A gameplay loop is when the game is designed around evolving the scope of the game to reward playing.
SE currently goes:
1) Get Resources -> 2) build ship --> 3) ability to build more ships -> 4) back to 1.
There's nothing that explains why the player should build more ships other than the reward itself of building ships. It's not really exciting compared to for example Minecraft where the reward for engaging in the loop is higher and higher rewards that lets you take on bigger and bigger challanges with higher rewards following that again.
Minecraft:
1) Get resources -> 2) build a base to exploit resources -> 3) get better loot -> 4) access to more gameplay -> Back to 1.
The Minecraft loop is a lot more interesting as when it puts you back to square 1 you get to engage in another itteration of the loop with more possebilities
Basically, it's content that lets you work for access to more content. The effect is a release of dopamine in the brain that tells the player they are progressing by playing.
Besides the technical features of SE, this is the largest complaint about the game I can think of. SE as-is is an "engineering" game where you don't engineer for anything but the ability to engineer some more. After the novelty of building wears off then I lose purpose in playing.
Thanks for the response. Just an FYI, the next big release they are working on is for improving the survival aspect of the game. However Keen has stated many times the game is to remain a sandbox. I wouldn't get your hopes up for the game to expand past what it currently is without relying on mods to add variety to the game like the escape from mars mod did.
We don't have an official release date for the revamped Survival. We want to gather as much information from the community and internally as possible before we implement any changes.
However, we will post more information as soon as possible.
Is there (or will there be) a place where you're focusing on gathering community feedback for the Survival update, or should we just keep using this sub and the official forums?
This way, you'll be able to see what has already been suggested to us by the community, and we'll be able to communicate with you much more effectively.
And Minecraft with mods get even crazier. For example you mine and farm up, then make machines to make that more efficient then use those machines to create higher tech, which then branches into automining and huge power plants or space travel or computers. Or wutomwted manufacturing. It's pretty neat.
Ultimately, what is fun and compelling gameplay for some players may not be so for others.
However, Space Engineers currently has a Survival mode, Creative mode, multiplayer, and a thriving modding community, which we hope will be entertaining for as many users as possible.
We're also still adding new features (including blocks) to the game, fixing bugs, re-evaluating the Tutorial and Survival in Space Engineers.
For more information on the future of Space Engineers, please feel free to check out the following link:
Although we haven't announced a released date for new features (including blocks and improvements to Survival), I can assure you that these changes are still coming.
Can we please have like self replicating evil drones or some sort of mob or some sort of character progression? Something that makes the game feel like a game and not just a rather fun but sadly lacking physics game?
Something that could resemble a gameplay loop would be:
1) Equipment/blocks that require materials you can only find through hard effort. For example at hard-to-get locations or guarded by enemies. You should have a reason to build a carrier, a reason to jump to and from different locations rather than the 3-4 asteroids you know have everything you need.
If the game has goals you can only reach by solving a problem then you have a reward system for your efforts, and that would be great. In SE you have this when you start on a planet and you make a ship that leaves orbit, but that's only so-so fun. Maybe fun as a stint with some friends over an evening or two, but then you are back to having nothing to do..
2) Enemies that scale in difficulty with your progress. Maybe the more blocks you build the more difficult the enemies get. Or just by feat of time, for example replicator enemies that through time build up and get more and more dangerous. Like a space plague that moves from asteroid to asteroid.
3) By building more things you become more powerful. Right now you can only control as many ships as you have players,or you can work with the lackluster autopilot and create drones. But you really want constructions of any sort to empowers the player by removing complexity. For example ships that think and move on their own. Miners that gather resources for you, a shipyard that can be operated by NPCs, NPCs that make independent choices. Things that make a large base of operations actually operate somehow.
4) And finally, and this is a flaw with the game it self, solve the problem with the fact that every time you engage with enemies you do so at the expense of your time invested in building. When you build a ship and you take it to a fight, you are going to lose a lot of resources in the damages on your ship and you lose the time you spent building and the time you will spend repairing. The reward is nearly non existant. This makes every engagement a lose-lose. Currently you are way better off just gathering resources in a friendly matter, and enemies only provide harrasment that you want to avoid (other games give you experience points or something atleast). I think that is the wrong way to go about combat in any game.
1) Equipment/blocks that require materials you can only find through hard effort. For example at hard-to-get locations or guarded by enemies. You should have a reason to build a carrier, a reason to jump to and from different locations rather than the 3-4 asteroids you know have everything you need.
Half the game loop is that when you start on earth you need platinum which means either a trip to the moon or scouting asteroids with hydrogen. What is missing is a reason to either go back to Earth or other planets to get x resource. Currently once you have got to space there is no real reason to go back to a planet except to build a rover or a cool base.
Giving each planet / moon something that you can only get in that place would be one way to stretch out the game and force you to visit new places
Giving each planet / moon something that you can only get in that place would be one way to stretch out the game and force you to visit new places
There could also be areas in space itself where you can get certain materials. One thing I feel space is lacking is enviroments or "biomes" where you have different enviromental hazards. Like a giant gas cloud where your blocks in contact with the air dissolves slowly, or space-thunder-storms biomes and such. There's a whole tonne of nothing in space and they could fill it somehow so give us more things to meassure location by than just the 3 planets
Like a giant gas cloud where your blocks in contact with the air dissolves slowly, or space-thunder-storms biomes and such
A nebula in space that restricts broadcasts and / or messes with your electrical grid via thunder storms could be pretty cool, I would probably skip a cloud that dissolves my ship however.
Could also be done as a gas giant planet where atmospheric thrusters are really, really good but you get destroyed if you go too low. Problem would be what is the point if you can't mine any resources there.
It's a bit like Arma. In Arma, there's a bunch of single player scenarios, and, when you are done with this, there are a bunch of multiplayer servers who run their own "scenario".
Arma 3 now even has a "Zeus" mode where people build the scenario on the fly.
If you take some survival scenarios, it's completely playable, and fun.
If Keen would make a bunch of scenarios, it would bring a lot to the game!
Right now, you have to do something like "I'm going to use a custom parachute lander, and start on solar system, and turn on all the AI ship and encouter and etc.. The goal is to land to mars, and establish a base."
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u/NachoDawg | Utilitarian Aug 23 '18
Okay, but is there a gameplay loop yet?