Star Conflict is a great space combat simulator that is evolving constantly as it approaches its launch date. The developers have done a splendid job bringing us a functional and well rounded project, but there is always room for improvements. Here are some of my suggestions.
Hangar (lobby):
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Display all 3 factions’ experience bars so the player can better track his progression in the different factions. Place a highlight on the one that the player currently has open contracts with.
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Introduce a new PVP squad mode that will allow the player to form large squads for PVP missions. Most players that are more interested in PVP are in dire need of this feature. It is top priority;
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Introduce a “promote to leader” option in the player context menu from the squad screen. This option should only be available to the squad leader and should allow him to transfer leadership to another squad member.
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When only one player remains in a squad, the squad should close automatically;
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When there are no more mails in the mailbox, it should close automatically.
Contracts:
- The faction technology unlocks are not very clear. Make the faction level icons interactive. When the player clicks on the faction level’s icon (one that has unlocks), a shop menu that contains only the items unlocked at that level will open (just the way they appear in the equipment menu). This way the player will have a better picture of all the blue quality items that unlock at a specific level and he can purchase them directly;
Corporations:
- The “my corporation” button should be moved next to the “social connections” button in the lower right UI. It should have a number indicator with the number of online corporation members similar to the online friends indicator. This button should open the “my corporation” window. This window should have two tabs: the “corporation details” tab where the CEO can post a presentation, website details and other messages and events; the “roster tab” that will be the same as the current “my corporation” tab.
Profile:
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The player profile should have a “ships” tab showcasing that player’s owned ships.
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Introduce a pilot avatar picture on the right of the pilot’s name. This will be chosen by the player out of a collection of pilot avatars from all three factions, both male and female (small square jpg images). The player will only be able to select an avatar from the faction he has chosen at the start of the game. To choose avatars from the other two factions, he has to pay a small amount of standards for each avatar. This will give more personality to the player’s pilot character and will add a new source of revenue for the developers. This avatar will also show up on the player’s profile window.
Gameplay:
- The aiming cursor is not very visible. In the heat of battle the aiming cursor tends to get lost in all the special effects. The aiming cursor’s circle should have a bright green outline to distinguish itself from the other central HUD elements.
- The floating combat text is not very visible. The color coding for the combat text should be less saturated to give the player more acurate information. Color suggestions: thermal damage - pink; EM damage - cyan; kinetic damage - white. For instance the red text from the laser combat text is poorly visible against most backgrounds. Also, the criticals should appear with a bold font.
- Introduce a zoom-in function for all ships so the player can more accurately aim long range weapons or scout locations. This mechanic would greatly improve the gameplay of frigate pilots that use long range weapons as well as fighter pilots that count a lot on visual cues.
DC
Game Designer