Posted by: alex_brunius
« on: March 29, 2016, 02:17:17 PM »Supply & Demand ( for trade, immigration, resources and all things civilian ).
Having ground combat be more than just numbers and a roll of dice. It would be player controlled battles with variables based on the terrain of the planet and it's environment and suitability cost would have an impact on your troops performance.I agree. And my suggestion is a hex based system with the hexes based on planet size. Yes, I know how cliche hex based ground combat is, but think of the possibilities in aurora. Some units would be faster (like mobile infantry, marines, combat engineers), while the bigger heavy units would be slower (like heavy assault, and low tech units), and maybe an in between speed (HQs, construction, replacement, etc). Titans the slowest of all but they have a huge range. Maybe even making sectors on the planet based on manufacturing/civilian/military structures amount (all randomly assigned each planet on generation/making colony, and then the sectors grow as you add) as well as strategic locations (government buildings, power plants, etc). PDCs would also have a static location on the surface (either placed automatically or player placed on building/ordering) and PDC weapons could give support to nearby units that are engaged in combat. I'm 50/50 on weather or not you should be able to stack PDCs on the same hex or have a hard/soft cap based on the hex "type"(civilian, industrial, military, unused, etc) . Bombardment would add hazards to the battlefield, like zones that are uncrossable except by special units (and/or Titans) for a good while or damage any unspecialized unit that crosses. And when I say a hex system, I don't mean something small (like Stardrive size of a dozen zones across), I mean planets Earth sized should be around 100+ hexes in diameter (larger planets have a lot more, smaller planets with less). Asteroids would only be like 5-10 hexes and the "strategic" point would be any PDCs, industrial/mining sectors, and/or the entrance sector to any underground installations. On that note actually, asteroids with underground facilities could have a second hex layer to represent the underground just to keep them interesting (and combat engineers and marines would get a bonus because of similarities to ships/PDCs). It could also be made so you need sensor coverage of the planet with your own ships/satellites/installations to see enemy units. Units could also have their own sensor range for when there are no ships/installations that can see the enemy (with some units having longer range and some a lot shorter, with Titan having a really short range). PDCs would always be visible after you seen them once because they are static objects. These changes would also add a reason to add ranged support units like artillery battalions and such that would have similar mechanics as Titans, but a shorter range/damage but would be faster. But of course, the damage, speed, and range would be affected by research (mid-late game heavies as fast/faster as early game "light" units, mid-late game artillers longer range than first Titan, etc).
More+and descriptive anomalies. Instead of just a science bonus, - some line somewhere that attempts to explain why (neutrino storms, easily accessible hot-ice,...). Other than that some more real curiosities like the famous green cheese moons that are already in , and something really optical perhaps. The one planet that somehow survived besides a black hole, or a traveling planet that just recently got caught up by a star, causing comet-like flight paths, or (recently seen in new Stellaris alpha gameplay) a flying teapot with drawn orbit around the star. Maybe somewhere out there is an actual bug planet that spawns powerful ground units all the time, but also has some hidden value that might make invading it look worthwhile, or a lonesome massive trader ship that after visiting a planet bestows massive wealth or even improves the trade goods, or an ancient artificial planet you can stumble upon, maybe ringworld even... .
You get it. Color in anomalies. Super rare each, so many games may go without finding any of them, but a chance for the amazing to happen would be... amazing..