That's why I wanted to post a couple of suggestions, to improve the game:
1: When we are opening a program tell us ALL the requirements for them. This is huge, i often find myself (as a noob) ready to launch something, to find out that the rocket is not enough, that i need more mission controllers, which I dont even know what skills they need. Something like a menu, or even some numbers on top of the Sputnik program for example stating the weight and type of rocket, Mission controller and skills etc.
2:Autosaves. Please. Often I end up forgetting to save the game Its not major, but they are so widespread that people can get very used to them.
3:More interaction with problems. Even tough there is a failure goin on, the dude will still say IGNITION. This is petty really (i really wanted a nº 3 ). Just some voices as HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM
2: Autosaves: In my version (v1.00) there are autosaves. Lots of them. And yep, I need them.
3: Sound: Or "we have a liftoff" after the whole thing exploded.
+4: UI: I kind of liked the growing "stress bar" when testing the reliability in the original game. Right now you don't know what happens till "success" appears or, well, all are dead...
+5: UI: In the scientists overview, there is a picture of the current mission the scientist is assigned to. It would be neat if clicking on it will bring you to that mission. Same for astronauts and controllers.
+6: UI: Hiring personnel really needs a sorting and / or highlighting (I'd love that) mechanism. It is a pain to compare stats when you always have to scroll up and down. A mean value would be nice, too. Furthermore, I found myself several times clicking the red sorting arrow trying to change the sorting. Maybe clicking it could also inverse the order...
+7: UI: Projects. I spend a lot of time browsing to look for missions yet to accomplish. For example: To see, how many mission configurations are left in the Gemini Project, I have to go to Earth -> Two Crew Ballistic Capsules (now I know this is it) -> Project Gemini and then I have to count. Even using the "Manage Programs" always brings me to the first possible mission configuration (they should have numbers, by the way. Or no cycling through.), no matter if I already completed it or not. There should be some hint (despite the assigned rocket or no goals left), that I already completed the mission. The program selection should show the missions completed besides goals accomplished. Even better: a small 8/10 or something like that in a corner of the mission's picture in "Manage Programs". If there are many open programs, this really would be helpful to keep track, which ones are already finished.
+8: What about a suggestion for the next mission, after having successfully completed one?
+9: UI: The mouse's back button could be used as "back".
+10: UI: Unused rocket design: Every now and then I click through all projects and write down all rocket types in use. After that, I close all unused programs. I'm not sure, are these programs marked somehow, that you can just close them, without having to write down the names in the first place?
+11: UI: Budet information popup. What about including information about the former prestige goals? Min: 200, max: 500, achieved 400. Something like that. What about an reminder about the budget review on year before the review in the news?
+12: UI: If you select a program in "Manage Programs" and you want to select another program (for example, because you go through the programs to see, which one is launchable, or which one has missions or goals left, see 7: ), you have to go all the way again. A "back" or "back to Manage Programs" button would make life easier here.
Greetings
Last edited by dergilb on Tue Nov 04, 2014 9:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My initial thoughts on the game (aside from how addictive it is...):
1) General notes:
1.1 - Can we get that error fixed in the Apollo project, where you've placed the docking test mission with the Agena test vehicle at the END of the series of tests for Apollo rather than right after the First Manned Apollo Orbit mission? If you follow the missions in order, you end up having test-docked with the Lunar Module several times long before you hit the Agena mission, which is right at the end. It looks like your original intent was somehow docking with two Apollo spacecraft, which would entail a docking adapter collar similar to the Apollo-Soyuz, as two Apollo command modules were never intended to mate. It got changed to "Test with the Agena", but the order remained the same, the last item on the checklist.
1.2 - Can we get a button that allows you to go from the individual projects back to the Manage Projects screen? If I'm in one to set up a mission, the option after I get through setting it up is to go back to the Administration Building's home screen.
1.3 - I'd like to be able to separate the astronauts by which hiring round they came from: "Group 1", "Group 2", and so on. I don't know if they're programmed to get demoralized seeing all the flights going to the first batch or not, but it would avoid any with low morale by sending all the Group 1 astronauts into Advanced Training for a round, letting the Group 2 get a chance at a flight. I'd also like the ability to send all of a Group into Advanced Training in one click, to automatically up their training to whichever skill will increase the greatest, while an earlier (or later) group carries on.
1.4 - In hiring, I'd like (as mentioned above) a sort feature. If I'm looking for SET's with high rocket development skills, I'd like them in that order.
1.5 - In hiring the researchers specifically, I'd like the ability to slot in somewhere their intended role. That way I can more easily remember (I'm old, my memory isn't as good as I remember it being...) just what the heck I hired that so-and-so to concentrate on researching once they've finished Basic Training, so I can then send them for a couple rounds of Advanced Training in their intended research specialty.
