In SP, asteroids show their remaining content/disappear when cleared. More reactions from NPCs...I just walked into a neutral POI and stole all these peoples food and gear, and homies didnt even look up from their table. Enemies come for you! I landed on a planet clear of all factions just to build a big base and be left alone for a bit. There are Zirax patrols on the planet, but never anything more. Would be nice to know that the grudge they have for me is big enough that they would want to hunt me down. (I know I can just go back to a Zirax controlled space if I want the base attacks again...but seems like blowing up a few bases and capital ships would be worth the warp fuel for them to come visit me on my new home.) More rare materials. So far, everything I have needed I have been able to make a few jumps around space to find in asteroids. My need for mining/farming on a planet are pretty much over. Would be nice if there were super ultra goodness rare items that are needed for making our own equipment upgrades. I.e. we can craft our own epic weapons, but we have to have the spice of the stanky tree that is only found in small amounts on a few planets...and only when out on foot or in a HV. Water that acts a bit more like water. I would love to be able to funnel water through a base in order to install purifiers, or to build a mote of some sort. Waterfalls and the like would really spice up the atmosphere of planets. Enhance the physics a bit based on mass. I jumped into my brand new shiney MASSIVE land pounding tank that can blast through shields and steel and armor...and got all jacked up on a tree the size of Charlie Browns Chistmas tree...had to get out and manually cut it down. If coding them to break/disappear is too much, just have something like if mass of X is greater than mass of Y, then X ignores Y...or something similar. More roaming NPCs...We see Zirax patrols and the like...but I would like to sometimes bump into other prospectors looking for ores. More trade convoys on planets. Stuff moving around.
traders need better inventory Polaris mega corp would have more the 6 multi tools in stock in a trading station for a sector. A working economy so if i sold 100 shotguns to the same trade everyday the price would get lower and lower cause of the surplus. specialized manfructing equipment for makeing advances weapons that can only be add to bases with a high cpu cost. so while i am traveling the starts I should have to set up small ammo bases, fuel refineries, and pentaxid refineries to keep operational.
A. Planetary playfields More diverse Flora/Fauna that doesn't repeat on most planets, as much as possible have some unique aspects for a planet. This has improved but can expand more as you continue to work on it. Better NPC pathing, being able to interact, start quests, conversation trees. Not necessarily asking for micro management but wouldn't object. Cities, large cities More POI types, caves, ancient ruins etc Not just PVE but maybe puzzle based with traps for exploration purposes? More sound files B. Space Playfields This has improved a lot already. But just more to do rather than mine and travel. Add some mystery POI, encounters in space, missions
A media center where we can access the internet. In order to play YouTube channels or music. Not to save to blueprints, but just to access it so we can set up in game Playlists while we are spacing around. Maybe put an lcd in front of my cockpit with a small video playing while I fly 20 km in one direction. It would make the experience more immersive
What is that a thing already lol? I just want to turn some Tool on while I fly around with my cousin. Tabletop simulator has a cool tablet function where you can access YouTube while you play with friends. I thought it would be cool to have the TV playing in your cockpit while you are space trucking and trading mats
People are making good points on some of the negative reviews. I enjoy Empyrion a lot, but The people I play with aren't happy with the bugs and lack of AI & combat immersion. They feel the beginning is sluggish, boring and needs more bells and whistles. I personally feel that if Eleon spent more time on refining movement of animals and npcs, environment layers (Flora & rocks), and definitely pathing of npcs, then that would improve a lot. More and more trade opportunities and npc interaction would make the environment feel more lived in. Flowing water mechanics using rivers and waterfalls would aid a lot. Take some pointers from the far cry games!
