Platforms Observations:
Could we have the option to let natural objects such as trees appear on platforms? Either through the building's site mesh or as a setting for the platform itself?
Can we think of any way to easily link platforms by a kind of extensible, procedural bridge so people can walk or drive between them? Or perhaps the bridge building type is allowed to lean off the edge of a platform?
When you say "flies", do you mean hovers, or will they be mobile? A city eternally chasing the rosy sunset through the coloured winds of a gas giant's top layer...
Perhaps instead of wells and mines, we could have a prospector bay type building for platform cities, so they can harvest liquids and solids as ships do, at a loss to efficiency but unrestricted by node placement? That would incidentally be helpful for those situations where the planet theoretically has a resource but no node can actually be found.
Platforms you can build in space, with moon-style HEV requirements (+ grav couplings for gravity?) would be lots of fun.
This is all very exciting.
Biodome questions:
Being able to destroy a civilian city by blowing up its dome would seem to violate warfare rules, unless biodomes are protected by the Military HQ. If biodomes are protected by the Military HQ, then, since they allow buildings to be built fully inside them, a civilian biodome could theoretically protect a Military HQ from destruction, using its obstruction model. This would create a loop where nothing is destructible - at least not by ships. Perhaps military buildings can only be built inside a special military biodome, or not in biodomes at all?
Platforms will presumably require similar rules. Dedicated, destructible military sub-platforms are the obvious solution.
Could we have the option to let natural objects such as trees appear on platforms? Either through the building's site mesh or as a setting for the platform itself?
Can we think of any way to easily link platforms by a kind of extensible, procedural bridge so people can walk or drive between them? Or perhaps the bridge building type is allowed to lean off the edge of a platform?
When you say "flies", do you mean hovers, or will they be mobile? A city eternally chasing the rosy sunset through the coloured winds of a gas giant's top layer...
Perhaps instead of wells and mines, we could have a prospector bay type building for platform cities, so they can harvest liquids and solids as ships do, at a loss to efficiency but unrestricted by node placement? That would incidentally be helpful for those situations where the planet theoretically has a resource but no node can actually be found.
Platforms you can build in space, with moon-style HEV requirements (+ grav couplings for gravity?) would be lots of fun.
This is all very exciting.
Biodome questions:
Being able to destroy a civilian city by blowing up its dome would seem to violate warfare rules, unless biodomes are protected by the Military HQ. If biodomes are protected by the Military HQ, then, since they allow buildings to be built fully inside them, a civilian biodome could theoretically protect a Military HQ from destruction, using its obstruction model. This would create a loop where nothing is destructible - at least not by ships. Perhaps military buildings can only be built inside a special military biodome, or not in biodomes at all?
Platforms will presumably require similar rules. Dedicated, destructible military sub-platforms are the obvious solution.