I’ve tried to think of an algorithm that would make it at least allow for less boring designs being nearly as optimal, but I can’t. It could be a surface area requirement to break cubes, but then you just end up with circles. The tile limit promotes cubes for the fewest wasted tiles to walls. The range limit doesn’t do much except add a gameplay and design component on how you want to expand.
I don’t know what constraints you can add (or modify) to improve the design. Maybe having the option of different types of engines that don’t have to be on the rear (or facing out whatever direction you decide)? Maybe they could change how ship defence works to make you need to design more interesting defences into your ship?
There’s no good algorithmic solution I don’t think. It just needs to be some external force that makes the existing optimal design not as good in some way. It’s the same issue with the kill tunnels though; they can tweek it forever, but there’s always going to be an optimal method players will abuse.
Haven’t played the game, but maximizing surface area for cooling would work. IRL, cooling is a big issue for space craft that do more than just coasting with an occasional short course correction burn. Space might be cold but its near-vaccum is an incredibly good insulator.
So if heat management is a thing in a space game, this would encourage ships with more surface area (so non-boxy, non-circles). At the same time logistics within the ship would favour boxy/circle-shaped ships, so you’d have two contradictory design goals requireing you to find a good compromise between both. That should lead to some more interesting designs.
I dont think you need a fancy algo, just some simple contraints.
For instance, maybe the grav fuel cell thingies emit radiation in a certain radius.Make certain parts like the jammer require no obstructions on N sides (like the wind turbine)
There are already little constriants like this in the game for vanilla structures.
In avorion the physics simulation is pretty accurate, for example RCS thrusters placed farther away from the center of rotation are more efficient. However, still no air resistance in space so I just make bricks with struts coming off them.
Maybe if they changed the way heat dispersal worked? That would be minor though. Currently a freezer is optimal when rectangular because each side (and not diagonals) contributes to heat transfer.
Maybe adding more things you could mount to the sides of the ship like external storage that don’t need to be inside and then make them shaped like nose cones? That might make ships look even worse though lol, a square with spikes.
Mildly impossible, there are some limitations of geometry itself that make certain designs optimal no matter how railroady the game mechanics, and naturally players will optimize the fun out of anything.
Honestly it’s kinda fult of the game maker to not enforce some constraints that would force some cooler designs.
I’ve tried to think of an algorithm that would make it at least allow for less boring designs being nearly as optimal, but I can’t. It could be a surface area requirement to break cubes, but then you just end up with circles. The tile limit promotes cubes for the fewest wasted tiles to walls. The range limit doesn’t do much except add a gameplay and design component on how you want to expand.
I don’t know what constraints you can add (or modify) to improve the design. Maybe having the option of different types of engines that don’t have to be on the rear (or facing out whatever direction you decide)? Maybe they could change how ship defence works to make you need to design more interesting defences into your ship?
There’s no good algorithmic solution I don’t think. It just needs to be some external force that makes the existing optimal design not as good in some way. It’s the same issue with the kill tunnels though; they can tweek it forever, but there’s always going to be an optimal method players will abuse.
Haven’t played the game, but maximizing surface area for cooling would work. IRL, cooling is a big issue for space craft that do more than just coasting with an occasional short course correction burn. Space might be cold but its near-vaccum is an incredibly good insulator.
So if heat management is a thing in a space game, this would encourage ships with more surface area (so non-boxy, non-circles). At the same time logistics within the ship would favour boxy/circle-shaped ships, so you’d have two contradictory design goals requireing you to find a good compromise between both. That should lead to some more interesting designs.
Oh yeah, wanting to maximize surface area could do some good things.
I dont think you need a fancy algo, just some simple contraints.
For instance, maybe the grav fuel cell thingies emit radiation in a certain radius.Make certain parts like the jammer require no obstructions on N sides (like the wind turbine)
There are already little constriants like this in the game for vanilla structures.
In avorion the physics simulation is pretty accurate, for example RCS thrusters placed farther away from the center of rotation are more efficient. However, still no air resistance in space so I just make bricks with struts coming off them.
You could just enforce some level of aerodynamics or similar real world esque constraint. Even if not applicable for space, you could invent some.
Maybe if they changed the way heat dispersal worked? That would be minor though. Currently a freezer is optimal when rectangular because each side (and not diagonals) contributes to heat transfer.
Maybe adding more things you could mount to the sides of the ship like external storage that don’t need to be inside and then make them shaped like nose cones? That might make ships look even worse though lol, a square with spikes.
Mildly impossible, there are some limitations of geometry itself that make certain designs optimal no matter how railroady the game mechanics, and naturally players will optimize the fun out of anything.
Unless you artificially constrain it, it mostly just makes sense to make rectangle shaped spaceships
If we could make spaceships in orbit, you’d bet they’d be quite rectangular too
If they never have to enter an atmosphere, then you only have to consider stress due to acceleration and impacts from smallish matter.
Only if you didn’t have to pressurize them. Corners are bad news.