Ophiuchus wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 3:08 pm
I dont think that a starlane bulk in the middle of the circle (maybe with some monsters roaming there) would change that much actually.
But, messing with mechanics was the idea. It would give rise new situations and one would have to adapt strategies.
The introduction of extra starlane stops probably would probably not work well without some kind of fuel scaling which we do not have.
If divide by two starlane length, then all one-hop attacks are automaticaly one-turn attacks regardless of ship speed. That is a bad idea, it takes out tactical diversity and fun.
If the division is done by injecting with empty systems, then supply reach is halved. Species with bad supply then suffer twice and could get really crippled if bad luck at start (so worse playability, specially in multiplayer). If it is done with populated systems, then supply reach is doubled. Species with bad supply have then much more probabilities to find a good system at supply range, and hence the diversity brought into game by those supply trait values is lost.
Be my guest to try out such scenarios, but I'm not interested on joining such games for now.
Anyways, as I commented, I see no problem in doing the first thing you mentioned: tune the cost factors to accelerate the game. It's simple, direct, fast, and does not break currently-interesting-and-fun-mechanics-that-need-no-messing-with.