Permanent VS Temporary Progression - Ship Component UPGRADING
Giraffasaur
Administrator, Moderator, Space Cat Posts: 1,110 
Hello Everspace Community and Rockfish Games,
We're diving into a topic today that is at the heart and soul of a roguelike. Everspace uses progression in a powerful way, but I can't help but think there is a little bit more it can do. Through this post, I'm going to introduce a powerful new mechanic that will enhance the experience of Everspace as a whole.
Disclaimer: The game is THREE WEEKS away from it's launch date, and it's in a remarkable state as it is. That said, this is a bold suggestion that would require a bit of tinkering and balancing if it were to make it into the game, but I feel strongly about it being able to powerfully affect Everspace's overall experience. If you feel the same, PLEASE like this post and comment in order to generate some buzz about it.
Let's start from the top, first. There are two powerful types of progression regarding roguelikes.
PERMANENT PROGRESSION - These are the unlockables in the game that last through all successive runs. In Everspace v0.7, these are the perks, ships, ship colors, blueprints and enhancements. All of these things CARRY OVER and can be used in additional runs.
TEMPORARY PROGRESSION - These are collected DURING a run that give the player an upgrade or new ability on the fly that will only last until the end of that run. In Everspace 0.7, these are the resources, equipment, weapon mods and sectors. All of these things are LOST when the run ends.
I'd argue that temporary progression is far more important in roguelikes, because it supports the improvisation of gathered assets through a series of randomized challenges set before the player. This is what gives a lot of roguelikes their difficulty: Dealing with unique situations you're constantly trying to prepare for.
In the current version of the LATE-GAME, runs tend to start melding together, looking similar. This is largely because of the blueprints that are unlocked with the accessibility of resources, allowing players to craft whatever they want by the time they reach the mid-game. In fact, resources have been easily collectible as far back as the Alpha, and ideas have spawned regarding resources providing credits at the end of a run based on how many you've collected (so they aren't a waste of time to collect).
Weapons could probably be more rare to force players to improvise with what they have, and resources could be more scarce IN THE BEGINNING of a run and be found more frequently LATER to give players the customization they're looking for. Moreso, maybe resources should be converted to credit values when a player completes a run.
But I have something that might work more effectively. Instead, let's introduce a resource-sink that doesn't focus on specific equipment, but rather focuses on the SHIP'S OVERALL PERFORMANCE. Like Perks, but temporary for the run. These would not be low-costing upgrades, either. In fact, upgrading them would cost approximately 10x their repair value (except nanobots, which would be x5). Here are the details, and the suggested benefits:
THE SHIP COMPONENT UPGRADE SUGGESTION
If the player yields a large number of specific resources, they'll have access to upgrading the specific ship components (by going to the repair tab and clicking a flashing green plus sign next to it, or something of that nature) that allows it to be increased in functionality. The upgrade can only be purchased ONCE, but it lasts for the remainder of the run (unless the component gets damaged...more on that below).
Primary Weapons: +15% weapon damage increase, +2% weapon critical hit chance.
Resource cost: 10 nanobots, 80 scrap, 10 power cell, 50 crystal
Shield Generator: +20% shield cooldown reduction, +20% shield regeneration rate.
Resource cost: 10 nanobots, 40 scrap, 10 gel, 80 crystal
Engine: +20% increased cruise speed, +20% increased boost speed.
Resource cost: 5 nanobots, 70 scrap, 10 power cell, 70 gas
Secondary Weapons: +50% increased missile projectile range.
Resource cost: 10 nanobots, 90 scrap, 10 processor, 100 ore
Sensors: +30% sensor range. (Far more valuable if Scanning Probes weren't in the game)
Resource cost: 5 nanobots, 50 scrap, 20 crystal, 60 plasma
Life Support System: +80% energy regeneration rate (only when stationary).
Resource cost: 5 nanobots, 50 scrap, 20 compound, 50 gas
Inertia Dampeners: +100% dampening against outside sources (explosions, collisions, etc).
