Hello everyone, I am
still powerless all-mighty Strategus developer Butan.
I wanted to start discussions about what kind of changes could be made on Strategus for a few weeks now, but I wanted a forum rank to make it more legit and Dupre gave it to me yesterday so here we go
I have still no access to direct development and should not have it before a few weeks, but it doesnt mean we cannot already think what to do for Strategus to become more enjoyable. Also note that everything discussed here is "possible to-do", not "will do for sure".
Also, bugs that needs to be fixed are of course on the list, and people that doesnt want to participate in Strategus in any case will not be interested in this thread.
As some know I have been prompted to join a strategus team that is made of me and Chy. Chy is the coder behind the STB add-on, I merely think of stuff and greatly enjoy the game even in his current form. I am sick like that.
I wanted to ask you what can be made to improve Strategus? At the same time I wanted to introduce myself and tell you my own answer to that question!
First, there is what the Strategus Tool Belt add-on was made for:
heavily modify the UI => all the interface interactions that are used to properly run a faction, manage the fiefs and economy, run battles and wars or do lonewolf shit
All this is way too cumbersome (even with STB on) and cost many man hours for sometimes a very bad result... like no roster, someone press cancel battle accidently, or forget to bring bows.
Even with a thorough interface, people can still fuck up in-game, but at least they wont feel the pang so much if they only had to put 10 minutes into bringing a battle to bear, compared to an hour or more.
My solution to this is lots and lots of helpful buttons, map mode, easily accessible stats, and readable lists.
For those that have used STB, you know how easier it is to transfer shit and manage inventory... But thats only the beginning.
I intend to put lots of data directly on the map, that is accessible elsewhere but impossible to put together.
Example ideas:
- every fiefs should have their loom list made map public (no more "where I buy this? fuck lets loom it ourselves because I'm not going to visit all the fiefs on the damn map to make sure")
- factions members inventory can be displayed directly on the map
- all dots on the map should have their data (name, troops, crates, faction, nighttime etc) directly displayed on dot instead of by click (via a separate map filter, or by default if possible)
- all fiefs on the map should have their data (name, population, troops, gold, S&D, prosperity, price, crime, freaking owner nightime) directly displayed on the map instead of by click (via a separate map filter, or by default if possible)
- all kinds of map filters to focus on different part of the game (military map filter? who is strongest where. prosperity map filter? who can trade with me, who can I pillage. geographical map filter? where exactly are cliffs, mountains, forests, where should I pass. etc)
- every data realistically accessible should be accessible within one internet window, one click away!
- even data that COULD NOT REALISTICALLY be accessible, should be accessible if it tremendously help produce actual gameplay!
- some eye candy if we can
Do you have any other ideas on UI modifications, shortcuts?
, but most important thing about the current Strategus:
make in-game Strategus battles easier to manage for the factions, more interesting to join for the mercs=> the Strategus battle application system itself needs to change so that battles are naturally balanced roster-size-wise, more rewarding for people to join and follow the flow
Easy fix would be to increase XP gained, and even gain strategus tickets.
Less easy fix would be to completely change the way people apply to participate in battles.
At the moment, the "max roster" is above what anyone can muster in terms of mercenaries, except in the smallest and most fuckingly uninteresting battles where anyway, nobody goes.
At the same time, if "max roster" is decreased, it can negatively impact the epicness of battles, and how battles (and especially sieges) are won or lost.
What I have concluded is that the current system need to be changed so that we find a way to include:
- minimum auto-balance-like
- mix of private mercs and pubs joining
- freeing build/hero restrictions participating in said strategus battles
- there is also the largely unused "item visibility" + "strat battle rank" that is largely unused and could be enhanced (probably noone will know what the fuck I am talking about)
And all this while retaining the semi-seriousness of the objective driven strategus battles, and rewarding people more while having to do less.
Do you have any other ideas on how to make strategus battles good with the current size of our community?
, actual changes to Strategus mechanics:
giving more options, modifying current ones=> some things are good, but could be better; some things make no sense, and need to go; some things arent there, we could make it...
I believe that 95% of Strategus is solid, I dont want to change the game, just make it better.
There is a few examples that I can think of:
- make silver lootable (when you win a battle, you win silver from the loser pocket)
- make troops capturable (when you win a field battle, part of remaining troops are yours)
- make retreat a good idea sometimes
- make cargo transport, cargo speed, more natural, more realistic and more comprehensible for trade and transport activities
- give more options for battle time to be "fair" (primetime encouraged)
- tweak unarmed parties (if unarmed, cant attack, auto-lose if attacked, no free gear ever)
- tweak free gear in fiefs (villages should have peasant stuff for population ticks, cities should have nobleman stuff for population ticks, castles should have very light soldier stuff for population ticks; but is not part of the fief inventory)
- possibly tweak crime to become a prosperity/garrison based formula instead of prosperity/S&D based (a very profitable +9999 prosperity fief of any kind would need x troops to be at 0% crime, a +200 prosperity fief doesnt need any) crime kills S&D and/or population instead of troops
- possibly add more "attack option" than attack/siege/raid or tweak existing
- possibly tweak looting, item degradation, goods/gear reselling price and discount system
- lots of ideas I forgot myself
Do you have any gameplay suggestion about the game itself?
There is probably a lot of stuff that in the end wont make it due to technical limitations, or simply because they are bad ideas in the end, and some other stuff might pop later and make it in.
There is also the real question of whether to implement all changes live in strat round 6 (and fuck up balance), or some of it, or none and wait for a new round?
I know some might see this thread as useless and strategus as dead forever, especially given the current circumstances, but I have faith, patience, time and a cooperative coder partner so lets go.
