Alternative Gamestart tech level:

[T'Aleen Empire]

"Turning on my Force Shields first"

 

Ok what if just for this discussion within the SNROTE game when we started a race in the game that the player race had to develope all the tech after their race has perfected 'Orbital Missiles'? Or it is the very beginning of the space flight for the race, and they have to re-discover all the science and tech to get their race up into space, and then to whatever other orbits in their own system and then beyond?

 

Yes I know this would be alot slower, but it would mean races would develope tech at a much more diverse range and more different levels. I know the game as it is is in regards to tech pretty wide, but this would make even starting tech even greater in what one race might develope.

 

I only ask this to get peoples feelings on the issue, not to change the existing game at all. Now granted Russ/Pete could start a second game simular to this one with a simular gamestartup to what I am talking about.

 

So what do you think?

 

"Steeping into my Deep Bunker to take cover!!!"

[Eldred]

I love this idea! When I looked around at Space Empire Building PBEMs one of the things I was looking for is to start a race which was at the very beginnings of space exploration - say with the tech equivalent to that in the USA in the 1960s. Supernova ROTE does this to some degree, although a fair bit of tech has been "skipped".

 

I know this would slow down an already "steady" game to a snails pace, but I like the idea of having to research chemical rocket engines and communication satellites first! Trouble is the first dozen or so turns would be very quiet and what would we make at the homeworld with all those spare industrial complexes and mines? Perhaps build up the stockpiles of raw materials and construction materials that await new starters in the current game? Perhaps for the first 10 turns you could play a turn every 5 or 7 days - who knows?

 

Being realistic though, I can't really see how the current game could be adapted to cope with this type of tech - nice idea though.

[Clan Elder 'Keen]

Operation Overlord could do this fundamentally, placing the players at the brink of the discovery of magic or even technologies such as gunpowder. Which paths the players go is then up to them.

 

For for a space game, I think Supernova starts exactly at the right place. And who knows what techs are coming down the road, making our current selection seem most archaic.

[Ur Lord Tedric]

 

I applaud the idea, but after 18 months of play I think the balance is about right.

 

The technologies we start the game with give us all the necessary options to start 'exploring', which includes finding out how all the basics work. You have time to make building queue and movement mistakes until you are able to learn the bits you have to master first.

 

If I did have a request for game start, then it would be for no SRPs. I think everyone should design their race and away you go....

 

I feel there is a large divide now possible between players who have some understanding of the tech tree and have a good idea of where to spend their SRPs for second, third and subsequent empire starts - and complete newbies.

 

Now, this can be mitigated for those that peruse lists like this, but not for those with more limited access. In the end this might balance out and I suspect that in the not too distant future that tech trees will become available for all the lower level items for anyone to download..... That will be sad, but inevitable.

 

Regards

 

Mx

[Sha'thar of the Gosht Kohr]

Sha'thar begins storing away mass reserves of Kerosine and Hydrogen Peroxide, just in case. Since felines are the dominant species on her world, she'll probably be sending up non-sentient kittens first, and not mice or monkeys or Laikas...

 

She likes the idea though, of developing space-faring from the ground up. Perhaps the game could also be started with a number of agressive neutrals on your homeworld too! You have to diplome or battle your way to global unification before you reach out into the stars?

[Gary Carpenter]

I would rather see a game where we started with 3 rd or 4th gen stuff.

[EternusIV]

I would play SN II if they re-released it in a heartbeat just for kicks.

 

I'd also play the super early tech game for fun.

[PhaseDragon]

I would play SuperNova II also. I thought that was a cool game. In fact, I would love to play StarMaster again although writing all those special orders over and over again got pretty tedious.

[octagon999]

I would rather see a game where we started with 3 rd or 4th gen stuff.

How about a game where you started out with 2000 character points that cannot be saved, 1000 SRPs that can only be used to buy stuff like you have now, and, say 500 SRPs that have to be spent on setup just as if they were character points?

 

Also, how about a map (with warp point info but the warp points not surveyed) of every system within, say, 2 or 3 jumps?

 

That would be a seriously accellerated game, but one that I think would be a lot of fun to play. Maybe make a person have played ROTE for a certain period of time before they would be eligible to play the SNA version.

 

The SNA version could run every other week, off-schedule from ROTE. I'd play an empire in that.

[PhaseDragon]

I would play that one too.

[EternusIV]

What about current rules and open map? Be like a victory variant. The defensive nature of the game would still favor development.