Allow users to turn OFF some graphic "features" to improve their SS gaming experience.

1) Foreground star fields. They are a distraction that just slows the game down.

2) Clouds surrounding stars. Very bad for SS. Very hard on the eyes.

3) Most of the Nebulae in DGs. Again very hard on the eyes. They are either too bright or way too dark.

4) The "random" exploding flares. They do nothing for the game, are a distraction and due to their brightness add to eye strain.

5) Speed bumps around stars and planets. Tracking gets all messed up making it very hard to scoop loot. (Also if you're going to have speed bumps around stars the stars shouldn't cause any damage... the player's ship is going around the star and not thru it.)

6) Bright White Flares when shooting beam weapons. They do nothing for the game and add to eye strain.


In all someone got very cutesy with the graphics and didn't think what these things would do to the overall SS experience.

Agree with everything except the planets thing. Thats a gameplay feature, and just because you don't like it doesn't mean it should go away.

Didn't say it should go away... just give the player the OPTION of making it go away.

.... That would give some players an advantage over others. Also, not possible with current mechanics; it's pretty much hard-coded and you would be in a different place if it was off rather than on according to the server, but not other players. So definitely no.

You, of course, are talking about the advantage of being able to see after playing SS for an hour or so. Makes driving soooo much easier when you don't need a seeing eye dog to help you steer.

It would look way worse going through the planet. If you had a small ship, you could technically hide inside the planet, which looks ridiculous and is less practical.

The reason it wouldn't work is because planets/suns etc. are on the same field of play as the players; you can't just not bump over it. All the astral bodies would have to be dropped down below the playable axis, which defeats the point of using them for cover.

This.

SS was the only game with a top down view that also had a growing (potential) playerbase.

Now, it's in the same genre view and movement wise as Armada Online, and DarkSpace. AO is a space version of LoL, but as a MMO. LoL has 32m players. Guess whats going to happen when AO finally releases...


But, alas. I like C2.