Oh right, wouldn’t want Commander Durand getting called a pdf…
Right?
I remember being able to win the final battle you do in school but am unable to remember how to do that. Or were we never able to win in the first place?
You can be undefeated in the academy, so yes you can win the fight, it’s pretty easy aslong as your main stat isnt leadership, and you avoid the trap.
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I just want to ask how long can MC ship keep moving along without maintenance, there fuel and ammo especially since it can be a real actual limitation that can effect MC in the future how much ammo to spend to win a engagement and if he have enough for the next. Just like special ammo for torpedo missile.
I’m probably not going to get too into the weeds with the logistics in the narrative simply because it likely won’t factor in too much. That might change, but we’ll see.
In broad terms, every ship in the Fleet runs on a Sci-Fi fusion reactor. It produces an ungodly (non-specific) amount of energy that is used to power all the ship’s systems and its engines. It requires semi-regular maintenance and the very rare restocking of the elements needed to facility a continuous fusion reaction.
Ammo I’m going to keep equally vague. I might track whether or not you have any missiles remaining, but your projectile weapons have an unspecified large amount of ammo reserves. It’s worth noting that after most major engagements you’d probably return to spacedock for repairs and restocking, so ammo is likely to be a moot point between engagements. Again, subject to change, but that is the plan.
All that to say ships are able to operate for months, even years without needing to refuel. Think along the lines of nuclear submarines today which, to my knowledge at least, are likely to run out of food and amenities long before they run out of weapons or fuel.
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Most Nuclear Submarines can stay in the water for atleast a decade actually.
Though some relatively old ones may need to surface every few years.
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A random thought i was meaning to post but sort of dragged my feet because it’d mean a bit of extra work.
Currently when dealing with the “pirates” the MC has options to resolve the situation through their miner knowledge (or high team loyalty which provides them this knowledge), or by choosing to board the ship, optionally disabling its weapon first.
It’d be kind of nice if that last option could have a variant where, instead of shooting at the ship, you use your corvettes to “shield” the boarding craft on approach. It’s potentially a throwback to how you can win the boarding maneuver during the last match with Wagner, the ship crew would probably appreciate this extra care for their well-being, your boss would probably appreciate finding a way to avoid incurring damage to civilian property, but mainly, it provides a benefit from having requested this bonus in the first place. So it’d be a small extra reactivity to the player’s choices, which is always nice.
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I like the idea, it’s just a matter of implementing it. This work is already way longer than I intended it to be at this point, and I unfortunately can’t add everything I, or you all, want without it ballooning even further. That said, your suggestion is a rather minor one that I don’t think would take very long to add, so I’ll definitely consider it.
I’ll also add that Chapter 4 will have multiple instances where the forces you acquired (corvettes, fighters, marines) will play a significant role in certain outcomes. That’s one of the reasons Chapter 4 branches so heavily actually. So rest assured those things do come into play, but having them be useful on more than one occasion is never a bad thing either.
As always thanks for the suggestion. I always love feedback like this that helps make the work better as a whole!
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Really looking forward to this. Just earlier today there was a discussion on reddit about which “benefit(s)” were the best to pick. Corvettes seem like the least applicable to the assigned mission (unless going after pretty major pirates), so I am really looking forward to seeing their impact.
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Happy to oblige. I never want any major decision to go unutilized. This does not mean that I want ever option to be completely balanced necessarily (that would be next to impossible to do, nor would it be great for the narrative), but I never want to make a point of having the player make a decision just to never have it come back into play in some regard. As you’ve seen, you might not always have that payoff in the same chapter, or even in the next few chapters, but I always want there to be a payoff at some point.
So keep me honesty with that. I’m only one guy, and while the additional forces are a rather large decision that is relatively easy to track, in the future smaller things might slip through the cracks. If that happens, let me know.
Also as a side note, it’s fun to hear that there are discussion about my little game out there in other corners of the internet. Makes it feel more real somehow, so thanks for that.
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Apolgies if this would be a spoiler to answer, but how are the people we know from the academy adapting to real command? (lucas, wagner, tanaka etc)
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You don’t need to apologize, it’s a great question. It’s just a question I’m not going to answer right now.
Might want to check out Chapter 5 when it’s finished though…
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I thought that this work was pretty good and I had fun struggling to beat Wagner and graduate with a spotless record while starting at eight years old.
Regarding what might be minor coding errors, when you examine the suit with Tanaka and friends, I think it lets you select the same option twice if you want, which may not be expected behavior. I think this sort of behavior with the choices also occurs when Lucas comes by to have you join Tanaka on the moon stroll. It does become a bit funny to say “You sure about the safety of all this?” multiple times and see Lucas respond the same way again and again.
Also, I think if you watch the movie by yourself and you pick the drama about the War of Annihilation, it later says that “The two of you head back to your room in silence”, despite having started a private movie session with only one’s lonesome.
Regarding the plot, there’s one minor thing where I noticed that if you go eat dinner with Lucas, it can say that “Your parents are long gone, and you can’t remember the last time anyone offered such a warm gesture as a hug. But no, you remind yourself that such actions are still artificial and the love and warmth of a family member still as far away as it has been for years.” But, I was having fun with the miner orphan background where it states that “So you spent your childhood out on the outskirts of colonized space. The crew quickly became your family and you, like everyone else, learned how to keep a rusted bucket of bolts operational and alive on the far reaches of space.” I had thought that the mining vessel crew was the orphan’s adoptive family now. I figure it could be appropriate to reference them and/or the crazy/brilliant First Officer who just knew that it would be worthwhile to have the eight-year-old on board go become an officer.
I hope that at least one of these points are useful and the sort of feedback you’re looking for. I had a lot of fun making the super young officer into a genius and I look forward to seeing more of the story.
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This is all great feedback, thank you!
As you said, there must be some minor coding errors for the triggers on the space walk and when watching the movie alone. I’ll take a look at it once I finish up Chapter 3. Also, nice catch on the miner background text there, that’s one of the things that would have slipped through the cracks without me even realizing there was a contradiction.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the story so far, and happy to have you along for the ride!
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Always happy to try and keep you honest. Also, here was the thread for that discussion.
(I’m analyst_kolbe in that thread)
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I am suffering from success.
I am always made captain, and I am never the second-in-command of a cruiser.
I am simply too good, and am always made captain.
I am a victim of my own sucess…
Some days, I feel like I want to feel what it feels likes to not be as skilled as I am.
So many new experiences are lost to me, so many more choices… because I am simply too good.
(if you couldn’t tell, im asking on advice on how to NOT be made Captain)
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Focus on leadership when creating character, while keeping intelligence and adaptability low. You’ll struggle to perform well enough by the academic test standards.
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Oh, alright, thanks
Tell me about it. I’ve trying (unsuccessfully) to become a dropout. I can make Commander pretty reliably though.
Make yourself as dumb as possible, be an insufferable slob (snub everyone, avoid friends) and slack off or sleep at every opportunity. If you’re ever engaged in battle, heed the wise words of Lord Nelson: never mind the manoeuvres, just go straight at ‘em.
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