Complex Design Control and User-friendliness

[SirDeity]

I hope they make Rebirth with more user-friendly complex design. It was a little time consuming having to drag everything in place using a tractor beam. It'd be more ideal if we could use a special onboard ship software package for the sole purpose of user-friendly complex designs, then you can simply transfer the resources (materials, credits, assigned construction vessels) and order the construction which would automatically occur over time. I'm sure there are players who'd still want to do everything entirely manually, but it'd be great to give the option to players like myself who don't have as much time to play. I like the additions I've read about so far though.

[Hurracane]

That's... actually how it's going to work, Bernd said that once you have the station, building more just requires you to get resources.

[BigBANGtheory]

Automation is all well and good but you still need a powerful interface to relay your instructions that the AI can't handle or doesn't execute in the way you want.

There in lays the key to X:R gameplay improvements i.e. automation and communication. I guess we'll beta test it when the game is released

[jernaugurgeh]

I'll echo the sentiment around automation. I'd love to see something that allows me to save complex / factory templates, so I can just tell my station manager "build this again", or "add this module template here...".

In TC a lot of my complexes would be the same, or at the very least be based on the same core set of factories. Each time I had to build a new one I still had to position each station manually rather than simply instructing whoever to "copy that station over there".

I think this would really improve the trade empire building side of things as I can spend my time analysing station and trader performance rather than spending hours positioning stations.

I know complex building in XR will be totally different to TC so referring to the earlier game is a little pointless but it illustrates the idea.

[Virtualaughing]

We already have cargospace compression technology right? In theory we don't need twice as big factory to build twice as much stuff within same time period. Takes whatever ammount of time it takes but we need a solution to replace the Tractor beam method to transport our already build factories/complexes.

[jester6225]

well reading the stickies about building complexs we now buy an initial builder ship, tell it where to move to, land and decide what to build. ( would be nice to be able to manually adjust the axis etc but i doubt it).

As stations will be modular then you just add to the first you build when having gathered the materials required.

Due to the modular system it would be logical to assume you will have some sort of design interface screen where you choose which direction from the original building you expand and then each subsequent module from the whole existing building.

I mean looking at the trailer video there are multi layered buildings ie mostly flat then some that go up and down and then modules attached to them.

The only thing i hope is that through npc communication and said station design interface (if it exists) you can choose what to build after the initial module from anywhere in the universe, you don't have to fly to the existing complex to add to it, much like in tc where you had to fly transport and empty it out of the cargo bay. (if you never used the mods available to do out of system placement).

[ConCorDian]

i do like the look of the new station building system, my worry is on how complicated it could become in order to do it, before with the tube system it ment wares could be transfered anywhere on the complex, but now it looks more like it flows in a production line, which could potentially make certain expansions or some of our larger complexs harder to achieve as you may need to plan for it more.

[wwdragon]

No worries. One of the pictures from the weekly thread showed tubes for X:R, as well. So we'll be able to move stuff all over the place.

I suspect things in-station will also be freely moved around, so that we don't have to actually put anything in order. Even complexes from X3:R and TC didn't require any specific order.

[Vayde]