Experimental Tech Tree - High Roller
Added 2021-04-18 11:47:11 +0000 UTCIf you're curious about what LiS HQ looks like currently then the answer is mind maps, lots and lots of connected ideas and annotations. Some of these aren't particularly well suited for publication but at the very least we should be able to give you some insight into a few that exist for player controlled ryders and their R&D upgrades.
The current thinking with upgrades is that those marked in red are a class of a specific function that can be achieved and would strengthen the unit's participation as a result.
Comments
@Q-Riff that makes a bit more sense.
Serf
2021-04-20 03:19:06 +0000 UTCi think you might be missing the point that there's a whole swathe of ability levels in the sunrider community. there have been difficulty levels throughout so far for that reason, and i see no reason why LiS would change what is one of their better decisions in that regard. i do like the hardpoint idea though, with randomness as well as set base gear. for example, first mission, since you're likely to only have the ryuvias (both of them? seems plausible, and possibly lynn as well), a guaranteed upgrade for sola's ryder, and one for asaga's, but with asaga's being random and sola's set. this way you get the randomness included, but also ends up the same hardpoint count. then it would practically limit the amount of (for example) armour on the support ryders because they just simply don't have that many armour slots. makes sense to me, but probably not where LiS were going at this stage of development. could also have hardpoint slots that have categories like armour, laser, missile storage, etc., that could make the ryders themselves more configureable, but i suspect that's beyond the level of detail LiS want to include in the game.
rob cathcart
2021-04-19 05:25:25 +0000 UTCI was thinking more like Starcraft II Nova covert ops (which only had nine missions). And there wasn't any randomness or chance involved in those. You got them as mission rewards for bonus objectives. I wasn't thinking random drops like in RPGs but very deliberate options with very deliberate limitations. Haven't you heard of "less is more"? Plus an equipment/hardpoint system fits more in line with mech games like Earthsiege, Mech Warrior/Mech Commander. It's because there are limited missions I suggested it. Rather than pondering which ryder to invest in and make people regret it no matter which choice. Take the pressure off make the missions do-able without the upgrades and the modules can just the nice extra add-ons. That would be easier to balance the maps around too.
Q-Riff
2021-04-19 03:31:01 +0000 UTCIf I follow what you're saying, in order to put say a missile upgrade on a mech, you have to have missile module to use, right? I'll be honest, I don't think that'd work for a game like Sunrider which is more likely than not going to have a definitive end and credit roll. More importantly, it's a game with a limited number of fights. If the game was more open world without an "end" (example: Skyrim, Witcher 3), or otherwise possessed a limitless number of encounters (example: Final Fantasy titles) then yeah, that'd work since there would be an infinite number of chances and opportunities for the player to get what they want. Given that Sunrider has a limited number of fights, leaving something like getting a "kinetic add-on" or a "missile add-on" to chance seems like a bad idea.
Serf
2021-04-18 21:50:59 +0000 UTCI hope i'm not being too meddlesome and intrusive here, but Might I suggest some sort of hardpoint upgrade system that uses modules. For example a missile upgrade module might be able to be installed in the High Roller or Calamity but not both unless you have two of them but some modules can be unique (only one of them) and modules could have different effects when the same module is installed on different ryders. I admit it might be harder to implement than just tweaking numbers but you since the options will be limited it could make balancing the levels easier. And this way the players choices can be made reversible so they don't regret making the wrong choices in their playthrough. You can also have modules as mission rewards...just some ideas i'm throwing out there.
Q-Riff
2021-04-18 20:17:31 +0000 UTC
