A few observations and questions

[Vanion2]

Thanks for all the warm welcomes from everyone. This game seems a pretty small but dedicated community. I have been playing for the better part of a week and have some observations/suggestions/questions.

First the observations. I have read most of the strategy guide minus the location of hidden planets and beacons (because I want to save those for myself). So as a complete noob here this is what I have come to understand.
1. Run - don't fight. I managed to get to the Rucker system and was getting pasted all over the place because I had to fend off wave after wave of enemy as I was making my mining runs. I had level 2 repairs and shield banks and I was getting chewed up in my Raven. Now I run level 5 shield banks, level 5 shields and level 3 repairs. Combined with familiar usage of Intertial running and after burners I can now fight off 4 enemies at a time if I don't get cocky.

2. Use those counter measures. I found shooting missiles easy to do but unless it's 1 on 1 drop those counter measures like skittles and focus on the ships firing them. Don't fly into a swarm of missiles either. Counter measures only do some much. Guns are a great way to clear a path and the enemy only has so many missiles.

3. Watch the news in the trading console to know what the value of your cargo will be if you are mining. But also know that by the time you are finished and get back to a port to sell them at the prices will have changed again. Platinum is your friend.

Now for a few suggestions to make the game a little more fun.
1. Mining is boring business (unless you are doing it where lots of enemies are hanging around). It would be nice if there was a scanner available to purchase that would show the density of materials in the asteroids for mining. IE a higher concentration of platinum increases the chances to get your bays filled quicker with that material. This would cut down on dumping load after load of metal and diamond when the prices are down.

2. Winamp support (or similar) built into the command console so you can play your own music while fragging enemies. mining asteroids, and hopping from system to system while hunting for beacons and such. I saw this in another game and found it very convenient (not that this would be too much of a problem for this game). Just a thought there.

And now for a few questions.
1. Can anti-matter be mined? If so, where do you mine it? It almost competes with Platinum for pricing.

2. The system coordinates only show 2 numbers. SX and SZ I believe? This threw me off for a while when trying to get around because the strategy guide did not specifically mention this...

Well, thanks in advance for any answers or pointers you folk might throw my way. I am sure as I play more questions will be forthcoming.

[Vice]

Suggestions:

1 - I would change this to 'can be boring to some'. Many players enjoy the relaxed peaceful nature of quietly mining and I have listened carefully to their requests to retain this quality. Many players specifically ask me to keep areas without hostiles so they can mine without combat requirements or interference. Manually sorting material is actually an action available to keep mining from becoming too 'automated', requiring actions from the player to keep them involved rather than just parking in a spot and letting the game play by itself. A scanner would further simplify the process, requiring less player exploration and gameplay in order to find desired material. Requiring the player to hunt for what they want and sort through what they don't want at least keeps mining a more interactive task.

2 - I'd recommend using the mod options to import your own music. You can then also set it to play specific tracks based on the level of action/hostility going on around you. I don't think there is a way I can 'plug-in' winamp support into the game with the develpment language I use, so either the mod options or running whatever media player you want in the background are the preferred options.

Questions:
1 - No, they are devices, not a material. They must be purchased, acquired in a trade, or recovered from containers in open space.

2 - System coordinates you are controlling are displayed. When the map is in overhead mode, that is SX and SZ. When it is is rear view mode, it is SX and SY. Likewise for in-sector coordinates X, Y, and Z. The strategy guide does actually provide a good explanation on how this works:

From that overhead perspective, the SX value represents sectors to the left or right. -1 SX would be one sector to the left of the 0 SX sector. 1 SX would be one sector to the right of the 0 SX sector. The SZ value represents sectors up or down, which are sectors ahead or behind. As you move the mouse pointer over the various sectors displayed, you'll see the sector's coordinates on the left side of the navigation console. Click on Rear View to flip the map from an overhead view to a view from behind. This lets you see the vertical SY sectors. SX still represents left and right sectors in the Rear View mode, but up and down are now SY sectors.

[Vanion2]

Fair enough. Everyone has their perspective on what is fun to do and I respect that.

