The value of "Mystery"

[Snafu_RW]

I think a "fog of war" type mechanic would be a cool addition. You would start with just a 1-2 tile radius of revealed territory around your colony...

Even though I'm against fog-of-war on the base map, having it the world map does sound like a fun idea and not too onerous to implement.

If Fog of War (FoW) were implemented I'd envision it like so:

• World generation reveals worldwide locations of settlements/camps as discovered from a brief preliminary survey prior to landing, just as the current game does. /This degrades over time/
  
• Camps/outposts /may/ change location slowly in a semi-random direction, prolly at a rate of 1-3 hexes before being resettled (nomads/pirates)
  
• Settlements are far less likely (if ever) to move than camps, unless invaded/destroyed
  
• FoW within (say) 20 hexes of <player> camp (travel time needs to be taken into account with nearby routes, such as roads) prevents <player> from easily discovering a useful/harmful invasion point
  
  
• An addition to the spaceship launch tech could be satellites: they give extended planetary vision range (FoW-busting) over a certain orbit for a serious cost in fuel/support (& likely to be damaged by solar flares unless constructed appropriately)

[Weyrling]

The way I enjoy playing the game is effectively as a story teller.
Lack of information would weaken this enjoyment because the point isn't that I have to deal with figuring things out, but that my colonists have to overcome the challenges.

Using a game as a medium to make stories offers a lot of interesting possibilities for several reasons so I like to have a good deal of control over the context of the story even as I lack control over the actual results.

[IHateRegistering]

Well... as all filmmakers know - you shouldn't ask your audiences what they want.



Consumers are good at consuming, but regarding desing, it is best left to the actual artists, who know how to guide and manipulate their audiences emotions. And thats what entertainment is all about...

I still think mystery would make the enjoyment of the game MUCH better, so I caution Tynan against listening to the voice of democracy. It kills all art

Consumers are good at pointing out the flaws but horrible at suggesting how to fix them.

[IndustryStandard]

Honestly I disagree too, plenty of mystery remains in the game.

And I don't think it needs to remain that way, I'd love to read a ton of lore surrounding everything in the game to give it more flavor and I imagine a lot of others would like that too.