Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: Shark7

When it comes to Ring Worlds and Dyson Spheres, I'm not so much in support of the player or AI being able to build them...

However, if there were ruins that the player or AI could find, repair and re-inhabit, then I could support it. Ancient technology that is only now being rediscovered etc.

Indeed, that could make it easy to limit it too. Like say only having 1 ring world or dyson sphere in the entire galaxy.
There'd have to be some sort of more elaborate random generation though, like the surrounding 2 light years being somehow "hard to cross", perhaps nebulae that slow the ships or vastly increases the fuel it requires to cross. Or simply only requiring the player to have max tech in a few tech trees in order to even attempt to colonize / repair it

Well a ringworld would be a population centre, that still grows at the normal population rate, I think as long as its at the end of the tech tree it would be fine to build.  I think it should take so long to build and research that you will probably never have more than one or two in a normal game anyway.  Certainly no need to have the area around it hard to get through, because then it would be pointless once aquired because everything going to it would be slowed down.  The Devastation Moon is a weapon capable of wiping out most enemies easily, a Ringworld would simply be like a colony with a higher potential in the long run, no need to make it harder to find/build than a Devastation Moon.

For any add on; I would definitely think it would add to the game to have a tagging system as someone else previously mentioned. As well as the ability to assign "missions" to fleets and such. I would love to be able to form fleets, station them around there home worlds and if anything comes up be able to just assign a mission to handle something for me with out having to micromanage it. Be it to just patrol and defend a system, or a group of systems, or keep pirates and other enemies out of a select system.
I've been creating fleets and assigning them to trade hubs. Be nice if they would auto respond to threats in there area or systems directly linked to the trade hub they are stations at. Or if I tag a system for an attack, my nearest fleet assigned for Offense would auto prepare and attack the system. Do what I assigned, go back, repair, refuel and wait for my next order.

What could prove even more interesting if said ring worlds were used as a system of 'jump gates' or 'wormhole generators' that would allow almost instant travel from one point on the map to the others. Fighting over control of them would then be a very strategic necessity. A system of 5-7 would be sufficient to cover the DW map, say 1 in the dead center and 1 in each corner, etc. Of course they would need to be in different places each game, but you see where this is going...

The Boskara are on the other side of the galaxy from me. They are billigerent, disgusting bugs with poor hygiene and even poorer manners. I have discovered a pair of jump gates that will cut the travel time for my fleet from months or even years to a matter of days or weeks. I send a prelimary force through the gate to secure both jump points, gather my assault fleet and kindly inform the Boskara that they will pay for their crudeness. Shortly thereafter, my large attack force arrives at their homeworld and procedes to glass the surface of it, before slipping back through the gate to safety.

Just an example, but you can see the possibilities. [:D]

An idea I had sometimes ago, to make the galaxy seem slightly bigger.  At the centre (at least on Spiral this would work anyway) a Super Massive Blackhole.  You can't fly through this and have to go around, increasing journey length, artificially making the galaxy seem bigger.

I agree with this review. I've only played a few missions into the western desert campaign but the game is engaging if a bit simple. Coming from those games junk2drive mentioned like panzer command and combat missions this game seems like a lite version of those but its still fun and more personal since you have a comical plot that goes along with each mission. I would not go as far to say that this is more for kiddies since some missions can be hard even on easy difficulty that require as junk2drive suggested tactics that usually only more mature players understand but its not by no means a simulation. I still think panzer command is my favorite wwII game here on Matrix and with all that game offers including a mission generator and map editor its really ahead of this game as far as replay goes but it does not have the multiplayer aspect as Battlefield Academy has. Achtung Panzer is one that has recently come out and I enjoy along with this game but there are differences (pros and cons) with each game.

ops, wrong forum. sorrry guys.

Well, I surprise to see that the ring world that we discuss is a kind of giant man made world that surround the star system. I thought it just a small ring world that surround a planet.

Rather than that gigantic ringworld, what about a floating colony? just like in the japanese animation series Gundam? It is smaller, surround a planet and has limited population. It can be used to conquer a star system that hasn't any habitable planet. A more tactical choice for this game.

I don't think anyone is advocating a huge ring that can surround a planet, much less a system. I think the consensus here is for a Halo-like ring world. Something that is more moon size at most, would have a limited population, and could further act as a very large battle station or have some other function such as a jump gate.

At some point things just get to be too big to be reasonably believable.

ring-worlds are cool and all, but i would be as happy with orbital habitats

I stand by my opinion that ring worlds and dyson spheres are ridiculously impractical.

Even if you had an army of nanobots constructing one it would likely take many thousands of years to construct or longer. And for what benefit over just teraforming a barren world?

The argument that regular worlds will be considered preserves is silly when you think of the number of barren worlds out there.

Just look this idea from the game play perspective.

If, the Ring World is a colony that surround a planet and has a limited population, then it is a good idea to implemented in the game.

