Major changes and improvements from DW: Universe to Distant Worlds 2

[elxaime]

A couple of questions:

1. Can this be played multiplayer PBEM?
2. Is it turn-based or real time?

[LordMM]

ORIGINAL: elxaime

A couple of questions:

1. Can this be played multiplayer PBEM?
2. Is it turn-based or real time?

1. Unlikely
2. Real-time pausable.

[OrnluWolfjarl]

I'm very excited about this! I've been waiting for a new DW for years, ever since I saw you in this forum mentioning you were working on something "unofficially" all those years ago.

A couple questions if you can answer them please:

1. If I set the ship designer to automatically upgrade ship designs, will it pull up templates like in DW-U, or will it upgrade the components already installed by me? (I'd prefer the second one)

2. This is a complex one: Is it possible to have multiple designs of the same hull at the same time (e.g. the same destroyer hull, but one design acting as an escort and another with different weapons/modules acting as a screen ship) and have the game automation easily recognize them, keep track of them in their different fleet templates, upgrade their designs separately, and upgrade the ships according to their model line (instead of upgrading to the latest changed model)?

3. Can I customize the automation AI? For example, tell it that if I have X amount of credits/resources, then it should go ahead and build Y building in any planet it is able to? Or have my construction ship go and build mine stations on planets that have Z resource at W% availability only inside my borders, or this far from a certain colony?

4. Is there new music?

Thank you in advance, and sorry if these are too many questions!

[boolybooly]

Will there be changes to the way information is displayed to the player?

For example, a range finder, to tell distances on the map? Also range in fuel as a number in addition to the useful dotted line would be nice.

Might we see freighters etc cargo on their info panel? A few icons with mouseover numbers would help. Just because I cant control them does not mean I am not interested in what they are doing!

[thefinn12345]

> Fleets and Armies can now have defined templates and ships within a fleet will act according to their roles in fleet engagements, with some ships attempting to form an outer perimeter while close escorts stay with the capital ships focused towards the center. Fleets now also have more tactical settings and options to help fine-tune their control and automation.

I'd love to see armies be customizable much like ships/fleets. Make an army out of various units - I'm thinking along the lines of Aurora style - but simplified of course.

So you could have a command unit, then an AA unit and a supply unit and then some front line units all connected, much like building a ship out of different parts for a particular effect. DW1 had the best land combat I've seen in a space game to date - but the army side of things could do with a little love and become pretty awesome.

[Siddham]

You can do this to some extent using the troop loadouts options on troop ships and troop fleets

[Arcurus]

- Ship and Base Construction will now only commence once all required resources are available. This prevents incomplete construction waiting for resources to be delivered.

Not sure I love this one. In DW:U, it was sometimes salutary that an unfinished station would start mining. It's also more realistic to be able to start construction with no guarantee of being able to finish it. What I'd prefer to that would be a better prioritization for the private sector to bring the missing resources.

Fully agree. The problem in DW1 was that the private sector AI is a mess and did not deliver the resources to where needed most...

If resources are short AI should first prioritize mining stations that actually mine the needed resource. Even worse in DW1 at one point private sector just AI stopped delivering resources at all to mining stations that are waiting to be finished.
Also much needed resources where to be allowed to be traded away to other empires and the prices for much needed resources did not rise enough to create realistic prices where you can actually build the stuff.

In short private sector AI is / was a big mess in DW1 and being actually able to at least partially build some stuff was nice especially to build much needed mining stations. Even nicer it would have been if the ships could actually move once they have engines / reactor / crew and hull...

A button to give low / high priority for delivering resources would helped also a lot...

[StormingKiwi]

ORIGINAL: Arcurus

- Ship and Base Construction will now only commence once all required resources are available. This prevents incomplete construction waiting for resources to be delivered.

Not sure I love this one. In DW:U, it was sometimes salutary that an unfinished station would start mining. It's also more realistic to be able to start construction with no guarantee of being able to finish it. What I'd prefer to that would be a better prioritization for the private sector to bring the missing resources.

Fully agree. The problem in DW1 was that the private sector AI is a mess and did not deliver the resources to where needed most...

If resources are short AI should first prioritize mining stations that actually mine the needed resource. Even worse in DW1 at one point private sector just AI stopped delivering resources at all to mining stations that are waiting to be finished.
Also much needed resources where to be allowed to be traded away to other empires and the prices for much needed resources did not rise enough to create realistic prices where you can actually build the stuff.

In short private sector AI is / was a big mess in DW1 and being actually able to at least partially build some stuff was nice especially to build much needed mining stations. Even nicer it would have been if the ships could actually move once they have engines / reactor / crew and hull...

A button to give low / high priority for delivering resources would helped also a lot...

Isn't the issue that of a lack of feedback to the player?

The UI as demonstrated in screenshots and videos looks like it provides a lot of that feedback and is more user-friendly than the last iteration.

On the first examination, I don't think this is a good change or an improvement of the overall system. Whereas before the player only had to manage their credits resource, and so only had to keep that number front of mind, now they have to manage the stocks of each of the construction resources. It increases the cognitive load for the player without corresponding benefits.

E.g. In DW:U there are 19 strategic resources, including both fuels. So if DW:U had used the DW:2 construction process, the player would have to keep 19 fluctuating numbers front of mind, which might change differently from predicted because of the eccentricities of the private sector. There is a reason that strategy games restrict the number of resources the player has to manage to cognitively tolerable levels.

[deMangler]

The DWU way of constructing necessitated some thought as to how to position spaceports / storage so as to be able to support construction and avoid lots of half-finished projects. I enjoyed this. I might miss it.
I imagine that when considering this change in isolation it is impossible to know if there are complementary related mechanics that might fill that gap. I hope so.