My suggestion of a scanner wasn't to take the need to beam up materials out of mining...only to help increase your chances of finding a higher density of raw materials in a given asteroid. For it to work you would have to fly close enough to an asteroid to scan it (like scanning a ship for its cargo). That would be its only advantage for mining. Again...it was just a thought.

Thanks for the update on the coordinate system. I did figure out what you meant...it just took me a bit at first. Once you get the knack of it it makes sense being space is 3D after all.

And my suggestions were just that. I like the game and will continue to play it even without any further add ons. Also, I appreciate that fact the the "creator" of the game actually responds to these posts. It is a new experience in and of its self.

What about the possibility of being able to save while under contract? That has bitten me hard a couple of times because I foolishly forget. Of course, it helped me out a couple of times too when the market price for a cargo went up after restoring so maybe leave that one alone.

[Edited on 11-2-2008 by Vanion2]

[MMaggio]

Lots of "new experiences" around here Vanion 2. You'll note that Vice responded in less than an hour. His best time yet is less than 15minutes, iirc.
But that's not all, he listens to all suggestions and often implements them into the game in just a few short days. Evo R is a constantly evolving experience and is kept updated regularly based on player suggestions.
In MP, you will find a bunch of really nice guys who will randomly blow you to dust, or alternately, take you by the hand to help you locate the "goodies" if that is your wish.
Welcome aboard and keep thinking...

[Vice]

My suggestion of a scanner wasn't to take the need to beam up materials out of mining...only to help increase your chances of finding a higher density of raw materials in a given asteroid. For it to work you would have to fly close enough to an asteroid to scan it (like scanning a ship for its cargo). That would be its only advantage for mining. Again...it was just a thought.

The mechanics of how that would work are pretty similar to how 'hunting' with the mining beam works now. That is, you can gauge the content of asteroids by what is recovered. And you'll likely discover, if you haven't already, that some clusters do provide that particular high value commodity most or all of the time. If the scanner did it, then you could just fly close to get an answer. By having to fly close and actually dig into the asteroid to find out what's there, it requires a little more interaction and player involvement (something I strive for in the game's design).

Also, I appreciate that fact the the "creator" of the game actually responds to these posts. It is a new experience in and of its self.

I appreciate the comments and feedback. I may post a counter-point to a suggestion, but it doesn't mean I am discounting the idea entirely or disagree with it. I often post an opposing viewpoint to explore an idea from different perspectives in an effort to establish the potential effects, both positive and negative, to make sure an idea is good for the game and is something most players actually want. That kind of review, discussion, and debate is an important part of the development process and the game is hopefully better for it. So again, thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts and suggestions.

What about the possibility of being able to save while under contract? That has bitten me hard a couple of times because I foolishly forget.

That was a possibility, but I'm not certain as to the reason it was intentionally left out. I think it primarily had to do with keeping challenge at a particular level by removing a potential cycling respawn exploit. Likewise, it also has to do with how a player's contract conncetion link in multiplayer is terminated if they do not survive until the contract is successfully completed.

[tha_rami]

Hey, Vice - he does make an interesting point with the economical news being extremely short-spanned. Could the economic system be slowed down?

[Vanion2]

Originally posted by tha_rami
Hey, Vice - he does make an interesting point with the economical news being extremely short-spanned. Could the economic system be slowed down?

I don't mind the variations in the market but if it takes me 20 minutes round trip to mine an asteroid and try to sell my cargo the prices are always different by the time I sell versus the posted price in the news. Again...sometimes it works for me...sometimes against. In the end I just end up filling all 5 bays with platinum to cut out the risk factor. It takes a little longer but seems to score me about a million a run.

[tha_rami]

Yeah, but it also takes out the purpose of checking the news in the first place, eh? I mean, if the system takes about 10-20 minutes to change rigorously, it would be much more logical.

With the current system, economic prediction is somewhat strange a thing. If prices are currently high, chances are they still will be in a few minutes.

[Edited on 2-11-2008 by tha_rami]