Warning! Memory trip ahead! This is just me reminiscing on the development of Beyond Beyaan.
I also wanted the ship construction to be empire-wide, to reduce micromanagement. But then I realized, what if two systems are cut off from each other in middle, how do they contribute to the production? So I scrapped the fuel range. I also added production for empire-wide as shown:
Note that you determine how much each increment will contribute to the production. If you select 5, then each increment will add 5 BC to the production. This was very unwieldly and I ultimately scrapped that system. I then thought it'd be a neat idea to have nebulaes act as "friction" and your fleets will need to find the quickest path.
I then decided to follow MoO 1's slider system for planets. I also decided on stacked ships, just like MoO 1. And an identical transport system as well.
I started work on the combat screen, and other stuff, when I had the brillant idea of using scripts for equipment on ships, but I believed at the time that it won't work too well with stacked ships. So I scrapped the idea of stacked ships:
Later, I decided to make scripting even more flexible, and realized that this new system supports stacked ships, but the damage was already done. The UI is now designed around single ships. However, the combat process was pretty close to what I wanted it to look like (similar to MoO 1)
This new system required an overhaul of basically the entire data structure of ships and such. Deciding to take it even further, I made it possible to customize starting ships, planets, systems, etc. However, this consumed a lot of time with very little tangible benefits, making it hard to stay motivated to work on the game.
Then I finally decided that nebula as it was didn't look good, so I removed it and realized that what's the point of grid-based movement? It'd be a very rare thing to intercept someone in space, and there's nothing exciting in the empty spaces. So I scrapped that system and replaced it with star to star movement.
I then decided that I want the game to be even more moddable, so I changed how resources work. This was another overhaul, as well as my decision to change from sliders to regional developments.
So, looking back over all of those design changes and overhauls (I think the current overhaul of the data system to the final system will be 6th or 7th overhaul), I realized something. If I knew what I really wanted, and had the understandings that I do now, at the time when I started on this project, the game would probably be done by now. But that's the only regret. I don't regret all the learning and experiences that I've had with the process. When I made my first game, an asteroids clone, it took me 9 months to finally finish it. However, it was a very buggy game. Then a few years later, I decided to make the game again, to make a better version, and it took me a month to make an similar game but without the bugs. Then again a few years later I decided to remake the game as an way to learn C# and Gorgon engine. It took a month again, but I was able to add a LOT of new features such as varying types of asteroids, upgrades, etc.
So basically what I'm saying is that when I'm done with Beyond Beyaan, if I were to make another 4X game, it'd be a lot faster and less messy, because of the experiences that I've had with Beyond Beyaan. So here's finally the protip: If you're developing a game, know what you want in the game, and set limits on features based on your skill and experience.
Another problem with Beyond Beyaan is feature creep. Too often I'd go "Oh, that's an awesome idea, let's add that!". It's like building a house, then deciding that you didn't like a wall's position, so you destroy it and build a new wall in a new place. It will never be perfect, so you gotta decide on what you want, and what you are willing to put up with in terms of cut features.
The reason for this lengthy post is that I just started work on overhauling the code for handling the new final data files. The changes basically broke everything in the game, from the UI to the ships to the technology. I can't even compile it. I won't commit my changes to google source control until it's able to be compiled. It's like knocking down the whole house, and saving sections of it for re-use.
