs or worthless planetary buildings nobody will use. What it needs in no particular order are missions/more events, a better loot system/endgame (obviously related to missions/events), and a better, dynamic, no non-sense tutorial that you get upon logging into the MV.
Missions/events are obvious. When is player population the highest? When there is an event going on with some kind of boss/MI Invasion/Pirate Invasion/Gaifen invasion. Something to break the monotony.
A better loot system is also needed. Every other MMO has something for players to work towards even once they hit the level cap. Here you really don't. I have more advanced enchancements than I know what to do with and even if I didn't, the current enchancement system is boring. 24 Def/24 Weapon is still pretty much the combination you need to be competitive. This is purely dreaming, but being able to customize every ship system individually would be much more interesting. I imagine something like pulling up a character screen/ragdoll like in other RPGs of your ship where you can "equip" items to various slots such as engines,weapons,life support, security, sensors, armor, shields, damage control. Like Darkspaces version of weapon/chest/pants/gloves/amulet. Where each item has special properties and perhaps drawbacks and players work towards getting epic versions of each item.
And a dynamic tutorial should be one of the highest priorities IMO. Imagine logging in as a new player into the MV and seeing the map for the first time. You would have no idea where to spawn, and would most likely spawn in a system where you would never see another player. Not know what to do, get confused and bored, and log off. I'm sure this is what happens to a lot of new players that try this game. A dynamic mission system could also mitigate this. Something like "Maurbon is under attack by enemy forces! Move to defend" or "UGTO cruiser spotted in Epsilon Ind. Destroy it" or "Chabbox has been damaged by enemy bombers! Repair it" or "Bomb Flavin", etc,etc. It would give new players direction, something concrete to do.
Quote:
For high ranking players, DS doesn't offer much more. For beginners, it's confusing. Just a thought...
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Very true. I've had a lot less motivation to log in after hitting CM. There is literally nothing left for me to achieve in the game except for platinum privateer and that is just an excercise in patience. I have 12 fully enchanced ships, I have a Tharis, and I have access to every ship. Sure its still fun to login and PVP a little bit, but its different when I'm not working towards anything.
And yeah on the other end of the spectrum it sucks for beginners too because this game has so many subtle tricks you need to know to be able to find things to do and to be competitive that it drives people away. For example learning how to work around all of the numerous bugs such as the black screen bug, or being sent back to the faction select screen when you try to spawn in a different server just to name a few. These are immensely confusing occurences to new players that the older players no longer even bat an eye at.
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Walrus of Apathy
Admiral
Templar Knights
Joined: August 07, 2005
Posts: 466
From: Dorans Basement
| Posted: 2014-01-31 15:46
This thing is pretty much everything just mentioned (Outside, perhaps, of the RPG-ish equipment setup) is on the todo list. I've been moaning about the tutorial thing for months now, but it's mostly up to whenever the coders have time to work on it.
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Sheraton*XO*
Chief Marshal
Faster than Light
Joined: January 18, 2013
Posts: 482
From: Keel Mountains
| Posted: 2014-01-31 18:58
Quote:
On 2014-01-31 15:46, Walrus of Apathy wrote:
This thing is pretty much everything just mentioned (Outside, perhaps, of the RPG-ish equipment setup) is on the todo list. I've been moaning about the tutorial thing for months now, but it's mostly up to whenever the coders have time to work on it.
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The infamous to-do list.
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Twilit Keel Mountains traversed at last we met a dragon who spoke thus: \"Sheraton am I who interprets the signs.\"
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*Storm*
Marshal
Joined: September 21, 2009
Posts: 6
| Posted: 2014-02-10 11:33
Maybe a system which would allow a ship's stats to increase the more prestige you gain with it. Stats in terms of the already established enhancements. It would make sense if you assume the more experience you have with some equipment, the more proficient you are when using it. Just a particular ship and not a ship type...
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I'm not handicapped, I'm just lazy.
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The Fridge
Chief Marshal
Templar Knights
Joined: December 13, 2008
Posts: 559
From: In Your Fridge, Eating your Foods.
| Posted: 2014-02-10 12:06
Quote:
On 2014-02-10 11:33, *Storm* wrote:
Maybe a system which would allow a ship's stats to increase the more prestige you gain with it. Stats in terms of the already established enhancements. It would make sense if you assume the more experience you have with some equipment, the more proficient you are when using it. Just a particular ship and not a ship type...
