Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!wildfire From: wildfire@aix01.aix.rpi.edu (Douglas B Rusch) Subject: Re: Looking for Comments/Suggestions for Spaceward Ho! Version 2.0 Message-ID: Summary: New ideas for spaceward ho! Keywords: Spaceward Sender: Douglas B. Rusch Nntp-Posting-Host: aix01srv.aix.rpi.edu Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY References: <1991May30.185345.10261@neon.Stanford.EDU> Date: 30 May 91 21:04:03 GMT Lines: 71 1. Multi-Player Games - No suggestions. 2. Messages - Yes, this would be nice. Especially if the computer could send some during a multiplayer game, just to keep players on their toes. 3.Battles - Retreating would be nice. Either that or have battles take more than one turn to complete. In the first case, maybe having admirals for fleets who are responsible for their fleets safety. Better admirals make better choices and can be given general missions (such as just scout [if there is any enemy strength just retreat] or assult [fight to the death]). If the fleet dies, there goes your admiral. As admirals fight and win, they get better. In the second case the slow battles allow players to bring in reinforcements, retreat, or whatever. I think there should be tankers, fleets should not have to return to a base to repair (or sit on some God foresaken world for centuries waiting for a colony ship to stop by). Colony ships should not always be lost first. It should be possible to defend colony ships with a loss of some offensive ability. Such defense should not be complete (thus making the colony ship the last to die), but partial allowing the ship to survive a little longer. Repair should not occur in the middle of no where, it can take centuries to make a ship, but no matter how badly damaged a ship is, it is always fully repaired at the start of the next turn. Maybe bases should be added, a location where ships can be refueled, repaired, and built. This would add some objective to fleet movement. Now, since ships can be built anywhere the only difference between planets is the metal it has and it population (or productivity), things that aren't seen till a planet has been captured. It also limits the speed with which new fleets can be brought into play. The different players should have different colors, not just different hats. Its hard to tell them apart, especially at the greater scales. Also, maybe it would be possible to name the computer players. This would add some personality to them. Finally, more options should be added. Most of what I have just described could be optional (especially repair or long battles). Maybe metal could be made replenishable as an option. More options make each game a totally new situation to play against. As for computer strategies, there are several problems I have noted. 1. The computer often runs out of steam towards the end (or metal?). 2. The computer stops exploring, and often fails to explore the regions near the edge of the map fully. 3. Since the player knows its against a computer, the computer should know its against the player, and take actions to deal with the hopefully more dangerous human mind. 4. The computer should not resort to sending out a dozen of its best ships to check out a dozen different worlds. Since they can't colonize those worlds themselves, they should be sending cheap ships. The ingenious player often has a higher tech than I do, but wastes his metal by sending really good ships against ten of my not so great cheap satellites. He dies, and I just rebuild the cheap satellites. If he sent these ships together with a colony ship, they might very well overwhelm all but the most heavily defended worlds without losing the colony ship. Well, thats enough for now. I have many other ideas, but I'll wait and see what others say. Anyways this is enough for now. Hope this helps, and I look forward to the next version, because I like the game alot right now. But most things can always be made better. Thank You.