QoL issues that still need to be addressed

[RodentofDoom]

Script assignments MINEFOR and TRADEFOR are still missing from S/M class ships which prevent them being assigned to L/XL ships in non-defensive roles

Subordinate default stance should be "dock at xyz ship"
Carriers shouldn't be flying around with their assigned fighters deployed. they should launch when combat starts (much like kicking an anthill)
Owning ships would need a "wait for subordinate to dock" command. currently missing

ship balance is still off
destroyers should not have the fighter capacity of carriers, this reduces the effective usability of carriers (partially addressed with 2.5 with supply feature)
L class traders still have MORE subordinate capacity that carriers .. this doesn't make sense either

suggested subordinate limits
Destroyer 5-10M/20S (race variation)
Builder 10M/10S
Trader 1-5M/5-10S (race variation)



just some random thoughts.
feel free to comment, disagree & discuss

[mr.WHO]

Real life Carriers usually have some fighters always deployed on combat air patrol - this could be the thing in X4 too (most fighters docked, but a few deployed).

I also think it's imperative that if squad commander is docked in Carrier, subordinates should dock with him (now they wait in space).

[Imperial Good]

Carriers shouldn't be flying around with their assigned fighters deployed. they should launch when combat starts (much like kicking an anthill)

They do not fly around with their assigned fighters deployed. The problem with them is the complete opposite in that they will keep their fighters landed literally until they start taking fire making them ineffective in combat.

Assigned fighters should be launched much like defence drones are and have some leash range after which they stop chasing enemies and return to dock. This needs to apply out of sector as well.

destroyers should not have the fighter capacity of carriers, this reduces the effective usability of carriers (partially addressed with 2.5 with supply feature)

This is clearly a balance oversight or missing engine feature. Currently they are using default values for the amount of ships they can carry which is why they have the same as carriers.

Destroyer 5-10M/20S (race variation)

They should only be able to hold 1M max since currently the only ship which can do this, the Odysseus, is also the most powerful ship the player has access to as far as turret count and speed for size goes with the M dock effectively adding an additional 4 turrets to it. Carriers should be the ships with larger M capacity in the order of 5 to 10.

Teladi should have the highest ship capacity seeing how traditionally they have the largest storage sizes. Paranid should have the smallest for the opposite reason. Especially the Odysseus should have a miniscule ship capacity since it already has vastly more turrets than the other destroyers and is the only destroyer with M docking support.

Builder 10M/10S

Should be 1M and only a couple of S ships. They are not carriers and are meant to be filled with crew habitation and machinery used for construction.

If the idea would be to have subordinates of the construction ship trade the required build wares then a better implementation would rather be a default order for traders to supply build storage of a site. This is more universally useful because it could be used in situations where the player does not own the building construction ship or even the construction site (eg an NPC station). It also would mean that construction ships do not need to be able to act as carriers to house trade fleets, keeping their storage numbers more reasonable.

[Buzz2005]

destroyer should have 2 m ships dock capacity, where the hell does 10 fit?
and 4 s ships, one in storage the other is on the dock

carriers just cut the numbers in half, as well as resupply ships

[adeine]

Keyboard shortcuts.

[RodentofDoom]

If the idea would be to have subordinates of the construction ship trade the required build wares then a better implementation would rather be a default order for traders to supply build storage of a site. This is more universally useful because it could be used in situations where the player does not own the building construction ship or even the construction site (eg an NPC station). It also would mean that construction ships do not need to be able to act as carriers to house trade fleets, keeping their storage numbers more reasonable.

Yeah, my basic idea was for having a cpl of M class haulers set to 'TRADEFOR' their assigned buildership
But this is a nice refinement if it's sufficiently scriptable

Would tie in with both sat-networks and/or trade subscriptions and remove the complete reliance on NPC traders electing to sell their wares
A builder ship with it's own designated subordinates could effectively search out it's own more competitive price points

[duncan idaho]

There is still no effective in game information about weapons. Which are strong against shields, which against hull? Which are all-rounders? The only information you are given is some largely abstract damage output number that is hard to make sense of. I cannot believe it has been over 5 months since launch and the encyclopedia is still mostly bare. I'm not even talking about fluff information, I mean real numbers and useful information that we can use to play the damn game,

[boogieman335]

Small ships with 1 weapon slot are essentially cannon fodder, especially small mining ships. They need more weapon slots if they are going to be a practical player ship otherwise might as well be drones.

