Stars in Shadow

Discussion regarding the Outsider webcomic, science, technology and science fiction.

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Karst45
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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by Karst45 »

Arioch wrote:
ShadowDragon8685 wrote:How does one disable/board a ship? I never bothered, as it seemed to me to be far, far too much work and risk for far too limited payoff. Can you target specific parts of an opponent's vessel to attempt to disable them, or do you just have to hope RNGesus smiles on you before the craft goes the way of Winter Tide?
Weapons fire can destroy engines, but there is no way to currently do so on purpose. Limpet missiles and EMP missiles can be used to disable a ship without destroying it, though it seems that Limpets are not currently in the game for some reason. There are more boarding options planned (such as transporters with the Matter Transport tech), but we haven't talked about it recently and so the plans aren't firm at the moment.
Currently the Shuttle can do boarding action on shielded mobile target.

Btw why dont the raid kill crew member too? I understand that capture is to allow you to claim the ship and thus you reduce their crew. but couldnt Raid just kill ennemy crew but with a lower loss for your marine. I mean your not trying to hold a position, just doing hit and run, you dont try to reach high value area (aka the bridge/engineering) so it would make sens that you would loose less people if your just picking up target of opportunity without care for collateral damage

p.s. also never leave an "assit / intercept or ignore" panel unanswered and skip to the next round, bugged the hell out of my game :D

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Arioch
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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by Arioch »

A raid is an operation in which you target ship systems and then run. The enemy crew is what's fighting back, so in a raid, you attempt to avoid them. Attacking the enemy crew is what you do in a normal boarding attempt.

At least, this is what I assume Sven had in mind. I had nothing to do with the design of the boarding mechanism (except the addition of assault marines).

flakface
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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by flakface »

Loving this game. Love the music, the art, the strategy. It's definitely one of my favorites.

Are there any wallpapers one can use? XD

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Arioch
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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by Arioch »

flakface wrote:Are there any wallpapers one can use? XD
There are some here:
https://ariochiv.deviantart.com/gallery ... -in-Shadow

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cacambo43
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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by cacambo43 »

This has finally fallen into affordability for me: $9.99 at Steam until 3/25... it's DL'ing now!

CJSF

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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by Username »

Speaking of Stars in Shadow; Are you still doing Assets for Sven Arioch? I'm thinking another race or maybe more varied events or something ?

Supposedly there is more DLC on the way yes ?

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Arioch
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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by Arioch »

Username wrote:Speaking of Stars in Shadow; Are you still doing Assets for Sven Arioch? I'm thinking another race or maybe more varied events or something ?

Supposedly there is more DLC on the way yes ?
Yes, we're still working on Stars in Shadow (we just released a patch this past Monday). Our plan is to spend a few months improving the base game (AI, diplomacy, tactical UI) before moving on to another DLC with a new playable faction.

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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by Username »

Cool !

The Diplomacy mechanic definitely seems like it could use some work, though I really like how there isn't a diplomatic consequence for swiping planets in npc systems, or for helping out sworn enemies behind their backs :lol:

I know you guys have been trying to stay original with races but I was really wishing for a feline-like race to play.

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Arioch
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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by Arioch »

Username wrote:I know you guys have been trying to stay original with races but I was really wishing for a feline-like race to play.
What sort of gameplay characteristics do you image for a feline race?

Perhaps they could be subtle and stealthy instead of the usual stock "warrior cat" race.

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dragoongfa
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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by dragoongfa »

Go full Cat mode with absolutely everything:

1) Natural diplomacy bonus because they are cats. Cat's are attractive to us not because of their usefulness and (dis)loyalty but because they have a damn bacteria that affects human brains.
2) Glass cannon warships. Most cats aren't brawlers and they don't fare well in protracted fights and pursuits.
3) High population growth because they are cats.
4) Lower than average production because they are cats, insert catnip technology to slightly increase that.
5) The A.I. should be diplomatically Catty, asking and offering gifts

In short the theoretical cat race should be ideally positioned to pursue the diplomatic victory goal. They won't conquer the universe, the universe will vote for them to be the leader.

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icekatze
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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by icekatze »

hi hi

The cats that I know are pretty lazy. Maybe a feline race would come with a worker robot/underling race that is more productive in industrial areas? :P

Seriously though, it seems like the Gremak already fill the role of stealthy, and the Orthin and Yoral have big guns well in hand. Maybe they could have an emphasis on fighters? Or even more wildly out there, they could enter battles from non-standard starting points? (Like when a third party comes in from the side, they are tactically reckless.)

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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by Username »

dragoongfa wrote:Go full Cat mode with absolutely everything:

1) Natural diplomacy bonus because they are cats. Cat's are attractive to us not because of their usefulness and (dis)loyalty but because they have a damn bacteria that affects human brains.
2) Glass cannon warships. Most cats aren't brawlers and they don't fare well in protracted fights and pursuits.
3) High population growth because they are cats.
4) Lower than average production because they are cats, insert catnip technology to slightly increase that.
5) The A.I. should be diplomatically Catty, asking and offering gifts

In short the theoretical cat race should be ideally positioned to pursue the diplomatic victory goal. They won't conquer the universe, the universe will vote for them to be the leader.
LOL I was thinking more along the lines of The Emirates Hacan from Twilight Imperium, Regal and opulent traders who don't get their hands dirty.
Obliviously you already have the Phidi as the master traders and having two trading races might be a bit much. However that could play into the fun as well, the fish traders and the cat traders would feud maybe ? I really love the back story and interchange between different races
(Gremak vs Ashdars) and that could be fun for the Phidi since all they are is Naive rich fish basically.

I had a run recently where I found the most War happy Phidi NPC I've ever seen, they were locked in a war with the Teros for the entire game and had a huge fleet of carriers up until I got around to them. :lol:
Seeing them get angry and fighting is more interesting for me then peaceful traders,then again I almost always conquer the entire map as my win condition. :D

Aside from the Glass cannons good ideas dragoongfa. :)

I think a feline themed race should be good all around combat wise (maybe a slight handicap) but prefer to not get scratches on their big luxury star-liners and warships. One interesting way you could do it is have them be an outside race with no Homeworld like the Humans, this plays into them being nomadic traders (with bonus starting trade ships to boot), I do find the Human start very challenging and think another race with a similar intro would be nice.

If not a Feline race maybe at least another mammalian themed race, after the Tinkers I want to see something organic. Ooh now there's another Idea. An (admittedly) hard to implement organic blob race or something with organic ships. Perhaps a silly idea since we already have the Herald and the harpies. :oops:

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Re: Stars in Shadow

Post by fredgiblet »

$10 on GoG right now.
$8.49 on Steam

Both have the DLC for $2.49

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