A. Something roaming the wilderness besides just wildlife and hostile mobs. I see in 12.3 you are introducing more NPCs (BTW, I think the bug men and Assasssins at the Polaris space station are a mistake. Or at least make them not roam around with the same movement algorithm they use in wilderness and make less noise). So this would follow on that: Ideas: i. Polaris prospector (riding a small hoverbike); ii. Zirax hermit (on foot, not hostile); iii. Surveyor; iv. Pirates foraging, v. Scavenger, etc. Obviously each of these could have their own relationship modifiers vis a vis their 'parent' faction (maybe same as, maybe not). Each could also offer some various interaction possibilities (apart from fighting). Related to this and kind of half-way into space: seeing some air traffic going in or coming out of the major communities from time to time would be neat. You now have the models and most of the anims, so it would mostly be a matter of writing the background code to determine when/if event(s) should spawn and then whatever code is needed to make them behave in a believable fashion (e.g., descend from space [or ascend from base], loiter near base, dispatch some personnel down to the ground, loiter some more, depart after a certain amount of time, etc.) This kind of thing is reasonably light weight both in terms of production cost and performance load and it goes a long way toward creating a feeling of a living world, particularly in a game universe where there are dynamic player-faction relations like you now have. B. Similar
I wish there was more physical variety in enemies and NPCs. They are all more or less the same size, tall and lean. It would be cool to see some bigger than others, walking slower, a bit clumsy, for example the Zirax soldier with the rocket launcher could ALWAYS be a big, slow guy that is easy to spot from afar... Have the aliens head show more variation too, don't be afraid to squish them more or scale limbs to make them look peculiar ; it's always more interesting than having them too similar - different color is not enough.
Animations: EVERYONE: Standing to Sitting, hand gestures, drinking, laughing, hand gestures while talking, waving pointing TALON: Sitting at campfire, Hunting, fishing, ZIRAX: rally and point, knife hand pointing, waving forward support, casual talking animations, kicking rocks, doing grunt stuff, stretching, throwing weapon over shoulder, bending down to admire things, being bored as hell on patrol with nothing to do POLARIS: foreman with clipboards scratching their heads with pencils, man with a pipe wrench out working on equipment, blue collar folks sitting at a table with lunch boxes talking, management being A$$holes CHARACTER: leaning at bar, prone, crouch, sitting and eating/drinking, climbing
These are a few broad areas that I think could make the game feel more vivid and lively. The bullet points are some rough ideas to serve as examples. 1. Depth in Exploration, more to discover - There is a big galaxy with many systems and planets to visit. But why do we want to visit them? A great feature of this game is the ability to explore, and what it seems to be lacking now is a reason to explore. One of the things that makes exploration interesting is not knowing what you will find, and there being plenty of interesting things to find. Like, what will the Polaris be up to on this planet? What will the flora/fauna be like? Will Polaris and Zirax be locked in combat in an attempt to gain a foothold in this system? What will the traders be buying and selling? Might I find some rare item that a historian or art collector might be willing to pay well for? 2. Depth in NPCs/factions, more interaction - Overall, I think adding more factions should take a back seat to fleshing out the factions that exist. Traders - Each trader needs to have its own inventory, instead of the 5 or so traders that currently exist seeming to all stocking the exact same items. Ideally, what they are looking to buy and sell should depend on their situation, like what environment they are in, how close they are to supply lines for different types of items (like if they don't have a good supply of food, they should be willing to pay well for it, or something like that), whether they are involved in local conflict with another faction, and so forth. It would also be nice to see trade traffic coming and going, both by teleporters and by vessels. Faction interaction - It would be cool to have the different factions have postures toward each other both faction-wide and in specific systems and planets. Faction-wide - Factions should have a general stance toward each other, something probably defined by the highest leadership, like at war over territory, allies, and some different things in between. Location-specific - These might generally line up with the faction-wide stance, but have some variation here and there, stuff probably defined by leaders of system, planets, or settlements. Polaris and Zirax could both want control of a planet or system, even though overall they are not actively interested in attacking each other. But here, they could be fighting over the system because of resources, strategic location, or history. Depending on the situation, there could be some way for players to get involved, through combat, diplomacy, and maybe some others. Reactions - When a Zirax vessel is fires on a player who is trying to dock with a Polaris space station, the Polaris should react, especially if some of that firing hits the station. In some places they might attack on sight, in others they might only defend when they (or one of their allies, like a player who is honored with them) are attacked. Settlements - For each settlement, it would be nice for the people who live there, the buildings that exist, the general attitude of the residents, how many defensive structures and vessels, how much trade traffic to all make some degree of sense. A settlement more focused on war might be interested in information about their enemies; one that is relatively peaceful and prosperous might be more interested in historical or artistic artifacts. It might be cool for there to be maybe a dozen different types, with smaller settlements maybe having only one or two types of people present, and larger cities having all of them. It would also be nice to see the people working their professions - (miners out there mining mines and so forth) and following some sort of daily routine. 3. Things changing as events unfold - it would be cool to see things update in different ways, both related and unrelated to events players have participated in. It could be fun to be able to get information about these events somehow, maybe some info is available just by asking an NPC, while some might require buying the information or going and checking it out yourself. These options could vary in availability based on the player's reputation with the faction. On a higher level, systems could be taken over, and the galaxy map update to reflect it. On a lower level, new settlements could be founded, and settlements could be destroyed (by players and/or other NPC factions). Players interested in combat and conquest could help a faction take territory over and push another faction back or maybe completely wipe them out. Players interested in helping a faction expand into unclaimed territory could assist with the process of establishing new settlements, whether by transporting goods, supplying resources, or helping to secure an area so it's safe to build. This one seems much tougher to work out, but at some point maybe players could have their own area of influence, and expand their own territory.
