SitReps - Empires and Intrigues

2) Balance

(Preface: I don’t play Sins2 in the competitive sense.)

2.1) Planet Bonus (requested edits)

• Quantum Communications Hub
  •  Culture Rate: +100%
  • Influence Recharge rate: +10%
  • Influence Points: +2

 2.2) XP - Special Operations Units

• It seems really odd that XP gained from killing them was removed but XP gained from their kills was retained? This entirely removes the drawback from using said options, as enemy loses out on XP but you get to keep the benefits of having units that can turn the tide?
• Thoughts on allowing some XP to be earned (arbitrary setting at 10%) by the enemy player for destroying these special-case ships?
• It’s really big buff for owners of garrisons/insurgents (even if the AI doesn’t really make use of those systems yet). Even if XP both ways is removed, it’s still a good buff for those using them (biggest cost to them was opponents getting XP which is no longer a risk)

 2.3) Minor Faction spawns

• Can you tweak the map spawning so that Jiskun will spawn opposite of the pirates? Maps that have pirates near the star would see Jiskun spawn at the outermost edge. Maps that have pirates near the outermost edge would see Jiskun near the star. Random maps are just random so what happens, happens

3) Artwork/Visuals/Other

3.1) Planet Items

• Is it possible to have some planet items concatenate their text names? As example, if the planet name is “Galatea” and a civic university or military research base is built there – can the text name automatically display “Galatea Civic University” or “Galatea Military Research Base”? If component stacking is going to be blocked then this would help with the visuals. Plus, it’d be nice for modding too!

4) Bugs, Typos, Goofs

4.1) Using ‘Future Orbits’ in replays ends up hiding a decent number of the phase lanes from view until you revert it back to the current time.

4.2) Aluxian Resurgence ships appear in the structure section instead of the ship section in the UI

4.3) The research rate bonus has a sign error. It should show as “+135%” instead of “-135%”; a negative 100% or more research rate bonus to me implies that the research would be completed instantly.

4.4) Minor faction structures have random alignments when placed. The Guass cannons eventually reorient themselves when they go to fire on enemies but the phase gates… …look lost….

4.5) I’m not sure if this one is technically a bug, but I was surprised to see the UI suggest that the TEC can build vasari units (I was a Vasari player).

4.6) Spacing error in the “time to next influence point” section of the minor faction tab (appears with mouse hover)

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 I won’t be digging into the balance that much this patch as I want to experiment with modding the minor factions (I can’t play with my mods until after I finish the SitReps, so..). I’ll post any requests later as I come up with them.

5) Modding (minor factions)

5.1) Observations (so far)

• Culture will work for minor factions. I hope this remains a moddable feature even if the default minor factions don’t make use of it. In my case, I gave the Aluxian Resurgence trade ports the ability to generate culture as well as a couple broadcast centers on their homeworld. Due to their player color it’s difficult to see
  
  
• Simple planet tracks overrides any planet tracks info you set. Deleting “simple planet tracks” makes the game too sad to work so long as the NPC field requires it. For modding, it’d be nice if the game overwrites the “simple planet tracks” with anything populated under “planet types”. For example:
  
  Ideally, the “planet track” info defined for desert planet types on the left would override the “simple planet tracks” for “desert” planets; and only desert planets. Simple planet tracks would still be the default for the other planet types as long as they haven’t been defined. I hope this is a feasible request for modding; I can also try to elaborate more if needed too.
• Starbase, ship & (almost never) planet components will get populated. Note I gave the minor factions custom components that didn’t require exotics + the ability to build their own components. Note that you will need to make a new planet component unique to the minor factions, as the influence/auction items from them contain the “is_finite” field, which will limit them to 1 overall.
  
  

5.2) What doesn’t work:

• We don’t see planet elevators or city lights on the dark side of the planets – we can add in planet tracks and max them out for this effect, but it would be nice if the simple planet tracks just defaulted to max. I did add this to the Aluxian Resurgence player file but it doesn’t seem to have had any effect (note that I did not add any planet track info, so the simple planet tracks doesn’t appear connected to this):
  
• You can’t start minor factions off with Starbases. You end up getting a ‘cannot place’ type of error when loading the map (even the default Pranast is supposed to start with 2, but they don’t appear – nor does the error message for them either thou..). They can eventually build them, but they only seem inclined to build them if an enemy is adjacent to them. (In my test, the Aluxians didn’t bother to build any anywhere until a player was adjacent to them. Pranast meanwhile didn’t build any ever, even after I gave them a bunch of starting resources. Also, I did create a unit with no exotics costs for the AI to use.
• Minor Faction garrison units aren’t limited to their home planet – they seem to behave like normal fleet supply instead (possible, need to double check. I know from a previous build that giving pirates a garrison resulted in them launching that garrison with their raids)
• Minor factions currently don’t research. They don’t seem to use research tiers either. (I gave the TEC minor factions simplified research trees and nothing was researched over several hours). I didn’t think they would (capability wasn’t given to them yet) but it’d be nice to make them grow as a game progresses
• Insurgents don’t seem to spawn from minor faction culture. I haven't had much chance to check this, but based on 2 enemy player worlds being under aluxian culture for about 20min, they never spawned.

