Things we'd like to see in the next patch

[Mylon]

I'd like to see an infinite research tree. Something one can pour excess research points into for marginal improvements of resource production, weapon damage, supply storage, armor/shield use, ect. The levels of course get progressively more demanding of research points and only provide marginal improvements, but it'd be something for a research based race to go on late in the game. A single mineral producing facility that changes production based on tech might be more appropriate than a separate type of facility for each level.

Sattelite and mine limits: Satellites should be limited by a matter of maintenance, not some arbitrary number. Mines should be a bit more abstract in use to easily allow more than 100. Stars! uses mines in a percentage chance of hitting mines based on speed. Minefields also decay naturally. Thus, mining an area shouldn't be a guarantee of destruction of the enemy, nor should a single minesweeper be guarentee of safety of a fleet.

[Zanthis]

Speaking only on the topic of research, I'd like the following:

• Make divide points not waste points when projects are near completion. Instead, pool extra points and redivided them. Same for the remainder in the case of uneven division. Hate having 10,000rp and dividing over three projects and getting 3,333rp in each. Unless I'm mistaken, doesn't the AI always use divide? This would help it out too.
• Set an option in Settings.txt or the game config screens that allows us to choose diminishing returns for research. In other words, the more rp you dump into a project, the less actual rps it gets. Just for example, using: RP * 0.95^(RP/10000) would yield a 5% loss for every 10000 rps in a single project (that is, 20000 rps would yield 5% less than 10000 rps).
• The ability to restrict a tech from someone with a racial tech. The existing value in the TechArea.txt file for specifying a racial tech could be used, just switch to flags instead of numbers. So instead of 1-5 for racial techs, use 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16. Then use 32, 64, 128, 256 and 512 for a racial tech restriction. So, if making a tech available to Organic is 2, restricting from those with Organic would be 64. Just add numbers together to get multiple restrictions/permissions (i.e., 992 would mean no one with a racial tech could access that technology).
• And if it isn't already possible (keep forgetting to check), make it so a racial techs can have a starting level, thereby granting said tech to only those allowed to access it in the first place.
  

That's my quick list for reseach improvements.

[oleg]

Originally posted by Zanthis:
Speaking only on the topic of research, I'd like the following:[list][*]Make divide points not waste points when projects are near completion. Instead, pool extra points and redivided them. Same for the remainder in the case of uneven division. Hate having 10,000rp and dividing over three projects and getting 3,333rp in each. Unless I'm mistaken, doesn't the AI always use divide? This would help it out too.

AI research like humans - it never divide point equally. Regardless of how many projects you programed it to keep in research queue. MM get this aspect right.

[Ratqueen]

The first things that come to mind for me are:

1. Sticky options to start the game (drives me nuts to have to reset my favorite settings every time I start a game!)

2. Ability to select exactly which techs and levels we want to start a game with (as it was in SE3.)

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Ratqueen:
The first things that come to mind for me are:

1. Sticky options to start the game (drives me nuts to have to reset my favorite settings every time I start a game!)

You have my vote!

[tbontob]

Originally posted by Mylon:
I'd like to see an infinite research tree. Something one can pour excess research points into for marginal improvements of resource production, weapon damage, supply storage, armor/shield use, ect. The levels of course get progressively more demanding of research points and only provide marginal improvements, but it'd be something for a research based race to go on late in the game. A single mineral producing facility that changes production based on tech might be more appropriate than a separate type of facility for each level.

.

One way of doing this for ship components is to have miniturization occur after the basic research for a particular component is completed. This would allow us to cram more components into a ship.

[Unknown_Enemy]

a "50" button in the transfer menu.

Simple, but still lacking.....