Suggestion for next "mini" DLC

[thedavid]

I like the Hyperion. Some people say it is too much or too little story but I just accept it as it comes. I'm looking forward to again killing Boso's captors with the new ship.

(Side note, I wish I got "Head of a Split" when I save Boso. I could hang it on my wall in my office.)

Anyway, my suggestion for a new "mini" DLC is this: After the DLC is installed and the player starts the game the ship with a pilot comes to comm the player. The pilot can say any number of things. I heard of your great deeds and I want to pledge my loyalty to you. Or I'm down on my luck and need a job, so are you hiring. I'm retiring from adventuring so I don't want to pay the taxes on this ship anymore, so can you take it off my hands. After a quick conversation the player gets the ship and gets the blueprint.

Now, if the player ever has to start over, then the ship will be there. Ether popping into existence next to the player like the Erlking or with another quick conversation.

Now, if Egosoft offers two or three of these mini DLCs at a time, then a player will think they can just choose the one they want and not buy the others. This means the player made a choice to not buy the other ones. If the ships are release one at a time then it is likely that many more of the player base will end up buying EVERY SHIP.

Another "mini" DLC Egosoft could offer is a prebuilt station. After install the player automatically gets all the blueprints for the station and gets an email saying that the previous owner of the station either died or were behind on their taxes or went missing. Whatever it is, because of plot convenience it has been decided that the player is the new owner and administrator of the station. The four or five star manager comms you to greet you and invites you to come take a tour.

The idea of the station would not be anything super special. They would be some starter passive income for a new game start or a way to get blueprints without having to ever pay for them or EMP them in game ever again.

[LameFox]

There is no reason for them to sell a DLC to give you what a custom start (even a budgeted one) already handles.

[vvvvvvvv]

Like Fox said, you can do this via custom budgeted (and creative) start. This also isn't enough meat, in my opinion, for a DLC here.

[xant]

A good mini-DLC would be Aldrin. Doesn't have to be a whole expansion with a main plot and stuff, just two or three new sectors, the handful of unique Aldrin ships (cefa, deaf, fade, plus Spitfyre and Springblossom), and that's basically it.

Another one could be a lost ATF outpost, where you get a few more ships from that shipset: a corvette, a frigate, maybe a heavy fighter (i.e. Fenrir) as well, plus a new weapon or two. Nothing too wild, just small additions to the existing factions.

[mr.WHO]

IMO the best mini-DLC would be the return of X3 Aran mobile shipyard.

This would be good candidate due to possibility of plot, interior, additional and features.

[Garrus94]

Both, the Aldrin with their ships plus a new questline around them AND the Goner Aran from X3 would be very nice!!! Damn, good suggestions, i'm in favor for it!! Where can i sign??

[flywlyx]

I would prefer capital ship packages if they manage to fix the capital ship AI, as capital ships have a much greater impact on the tactics and strategy of gameplay.
However, if the AI remains as bad as it is now, I’d vote for Aldrin/ATF S/M ships instead—watching Hyperion perform suicide runs against Xenon capital ships is far from enjoyable.

[NightmareNight91]

I'd like to see the yaki expanded upon, and the kha'ak. Making them proper factions with sector ownership would be amazing.

[Crimsonraziel]

I'd like to see the yaki expanded upon, and the kha'ak. Making them proper factions with sector ownership would be amazing.

I'd absolutely love that, but making Kha'ak a proper faction is a full blown DLC. Not only would existing combat ships need interiors, but trading and mining ships don't exists yet and stations would at least need some rework. That's far beyond the scope of a mini DLC.

Yaki on the other hand doesn't even need to be a mini DLC, some patch would do. You only need to add some existing ships and modules to their blueprint list and adjust their settings for sector ownership and expansion behavior. Add some questline as trigger to change from current to new behavior and add a new L ship for Yaki to justify a mini DLC. Since it's Yaki using Xenon ships as base model and create some hybrid designs would make sense. That way they can maybe do 2 or 3 new ships within the scope of a mini DLC. Slap a reasonably resource rich sector for Yaki that isn't already infested with Xenon on top of it (it would still benefit Xenon in the long run if you ignore the Yaki) and you're golden. Only issue though, Yaki require CoH DLC and making a mini DLC dependent on another DLC might be not ideal.

