Testing Progress Report
I'm finally drafting up a report here from all the notes I've taken so far. Being how there are so many bugs to report, I've found that some seem to have a common element to them. I'll also make some observations here, and some suggestions. Finally, there's a checklist of finished objectives.
Bugs:1) Colony ship sometimes disappears after colonising a planet. Either it's a constant feature, or not, unknown. Suggestion- it should be stricken from the ship list due cannibalising it for the new colony
2) At least one planet was not allowed to be colonised (error message as such)
3) Initially, logging off of the server halted turn progress. However, this is no longer so- as I write this it is over 5000 turns and progresses after logging off.
4) Ship Designer- could not save a template until a warp core was selected to be installed, even if it was removed afterward. Makes sense not to be able to save a useless ship, but still can do so.
5) Game will lock up if an order is made during turn change
6) Game will lock up if a new option is available, and used for the first time (example- Bunker2, Weather Control)
7) Game lock up on demolish power plant (only one instance?) many of these types of lockups happen, but cannot be repeated a second time.
8) Turn advance halt on trying to overmaximise mini-map. Large Intel map blanks out except for a small region. Other functions still accessible. Used option to log onto server- was able to do so, turns had advanced, but still frozen in display. This also happened after first battle with Lursa, but was able to re-log successfully. A later instance was caused by unknown factor.
9) Game lockup on "Hurry Production" order- seen only on first (or second) building turn- may be recurring- needs to be verified.
10) Game locked up when 2 ships were added to the build queue in shipyard (uncertain if recurring)
11) Game lockup when ship was ordered twice during the same turn to move to another fleet
12) Game lockup when a large number of course orders were given to different ships in same turn (unconfirmed)
13) Cannot invade system. I created troop ships for this occasion, with no result at all
14) Error in troop transfer from planet to ship- message states "Transfer to planet name" instead of from planet
15) Final battle with Chang resulted in major error- screen flashes "Fetching Data From Server" message every 2 seconds, turn countdown often shows negative numbers,
no resolution after numerous attempts to re-log onto server (Info- his fleet consisted of 7 battleships and 5 heavy cruisers, as well as a colony ship and a scout present. My fleet consisted of 1 scout, 2 colony ships, 1 light freighter, and 16 Galaxy class ships) (Note 2- I did send a previous fleet before this, consisting of 6 Consitution and 10 Excelsiors, which was utterly defeated)
Observations:1) No indication of mining order given to ship during same turn, but does the order next turn
2) No indication of colonisation order given to ship during same turn, but does the order next turn
3) No indication of invade system order given to ship during same turn (doesn't seem to work, either)
4) No indication of decommission ship order given, does not do order the next turn
5) No indication of self destruct order given, does not do order the next turn
6) No numerical indication of ship course order during same turn
7) If you hold a build drop during a turn change, but wait until turn change is complete, game will not crash
8) Build queue allows current build to be moved up or down, but continues at top on next turn. However, a switch will be allowed if it is still on the first turn of its build
9) "Hurry Production" order was initially only available for ships, but noted later that it was also available for buildings
10) Signing onto chat showed 5 instances of my account in later stages, also when text is sent, there is also 5 instances of that text displayed in the chat viewer
Suggestions / Comments:1) I like the "Hurry Production" feature
2) I would expect there to be a "Decolonise system" option available. This is subject to later features and limitations, I'm assuming
3) I understand that Factories increase industrial capability, and decreases build times. However, other than improving build times for ships and more buildings, at this point they are the only product being produced
4) The music gets annoying very quickly, but that's common with every game
5) The ship piloting system is functional, but it's also somewhat clumsy, and confusing if overlaps other ship courses. I'd like to see ship functions available in a mini popup right with the ship, rather than go across the screen todo it. Also- windows often tend to block course destinations and need to be moved, or the map scrolled in order to plot them, especially a longer flight
6) Ship information window is handy, but needs improvement. Installed features need to be displayed, such as bussard collectors, and cargo space- especially if partially full. Suggest changing "hit points" to "hull" (??)
7) "Cost to build" information is odd- some ships have different rates, while others have none at all. Not implemented, I assume
8) I realise this is in early testing phases, but will there be some kind of limitation to ship building? At this point, there is no limit to the number of ships that can be built at once
9) Turn Report works well and is informative. Emergency situations would be better addressed if they were made more apparent, especially if one forgets to check the log
10) When building ships, the "Space Dock" box should be labelled "Ship Yard", in my opinion. It would be easier just to click the type you want and confirm build rather than dragging it
11) Map grid co-ords will be an important term to understand and employ. Clicking on empty grids should at least show the grid co-ords, if nothing else
Other than all the bugs, and shortcomings, I must say that at this point it's a strong build. There was a learning curve involved, but that's expected. It would have been easier if a good tutorial were available. However, once the functions have been discovered, and how they relate to other factors in game, it's pretty easy to do what you need to do for the most part. I would enjoy playing this with much slower turn rates, in order to maximise your capabilities during each turn. This also limits how much one can do over time as well. There is much room for improvement here, which includes a certain ruleset that governs a large number of players on the same server, more features than currently present. Even with the bugs and shortcomings, I did enjoy playing this game in its present condition.
Finally! My current Goal status:
Colonize at least 4 new systems (5 total).
DONE Colonize at least 9 new systems (10 total)
DONE Collect and return minerals from an asteroid belt
DONE Reach a lvl 5 technology
DONE Reach 3 lvl 5 technologies
DONE Reach a lvl 10 technology
DONE Unlock the Raptor/Oberth class ship
DONE Unlock the K'vort/Constitution class ship
DONE Unlock the Vor'cha/Galaxy class ship
DONE Unlock the Civillian Barge class ship
DONE Explored about 25% of the map
DONE Explored about 50% of the map
DONE Explored almost 100% of the map
DONE Destroyed Lursa's fleet
DONE Destroyed Gowron's fleet
DONE Destroyed Chang's fleet (the one in his star system)
FAILED, HUNG UP Destroyed Chang's fleet (the one positioned somewhere else)
DONE Invaded Lursa's system
UNABLE Invaded Gowron's system
UNABLE Invaded Changs's system
Built a ship with a speed of at least 40.
Built a ship that can refuel from a nebula.
Built a ship with at least 6 sensor modules.
Gotten a star system population to about 100%
UNCERTAIN
I might have some observations about the ship design debate, but I have to check it better first.
