I'm pretty new to Void Expanse, I only discovered it maybe a week ago, while looking for something new to scratch that space ship itch after another binge of EV Nova.
I spent the time writing this because I like this game a lot. It's loads of fun and it looks gorgeous. Some of this will sound like nit-picking or pipe-dreaming, but there you have it. Some of it has probably been discussed here before, sorry for that. I haven't been following this game, or been actively involved in the forums here (obviously), so I apologize in advance for any redundancy.
This post is about game mechanics, not story... that's a whole 'nother issue. On one hand I could say, 'Who cares? I just want to blow up spaceships!". On the other hand, good writing can really take a game to the next level of memorable experiences in gaming. But this post isn't about that.
For reference, I played the game on 'Normal difficulty', using 'Auto controls', in a 100 system game. I joined the Freedom faction... 'cause Order is so... predictable. My character was Level 125 when I finished the game.
CONTROLS, SETTINGS, ETC:
1. We need to be able to destroy items directly from the 'looting cargo container' window. Alternately, let cargo containers de-spawn after a time. Better yet, have pirates and merchants come by and scoop them up. We need to be able to get rid of items without taking them into our cargo hold, or we need to be able to ignore them without leaving crates everywhere in space.
2. With 'Auto-control' on, there is way too much 'play' in the steering. It reminds me of my old '62 chrysler, which also had way too much play in the steering. There should be no 'play' at all. Currently, the nose of your ship does not move directly with your targetting curser. It follows behind it at an angle. This makes it very tricky to aim fixed mount guns.
It's my opinion that 'Auto' should be the default mode, because the first thing I thought when I started to play was... 'oh god, I can't control this thing at all'.
Starsector has a key-bind that you hold down when you want 'Auto-control', rather than a toggle switch. It works really well. Ideally, make it reversible. In other words, if I'm toggled to 'Manual', then holding Shift puts me in 'Auto', but if I'm toggled to 'Auto' then holding Shift puts me in 'Manual.
3. There is a setting to make the targetting lines more visible, which is great, but no setting to make the Targetting Reticule (mouse pointer) more visible. I often lose track of it during combat. It would be lovely if we had some options for how it looks, as well as how transparent it is. A version with thicker lines would be my preference.
4. Give us the option to not have Nebulas in the background of every star system. Some systems should have just a star field behind them, and I think there are too many systems with one giant nebula in the middle, taking up most of the screen.
Nebula density settings in the Options menu definitely change the nebulas, but they just look different, not more or less dense. 'Minimum' looks different than 'Maximum', but I'd be hard pressed to tell which is which.
5. Pressing Spacebar should not grab everything from a container, because often you are hitting space bar to stop your ship right as the thing comes into range. Bam, you pick up everything without even seeing what it was. 'F' is assigned to that task, which is fine, but 'Spacebar' does the same thing for some reason. It shouldn't.
6. The System map should show more info. Name of system, Faction, Danger/Tech levels etc. All the same info that you get when you mouse over a star in the Galaxy map.
COMBAT, BALANCE, ETC:
7. Aliens are too easy compared to same level pirates, or Pirates are too tough. Pirates seem to outnumber the Aliens 3 to 1, and they are way tougher opponents, at equivalent level. Why is everyone so bent out of shape about the Aliens? Let's pool our funds and pay the pirates to wipe them out. They obviously could.
To me, playing on Normal Difficulty, Aliens seem closer to the 'right difficulty' than Pirates do. If Aliens were brought up to pirate levels of power, I think people might not be able to finish the game on Normal Difficulty.
For comparison, assuming that the number next to the Crossed Swords symbol is meant to represent the difficulty level of the system... Generally speaking I could do fine in an Alien zone that was around my level. For pirates, I'd want to be around twice the level of the system, to fight comfortably without chewing through loads of consumables, and running away any time more than one enemy showed up.