All ships need base speed increased. Travel speed should be the same for all ships, this would put the cargo capacity as the main factor when selecting a freight hauler.

Carriers should be carriers. Lots of fighters and no more than 2 m class. Otherwise they don't have a purpose.

Base battleships ended with WW2. They will never be balance -able against swarms of fighters. Carriers proved the military concept of force multipliers.

L and XL class freighters should be limited to s class docking. a couple of fighters for protection and maybe a couple s class freighters or miners for shuttle or mining. But since all stations are capable of docking all ships then shuttles and freight drones are not necessary. Since no planetary landing are included in the game there is no need for shuttles.

Race specific weapons enforced on all ships. Ships should only be able to equip race specific weapons. Otherwise ships will be loaded with certain weapons leaving others for non use.

If we have to have boost it should drain power from weapons not shields. Shield management an power balancing are impossible otherwise. It does no good for a slow ship to boost away from a fast one only to strip its shield.

Get rid of all the highways. All they seem to be really good for is to hang up ships the way gate crashing use to do in the older games. Move asteroid fields to edges of sectors instead of the middle.
Then it becomes a real treasure hunt to look for ores and crystals worth mining.

[MakerLinux]

Get rid of all the highways.

Nope. Highways are useful, fun and strategic.

[boogieman335]

Get rid of all the highways.

Nope. Highways are useful, fun and strategic.

Not to me. You cant blockade them. You cant hack them. You cant move them. At game start they take away a large part of the exploration factor when they lead you around in a big circle of the different sectors so half the game universe is given to you. And ships get caught and hung entering them. All they really are to me are copies of the old babylon 5 jump gates that get in the way of actually FLYING in space, not driving in it.

[RodentofDoom]

There is still no effective in game information about weapons. Which are strong against shields, which against hull? Which are all-rounders? The only information you are given is some largely abstract damage output number that is hard to make sense of. I cannot believe it has been over 5 months since launch and the encyclopedia is still mostly bare. I'm not even talking about fluff information, I mean real numbers and useful information that we can use to play the damn game,

Ion Beam is the anti-shield weapon, may be faction specific @ definitely R10+
Pulse laser & Bolt Cannon appear to be the all-rounders
Shard Cannon seems to the chaff remover … guess it's there to clear drones & such, I generally don't use it due to dispersal & ricochet issues
Plasma & Beam appear to be the high damage options, Plasma is best vs slow/stationary targets, Beam only excels when the fire can be sustained for more than a few seconds

Missiles .. I dunno, I''m not using them till 2.5 leaves beta and is available for download and the Supply Ship becomes an option.

[martimus]

Small ships with 1 weapon slot are essentially cannon fodder, especially small mining ships. They need more weapon slots if they are going to be a practical player ship otherwise might as well be drones.

All ships need base speed increased. Travel speed should be the same for all ships, this would put the cargo capacity as the main factor when selecting a freight hauler.

Carriers should be carriers. Lots of fighters and no more than 2 m class. Otherwise they don't have a purpose.

Base battleships ended with WW2. They will never be balance -able against swarms of fighters. Carriers proved the military concept of force multipliers.

L and XL class freighters should be limited to s class docking. a couple of fighters for protection and maybe a couple s class freighters or miners for shuttle or mining. But since all stations are capable of docking all ships then shuttles and freight drones are not necessary. Since no planetary landing are included in the game there is no need for shuttles.

Race specific weapons enforced on all ships. Ships should only be able to equip race specific weapons. Otherwise ships will be loaded with certain weapons leaving others for non use.

If we have to have boost it should drain power from weapons not shields. Shield management an power balancing are impossible otherwise. It does no good for a slow ship to boost away from a fast one only to strip its shield.

Get rid of all the highways. All they seem to be really good for is to hang up ships the way gate crashing use to do in the older games. Move asteroid fields to edges of sectors instead of the middle.
Then it becomes a real treasure hunt to look for ores and crystals worth mining.

Amazingly, I disagree with nearly everything you are saying. It is amazing how different people's opinions can be about this game.