[dream]Maybe one day, with more advanced computers, every member of the team will take one race make is playable, then we'll merge our files, play the game, and in the end, there will be only one, the absolute champion of the game.[/dream]

This really is quite a development! Suddenly this has become a whole new game. Still the "elephant in the room" is the possibility that over time we could potentially create unique Tech structures (including transports and warships) for every last one of these minor races. Of course this would mean a "non cannon" structure list a mile long.

In the old game all the minors had "Matter furnaces" for power. I can't help but think (given the independent cargo transports depicted in Enterprise) that many minors might be buying / stealing technology from other races. Over time they might acquire Federation or Romulan stuff. It could be part of the espionage.

Seems like there is a fair amount to think through. CB

We shouldn't waste much time on this. Just make general minor structures and non combat ships (colony and transport ships) and unique battle ships. Like Minor Colony Ship, Minor Transport, Minor Research Lab class 1-9, Minor Intel Net 1-9...........

You are of course correct - at first. However, people love to mod. I like to draw, so I decide my favorite race is the Trill. So a year from now I create custom images for everything Trill and ask HappyTrek for custom music... I post a custom Trill Technology set, music, etc etc. You're the Emissary of the Photo Shop so you do your own tech set for another race. We love it. Someone else makes a set. We all share it. You get my point... Captain - No, make that Manual Labourer Captain

...What the... Hey... I wanna be Crazed Manual Labourer. No fair

I agree that the mods should do it, I'm just saying what we should do in the basic game. I love to imagine and create, so I'll probably develop one of the lesser known races, like the Tzenkethi or the Drai. I can have more artistic freedom when working for them. Or a it more known race, but still mysterious like the Breen, the Tholians or the Gorn. I will probably even make a whole shiplist for them with my own designs. We can share resources and even combine our work into a larger mod. I'll need a good modeler BTW.

Matress changed my rank to that because of the crazy things I did to the game today.

And we loved those crazy things. Good sleuthing.

And yeah, we said the same thing. The staff needs to get the basic game ready, but this minor race thing is HUGE! In a sense it could be the top on the difficulty scale (if the game is going to have that). I can see it all now. You're crowned master of supremacy for all time if you can win as the Mizarians CB

Perhaps not them......., but the Xindi, the Breen or the Devore perhaps.

Or perhaps create a Typhoon Alliance mod, if we will be able to put more than one race into an Empire.

No No the Pakled alliance. Hehehehehe I look for things that make me go Bashir

And keep the drawing assignments coming.

It would add a few more years on the build time if we supplied a full set of ships as 3D models for all the minors.

Yeah it would. Save it for the modders. Captain Bashir

I just had to say this in response to mstrobel's statement on 30 player-controlled empires:

Supremacy: The MMO

Nice Avatar SeaBee-T. I'm a CB too. Captain Bashir

Great discovery...thanks!!!

There's one smallish "problem" with using minors as empires though. Pop.
Minor systems aer not totally fixed, and since the game attibutes a fixed % of the system's max pop to a starting system (44.5% to be exact), starting pop for minors varies wildly. It's not a problem with empires because their homesystems are pretty much equivalent.
The Acamarians for example, I got something from 200 to 400 pop systems, which meant their Clan Hall would be built in 11~22 turns.
Maybe initial pop should be a fixed value for all players.

Well, I'm all for making everyone's system configuration fixed, and am willing to make the necessary changes. Since the last update I modified a lot of minor and major race systems to be more canon.

Maybe expose it in the data files? Values for the empires, and a Default for minors? Modding, testing, etc.

This is the game that i WANT TO PLAY

Also, let's not forget that the number of initial production facilities depends on initial pop. The Primitives having lots of pop would be kind of weird, since they'd have an early advantage that they shouldn't (relative to other minors and empires). Especially Industry and Research.
Maybe making the initial pop not only fixed, but dependant on the player's tech curve? So that lower tech races actually have a slower start.