A controversial (and maybe silly) idea: now that we have rotating planets, could it make sense to have the strategic choke points determined by proximity rather than the (slightly arbitrary) phase lanes?
What I mean is that each ship has a jump range around 1.5 - 2x the standard difference between planets in Sins thus far. And that ship can jump to any planet within that range. But not farther than that and it also bypass a planet if it comes too close. Like in Star Wars EU lore, the gravity well would pull ships out of phase space.
The attraction is that, with rotating planets, we don't have to worry so much about which phase lanes will end and which ones will start. It will purely be determined by proximity and you can get a good feel of your ships' range. It could also open some interesting research and faction differentiation options. For instance, the Vasari may have a starting advantage of higher phase jump range and could extend this further by research. That would sort-of override or partly obsolete their phase gates but would still be in line with their high-mobility theme.
The drawback is that it would be harder to form choke points and defend your empire effectively. But only to an extent. Enemies would still only be able to directly attack your fringe worlds and I think it's reasonable to expect players to protect those. This concept may also exacerbate the problem of planet bypassing. The enemy could reach your homeworld fairly easily by just passing through one or two planets on the way. Starbase destabelisation would hit them pretty hard though and you would have equal flexibility to move your forces to defense. Phase space inhibitors may also come in handy and could be available earlier in such a concept. So maybe not that massive a problem? Alternatively, one could increase the recharge time between phase jumps a bit to make this harder and introduce logistics structure to speed this up in own territory.
I probably didn't think of all the implications so happy to see it proven an impractical idea. But we are at the "crazy ideas" stage of development so I thought I might as well throw that idea into the ring.
I think some of the other races have this type of tech unique to there faction or race.
I think it's a great idea! At least as an option I would really enjoy it. I hope it can be easily created, maybe as a mod. Sins 1 had this system once upon a time, but with unlimited range and it didn't work out.
As an optional extension of the idea, one could link phase jump range to anti-matter. That should introduce a risk-reward dynamic in that the farther you jump, the more depleted your reserves (and therefore combat ability) would be. And you may not have the means to return home. Such a change would require additional changes to other game play systems (not all ships have anti-matter. How to tell ships to leave enough anti-matter to retreat from a battle? what about anti-matter draining weapons/abilities? etc.) but may be worth exploring. Could be a step too far though and introduce too much whack-a-mole game play.
Set fleet range based in several parts:
I long ago accepted Sins I was a space themed game and not a space game, because in 3D space there are infinitely many directions to travel. Defending planets in 3D is nearly impossible. The phase lanes further reduce travel directions, making defense possible.
Would a game with or without phase lanes be more enjoyable to play? It's hard to say. I'd have to play them both. I personally think I would like the challenge of being attacked from anywhere in range, but I don't think I could go up against 6+ computer players like I do in Sins I.
I suspect, in a game without lanes, I'd probably fast track research for further jumps. Then jump in with siege ships, obliterate a planet, then jump out.
Taking my developer hat off for a moment to speak as a member of community, moving away from phase lanes would be a pretty drastic change for the game. Stellaris started out with jump ranges as an option and eventually had to move to lanes and nodes as well. It's really hard to get that right and the game has to be designed for it at a fundamental level. The solar systems are more dynamic in Sins2 due to orbiting planets, while still providing the ability to set up meaningful defensive positions.
Thanks for the reflections.
I definitely see the planet snipe brodar2012 described as tempting strategy - and a very frustrating one for defenders. Might be mitigated by maluses to using far jumps in combination with garrisons. But I also see how it would be difficult to balance between making it useful (and not just outright dumb in every occasion) and not overpowered.
Good shout to Stellaris, Unikraken. I didn't play it so can't say. What was your impression (or people's views in general) about how well it worked or why I didn't work? I read up on it and it seems a later implementation involved some quite several status debuffs immediately after a jump which would make it a risky option for direct combat deployment.
But as above, it's probably quite hard to get right. As you said, it's the kind of gameplay that benefits from being baked in from the start ... which is where we are in with Sins 2 atm. Sort of. So certainly a worthwhile discussion to be had now imho, even if it results in sticking with what worked. I was just thinking that moving planets might alter the balance of whether limited-range free jumps can work or not because it naturally creates and destroyes soft choke points i.e. stepping stones/launch pads for further incursions. I was thinking of a kind of WWII island hoping game play there.
I am in favor of current solution, the lanes. It helps to create the feeling of "strategic terrain" which IMO is vital for the gameplay. Additionally, it adds to the faction diversity, since Vasari´s main strength is ability to bypass it to certain level.
Not saying that a game with different mechanic wont be good or that one could not adjust Vasari´s mobility advantage to no-lane system, but why change something that works? The increased freedom would not make the game feel any more "spacey" anyway, since 3D movement would be required for that in the first place.
pls get rid of the phase lanes and take this game to a new era 🙏
Lanes could of been space lanes that battles can take place in... making for true choke points.
Instead of just copying Sins 1.
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