Resource cost: 10 nanobots, 80 scrap, 10 processor, 70 plasma
WHY THIS WORKS
Simply put, resources become more valuable and runs become more unique. Perks provide a stark, costly permanent progression for every run, but these ship component upgrades provide a nice resource-sink to give the player benefits during their endeavors.
Additionally, this does not compete with the other upgrades because ship components don't take up a Device slot, nor do they hog energy reserves. Having these component upgrades available opens the doors of opportunity to the player, allowing them to spend a lot of resources on an overarching upgrade while still letting them choose to spend less resources on specific upgrades.
Something else to mention: When any of these upgraded components get damaged, the benefits are lost AS WELL AS the natural benefit of the component itself, until repaired. (So, if you had upgraded Primary Weapons, you would lose the +15% weapon damage and +2% critical hit chances AS WELL AS suffering a reduced fire rate and increased energy consumption. Upon repairing, you gain back both the original AND upgraded benefits).
IN SUMMARY
Being able to upgrade the ship's components would enhance Everspace with a powerful temporary progression mechanic by granting players with a little more customization through a much needed resource-sink in the game.
I'm curious what the rest of you think. Is this the resource-sink we've been looking for? Do you like the idea of more temporary progression in the game? Or just leave it be and quit barraging the developers with suggestions this late in development?
Please share your thoughts below!
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Giraffasaur
We're diving into a topic today that is at the heart and soul of a roguelike. Everspace uses progression in a powerful way, but I can't help but think there is a little bit more it can do. Through this post, I'm going to introduce a powerful new mechanic that will enhance the experience of Everspace as a whole.
Disclaimer: The game is THREE WEEKS away from it's launch date, and it's in a remarkable state as it is. That said, this is a bold suggestion that would require a bit of tinkering and balancing if it were to make it into the game, but I feel strongly about it being able to powerfully affect Everspace's overall experience. If you feel the same, PLEASE like this post and comment in order to generate some buzz about it.
Let's start from the top, first. There are two powerful types of progression regarding roguelikes.
PERMANENT PROGRESSION - These are the unlockables in the game that last through all successive runs. In Everspace v0.7, these are the perks, ships, ship colors, blueprints and enhancements. All of these things CARRY OVER and can be used in additional runs.
TEMPORARY PROGRESSION - These are collected DURING a run that give the player an upgrade or new ability on the fly that will only last until the end of that run. In Everspace 0.7, these are the resources, equipment, weapon mods and sectors. All of these things are LOST when the run ends.
I'd argue that temporary progression is far more important in roguelikes, because it supports the improvisation of gathered assets through a series of randomized challenges set before the player. This is what gives a lot of roguelikes their difficulty: Dealing with unique situations you're constantly trying to prepare for.
In the current version of the LATE-GAME, runs tend to start melding together, looking similar. This is largely because of the blueprints that are unlocked with the accessibility of resources, allowing players to craft whatever they want by the time they reach the mid-game. In fact, resources have been easily collectible as far back as the Alpha, and ideas have spawned regarding resources providing credits at the end of a run based on how many you've collected (so they aren't a waste of time to collect).
Weapons could probably be more rare to force players to improvise with what they have, and resources could be more scarce IN THE BEGINNING of a run and be found more frequently LATER to give players the customization they're looking for. Moreso, maybe resources should be converted to credit values when a player completes a run.
But I have something that might work more effectively. Instead, let's introduce a resource-sink that doesn't focus on specific equipment, but rather focuses on the SHIP'S OVERALL PERFORMANCE. Like Perks, but temporary for the run. These would not be low-costing upgrades, either. In fact, upgrading them would cost approximately 10x their repair value (except nanobots, which would be x5). Here are the details, and the suggested benefits:
THE SHIP COMPONENT UPGRADE SUGGESTION
If the player yields a large number of specific resources, they'll have access to upgrading the specific ship components (by going to the repair tab and clicking a flashing green plus sign next to it, or something of that nature) that allows it to be increased in functionality. The upgrade can only be purchased ONCE, but it lasts for the remainder of the run (unless the component gets damaged...more on that below).
Primary Weapons: +15% weapon damage increase, +2% weapon critical hit chance.
