New Start Fatigue?

[Jarhead0331 (OP)]

Let me start out by saying that Aurora is near and dear to my heart and it is arguably one of the best 4x games ever made, in my book.  However, while Aurora's complexity is part of its amazing charm, it also makes starting a new game after a particularly long, arduous campaign really daunting, discouraging and even prohibitive. I'm finding that when it becomes clear that a particular game has run its course and it is time to start over, I frequently put Aurora away until a new patch is released rather than take on the challenge of starting anew.

Other than cheating with the SM, or even starting with TN elements, what are some other methods you guys use to avoid the onset of "Aurora fatigue" when starting a new game?  How do you keep the experience fresh and encouraging through the early stages of a conventional start? Try new approaches to expansion? Experiment with new designs? Change the focus of your combat fleets from missiles to carriers?

Hopefully, I am not the only one who feels this "fatigue" at times.

Thanks.

[Erik L]

I let the program randomly assign my starting RP. Then focus on that tech I get.

[ranger044]

Lots of roleplay. If I ever feel fatigued I stay away for at least a week until some random idea pops in my head. Currently I'm extending the wait to return for the next patch, but I'm using that time to flesh out more story. I've got a background lore going in the fiction forum - basically it started with playing an entirely different game and thinking "what if X happened instead?" Then I decided to adapt it to Aurora as well.

[nuclearslurpee]

I think it's fine. You're not obligated to play Aurora, it's perfectly normal to get a bit tired of anything after you put a lot of effort into it, and want to take a break. Do let us know what you use as a diversion during such breaks in the off-topic threads!

That being said, I usually start new campaigns because I have a new roleplay setting idea, rather than because I "finished" a campaign. Some might say this is because I am bad at finishing things, but I prefer to think of it as having a healthy imagination.

[Steve Walmsley]

That being said, I usually start new campaigns because I have a new roleplay setting idea, rather than because I "finished" a campaign. Some might say this is because I am bad at finishing things, but I prefer to think of it as having a healthy imagination.

Yes, that happens to me too

[Kashada]

I kind of get a kick out of designing custom starts using SM but that has its own issues as I tend to spend about as long designing all the ships etc as I do actually playing the game.

I have been playing around with the idea of designing smaller scale scenarios. The first I am thinking about is an ambush scenario were a small fleet of heavy freights (with a pretty large Q-ship) and a couple of frigate escorts are passing through a pirate system. I'd prefer being able to have the AI handle the pirate ships but I dont think that is possible so both will be player races.

It will likely only be interesting to play a couple of times but I'll enjoy the design process and writing an AAR for it, maybe even share the files for it and maybe make a series of different scenarios.