Are all the space maps really the same,judge for yourself

[Sashala]

I agree with rok, there should be two of them, but instead of making opposites, just sometimes bunch them together, like in ion nebulas the capital ships lose their shields? add the fighter one to that, and in normal ones the capital take damage

[Coraan Talme]

Mmmh ...
Different kind of asteroid fields strike me as a great idea - bigger would be one great option - other materials another. Such as:
-blueish /white ice-covered asteroids as the proper background for battles near ice planets.
- red hot asteroids for battles closer to a sun. Should be great for really atmospheric battles - for example with a great red star - or a black hole in the background . Mmmh ... that reminds me: We Imperials tend to make that kind of asteroids ourselves ... Well, it couldn't hurt anyway to have a few of those already in place. The Death Star can't be everywhere ...
- explosive asteroids? Why not, sounds like a quite good idea - though I think explosive gas cluster would be more logical.

Mine fields sound cool, too ... but how about huge commercial holo screens floating around some densely populated planets like coruscant? When defending the capital of the empire, loyal forces could see the smiling/cackling face of our beloved Emperor looking at them between flashes of Wookie-Fur commercials and such things. In the unlikely case some rebel scum should overrun such a planet, the screens would - of course - probably be abused for typical rebel propaganda spamming. Holovids of single rebel troopers, shooting down legions of incompetent stormtroopers and such ridiculous crap. That kind of holoscreens should be destructible, of course - a huge satisfaction for every loyal citizen. Come to think of it - such screens should be present on some ground based city maps, too. I think they would add a lot of flavour and underline who is currently in control of the system. An interesting question, of course, would be what circulates on pirate-controlled holoscreens ...

Other nice additions could include electrical storms in space, huge dust clouds, pretty star constellations in the background or civilian space stations. How about a Rancor Burger Stop?

By the way: is it possible in conquest mode to attack capital ships which are still under construction? That could be a really neat addition. Defending half finished star destroyers from the dirty rebel's paws. Might be sensible to prolong construction time for that - but I thought that the conquest game's time progressed to fast anyway (should really be turn based, which would make MUCH more sense and allow deeper strategic choices - like influencing a planet's population prior to an attack or controlling far more heroes in a sensible way).

[Darth Alec]

^^ Something R:TW-ish maybe? ^^

[Coraan Talme]

Why not? Empire-Total Annihilation of Rebel Scum. Where you, a promising courtier at Coruscant, get to assemble the might of your aristocratic family and take over the ... oh well, the Senate doesn't exist anymore - well, whatever - in that case you have to do missions for the emperor himself, fight & civilize barbaric alien tribes on distant colonies, marry off your daughters to other slimy but appropriately important figures of the court, thus gaining even more power and influence. Your finest legions will then be assembled under the generals you have bri ... ah - gathered under your control, and proceed to squeeze even the last drop of money out of your recently conquered -formerly rebellious - planets. Having thus taught those unruly insurgents a valuable lesson, you continue to build even more fleets, assemble even more troopers, improve the infrastructure and defenses of your property - throw a few outrageously expensive - but very entertaining- orgies to impress courtiers ... and get to be the right hand of the emperor (after disposing of this little nuisance in black armour by the hand of competent assassins). Finally, you succeed the emperor (it was his last wish) and crush the pitiful rest of what was once called a 'rebellion'. Because this is excruciatingly exhausting, you then take a well earned rest, throw another luxurious party and take a few exciting hunting trips into Endor and Kashyyk - the furs are then properly disinfected (it wouldn't due to have lice on your most magnificently exalted imperial body) and used for your cozy little summer palace installed in one of the Yavin Asteroids. Yes ... I think it could work

[Lord Pickle]

How about larger space maps.

That way you could have a larger pop cap in space without it getting all crowded. Also you could have a chance to intercept ships enroute, right now its kind of hard to do since it takes only like a couple of minutes on some maps to get to an enemy space station. It would be cool to send in one group of ships to hold back the enemy and weaken him and then bring the full brunt of your forces once he gets in range of the station.

I'm all for minefields and golan defense platforms. Remember Homeworld 2, now that game had some sweet space battles. I liked the camera from that game alot better than the one in this game. You could zoom in and follow any unit. The cinematic camera is ok from a it must be a bitch to program something that is dyanmic like that standpoint. However as far as the whole getting great shots that feels like the movies thing its very hit or miss with many misses.

[Cheech Marin]

Originally Posted by Coraan Talme

Why not? Empire-Total Annihilation of Rebel Scum. Where you, a promising courtier at Coruscant, get to assemble the might of your aristocratic family and take over the ... oh well, the Senate doesn't exist anymore - well, whatever - in that case you have to do missions for the emperor himself, fight & civilize barbaric alien tribes on distant colonies, marry off your daughters to other slimy but appropriately important figures of the court, thus gaining even more power and influence. Your finest legions will then be assembled under the generals you have bri ... ah - gathered under your control, and proceed to squeeze even the last drop of money out of your recently conquered -formerly rebellious - planets. Having thus taught those unruly insurgents a valuable lesson, you continue to build even more fleets, assemble even more troopers, improve the infrastructure and defenses of your property - throw a few outrageously expensive - but very entertaining- orgies to impress courtiers ... and get to be the right hand of the emperor (after disposing of this little nuisance in black armour by the hand of competent assassins). Finally, you succeed the emperor (it was his last wish) and crush the pitiful rest of what was once called a 'rebellion'. Because this is excruciatingly exhausting, you then take a well earned rest, throw another luxurious party and take a few exciting hunting trips into Endor and Kashyyk - the furs are then properly disinfected (it wouldn't due to have lice on your most magnificently exalted imperial body) and used for your cozy little summer palace installed in one of the Yavin Asteroids. Yes ... I think it could work

So, I'm guessing it's a real challenge for you to type while wearing a straight-jacket then?

Anyway, yes, larger space maps are vital to making this game more enjoyable. Am I right in thinking that it's wrong for certain units to be able to fire half-way across the entire map? Also, 3D movement would have been great too. Right now it's not even the 2.5D we were promised. Sure, ships travel along different horizontal planes, but you have no control over which plane the ship will occupy! Of course, they make up or this by allowing you to hit any component of a ship from any direction... i.e. shield generators on a Star Destroyer from below, or the engines from the front of the ship. Erm, how exactly does that make sense again?

[Coraan Talme]

Originally Posted by Cheech Marin

So, I'm guessing it's a real challenge for you to type while wearing a straight-jacket then?

While insanity is a common and useful trait in evil masterminds (it makes it easier to generate the required evil cackling), it does not impair writing abilities - nor is it truly necessary. Anyway - as I'm a lowly tie pilot, I was just speculating about the usefulness of such a simulation. I have not yet aquired the necessary status to get involved in the constructive intrigue and backstabbing that makes the Imperial Court such a wonderful and lively place.
Concerning the current state of this simulation: No - I don't think 3d would be a good idea. It sounds great on paper - but I fear that it would make things REALLY chaotic. As the simulation also encompasses ground combat, things would just become too difficult. The energy required for such a heavy modification would be more usefully spent in other ways (see above and what's already been proposed in this thread ... minefields and such things).
By the way: Seriously speaking: a touch of Rome: Total War couldn't hurt the conquest mode. Not necessarily extending to the micro management of aristocratic families - but there are certainly interesting possiblities here. Even the 'simple' transformation of the current real-time system to a turn-based one by itself would be a great thing in my opinion. The current espionage system is a little too hectic and vague (as is the whole thing - without continously pressing 'pause'). But that's a topic for another thread, I guess