Resource cost: 10 nanobots, 80 scrap, 10 power cell, 50 crystal
Shield Generator: +20% shield cooldown reduction, +20% shield regeneration rate.
Resource cost: 10 nanobots, 40 scrap, 10 gel, 80 crystal
Engine: +20% increased cruise speed, +20% increased boost speed.
Resource cost: 5 nanobots, 70 scrap, 10 power cell, 70 gas
Secondary Weapons: +50% increased missile projectile range.
Resource cost: 10 nanobots, 90 scrap, 10 processor, 100 ore
Sensors: +30% sensor range. (Far more valuable if Scanning Probes weren't in the game)
Resource cost: 5 nanobots, 50 scrap, 20 crystal, 60 plasma
Life Support System: +80% energy regeneration rate (only when stationary).
Resource cost: 5 nanobots, 50 scrap, 20 compound, 50 gas
Inertia Dampeners: +100% dampening against outside sources (explosions, collisions, etc).
Resource cost: 10 nanobots, 80 scrap, 10 processor, 70 plasma
WHY THIS WORKS
Simply put, resources become more valuable and runs become more unique. Perks provide a stark, costly permanent progression for every run, but these ship component upgrades provide a nice resource-sink to give the player benefits during their endeavors.
Additionally, this does not compete with the other upgrades because ship components don't take up a Device slot, nor do they hog energy reserves. Having these component upgrades available opens the doors of opportunity to the player, allowing them to spend a lot of resources on an overarching upgrade while still letting them choose to spend less resources on specific upgrades.
Something else to mention: When any of these upgraded components get damaged, the benefits are lost AS WELL AS the natural benefit of the component itself, until repaired. (So, if you had upgraded Primary Weapons, you would lose the +15% weapon damage and +2% critical hit chances AS WELL AS suffering a reduced fire rate and increased energy consumption. Upon repairing, you gain back both the original AND upgraded benefits).
IN SUMMARY
Being able to upgrade the ship's components would enhance Everspace with a powerful temporary progression mechanic by granting players with a little more customization through a much needed resource-sink in the game.
I'm curious what the rest of you think. Is this the resource-sink we've been looking for? Do you like the idea of more temporary progression in the game? Or just leave it be and quit barraging the developers with suggestions this late in development?
Please share your thoughts below!
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Giraffasaur
5
Comments
Those upgrades seem "expensive" without the ability to trade in the enormous amount of useless resources that you end up by the end of the game. I don't care about 80 crystals, because I can find those. Nanobots are in rare supply and I actually risk death without having an abundant reserve supply. I never died because I didn't have enough gas. That's not true of nanobots. Also, without the ability to sell and buy unique resources, the player often will find that they have 100's of one component but still not able to upgrade due to not finding something specific (like processors).
Just my 2 cents.
Using nanobots is key in this regard, as it creates a dynamic impact on the player's selection. But having the ability to buy and sell resources at-will recreates one of the very issues I'm addressing in this post: easily accessible resources. The point of the expensive upgrades here is a resource-sink, IF the player seeks out and obtains those resources. It's not about fully upgrading your ship by the end of the run (though that would be an impressive feat), but about having an outlet for extra resources.
I truly think adding in the ability to purchase whatever resources desired in the game would ruin the crafting system, since it is built off of the player's findings (though exploration and luck of randomization). But being able to sell any at will would be far less hazardous, and may be another solution to the overflow of resources currently in the late-game.
If you want players to sacrifice, the rewards need to be substantial. It's like those perks that only offer an extra 5% bonus. Never in a million years would I put one of those into one of the precious 3 spots available.
That's what separates this upgrade from those currently within the crafting system: It's not "just another upgrade," but rather an overarching boon for the whole ship. This is why it has to cost more, but also provides the player with a decision they choose to make. (Expensive but overarching upgrade or cheap but specific upgrade.)
You could stack that MK3 Shield with an upgraded Shield Component for some impressive damage mitigation. ;-)
Even if not at release, it would be an interesting future mechanic.
Also, the 'mk2/3' weapons are really... sub par
Also the mk2 thermo gun is AWESOME (the new v0.7 one)