Sarten X

I especially like the notion of having the range be controlled... I'm picturing a multi-part drone that drops a block of parts, then autonomously strip-mines a layer of a planet until it detects that block, then lowers its altitude limit and repeats.

Yes, I'm thinking "few minutes" would be the maximum ever encountered, with upgrades making it negligible. Having any time delay at all is just an incentive to upgrade , which is an incentive to get resources, which is an incentive to explore.

As has been mentioned a number of times, having a lot of logic gates for certain seemingly-simple functions becomes difficult to manage very quickly. I propose a logic part that serves as a n-input truth table, which would serve to condense many logic gates into one part, without reducing the challenge of working with simple parts. Upon placing the part, the top half of the configuration panel would allow the player to select the number of inputs (n). As the input count changes, the lower half of the panel would be a table with 2^n+1 rows, and n+1 columns. The top row would be configurable to set the input or output signals. Subsequent rows would show all of the possible activity combinations for the inputs, and the player could select the output state for each input combination.

(With my apologies for putting five ideas in one request, but they all interact, so separating them makes them all more confusing) I realize that Nimbatus is a drone-building game, and the focus is on the drone mechanics, but I think there are a few opportunities to improve the exploration aspects of the game, without detracting significantly from the construction. Travel between planets could take actual wall-clock time, presented as a countdown before the "Launch" button will function, but still allowing drone construction. For short trips, this could be on the order of seconds, so the player won't even notice in the time it takes to select a drone. For cross-galaxy trips, expect a good several minutes of waiting... perhaps a good time to build a new drone or upgrade your tech tree. Trips crossing the galactic core or between arms could require spending resources, with longer trips requiring more resources. That would keep resources useful once the tech tree is fully purchased. Destroying a transmitter would occasionally result in a transmission being intercepted from a random planet, making it immediately available for travel. Different regions of the galaxy would have different characteristics. While one area might be high in a particular resource, another would be scarce. This wouldn't necessarily affect any individual planet, but a large area. From the galaxy view, map overlays could show where different resources are most prevalent. These features would also encourage tech upgrades for the Nimbatus mothership itself, rather than just the drone tech. Propulsion improvements could reduce travel time. Cargo improvements could unlock drone collections. Sensor upgrades would show more of the planet (essentially zooming out the view) or enable minimap features,. Manufacturing upgrades would unlock new types of parts that wouldn't be strictly necessary for missions, but would support new drone designs. Unless I'm mistaken (and please comment if I am), the overall effects on gameplay would be: More technology options for longer gameplay An incentive to travel longer distances (better chances for resources) An incentive to not travel long distances (avoiding the time delay) An opportunity to explore new areas faster (intercepted transmissions) A reason to replay previously-explored planets (new drone parts allowing new designs) An incentive to find and destroy transmitters when that isn't the planet's mission Changing game tactics toward the later game (as more of the planet can be seen, more mission precision is possible) Whole classes of drone designs become in-game upgrades, so full-featured drones can't be built from the first mission.