I don't mean to beat a dead horse but one solution to more POI/NPC missions & interaction would be to make POIs a Steam Workshop item type. And I mean not only the structural thing like we have today, but also small missions, self contained in those POIs. Users could contribute to make the world more vivid by creating side stories and little missions. This all could be added to the game as soon as the POI is subscribed in the workshop and will be a part of the randomness of the planet generation. This could work in SP and maybe in MP as well. The challenge would be to clean the world when a user unsubscribes the POI in Steam. And also in MP for my mission can screw yours if I blow up a POI that's part of your mission. Imagine that you visit a planet and find a night club POI. Inside there's a little mafia-esque faction of the sort. The boss could trigger little missions like hiring you to murder some unpaying costumer or have you to retrieve him a stolen item. This could be invidual, per player and the NPC POIs would become more interesting to visit, don't you think?
A. For planetary playfields I would like so see... 1. More flora and fauna, along with flora and fauna that is specific to certain types of planets, planets in systems with certain types of stars. For new fauna, Sea Life especially, and the reinstatement of the Plant Monster! 2. NPC Activities (HV's, SV's that run patrol routes, trade routes, visits from NPC's at player bases and ships requesting assistance or offering/requesting trades, hunting parties actively hunting wildlife, work crews performing work in the field (constructing/repairing structures), NPC's offering transportation services (transport hubs that run SV's to and from orbital stations or HV's to surface-based trading centers). 3. NPC Crew that actually do things (security units that patrol an area, engage enemies/pests, tactical officers that provide bonuses for turrets, workers that actually work (providing individual device repairs/optimizations, etc). 4. Useless items made useful and sources for otherwise unobtainable items (a use for Phoenix Fern Fronds again, a source of Trumpet Greens, the return of Space Fries) B. For space playfields I would like to see.. 1. NPC ships engaging with other NPC ships (intra-faction combat) 2. Assistance requests from NPCs (Friendly/Honored NPC's requesting aid when attacked by hostile ships). 3. NPC Transport craft traveling to/from other stations and planet surfaces. 4. Hazards - areas of strong radiation, areas presenting navigational hazards, areas that cause increased power drain/fuel consumption. 5. A ship's Radio (audio voice "chatter" around orbital stations, ship-to-ship and ship-to-base communication, player-to-player voice-chat). 6. As per #3 above, NPC Crew that perform functions. Also for both: NPC Trade Request "Missions" - NPC requests X number of goods be either transported to another NPC or simply requests X number of goods be brought to them from any source. Missions should be regularly replayable, with different commodities requested at different times. Pirates that actually attempt to Pirate - Pirate ships should attempt to disable ships and board them (see #3/#6 regarding NPC Crew, Security Guards can certainly help here) to steal cargo items, with priorities for high-value cargo/trade goods). Faction status of Friendly or Honored should prevent Pirate raids against players.
About missions like in my suggestion (mafia contracted assassin, artifact hunter, etc.) and the above suggestion to have trade requests, is it possible - in the game's current state - for we users to create POIs with everything needed and send them to Eleon so they add to the game?
We need collision damage. Make people learn how to drive. We need to be able to set our hovercraft settings so that they are saved. The game needs to load playfields properly so that tunnels are not filled in or lost. Why does it take so damned long to load a server. The failure to create a backpack on death bug needs to be fixed. Emergency. Load times and distances for walls created with fill should load sooner and earlier. Why can't we sleep in multiplayer. Minecraft provides a perfectly good model for that. Anyone who says "Git gud" or the equivalent should be permanently banned from the Discord server/forums. Set a standard worth having.