5.3) Comments

• Can’t really post much about the AI as it’s still placeholder. I wanted to get the aluxians to build more than a couple turrets at their captured worlds. They would only build exotic factories if I let them. Once I gave their trade ports exotic factories they’d build those up to the limit I set. They only built Starbases once they discovered an adjacent hostile power (as opposed to fortify
• I'd guess the Aluxian Resurgence is using a limited version of the aggressive AI? It prioritizes ships first.
• It’d be cool if Pranast United would get modeled after the defensive AI and instead focused on fortifying it’s homeworld
• The UI that hides the planet item slots as well as the planet tracks may be hardcoded. Exploring the hud_planet_window gui didn't indicate any conditions for those windows displaying. So either that's controlled elsewhere or it's locked within the game itself. Hopefully that becomes something moddable (if it is locked) as I like to make my minor factions resemble players & feature their unique components.

Thanks as always for the detailed report of your experience and feedback. I think it may be helpful to slightly expand on section 1.2 by including a reason for some of the requests placed there

At a very high level, my goals are to:

• Lobby for more depth to the "Exploration" idea behind the 4X. I want see the minor factions as something more than a menu with a random planet "somewhere out there" that I'd never want to look at. I'd like to encourage players to visit minor faction worlds and click on things to see what is possible
• Submit requests that I think would add to the base-game experience that also contribute to modding capabilities.

There's a couple of reasons behind this.

1. Gameplay Awareness:
   ~Some of the minor faction items are hidden behind auctions (which is a good thing); some of which I didn't know existed until I was peaking at the game files. By having minor faction units/planets equip their own unique items it makes it possible to see what the minor factions have to offer while-in game.
   ~This is part of why I'm requesting that pirate ships have "looting crew" as a passive ability for their ships (TEC Rebel players that buy pirate units would then have access to it as well); if Pirate Ships have that ability then I wonder if I, as a player, can either acquire those ships or can acquire that ability - which I can as a capital ship component.
   ~Basically, I'd like to see these as hints that there are paths to acquiring these components/abilities.
2. An extension of exploration:
   ~I want to encourage curiosity. I expect most people would be interacting with the minor factions via the top pop-up menu rather than from the minor faction's planet itself. Those who click on the minor faction planet would be able to see the planet items, as would players who click on the minor faction capital ships & starbases.
   ~Note that the most recent build actually hides all of the minor faction planet component slots & planet tracks from view - I like that this is possible but I'd prefer that it is only applied to militia-owned planets instead of minor factions, as it's impossible to see the minor faction planet components with the current UI - even though you can still give minor factions planet components on their homeworlds and the simple planet track components will at least allow them to slot in non-buildable items
3. Spectacle:
   To me, minor factions featuring their own unique attributes is something cool. This is akin to the civilization 6 city states being able to build their unique improvements. Sure, it's technically useless from a MP/competitive perspective. Still, I think it benefits single-players like me who love to click on a bunch of things to see if any details or easter eggs are present. This is how I notice that there's no research being done to unlock abilities.

The reasons behind these are:

