swixel wrote:DrkTemplar wrote:I'm only modifying XML data, but I do have solutions to the above mentioned issues. I would like to try and get a distributable copy out before going into this in more detail. Once there is a mod to play test, it will be easier to talk about balance. The gameplay will differ from the base game.
So given the limitations of the XML ... how are you going to handle maxing the ship out? It's presently possible to do if you do everything right ... but it makes everything short of the flagship boring if you pull it off (hell, I took out every rebel ship in a sector because it was possible to do it).
At present I've been messing with rebuilding the starmap every sector jump, restoring the game's view to it being sector 1, and then storing the real sector number elsewhere, but that's about as stable as a drunk on stilts ...
Max which Ship, the player ship?
If you mean the player's ship, they will "max" it in the same way they do in vanilla. Yes I do agree that a max out ship is basically more powerful than the random ship encounters you get in vanilla.
The goal is to make an environment where you can never be the top dog, and there will always be a bigger and buffer ship out there. When you run into those scenarios, you will likely need to run. Identifying those scenarios will be part of the strategy of surviving. One of the things I do not like about vanilla FTL is that as you progress the ships you run into all progressively get stronger. I find it more believable that you would run into all levels of ship strength as you explored. The point of this mod is 100% surviviability, not to get to an end boss. You will run into scenarios where your ship is much more powerful then your opponent, and scenarios where you are the weaker ship. You may have options to run away, or bribe the enemy ship to leave you alone. Maybe you run into a ship more powerful than yours and they demand your drones. Might be worth surviving to give up those drones, right?
In short, the events, and ships will all be modified to work with this mod. Will I be able to pull off balance and fun gameplay? That is yet to be determined, and will require users testing and providing feedback.