Subset Games Forum

If you're looking for an alternative way to get to the crystal sector, then how about something inside the nano-cloud? Something about the nano-bots having found their own jumpgate to the hidden sector, where they would expand and consume even more.

What I like the most about it is that it wouldn't necessarily unlock the crystal ship... unless you also have a Crystallite on board, which should give you a blue option that WOULD trigger the quest.

So this means that, if you're brave enough to venture into the nanoclouds, you could a)Enter the secret sector without the Crystal ship quest, which is good because it's varied, and b)Extend the Rock Homeworld step of the Crystal SHip quest to the AI Overrun sector type, and since both are unique red sector types that appear only late in the sector graph, as long as you're aiming for those late red sectors, you have more chances of finding one of the two.

For added effect though, maybe randomise the nanocloud jumpgate so it doesn't always take you to the secret sector, unless you've got the Crystallite, who should do something like "Feel a resonance with his body THAT way!", upping the chances to 100%.


As for the Hazard sectors... since those aren't late-game exclusive (more like mid-game, IIRC), and since you might have scerwed yourself if you entered a purple-heavy branch of the galaxy graph, what if said sector type contains an alternative to the pad-awakening step of he quest? Like, I dunno, a lightning falls upon the pod and IT'S ALIVEEE!

EDIT: On the Basilisk and the Clone Lab... yeah, I think it's OP. I mean, it's fine without it, considering you can converse with a mantis at evgery empty beacon for some chances of another Mantis.

You could make it start with Drone Control and a Missile Defense Drone MkI. That would protect agains one of every two missiles in the first sector, and it would also prevent you from automatically getting a better defense drone when buying Drone COntrol otherwise.

Keep the cloning lab on the mantis B for crying out loud FINALY I can do something with this ship again. If its OP just dont use it /use the time to communicate with the crew.

I had to try the Onboard* Clone Lab (*I'd leave out the hyphen). I had two clones at most, because the game kept giving me Mantises! I had an Engi and six Mantises - one clone got blown up by a sneaky shuttle bomb, then I got another Mantis. I stopped using the Clone Lab, leaving the last spot for a different species, which was another Engi, which I then dismissed for a Human. I rotated Mantises until all were 2* in combat. Could've sold the Clone Lab, but I kept it around just in case.

Is there a way to check if there's already a "Clone" on board, so that the next one is "Clone2," and so on? Just wondering.

Don't Vengeance shards pierce all shields, but only do one damage? And I presume they can be shot down. Even if the aug works 100% of the time, I'm not excited about it.

I got these from 1.094, but I'm going to list them, anyway:

'You get the ship into a holding position and power up the clone lab. "Eh, tubes* and growth enhancers ready** sir." ' - 1) I'd use "Uh" or perhaps "Um," and I don't think one would say that tubes are ready; how about "cloning vat"?; 2) add comma after "ready."

'A small ship appears on the system map. The sector-archive* lists the ship as a local pirate,** their attached crime-file is long***. "Unidentified cruiser.**** Surrender or you will be destroyed." ' - 1) sector archive; 2) remove comma; 3) "with a long rap sheet" sounds better IMO; 4) replace period with comma, lower case "surrender."

"The Engi asks if you require anything specific from it. You decline* and the being...." - I would use "You do not, and the being ...." (notice the added comma).

"A sleazy fly-by* diner waits for customers at this beacon...
1. Dock** the station for space-food*** ...." - 1) I thought this might be a ship that flies around a system, feeding people, but since it's a station, this doesn't make sense; maybe you were looking for "fly-by-night"? (which, come to think of it, doesn't make much sense in space); 2) Dock with; 3) "space food"?? I don't really like this term; maybe use "for a meal marginally better than shipboard rations."

"This planet is densely populated and orbited by several Rebel shipyards. ... RS 'Suck It Up'.* ... now.".** - 1) period inside quote; 2) remove extra period after quote.

"A Mantis vessel flahes past your view-screen*...." - viewscreen

Sector name: "No-mans Land" - No Man's Land

Store: "An unlicensed zero gravity drug-den* orbits...." - drug den

"Once you arrive, your screen lights up with warnings. A nearby pirate seems to have* advanced hacking tools and they have tried to shut down our** engines. Your crew manages to keep them barely operational*** and you move in to attack." - 1) why "seems to have"? why not just "has"?; 2) your; 3) add comma after operational.

"Your scans show a small Engi-halo* at this beacon, but as you hail them** a Mantis appears ... The alien stares at you for a few seconds in surprise*** and no one says a word until**** the station cuts communications...." - 1) Engi halo; 2) add comma after "them"; 3) add comma after "surprise"; 4) if the station cuts comm, then "until" doesn't make sense; I'd put a period after "word" and start a new sentence, "Then the station cuts...."

"The fighting has died down in this system. A large assortment of still glowing scrap-hulks* marks the site of a major battle." - scrap hulks.

Maybe the clone lab should have a small clone failure propability? The cloning cost is okay, but still one can fill his ship with mantis in one or two sectors.