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No.
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Fluttershy
Fleet Admiral
Joined: September 24, 2011
Posts: 778
From: Fluttershy
| Posted: 2014-02-10 17:03
The game lacks mini-goals to keep you hooked on those long stretches between ranks.
Where several other games have learned to always keep a cookie never too far out of reach, this one likes to incrementally space them out twice as far as the last one to the point where you'll eventually just think "ugh, what is the point?"
Some of you might disagree with this suggestion, but I suggest possibly having rank requirements on weapon refits, and perhaps adding more types of weaponry for these rank unlocks.
These weapon refits would unlock in areas *between* major ranks, and in the same way new ships open up new strategies, these new weapons will do the same thing.
No weapon should be better, of course, it would just open up more strategic possibilities, and would not be without their downsides. Higher ranking weapons would tend to be those which are a greater challenge to use effectively and put the pilot at greater risk.
Also as was stated, there's not much to do once you hit the maximum rank and get fully enhanced.
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Koda
Marshal
Fatal Squadron
Joined: August 29, 2002
Posts: 1384
| Posted: 2014-02-10 22:58
Not trying to kick a dead horse but..
The log into the MV server should be streamlined.
A toggle from the log in/password should let one go right to the MV.. or action etc..
while im here..
In the F2 screen, things are too busy for new players. They need more direction as to what is a Shipyard spawn vs. a gate. etc.
hope this helps
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pigghoti
Vice Admiral
Joined: November 23, 2013
Posts: 10
| Posted: 2014-02-11 04:09
We really need to recruit more coders and artists if we ever want this to get off the ground, without the work force none of this would be possible to be honest.
We have a decent coder force now but, even then we would need more if we want this stuff to come into effect any time soon.
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Kenny_Naboo
Marshal
Pitch Black
Joined: January 11, 2010
Posts: 3823
From: LobsterTown
| Posted: 2014-02-12 04:45
The devs are discussing a mission/event system, and how to go about implementing it such that both official and perhaps even player created missions can be done ingame.
The concept is there. The implementation isn't gonna be easy.
As usual, pls allow Two Weeks™ for this to happen.
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Fattierob
Vice Admiral
Joined: April 25, 2003
Posts: 4059
| Posted: 2014-02-12 07:52
I thought the thing that was missing in DS was players.
Also, like always, if you know anybody who would be willing to help out, please don't hesitate to send them our way. It's a great learning experience and we could always use more helping hands. Also it's easier then actually grinding to Chief Marshal to spawn whatever ship you want (well at least for me)
http://darkspace.net/index.htm?lang=en&module=volunteer.php
We are very friendly and I know I would personally help out anybody trying to learn things around here.
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Fluttershy
Fleet Admiral
Joined: September 24, 2011
Posts: 778
From: Fluttershy
| Posted: 2014-02-12 08:13
Well, if you want players, you need qualities to the game that keep more than a tiny group of niche gamers hooked.
Oh and I've offered to help in the past, but you'd rather have free labor from professionals.
If I'm educated enough to effectively code and design games, I'll probably be working somewhere that pays, and not wasting time and gray hairs on an ancient wreck.
[ This Message was edited by: Fluttershy on 2014-02-12 08:17 ]
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Fattierob
Vice Admiral
Joined: April 25, 2003
Posts: 4059
| Posted: 2014-02-12 13:47
Quote:
On 2014-02-12 08:13, Fluttershy wrote:
Oh and I've offered to help in the past, but you'd rather have free labor from professionals.
If I'm educated enough to effectively code and design games, I'll probably be working somewhere that pays, and not wasting time and gray hairs on an ancient wreck.
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All the current coders (Faustus, Backy, and if you consider myself, myself) work paid programming jobs and do this on the side (hence the volunteer aspect) . I don't know anything about recent people who have offered to help, but the work is definitely not cut out for those who have no experience programming and/or no experience in C++. If you think you weren't accurately judged, PM me a message and what you applied with/talked to/whatever and maybe I can help you out.
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Fluttershy
Fleet Admiral
Joined: September 24, 2011
Posts: 778
From: Fluttershy
| Posted: 2014-02-12 17:43
I'm just a somewhat self-learned amateur, but maybe I'm better than I think, or worse than I think, do you have any way of testing where I'm at? I honestly have no idea how to gauge myself.
You guys do have my respect though, if it means anything. A paying job in programming and still having the sanity to put up with this on the side...
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