Hi guys! First of all: I love the new mech/mecha stuff. I am a huge fan of the old "Cybernator" ("Assault Suits Valken" in Japan) and "Metal Warriors" games for the SNES. The walking animation of the mechs alone is a huge throwback to that (no idea if it was intentional or unintentional on your part) but I love it! I also absolutely love the NPC ships. All of a sudden the universe feels a lot less empty. That being said, I personally think that a few aspects of the new content feel a bit repetitive. Especially the music in the space stations and the space areas around annomalies and enemy ships. Here a few ideas on how to fix that: #1 diverse and less transquill music NPC stations have very tranquill music (the one from the old asteroid field). It feels kind of out of place for a lively place. Maybe something upbeat would be more fitting. What about the music from the intro/protectorate stage? (I think it had a nice positive tune, yes?) Or maybe a different song for the various types of stations? The area around enemy ships has one(!) kind of song. If you grind these areas for mech parts it is getting really annoying after a while. Maybe add 3-4 different "battle themes" to these areas? #2 player station music Add an option to the station control console to let the player chose the type of music to play. #3 enemy mechs Add a few encounters to the planets where one would battle against npc mechs. Maybe add a few mech parts that drop only from those mobs. #4 mech areas Add a few areas in space that are less "spacy" and more like a mech assault on enemy bases. Like the first level from the aforementioned "Cybernator" game. It could be an enemy space installation, where you would have to make you way past 4-8 enemy mechs and then battle a boss-level mech or other vehicle. Think "Metal Slug". Again, just take a pause and think "Metal Slug". Oh yeah. (You could also turn this into a new mission for S.A.I.L., whatever works better.) #5 other vehicles Ok, a little less planets and environments here, more of a mechanic: Use the mech system to include space snub fighters. They would be terrible on the ground (half the movement speed of a player, so you can merely maneuver them to the forcefield and out into space), but once they are airborne they would be a real fun addition to the space level. "R-Type" anyyone?
One more addition after a few more hours of play: #6 station traders Currently the only traders on the space station are the ones for the trading goods, which can be exchanged between the stations. It would be cool, if you could replace some of the crew quarters with a shop area like the markets and traders on the surface. Some of the rooms in the Hylotl unverwater cities look perfect for a small trader setup and it would be nice to have a place to sell some unwanted items while in space (without placing a trader on your ship or one's own station). You could also edit the central "mess hall" area of the stations and add a few stalls with normal npc traders.
