Ideas for Drox 2

[eidolad]

Originally Posted by ScrObot

Drox feels awful with the ARPG click-to-move setup. There are a few options (Thruster toggle = on, Thruster disengage = off, Thruster cursor = off) that make this work like you'd expect. Though there is no "strafe" or orienting yourself in a different direction than you're moving (in Drox 1 at least), using A and D to steer while zooming around feels right. And there's wasn't really any defensive reason to be facing any particular direction (no directional shields etc), though that would certainly bring about a whole separate layer of strategy if added.

a) A and D to steer with thrust on...hmm.

b) The game Battlecruiser has a fantastic directional shield game mechanic...but Drox has a sometimes insane bullet hell environment and I doubt I could:

- steer (even without WASD)
- fire
- use abilities
- AND slew a shield around

...all at once at the normal game speed and account for all the enemies and threat axes.

That comment above also casts some doubt on my suggestion for full WASD/strafe movement: that is a lot of cockpit workload for my poor left hand: WASD, number keys, and also any letter keys for other functions.

[Destro*]

Lots of good discussion going on about the release of Drox 2 on the unofficial Discord. Would recommend people check them out and join the conversation. Link will last only 1 day:

https://discord.gg/nEGdWa

[Bluddy]

More permanent link: https://discord.gg/UpWxrY7

[Bluddy]

So here are my suggestions for Drox 2, in order of importance as I see it. I try to focus on the weak points in Drox 1 and offer improvements.

1. The weakest part of Drox 1 by far is clearing out the maps to find essential things like race planets and gates out of the system. Compared to a game like Pirates! (sea is very similar to space), where you can just see the map and you're going someplace to do something, Drox has you spend an inordinate amount of time just to get out of a new system, or to find a critical planet.

My suggestion is to immediately show the planets of a race you've contacted when you enter a system, as well as the gates out of the current system. That may seem to give info away, but it's actually greatly reducing user frustration and improving QoL and enjoyment. There can be variations of this idea: you could have scanners showing you in general where planets are on the map, and energy signatures showing the general direction of gates and wormholes. Whatever it takes not to have to clear entire maps of fog of war.

2. The Command stat is disliked by just about every player, and doesn't really achieve its purpose. You end up having more crew points from items than from invested points, so command is always the best stat. This system needs to be reworked. My ideal system would give you a ship hangar next to your stash and allow you to switch ships at will: big and slow or small and maneuverable. It would also allow limiting chassis sizes on the biggest ships so they don't get OP. Unlocking of new ship options would happen by level, but perhaps you'd also have to buy them first.

3. There isn't enough info about the 4x game, and the text log is inadequate. The maps are the best interfaces for showing this info (much like the Master of Orion galaxy map). The galaxy map should show not just which race is where, but also icons showing how many planets each race has at each system, whether an attack is happening, etc. Mousing over the icons would give more details. The system map should show which race owns which planet, and mousing over the planet should give more info about it. The amount of info on the map could be limited by your contact, level of spying on a race etc.

[eidolad]

for item 1: hmm i don't know...Diablo 2 with each map beginning as "here are the borders of a procedurally generated map...contents unknown" is so classic.

thinking out loud:
How about "unknown planet" here, "sun there", "unknown thing there" icons to help when uncovering the fog of war?

Wait...or you are talking more about the inter-system linkages? I.e. you want to know the galaxy shape in order to lesson the navigation chore? I can understand that in some way....though...in X3: Litcubes Universe or Mayhem mod...some of the "the galaxy is a mystery" fun diminished for me once I mapped all the gates and systems.

[Bluddy]

I'm talking about the star system map, not the sector one. In Diablo/Din's Legacy, the map is generally more interesting and varied: different shapes determined by walls and such, different rooms. In Drox, having to sweep the whole round map every time for the gate to the next star system becomes painful, especially because you see multiple quests for the next system and have no idea how to get there (the gate is hidden). You want to meet the new aliens and explore other systems, but the way to get there is cut off purely by a searching problem, where the map you need to search through is empty space.

I would even be ok with being able to trade with local races for the locations of the gate and their planets.

[eidolad]

"Mowing this sector's fog of war isn't as fun as other stuff, especially when it blocks better fun", if I summarize correctly? I could go for generic type icons at the very least for various in-system stuff.

So if I interpret item 1: instead we'd like it if we have this physical gate sitting out in an uncharted part of the sector that I'm in. I suddenly get a bunch of quests that reside behind it and need to get to it asap. I should be able to see that gate on the tab map (or as an "edge icon" on my normal game view)...and zoom towards it.

There is a Sometimes Very Bad Event that I try my best to avoid: the surprise wormhole that strands me in unknown territory and I'm low on consumables or have a stuffed inventory. Yeah I think I would like it, after your suggested refactor, if I have at least: the locations and terminus names for the systems around me...

[Castruccio]

Originally Posted by Bluddy

I'm talking about the star system map, not the sector one. In Diablo/Din's Legacy, the map is generally more interesting and varied: different shapes determined by walls and such, different rooms. In Drox, having to sweep the whole round map every time for the gate to the next star system becomes painful, especially because you see multiple quests for the next system and have no idea how to get there (the gate is hidden). You want to meet the new aliens and explore other systems, but the way to get there is cut off purely by a searching problem, where the map you need to search through is empty space.

I would even be ok with being able to trade with local races for the locations of the gate and their planets.

Getting the locations of gates and planets in a star system via trade, or just having them available automatically, would be amazing. One of the worst parts of Drox is vacuuming up all that black space on the system map, looking for a gate or a planet. It really slows down progression in an un-fun way, and the levels are mostly just big blank spaces with no navigational challenges like the games that take place on the ground have.

[eidolad]

The massive mine formations all slowly moving towards me in this Drox 1 high level map are plenty of "navigational challenge". Oops I that bunch was stealthed and I died.

[Bluddy]

I feel this idea is important enough to copy from discord:

- Finishing a game of Drox can become a chore. Rather than enjoying the perfect amount of dynamic experience, you're stuck in the same sector and just want it to end.
- I suggest that rather than having win conditions, you have victory points awarded for certain things. Get enough victory points (from combinations of activities) and you finish the sector. This allows you to finish sectors with multiple varied activities, rather than focusing on one narrow activity.
- Additionally, it would be nice to have the drox guild spawn multiple missions, and you be able to choose which one to accomplish to get victory points. This makes these guild missions far more useful and meaningful.
- It also fixes the problem people had with drox guild missions. Rather than them being negative (do this or you lose), which people tend to dislike, you get to choose which ones you want to do for positive victory points.
- This is a great (and fairly easy) way to distinguish Drox 2 from 1.