Should there be a further stage for pre-FTLs?

[Seyfried]

Currently, pre-FTL races go from the Early Space Age (roughly similar to present-day Earth) to achieving interstellar travel and becoming an Empire. Contrast this with how player empires start out, with a mostly-surveyed and exploited home system and a few ships and techs, implying that intra-system development is normally well underway by the time hyperdrive is invented. Shouldn't it be the same for pre-FTLs, with a final stage before becoming an Empire where you can find them having already built stuff in their home system?

 

[Falrinn]

I feel like "Early Space Age" can be a broad enough concept for everything from the launch of the first satellites to discovering interstellar travel. Especially from the prospective of a FTL-capable species.

All I would suggest is that for certain situations the outcome would consider how far along they are within the Early Space Age. An example would be the Doomsday Asteroid event, which they'll almost always be able to deal with themselves if it occurs paericularly late in the Early Space Age.

 

[Ryika]

I don't think it'd be that easy. What about when you own the space, how would they even construct the stations for example? Would you just have to allow it? Wouldn't they immediately become aware of you the moment they see your mining station in orbit of a planet that they are trying to build a mining station on themselves? What if roaming aliens move through their system and destroy those stations? These things would need to be accounted for if it's actually meant to be an improvement over the current situation.

So... it does sound thematic, but is it worth spending limited development time on when the current system already approximates the outcome just fine? Personally, I don't think so.

 

[Newbee53]

Currently, pre-FTL races go from the Early Space Age (roughly similar to present-day Earth)

Towards the end of the early space age pre-FTLs build a space station with spin gravity. I don't know if they still do this if you own the system, but they definitely do if you find them at this point.

Having them build mining stations while you already own the system would be bad for gameplay, and part of the point of Pre-FTLs is to give you the opportunity to interfere, not encourage the player to interfere if they start causing 'trouble.'

I think this is a time where gameplay should dominate.

 

[prismaticmarcus]

What if roaming aliens move through their system and destroy those stations? These things would need to be accounted for if it's actually meant to be an improvement over the current situation.

I've always thought that warfare in their system should be noticed by Early Space Age peeps.

 

[Seyfried]

The gameplay problems could be easily avoided if they just count as an Empire as soon as they reach that stage, they just haven't researched the starting FTL tech yet.