7DRL 2014 day 5 - Imma firin mah LAZZ0R!

So today I added a variety of new components to BOSWP, to make the game more interesting. Not all of them behave exactly as they did in SE4, though. For instance, missile weapons have shorter range, armor is leaky, and ECM stacks, albeit with diminishing returns.

Also, the enemy shipyards are now cloaked, since I added sensors to the game. You'll have to deduce their location based on the direction ships tend to be appearing from! They also will no longer automatically build ships whenever possible when you're in their system, unless you can actually see them. You do get a free sensor range of 1, so you don't actually have to bump enemy shipyards to detect them, though. Still, a sensor range of 1 is pretty pathetic, so you'll want to buy a tachyon sensor or two when you get a chance.

The game's actually starting to be a bit fun now, though I'm not entirely sure if it's all that winnable. If you spend too much time searching for allied colonies early on, the enemy shipyards will start cranking out cruisers and battleships, which are quite difficult to take out without upgrades - and you won't be able to afford anything without killing enemies anyway! So I imagine the optimal strategy might be to pick off the scouts and destroyers, and search a bit for shipyards, then when you start taking too much damage, search for a colony to repair and upgrade at.

I've also got a list of issues I've collected which I plan to address tomorrow, now that the game is basically feature complete. And then, on Friday, I'll write some documentation, though that might not be all that necessary if I add copious tooltips!