1.6 - I'd like a little more detail before I start a program: do I have the boosters, or will I have to research more powerful boosters? I might delay starting that program until the researchers in my Rocket (or Man-Rated Rocket) program have finished their latest opus. Perhaps the game can check to see if big enough boosters exist, and give a warning before I click on to choose the option?
1.7 - Nowhere have I found a place where I can check to see what weight the payload of a project is going to be.
1.8 - I think there should be a relationship between the skill level an SET worker has between manned and unmanned rocket development skill levels. It doesn't make sense to me that there is that development gap between someone working on Atlas-the-manned-rocket and Atlas-the-version-with-the-additional-stage-stuck-on-top. (And related rockets like these should transfer their development up to the next in the family - it shouldn't take the same length of time to develop Atlas/Agena or Titan II once you've done the earlier version of the rocket. That's the attraction to upgrading the existing rocket in real life, saves time and money... well, in theory anyway.
1.9 - In the original version of BARIS, there was an optional program to use a three-man lifting-body spaceplane. I'd like to be able to develop that further here too, so that when Part II comes along I can go directly from the Moon Flight to a larger orbiting spaceplane as I build my station. (Actually, I'm a little surprised the Soviet space plane isn't developed into a three-man version.)
1.10 - It might be useful to know what part of a mission went wrong? I think I had a failure of the Lunar Rover, but all I know is that the mission was a complete failure, but the astronauts all survived. I was skipping watching the video at the time - I'd already seen it once before.
2) In Sandbox, I'd like some more options than "sound effects" and "music":
2.1 - The ability to modify how much opening cash and annual contribution/increases I get.
2.2 - The ability to change the settings from Every Round is Three Months, to Every Round Equals Two. That might make it more possible (but still tight) to actually land on the Moon by the 3rd Quarter of 1969.
3.1 - And finally, this one is just a fun little add on: I'm a proud Canadian, and I'd love to see my nation's flag on the Moon. I have no doubt that there are players of other nationalities who would live that too - Japan, Korea, England, Norway, etc. etc. Any chance of having an option available to use a flag and/or national seal, and encouraging fans to generate other custom flags and national symbols?
Last edited by lordshipmayhem on Tue Nov 04, 2014 5:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I think it would be best to stick to numbering suggestions. It keeps them easier to find and to refer to.
"In hiring, I'd like (as mentioned above) a sort feature." -> 6.
"Can we get a button that allows you to go from the individual projects back to the Manage Projects screen?" -> 12.
I was thinking more about continuing the numbering started in the first post (since there might be some "first" suggestions, which again, make it difficult to refer to), but it is an improvement none the less.
Some other ideas to boot around:
"Practical" satellites. Weather, communications, navigation. Bonus patches for First Circumpolar Orbit and First Geosynchronous Orbit could arise from this, dedicated teams of controllers (having to balance more cost against revenues from other organizations like the National Weather Service, and the need to keep those controllers happy and training up and replaced when they retire/resign and other staffing issues), having to replace the satellites periodically as they reached the end of their on-board resources, being able to research longer-lived Generation II (III, IV, etc) satellites to eventually replace them with. (If we go with this, can we call the communications satellites "Anik"?) After all, the REAL Space Program Manager wasn't just concentrating on getting a man on the Moon, he had other demands to juggle.
Robot rover probes of the Moon and Mars, and possibly Venus.
Missions to Lunar Farside, including a risk-lowering communications satellite system around the Moon - with the more lunar comsats you use lowering the risk factor until you've got 100% communications coverage (say 3 or 4 satellites, and make them Generation 2 lunar orbiter probes that only become unlocked once you've finished researching regular communications satellites, see first paragraph of this post). This could be both Apollo and Surveyor/rover missions or their Russian equivalents.
And additional probes: Earth environmental probes and orbiting observatories, both of the Sun and of the universe beyond our solar system. Again, we can get another patch or four including a First Solar Orbit. And more controllers on long-term duty to deal with. (Which is why you'd want to be able to assign a group to a particular program, like the practical satellites and the long-term-research projects. You'd also need a "swap" key so you could switch the current controllers with a new "best fit" batch and send the current crew for training.)
Great work guys! As you have seen in the development log, tooltips and rocket requirements comin in, feels good to be helpfull, altough I would still like to know the MC guys requirements and rocket payload capacity, perhaps as an extended requirements sheet?
Likewise I just got the game a couple of days ago. I'm loving, loving, loving it, I think it's very well done, the UI is simple but elegant, tooltips, as many have said, would be nice but their lack doesn't reduce my enjoyment of the game. The only thing I'd say I really, really want is Linux support. I have the game on steam, today I switched to Linux mint and sadly find that this game doesn't work on linux.
Its not major, but they are so widespread that people can get very used to them.