Sleeper Service wrote:I'm authorized to use sanmunkos stuff, but I don't want to use it for the title screen. Feels like I show off with other peoples work.

Considering, that you're already using stuff from "Better Planets and Backgrounds" for PDS events, it wouldn't be bad at all to use it for menu, too After all, You're showing some new things there (stations, satellites), so even if someone doesn't use BPAB, it would look like a hint toward PDS

BTW, giving credit to artist's in menu screen is really nice idea, kudos for that.

Sleeper Service wrote:Some things that are planned for that:
- An alternative, rare quest to get a Crystal Crewmen, probably linked to the Crystal encounter in the Hazard Sector
- Giving Rock controlled sectors a chance to have a Crystal jump gate

Good ideas - is there a way to ensure, that jump gate in rock sectors (IF it appears there) will get marked as quest, just like with Rock's Homeworld? You know, linking marking it as quest with not-100% chance of it appearing in generic rock sectors.

Or, is it a feature, that you can find it accidentally in generic rock sector (and then get crystal crewmember blue event, or just scrap it for... scrap, or get attacked by rock, or other things related to that event), but in rock Homeworlds, the gate is 100% guaranteed and marked as quest, because it's the gate that Crystal crewmember is aware of? Seems logical.

Mr. Mister's idea about *some* other plausible, very dangerous places for wormhole generator are good too, (although, I'm not entirely sympathetic toward the "nanobots discovered it by themselves" explanation, and surely don't like the lightning "IT'S ALIVE!" part).

Sleeper Service wrote:Concerning the Basilisk Clone-Lab:
Do you think that the ship was allright before? Cause I felt pretty alone with that opinion last week... I guess you can never make everybody happy. Enjoy the Broodship while it lasts.

Hey, i answered that - IMO - it was OK. The clone lab is OP to have from the beginning in this ship, but OTOH, Rock A with ammunition production... I'm sitting on the fence here - it seems nicely fitting lore-wise for that ship, but makes it definitely VERY overpowered. OTOH, nerfing cloning augment (for example, giving it high chance of failure) would make the augment itself underpowered for other ships, while obtained/bought. Hm...

Cheers,
/Estel

I just wanted to say thank you for your great work! I am having so much fun with the mod. Keep it up!

I've downloaded all the required files about five times and put them in the mod folder in slipstream mod v1.4 and they don't come up on modman.exe, I don't know what to do, can anyone help? I really want to try this mod.

CorrosionX wrote:I've downloaded all the required files about five times and put them in the mod folder in slipstream mod v1.4 and they don't come up on modman.exe, I don't know what to do, can anyone help? I really want to try this mod.

The mofile is working. This might be slipstream or java related? I'm no expert on that. You might want to ask for help in the slipstream thread.

Oh well, it got late. Lets talks about how engineering works later...
Have fun with the new update for now.

1.095
- Engineering options for empty beacons added, allows to customize the ship into certain directions
(mostly augment related)
- Some vanilla and new some CE augments slightly changed to make them fit better into engineering
- Production augment options unified
- Production augment options are now all controlled by a single sub menu
- Mantis escape pod outcomes fixed
- One wrong Zoltan blue option fixed
- Alternative way to get a crystal crewmen added
- Ancient devices can be found in Rock controlled sectors as well now, but might not be functional
- A few blue options for the Federation Cruiser added
- Refuelling Station surrender fuel reward fixed
- Station encounter surrender betrayal list implemented
- Minelayer drones can be used to place minefields now
- Most combat drones can now be left behind at empty beacons to harass the Rebel fleet
- Manufacturing ammo aboard the ship is slightly cheaper now
- Three pieces of very situational gear added, only available at the nebula weapons dealer
- Some typos corrected
- CE for Player Ships Addon updated

Another little bug: at the event where you fight the federation station that "has been in rebel hands for three standard weeks", when they surrender it gives you the option for the zoltan surrender, even when you aren't using the zoltan ship.

Thanks you for new update! Looking forward to check new stuff, maybe my crystal ship finally awaits me

Sleeper Service wrote:- Most combat drones can now be left behind at empty beacons to harass the Rebel fleet

Huh, that doesn't seem logical in lore context. Combat drones are controled from short-range drone control, and deactivate, when ship using them jumps away/get destroyed. If anything, leaving drone would give rebel fleet a free (micro) scrap reward

Besides it gives unnecessary (IMO) OP to keeping a dummy drone system with dummy drone on board (just for this one purpose, never to be used in fight). I haven't noticed drone control being UP, does it really need boosting?

Sleeper Service wrote:- Manufacturing ammo aboard the ship is slightly cheaper now

IIRC, it was already cheaper, than buying in shops, even in sector 1 (where ammo/fuel/drones are cheapest). It was, on average 8 missiles for 2 scrap, ~3 scrap per missile (vs. 4 scrap per missile in shops, in sector one - later, it becomes 6 and 8 in shops).

Being even cheaper no, doesn't it sound a little OP, again?

/Estel