This game has excellent logical structure. Make room for more chaos and unexpected events.

[Omni-Orb]

There will always be a divide where some players like chaotic, random or Act-of-God events, while other players like predictability and continuity while managing their empire growth.

A minor and only vaguely related current gameplay example would be the lockboxes rigged for releasing tracker mines stored inside. Some like these for spicing up the game, while others hate them as being an unforeseen game-over event outside of their control.

What you are mentioning is the evillest example that is made to kill the player by suprise. And it is possible to avoid by boosing if the player expects every lockbox to have a trap like this and is ready to boost.
Just because some players sometimes rage on the forums, doesnt mean that they hate the game or will quit. Teaching them how to survive such traps will help the situation.

[dtpsprt]

There will always be a divide where some players like chaotic, random or Act-of-God events, while other players like predictability and continuity while managing their empire growth.

A minor and only vaguely related current gameplay example would be the lockboxes rigged for releasing tracker mines stored inside. Some like these for spicing up the game, while others hate them as being an unforeseen game-over event outside of their control.

What you are mentioning is the evillest example that is made to kill the player by suprise. And it is possible to avoid by boosing if the player expects every lockbox to have a trap like this and is ready to boost.
Just because some players sometimes rage on the forums, doesnt mean that they hate the game or will quit. Teaching them how to survive such traps will help the situation.

These "trap" lockboxes are very easy to avoid or be extremely careful.

Spoiler

Show

They are only the 8 lock lockboxes with 100% hull.

All the player has to do is hit the final lock when it is facing away and run in reverse a bit. Even the NPC pilots re "imperivous" to them if they manage to open them that is, which is what many players do, they just order another ship (preferably armed with a central mining laser) and then either leave the "spoils" to the PHQ or they teleport to get them personally.

[Alan Phipps]

Heh, that was just an example that everyone eventually knows about (and how to handle) and not intended to derail the thread.

[Smart_Bomb]

Perhaps restructuring your idea around incursions. We already have wars and the species attacking each other, but I think you mean something more prolific and loud which isn't a bad thing; down side is that could ruin your ships and station in incursion space or kill you without much warning.

Other random events could be discussed too, but I would say work on one thing at a time and not add too much randomness at once or you may break the game with supply chain losses or whole economic crash.

First you would need some sort of bulletin board in space that announces an incursion or a way for the player to know he has entered incursion space.
Second, you would need a new global behavior option that tells your trader ships to avoid incursions and another for you military ships to respond or avoid incursion space.
Third, incursions need to make logical sense, not random attacks, it would have to be on relations between the new species or a response to a terrorist attack of something of that nature.

[ahostofissues]

Yahhh... problem is, developers seem to equate randomness with "randomly dangerous". I lost 45 min of tedious gameplay in an early stage game earlier today because a "very easy" lockbox mission was full of mines that destroyed my S ship because (secondary complaint) the aiming system from a ship with more than one gun is utter crap (when you have just one active).

I hate lockboxes so... damn... much. Earlier, a long while ago, I completely gave up on "data vaults" as utterly pointless wastes of time, now I'm giving up on lockboxes as "stupidly pointless idiotic missions that have a chance of destroying your ship."

The devs are good at writing code for simulations. For designing "interesting gameplay" they are much, much less good. It's a good game, I like it quite a bit, but there are elements that are just way, way, too "WTF?!"