1. Expand minor faction behaviors (modding perspective):
   I can't add new systems to the game. That might change when the modding tools come out later but for now I'm assuming that if it capabilities aren't already in the game then they can't be added later
   ~such as minor factions being able to research things slowly as the game progresses
   ~such as minor factions being able to research/complete planet tracks slowly as the game progresses
   ~such as minor factions being able to build starbases/structures (via script or with the default AI)
   ~minor faction/minor faction diplomacy, such as them fighting amongst themselves (the mods I hope to make would be added as minor factions - it'd be cool to make them hostile to each other while set them as default allies to everyone else)
2. Expand minor faction behaviors (art perspective):
   If the TEC Rebels, Tec Loyalists, Vasari Exodus & Vasari Alliance are the major factions, then I'd expect:
   ~Pranast United & the Aluxian Resurgence to have basic similarities to the TEC, although per the lore Pranast probably has more in common with TEC Loyalists meanwhile the Aluxians more closely resemble the TEC Rebels
   ~Jiskun Expeditionary Force & Viturak Transport Cabal to have basic similarities to the Vasari, although per the lore they probably have more in common with the Vasari Alliance
   ~Pranast United is the one behind the TEC starbase; this makes me assume they're defensive. So, why don't they spend the game slowly researching improvements to their hull/armor/gauss/shields? They don't build any starbases either, or build defensive structures
   ~I was surprised that the Aluxians didn't add the autocannon to their Gardas. I was also surprised that they weren't building Trade Ports on each planet they conquered. They were the de-facto leader of the Trade Order right? So isn't their reason for  expanding to find more worlds they can establish trade with? I was also surprised that they didn't use the TEC PSIDAR to monitor the space near them
   ~The Jiskun Expeditionary force seems inclined to survey; but they can't research phase jump immunity for their scouts? As Vasari, wouldn't they be traveling around with vasari colony capital ships?
   ~The Viturak looked research/mobility focused to me, so wouldn't they be using the Antorak Marauders (faster movement) while building orbital labs (for aesthetic purposes, to lean into their research appearance). 
3. Reduce how static the minor factions appear:
   We call them minor factions, not militia. So I'd expect them to try and build themselves up as the game progresses while they move around. Sure, they can't "win" but them just sitting in place for the duration of the game is... unnatural. It makes them look like props on a stage instead of being a local power.
   ~Not every minor faction needs to be on a rampage like the Aluxians either; something small such as having the minor faction AI slowly patrol around their homeworld in a circle would help tons.
   ~It'd be cool to have a minor faction go around building starbases (via the starbase component) on all worlds it deems friendly and then upgrade them. It wouldn't impact confrontations between the players, but I imagine it might make a player less inclined to randomly attack that minor faction in the late game
   ~It'd be cool to see minor faction fleets exploring the system and engaging one another. As is players can fight each other over minor faction worlds but you never get to see minor factions fighting each other over player worlds.

For a summary, I want the minor factions to give hints about what they can do. Players can click on each others units to see what's equipped to get an idea of what's possible for one another. Minor factions are supposed to be limited versions of players, right? Otherwise we'd have just called them militia, right?

I do want to reemphasize that I want to hide the planet components & planet tracks of militia-owned planets from the UI. I just don't want that to also be the case when I look at minor faction planets. Also, there are no militia-owned planets in Sins2 right now. Sometimes in Sins1 you would find a planet owned by the militia guarding it - I've been hoping/assuming that will make a return in Sins2. For a visual:

1. Players Factions are fully fleshed out
2. Minor Factions are mini players; the can use the same systems as the players can but are quite limited and thus not a threat in terms of victory conditions. Players can make use of them through their abilities and through their auctions.
3. Militia Factions would be non-players that just hang around until conquered.

I play single player on the big maps; so the minor factions are one of the things I'd like to use to make the game feel more alive. I tend to lean more into the 4X aspect of sins while enjoying the RTS-like ship combat it has. I see them as the wild cards

Sorry if this was longer than you wanted Ramma, my requests usually aren't just based on a single reason. But if I were to oversimply everything down to a single reason I could say this: "Because it's cool!"

Sit-Reps (cont):
Note: some mods are in place; I’ll give the listing after the sitreps but the mods shouldn’t be impacting the comments/suggestions that I do make.

1) Gameplay

1.7) TEC

• It seems a bit odd that PSIDAR can be unlocked before Orbital Research Stations can be built. I’m assuming that this will eventually be reshuffled once the research overhaul is a bit more finalized?
• Thoughts on giving the Garda Flak Frigates a watered-down version of the TEC capital ship component “Flak Burst”? The ability could be unlocked alongside the component research too. Suggestion is just based on the names of the two items
• Should researching “Huge Cargo Holds” & “Immense Cargo Holds” increase the credits gained from trade ship destruction by 15% & 30%, respectively? More goods being shipped means more loot to be looted?
• Should [Hardened Defenses] add armor points instead of hull points? Or maybe just increase the armor strength?

1.8) Viturak Transport Cabal

• Garrison forces can use phase gates, but the AI won’t trigger a response on defensive roam if more than 1 phase lane away despite the phase gate.
  • Which could seem terrifying at a glance, but if the AI was updated to “see” the phase gates your garrison forces could easily get led elsewhere with a bait-n-switch approach
  • This being said, would it make sense for phase gates provided by the Viturak Transport Cabal to slow down the speed of those using it that aren’t the minor faction? Something like 50% slower phase jump speed? (Viturak units would travel at normal speed)
  • This might also encourage Vasari players to build their own phase gates rather than only use the minor faction’s gates
  • Note that I don’t want garrisons using phase gates to be patched out. If it is, I hope it remains something moddable instead. A “can use phase gates” kind of check under the garrison section of the player file, if you will.