I do think it's cool there are the high level (77 & 100 in my game) Pirate systems that are a real test of your mettle, but I'm not sure it should be the pirates that provide that kind of challenge. I tend to think of pirates as mostly riff-raff who prey on civilians, not the greatest warriors in the galaxy. Maybe there could be some other place to find that type of challenge... another Faction even, where you go when you want that sort of white-knuckle edge-of-your-seat action, even on normal difficulty.
In any case, it was a strange shock the first time I ventured into Alien space and found they were kind of a joke compared to similar level (45-50) Pirates. Overall, I think Pirates could be brought down a notch or two, and Aliens should swarm more, attacking in groups. The only time they felt like a threat was during the final missions when they started coming at me in groups.
8. Risk vs Reward could use some tweaking. Hunting pirates in a level 50+ neutral zone can be pretty dangerous, even with a much higher level character, but the exp per kill is not THAT much more than in a level 20 zone where you can one-shot everything, or just kill them by ramming, with no risk at all. And drops seem about the same as well. At the same time, in a level 50+ alien zone you can cash in on the 'alien bits', either for money or traded for experience at a Science Center, and it is much safer than fighting pirates in a level 50+ neutral zone.
9. Enemies should have a chance, even if small, to drop those badass weapons they are using. Finding a Particle Cannon in the crate after a tough battle with a guy who was blasting me with it, is way more exciting than finding it at the shopping center. The special variants, like 'Weighted core' Guass Cannons, and 'With Capacitor' Particle Cannons might come from enemies only, and more weapons should have fancy variants.
10. The game seems balanced toward 1v1 fights, at least when it comes to pirates. Have some small gangs of lower level pirates (relative to the level of the system they are in) traveling, and 'aggroing', together as groups also, to mix it up.
11. Enemies are flawlessly accurate with beam weapons, but can't seem to lead a target. If I keep moving fast during combat, using Cruise to effectively 'power slide' and run circles around the enemy, projectile type weapons will never hit me, and beams will always hit me. It should be somewhere in between.
12. Pirate Dens and Alien Hives aren't very well protected. When you're a rookie, a pirate den is a bit of a challenge to take down, but they never seem to get any tougher. In higher level zones, they should have stronger weapons, and better turrets around them.
I spent the time writing this because I like this game a lot. It's loads of fun and it looks gorgeous. Some of this will sound like nit-picking or pipe-dreaming, but there you have it. Some of it has probably been discussed here before, sorry for that. I haven't been following this game, or been actively involved in the forums here (obviously), so I apologize in advance for any redundancy.
This post is about game mechanics, not story... that's a whole 'nother issue. On one hand I could say, 'Who cares? I just want to blow up spaceships!". On the other hand, good writing can really take a game to the next level of memorable experiences in gaming. But this post isn't about that.
For reference, I played the game on 'Normal difficulty', using 'Auto controls', in a 100 system game. I joined the Freedom faction... 'cause Order is so... predictable. My character was Level 125 when I finished the game.
CONTROLS, SETTINGS, ETC:
1. We need to be able to destroy items directly from the 'looting cargo container' window. Alternately, let cargo containers de-spawn after a time. Better yet, have pirates and merchants come by and scoop them up. We need to be able to get rid of items without taking them into our cargo hold, or we need to be able to ignore them without leaving crates everywhere in space.
2. With 'Auto-control' on, there is way too much 'play' in the steering. It reminds me of my old '62 chrysler, which also had way too much play in the steering. There should be no 'play' at all. Currently, the nose of your ship does not move directly with your targetting curser. It follows behind it at an angle. This makes it very tricky to aim fixed mount guns.
It's my opinion that 'Auto' should be the default mode, because the first thing I thought when I started to play was... 'oh god, I can't control this thing at all'.
Starsector has a key-bind that you hold down when you want 'Auto-control', rather than a toggle switch. It works really well. Ideally, make it reversible. In other words, if I'm toggled to 'Manual', then holding Shift puts me in 'Auto', but if I'm toggled to 'Auto' then holding Shift puts me in 'Manual.