An Aldrin-DLC would also be awesome, but as with your Kha'ak idea a mini DLC is to small to do it justice. Also, any hypothetical Aldrin DLC that comes without a player-owned terraformer CPU ship would be a let down. (personal opinion )

[thedavid]

For the Yaki and other factions, I think at least for myself I'd want a full proper DLC. I think each faction should get its own mission subscription at the very least and that should be added to the base game already. But if the Devs don't want to do that, then I guess mission subscriptions for all of the factions that don't currently have then could be a "mini" DLC just to fix that and add it in. Making the Yaki a real proper faction I think should be something with some story and some acting. A "mini" DLC shouldn't require a voice actor, just an email.

I think the idea of an "mini" DLC should really just be to get one specific thing. And yes, I know we can use budget game start for things and a real DLC should be for something unique. So, let me buy a unique ship or station that only my faction will have. It does sort of rub me the wrong way that I have to share the Hyperion with the Paranid. I get why they did that, since not all players will want to have their own shipyard but for myself, I want to build all my own ships and I want to keep them from the other factions.

And if I get something unique that will just come and find me then I don't have to use by precious budget to add that in game start. I can use my budget for other things. This is why giving myself the Erlking at game start is great. I don't have to use my budget to pay for it. My budget is for other things.

So, here are some more ideas from me for a "mini" DLC.

- A unique defense station in Frontier Edge. This will give the player ownership of the sector at game start. Maybe this could be movable on the budget universe tab to take ownership of various sectors at game start. It cost ZERO on my budget.
-A unique ship with blueprint that only the player will be able to manufacture unless the player goes to a faction to accept money for the blueprint.
-A unique production module. Imagine that you get an email from some Terran scientist who laments that his research funding has dried up so he is going into retirement. He heard that you like to do research and so he leaves ownership of his research station in the Ort Cloud to you in the hopes that you will continue his work. His research station can turn Ore and Water into Energy Cells. If the player does a bit more research there then the player can turn Hydrogen into Helium and Energy Cells. No sunlight required.
-A very well designed self sufficient Wharf and Shipyard with blueprints that we don't have to use our budget to get. Would this nuke the early game? Sure. Would it be great for long time players who want to start a new save? Yes.

Other "mini" DLCs could be to fix certain things in the game without using mods.

-Blueprint for the Raven
-Mass produce Xenon ships
-Minor faction mission subscriptions
-The Terran accelerators with mission to build them and decommission the old ones
-A jump gate to Leap of Faith that activates only after discovery

If there is a very good quality mod that is popular and doesn't break the game, then it could be a "mini" DLC just so we can use it without "using mods" and having our save be tagged as "Modified".

[thedavid]

I suppose I should clarify that some "mini" DLC should be free. A DLC that requires a previous DLC and is really just a fix for something without using a mod to fix it should be free. This way, all players can have access to it and they can choose to turn it on or not. I don't think the Devs should be nickle and diming players over fixes.

For other "mini" DLC, they should be something that cost one or two dollars. The Hyperion wasn't really a "mini" DLC. It was just a smaller than normal DLC that was less expensive than normal. A real "mini" DLC should be something that does't require a lot of man hours from the Devs to make and is focused on one thing the player can just claim with no fuss. It can be a ship or a station or a painmod that the player can just get ownership of, with at most an email to explain. If the Devs have a unique ship ready to go and they can let us have it in our game for a dollar, then if I like the ship, sign me up.

Maybe some people might complain that the Devs would be greedy by doing this but I disagree. If a "mini" DLC isn't attractive, we don't have to buy it. With the cost of the DLC being low and the Devs being able to place it in the game with no fuss, it allows us the players to vote with out money on what kind of content we want from the Devs and we can support them at the same time.

[NightmareNight91]

Just had another thought, I would love to see the split panther from x3 added in as a mini dlc, maybe add a connection to boron space to get some split vs boron combat going early on. The panther could be similiar to the boron guppy but have less shields, less fighter cpacity , more hull hp and more weapons. Like a pocket destroyer with some carrier logic.