1.9) Planet Bonuses - Requests/ideas

• Thoughts on adding “Allied Metal Market” & “Allied Crystal Market” as random planet bonuses? They seem to have been removed from the auctions & their addition would add to the variety of planet bonuses that can be found
• Thoughts on adding some research flavored planet bonuses? Some ideas:
  • Derelict Research Center
    • +15% research rate
    • +25% capture derelict speed
    • +5% XP for derelict capture
  • Trader Marketing Lab
    • +1 Civilian Research
    • +5% research rate
    • +10% Influence recharge rate
    • +15% planet development costs
  • Trader Engineering Institution
    • +10% research rate
    • -5% ship/structure costs (global)
    • +5% ship/structure build rate (global)
    • -3% credits (global)

1.10) Diplomacy (note – I play FFA vs AI & the AI doesn’t partake in any deals as of yet so I’ve not had a chance to explore the current system)

• Will we see the relationship bar and (at least some) of the other pacts return from Sins1? FWIW, I enjoyed those systems and do miss them in my Sins2 games.
•  What are the chances of seeing an additional “Diplomacy” research tab? The pacts from Sins1 were nice, but I’d to see a second layer of permanent research-type upgrades/interactions added
  • The research can’t be started/researched without its prerequisite pact being active
  • Unique units unlocked for players with established alliances.

5) Modding (minor factions)

5.1) [cont] as mentioned previously, I wanted to attach a reference image of what I was referring to:

The left is a player world (uses planet tracks) meanwhile the right is a minor faction world (simple planet tracks). It leaves the minor faction planets looking uncivilized.

5.4) Observations (cont)

• Minor faction garrison units seem to need research to spawn
• The Aluxian garrison does not move more than one planet adjacent. So maybe it was something tied into the pirates in the earlier build
• The Aluxians can’t be “met” unless you reveal/scout their homeworld & they will “die” if their homeworld is destroyed. Personally, I like this result for the aluxians, but it’d be nice if not every minor faction operated under homeworld victory. I do think that meeting any of a minor factions worlds should count as revealing that minor faction though. You can use their abilities from any of their planets
• Minor faction AI won’t build capital ships outside of garrisons, per observations of the aluxians in this build
• So far it still doesn’t look like minor factions can spawn insurgents. I’ll try boosting their culture rate to something silly just to see if anything happens, but I doubt it will.

6) Requests/Ideas/Suggestions

6.1) Research Tiers – Can you diversify them a bit more for each sub-faction by adding a secondary effect? As an idea: 

It doesn't have to be any/all of the ideas posted above, I'm just tossing an idea out there

6.2) Would it be possible to introduce a planet/Starbase hybrid unit? The pirate base is the best in-game example right now.

• It would have turrets/missiles
• Crippled health would render it colonizable
• If the crippled health is depleted then the hybrid unit gets destroyed
• It could build units & house strikecraft functionality-wise

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Mods disclosure: (I avoided commenting on balance after adding these, but as fyi..)

• Planet Bonuses
  • Every planet has both bonuses
  • homeworlds can have moons (didn't work, but didn't crash either)
  • +10% planet health restore
    • abandoned nanite planet factory
    • fusion power core
    • oceanic energy converter
  • -10% planet health restore
    • acid atmosphere
    • chaotic weather
    • subzero twisters
  • -10% exotic build rate
    • automated factories
  • +1 military research
    • fortress world
  • +1 civillian research
    • ancient arcology
    • undersea caverns
    • quantum comm hub
  • +1 component slot
    • cavern system
    • undersea caverns
  • +50% garrison supply
    • feudal society
  • -50% garrison
    • free market society
  • +100% culture rate
    • quantum comm hub
  • +10% influence recharge rate
    • quantum comm hub
  • +10% orbital extraction rate
    • stable debris field
• TEC Rebels
  • New research added that adds 'frigate shields' & 'cruiser shields' to appropriate pirate mercenary ships
• TEC Loyalists
  • Hardened defenses also applies to starbases
• Minor Factions
  • added modified units & unit components for TEC minor factions (no exotic costs or no research requirements) while experimenting with their behavior.
  • Aluxians have small garrisons, a starting cap & will slowly spread culture. "tricked" them into building trade ports. They have trade escorts (double what playable TEC have).