A. More realistic weather. It's not a really urgent issue but since there's a thread for our wishes let's go. Weather should be more concentrated instead of being on the whole planet and change depending of the temp and the place. When it's overcast the layer of cloud should be at a specific height but not at the edge of space. Passing through a layer of clouds or go in a thick fog to hide from turrets or enemies can make interresting strategies. For the rain : if the temperature is below 0°c then it should be snow. Windy? Make the wind affect the movement of the player or sv/hv/cv. Why not a hurricane in warm ocean planets? Etc etc
More grass, pretty grass. Variation in the trees, every tree is almost always the identical height , in a full forest, that's fine, but in clumps of trees, they are just too uniform. Space is pretty, can we make the planets prettier. Dust, can moons with gravity less than say, 0.5 G kick up clouds of pretty dust?
Cherry Burrito already mentioned it but I'd like to make explicit the "design principle" behind as it actually covers more stuff: "There should be an illusion of the game universe existing independently of the player character." Meaning not everything should revolve around the player. The NPCs should react to each other and stuff should happen in the world. Well, not quite, because I do understand that for optimization reasons you don't really render anything outside the player's field-of-view and don't really simulate the world beyond the immediate surroundings but you should do what a good story telling does: fake it! Make it look like stuff is happening in the universe and when it does happen in the player's field-of-view, show it. That's how the illusion is maintained. Exactly like Burrito said: The factions should have relationship status with each other and if they happen to meet then they should react to each other based on that. If they are hostile then they could fight. They could even send attacks against each other and the player could see that happening adding to the immersion of the story. And hey, what the player character does in the world, could very well affect these relationships making it an additional vehicle for you campaign missions. Also, it's not just the humanoid creatures. Make the animals also do things that you'd expect animals doing. If there's a herd of lizard mules and a pack of raptors near the player then how about having the raptors hunt the mules? At first sight, it might seem pointless in a game but it's actually quite a powerful tool. It gives you a deep feeling that the world around you is doing its own thing. Oh, and my pet peeve : If there are predators loose in the front yard of the trade station and chasing me, then have those cyborg guards shoot them if they're in the range! What are they there for if not making it safe for the customers??
Well i been thinking about the SP part of the game, of course will require a lot of time.. But: Space: Honestly feels very empty and there isn't much to do if there's no Faction Base on the Space, sometimes you may find a Vessel around but that's all.. Honestly, i would love to see Vessels coming and go from the Space, jumping through X from time to time, meaning that even the Enemy could reach you if they detect your Ship/Base, meaning that if Zirax (first enemy of the game by default) (and for example) one of their Vessels, made a Warp jump and reaches X planet, and detects you/your base, they could launch an Attack even from the Space. Planet: Would love to see how a Faction tries to retake and expand their Territories around X planet or Space, meaning that in the end, each one could defeat the other faction if they are at war and would lead to taking control of most of the Galaxy (exept Legacy, or meaby.. depends.. Legacy.. is another story about Force so.. don't know how will be, if the Legacy attacked X faction..) Player/Faction: Would love to see the Guards the player can adquire, be really guards and not just decorative things... If you place them on your base, they need to counter attack the enemy, also.. would like to see the Player being followed around the Galaxy by some npc's (Those used as Guards Decorative, Cyborgs or Turrets Droids, of course if the player spends credits and X materials to build them) with the Human/Alien ones, the player being capable of use a Med Kit on them, to heal them (if not they will loose them forever and need to re-do the credits/material things again) and for the Cyborg/Droids, a Tool Box (or something like that) that can repair the droids. There's plenty of potential honestly to do with the game
1.) Planets-- I like to see Waterfalls, Natural Caves. Flowing rivers and lakes/oceans with realistic waves and tides. More wild life like wolves, big cats, insects for earthlike planets. Improve animal behavior to act more like that of the wild as if they are living breathing animals on another world. 2.) Space- I'd like to see more types of asteroid shapes and sizes. Dwarf planets not quite a moon and not quite a planet but in-between the two.