3. There is a setting to make the targetting lines more visible, which is great, but no setting to make the Targetting Reticule (mouse pointer) more visible. I often lose track of it during combat. It would be lovely if we had some options for how it looks, as well as how transparent it is. A version with thicker lines would be my preference.
4. Give us the option to not have Nebulas in the background of every star system. Some systems should have just a star field behind them, and I think there are too many systems with one giant nebula in the middle, taking up most of the screen.
Nebula density settings in the Options menu definitely change the nebulas, but they just look different, not more or less dense. 'Minimum' looks different than 'Maximum', but I'd be hard pressed to tell which is which.
5. Pressing Spacebar should not grab everything from a container, because often you are hitting space bar to stop your ship right as the thing comes into range. Bam, you pick up everything without even seeing what it was. 'F' is assigned to that task, which is fine, but 'Spacebar' does the same thing for some reason. It shouldn't.
6. The System map should show more info. Name of system, Faction, Danger/Tech levels etc. All the same info that you get when you mouse over a star in the Galaxy map.
COMBAT, BALANCE, ETC:
7. Aliens are too easy compared to same level pirates, or Pirates are too tough. Pirates seem to outnumber the Aliens 3 to 1, and they are way tougher opponents, at equivalent level. Why is everyone so bent out of shape about the Aliens? Let's pool our funds and pay the pirates to wipe them out. They obviously could.
To me, playing on Normal Difficulty, Aliens seem closer to the 'right difficulty' than Pirates do. If Aliens were brought up to pirate levels of power, I think people might not be able to finish the game on Normal Difficulty.
For comparison, assuming that the number next to the Crossed Swords symbol is meant to represent the difficulty level of the system... Generally speaking I could do fine in an Alien zone that was around my level. For pirates, I'd want to be around twice the level of the system, to fight comfortably without chewing through loads of consumables, and running away any time more than one enemy showed up.
I do think it's cool there are the high level (77 & 100 in my game) Pirate systems that are a real test of your mettle, but I'm not sure it should be the pirates that provide that kind of challenge. I tend to think of pirates as mostly riff-raff who prey on civilians, not the greatest warriors in the galaxy. Maybe there could be some other place to find that type of challenge... another Faction even, where you go when you want that sort of white-knuckle edge-of-your-seat action, even on normal difficulty.
In any case, it was a strange shock the first time I ventured into Alien space and found they were kind of a joke compared to similar level (45-50) Pirates. Overall, I think Pirates could be brought down a notch or two, and Aliens should swarm more, attacking in groups. The only time they felt like a threat was during the final missions when they started coming at me in groups.
8. Risk vs Reward could use some tweaking. Hunting pirates in a level 50+ neutral zone can be pretty dangerous, even with a much higher level character, but the exp per kill is not THAT much more than in a level 20 zone where you can one-shot everything, or just kill them by ramming, with no risk at all. And drops seem about the same as well. At the same time, in a level 50+ alien zone you can cash in on the 'alien bits', either for money or traded for experience at a Science Center, and it is much safer than fighting pirates in a level 50+ neutral zone.
9. Enemies should have a chance, even if small, to drop those badass weapons they are using. Finding a Particle Cannon in the crate after a tough battle with a guy who was blasting me with it, is way more exciting than finding it at the shopping center. The special variants, like 'Weighted core' Guass Cannons, and 'With Capacitor' Particle Cannons might come from enemies only, and more weapons should have fancy variants.
10. The game seems balanced toward 1v1 fights, at least when it comes to pirates. Have some small gangs of lower level pirates (relative to the level of the system they are in) traveling, and 'aggroing', together as groups also, to mix it up.
11. Enemies are flawlessly accurate with beam weapons, but can't seem to lead a target. If I keep moving fast during combat, using Cruise to effectively 'power slide' and run circles around the enemy, projectile type weapons will never hit me, and beams will always hit me. It should be somewhere in between.
12. Pirate Dens and Alien Hives aren't very well protected. When you're a rookie, a pirate den is a bit of a challenge to take down, but they never seem to get any tougher. In higher level zones, they should have stronger weapons, and better turrets around them.