Bug report

[piratep2r]

1. Executrons unable to create/unbox mechanoid. When I tried to do so, there was nothing to select. But when the CEO came down to the same screen in the assembler room, he was able to do it.

2. Bug? Executron unable to remote control other bots. This makes it very difficult to participate in boarding actions in the early game.

3. Exectrons, when controlling carrier ships or battle ships, can not launch, recover, or control fighters. Clicking inside the cockpit does nothing.

Note: It's not exactly a bug, but it was annoying that as an executron I could not order ships in the RTS view. I just didnt have much to do!
Is there any way an executron could be able to issue commands but not bandbox? At least then I could my executive more effectively. As it was, often I was making his job harder (it's slower to have me scout or move a ship, than just doing it himself).

[Rob]

Hi piratep2r,

Thanks for the list, will check out 1 and 3.

As for 2 thats more of a game concept than a bug as I think it would dilute the point of a mostly FPS mode of gameplay and might confuse people, however I see your point with wanting to dive into combat when you are stuck hundreds of light years away in another sector, any suggetions on this? I guess you could teleport over.

Yes also I agree they dont have much to do so been looking at things to keep Executrons entertained. There was a breakdown feature in the game where facilities would spontaneously break and needed fixing, however I think this was confusing people too.

[piratep2r]

Hi Rob, and thanks again!

So, Tynan Sylvester, the dev behind rimworld, did a really nice AMA on reddit about game design, and it definitely has influenced what I think about it. Here is a link to a summary of key points, if you are interested:

https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceengineers/comments/56bcu0/i_think_i_should_point_out_that_space_engineers/d8ibag4

But to summarize - what are the core mechanics of the game, and what are the rewarding activities in the game? Make those more rewarding, easier for players to participate in, etc, to make players more engaged.

To answer your question, if EA2 is in large part a FPS for executron players, make it easier for them to do FPS "stuff." Is ferrying a ship from point A to point B fun for either the executron or the CEO? I would say, "no." It's repetitive, slow, and somewhat confusing for the executron, and its actually inconvenient for the CEO since it's usually slower than moving the ship themselves. Don't make that most of what they do.

Instead, make the FPS stuff easier for them to do, more interesting/rewarding, and something they spend more of their time doing. Maybe executrons start with a special teleporter so that they are literally teleporting themselves wherever they go (assuming a friendly force is already there), but can't teleport any*one* else. Then, give them their own upgrade tree for ship combat and ground combat, and make it rewarding for them to pursue interesting and different paths. The teleport mechanic would mean they could **easily** participate in every ground battle just like they can easily participate in every space battle. Bam - more to do, and you have emphasized your existing core mechanic.

I still think this would leave long times when they are not doing anything, but maybe there is some other solution for that.