Hello all. I have found many recent threads talking about how the current progression system is lacking exploration of new worlds and that later sectors make most of alpha obsolete. After reading this thread: http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/star-map-tiers-are-lame.48688/ I had wondered how progression could look like in that system. In that thread I thought of a progression system based on how extreme the conditions on some planets could be. A good example of this is the snow planet biome. You freeze to death really quickly unless you are prepared with lots of fires/torches and a decent set of armor capable of withstanding the cold climate. I know my idea is not complete at this time, that is why I posted. I would like your feedback to this with possible suggestions for changes to this to make it work. How progression would work The very first thing necessary would be to completely scrap sectors and mix the planet difficulties present in solar systems. tier 1(forest/jungle) - progression through these planets would be to acquire snow infantry armor tier 2(snow/ice) - progression through these planets would be to acquire equipment to keep you cool/hydrated tier 3(arid/desert) - progression through these planets would be to acquire materials that can be made into a space suit capable of surviving on moons. tier 4(moon) - The bosses could be gates to the next planet biome, providing materials crucial to equipment necessary for the next tier. Keeping tiers relevant later on Planetary biome exclusive materials necessary for further progression. Limit the resources on planets to be tier specific and make resources of earlier tiers relevant to progressing further. Certain planet biomes could also have a surplus of materials! Such as wood from forest, coal from desert, etc (suggested by Katastrphik) Keeping tier/biome specific environmental challenges (suggested by Katastrphik) We could also do the same for other hazards! Such as dehydration/heat. Perhaps have the previous tier boss drop a special ingredient for the recipe? ------------------------------------------------------ Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks for reading. EDIT: As this was first intended for discussion I did not see the similar suggestion regarding the handling of planets based on environmental hazards.
Seems like a fun idea, however if you spend a tier making armor to withstand the environment of the next tier, then it wouldn't be much of environmental challenge once you finally get to those planets. A solution would be to have a set crafted to lessen the effects of cold/suffocation, and then a upgraded version crafted mid tier to negate the environmental threats completely. I also like the idea of planet difficulty being spread out, instead of a whole galaxy being a certain difficulty, and i think the star map upgrades could be improved, this could be a viable option if fleshed out more.
I like the idea, though what it should do is enhance/make it significantly easier to explore these places. Right now, at the top tier you can pretty much make space suits so you don' t have to worry about environmental problems, but maybe in the future they might make desert planets more difficult (apex merchants sell bottled water, why not have a water meter for desert planets and not arid?).
There could be a water meter for both desert planets and arid since they both have scarce water I edited your suggestion in! I hadn't thought about it but you are right, it would still be interesting to keep some of the challenge until you get partly through the tier.
Water/thirst is a great idea, also as per incentives to return to earlier planets, each biome could have a surplus of a specific material. ie. Forest for wood, jungle for plant fiber, desert for coal, etc. Monsters would probably have to be buffed in earlier tiers(after progressing through them) to keep it from becoming too easy. Possibly after fighting say the third boss, it unleashes new enemies to the tier 1/2 planets. Not sure how this would fly in an open multiplayer setting however. You should also post this in the suggestion thread as well, looks like we got a real idea brewing.
edit, nvm first part I missunderstood. xD Perhaps someone will brainstorm how to get the enemies to increase in difficulty in a multiplayer setting
Perhaps star maps could upgrade your ship's scanners to give more information regarding the planet you are over. Or point out stars of interest.