[Y-llian]

Some extra goodies for builders would be nice. More cosmetic and joiner modules, with various geometric shapes so that players can make their stations more unique. I’d like my empire to feel different in style to the other factions to reflect whatever RP “culture” I’m playing… Some extra “finisher” bits like antennae, domes etc. and decals would be lovely.

[thedavid]

I like the idea of something for builders. That sounds nice. It also got me thinking.

How about a special, unique Auxiliary that has the ability to change out engines on L size ships and can fabricate S size ships. Maybe it's slow to compensate and maybe fabricating M size ships is too much. Maybe to compensate M size ships can't even land on it at all. However, S size ships can not only be landed and repaired on it but some can even be fabricated if the player has the blueprints. The other factions can't build ships on it so it won't make money but it will allow a player to get to some limited ship fabrication for just themselves a bit earlier. I'd pay for that. Egosoft! Let's make this a mini DLC.

[alt3rn1ty]

Something for builders would be very nice.

I guess people expect me to mention XL sized modules, to reduce the amount of modules we need to make a station and keep the performance of the game good .. so I have.

As part of a mini DLC, player makes the choice of adding them to the game.

I believe (though I still dont get it), Egosoft are concerned that XL modules would just mean players abuse them and build much bigger defeating the idea of better performance .. If people have machines that can handle doing that then why not?. I mean we can have a fleet or two or hundreds of a thousand Asgards each if we want, the game will not limit that.

Personally I converted my Boron PHQ Wharf and my Boron Shipyard to use the new Timelines XL habitats, and just the change to make the station with half the amount of habitats has made a remarkable difference. Really wish they were XL Boron Habitats, and I wouldn't have had to dismantle and re-setup all the food and meds for an Argon Workforce instead of what used to be a Boron Workforce .

I have a feeling Egosoft are resisting the idea as it maybe would upset the economical balance overall, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, moving on from the XL request, yes more race specific modules would also be ace, instead of having to use unsightly generic ones for all races .. But I think thats probably an awful lot of work for Egosoft at this stage of the game.

I love the Station editor, for me its a big part of the game I can literally spend days in there. Expansion of its capabilities and modules we can use would be awesome.

In No Man's Sky, they allow us to build our own bases, and even if you dont want a planet side base which will inevitably get left behind, you can build a huge player base within your Freighter which goes on the exploration journey with you .. I know a lot of people who spend most of their time in game just designing and editing these. In and of itself, Station design is an interesting and fun passtime.

[LameFox]

I believe (though I still dont get it), Egosoft are concerned that large modules would just mean players abuse them and build much bigger defeating the idea of better performance .. If people have machines that can handle doing that then why not?. I mean we can have a fleet or two of a thousand Asgards each if we want, the game will not limit that.

I suspect it's more that the game never demands that of you in the first place. Just like having 1000 Asgards, it's a thing you might technically be able to do, but the game is clearly not designed to give you a use for 1000 Asgards. At that point you're well outside of the gameplay they've designed and balanced for.

Probably they'd be resistant to making an official superdense 1000xAsgard too, no matter how many people built thousands of standard ones.



As far as racial modules go, it would be nice but it might be weird as a DLC. That seems more like e-ship territory, something that gets updated over time. I wouldn't mind some additional cosmetic station modules though, like variants on the observation deck for different scenarios. The current one has kind of a delicate luxury feel, but what if I wanted one that feels fitting for a defence platform? A few of that kind of thing could be a decent low cost DLC I think.

[piotr11]

Please add 2 battleships; Argon Tempest and Boron Megalodon.

[Crimsonraziel]

Please add 2 battleships; Argon Tempest and Boron Megalodon.

As a proud herold of Queen Polypheides, we still need to keep the balance. Add the Split Pteranodon too.

[xant]

Another mini-DLC could add some corporations: Northriver, TerraCorp, OTAS etc, with a unique ship or two for each of them. Doesn't have to be fancy, but a heavy fighter here, a destroyer there, would be nice.

A few more Yaki ships would be great as well: Fujin, Raijin, Tonbo, Akuma (Incendiary Bomb Launcher anyone?), Hoshi etc. were a nice unique touch for them. It's a bit of a shame that they now have only two unique ships.

[piotr11]

ech of course OTAS Tempest no Argon Tempest