I too like the terraforming idea to make the game more exciting. Just imagine if the players keep changing the nature of a planet that they have taken from the enemy.

The problem is that these two ideas have a very little effect to the gameplay when you have another races who could stay in the different type of planets. What is the purpose of these technologies then?

I think the developer should nerved down the capability to get bonus from the minor races when the players get them in the game. It will make the colony technology and any other expansion ideas useless.

By limit the expansion to the dominant species world type planets only, you could make the colonization technology more useful. Plus, you can nerve down the economic boom in the late game era. By this nerfed down, Terraforming and Ring World planet technologies will be useful in the game.Because people will seek new methods for their next expansion plan.

ORIGINAL: tornnight

I stand by my opinion that ring worlds and dyson spheres are ridiculously impractical.

Even if you had an army of nanobots constructing one it would likely take many thousands of years to construct or longer. And for what benefit over just teraforming a barren world?

The argument that regular worlds will be considered preserves is silly when you think of the number of barren worlds out there.

Okay; but don't underestimate the word "exponential". Exponentially self replicating nanites in conjunction with energy to matter conversion, using the star, and teleporter technology...maybe even some method we can't yet imagine.

Ringworlds and Sphereworlds(Dyson Spheres) SURROUND a star, not a planet.
Orbital habitats (Rings or Spheres) ORBIT a star and typically(in stories) have a diameter of several Earths and "a surface area of between 20 and 120 times that of the Earth (but comprising significanly less mass)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_(The_Culture)

Orbital illustration

(image)

View of the interior of the ring, showing side walls retaining the atmosphere.

ORBITAL.

A RINGWORLD would look similiar. A Ringworlds's arc into the sky would appear as a hazy line that thinned out and vanishes around the star. At night(shade/solar collecter rectangles) would be vaguely seen strait up while a slight stem would seem to be on the horizen. It would look like an arch other the world with maybe the sun hanging from the top, as described like the barbarin believed in the 'Ringworld' novel.

A SPHEREWORLD(Dysonsphere) might look like there is a hazy dome over the world.

(image)
A RINGWORLD would look similiar. A Ringworlds's arc into the sky would appear as a hazy line that thinned out and vanishes around the star. At night(shade/solar collecter rectangles) would be vaguely seen strait up while a slight stem would seem to be on the horizen. It would look like an arch other the world with maybe the sun hanging from the top, as described like the barbarin believed in the 'Ringworld' novel.

(image)
Ringworld

(image)
Ringworld

Ringworld engineering
The "Ringworld" is an artificial ring about one million miles wide and approximately the diameter of Earth's orbit (which makes it about 600 million miles in circumference), encircling a Sol-type star. It rotates, providing an artificial gravity that is 99.2% as strong as Earth's gravity through the action of centrifugal force. Ringworld has a habitable flat inner surface equivalent in area to approximately three million Earth-sized planets. The majority of the surface is land interspersed with shallow, freshwater seas. On opposite sides of the ring are two large deep saltwater oceans, placed in counterbalance to one another. One of the large oceans, known as the "Great Ocean", contains one-to-one maps of all of the inhabited worlds of known space. The "Other Ocean" has many maps of a single world: the Pak Homeworld. Walls 1,000 miles tall along the edges retain the atmosphere. The Ringworld could be regarded as a thin, rotating slice of a Dyson sphere, with which it shares a number of characteristics. Niven himself thinks of the Ringworld as "an intermediate step between Dyson spheres and planets."[5]

-Ringworld has a habitable flat inner surface equivalent in area to approximately three million Earth-sized planets.
-The Ringworld could be regarded as a thin, rotating slice of a Dyson sphere, with which it shares a number of characteristics. Niven himself thinks of the Ringworld as "an intermediate step between Dyson spheres and planets."

(I think of Ships and Orbital habitats as more common intermediate steps between planets and Ringworlds; like in 'The Culture' novels.)
Planets - Ships - Orbitals - Ringworlds - Sphereworlds/Dyson Spheres

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringworld

Ringworld books=excellent reading.

Please make carriers and fighters and bombers!!!!!

Like Wing Commander!

Greetings from Germany
Nico

Out of all the possibilities, my 3 ideal features in the expansion would be:

1) Planetside interaction. This could be visual representations of colony growth (observing it grow bigger, sim city style) where planet quality can also be visualised and the feeling of a universe with "life" can be seen on a planetary level. Ideally, this could be a platform for an additional expansion of planetside combat which would open up a whole new dimension to the game. This may need to be simplistic, but even still, I would love it!

2) Additional ship designs and components. As stated many times before: carriers, fighters, stealth ships (that have a stronger role in the game e.g. to create and execute ambush attacks etc) could be some examples of new ship designs. Expanding the weapon classes would also be great.

3) Plot expansion/continuation. Would be great to have a bunch of new discoveries regarding the history of the universe etc.