- Joined
- Aug 8, 2021
- Messages
- 4
I'm not a fan of the engine/reactor tiering system. The progression feels artificial to me, locking you behind strictly inferior components until you spend X hours in the game.
I think thruster progression could be made much more fun by expanding upon the existing gas/electricity converter system. This could also dramatically increase the flexibility of thrusters. For example:
There are no engine tiers. Instead, engines are upgraded using Converters which are unlocked later in the tech tree. Converters are expensive to craft and often require exotic materials to produce to preserve a sense of crafting progression. Box and triangle thrusters have two slots for converters. Both slots accept Basic Converters, but only one slot will accept Advanced Converters. Converters can be mixed and matched between slots that fit them.
Basic Converters (unlocked early/mid in the tech tree):
- Gas Converter: Reduce gas consumption. Tints the engine exhaust green.
- Electricity Converter: Reduce electrical consumption. Tints the engine exhaust blue.
- Thrust Converter: Increase thrust. Tints the engine exhaust red.
Advanced Converters (unlocked mid/late in the tech tree):
- Magnetoplasmadynamic Converter: Reduce thrust but also dramatically reduce gas consumption. Makes the exhaust stream silent and nearly invisible.
- Thermonuclear Converter: Eliminate electrical cost, but this converter contains a fuel rod that gets depleted over time so the converter must be replaced periodically. The converter needs to be "warmed up" just like a fuel chamber to produce max thrust. Makes the engine exhaust brighter.
- Combustion Converter: Dramatically reduce electrical cost and increase thrust, but the attached engine also requires a new (and very heavy) oxidizer resource and does not produce thrust unless the throttle is greater than 50%. Very loud and tints the engine exhaust bright yellow.
I think thruster progression could be made much more fun by expanding upon the existing gas/electricity converter system. This could also dramatically increase the flexibility of thrusters. For example:
There are no engine tiers. Instead, engines are upgraded using Converters which are unlocked later in the tech tree. Converters are expensive to craft and often require exotic materials to produce to preserve a sense of crafting progression. Box and triangle thrusters have two slots for converters. Both slots accept Basic Converters, but only one slot will accept Advanced Converters. Converters can be mixed and matched between slots that fit them.
Basic Converters (unlocked early/mid in the tech tree):
- Gas Converter: Reduce gas consumption. Tints the engine exhaust green.
- Electricity Converter: Reduce electrical consumption. Tints the engine exhaust blue.
- Thrust Converter: Increase thrust. Tints the engine exhaust red.
Advanced Converters (unlocked mid/late in the tech tree):
- Magnetoplasmadynamic Converter: Reduce thrust but also dramatically reduce gas consumption. Makes the exhaust stream silent and nearly invisible.
- Thermonuclear Converter: Eliminate electrical cost, but this converter contains a fuel rod that gets depleted over time so the converter must be replaced periodically. The converter needs to be "warmed up" just like a fuel chamber to produce max thrust. Makes the engine exhaust brighter.
- Combustion Converter: Dramatically reduce electrical cost and increase thrust, but the attached engine also requires a new (and very heavy) oxidizer resource and does not produce thrust unless the throttle is greater than 50%. Very loud and tints the engine exhaust bright yellow.