Storage

With the type of economy that Zero-K has, storage is more like a buffer.
There's not much reason to "save money" for a large project.

Actual good usage of storage exists, such as grabbing reclaim before you can use it.
Obviously, if your com dies you need storage.
But that kinda speaks against storage, since non-decisions don't really enhance the game.


If you want to remove storage(the unit) from the game:
Make energy storage intrinsic to player
Give (tiny) metal-only storage to all constructors
Now your allies will spam constructors instead of storages

If you kinda wanna keep storage(the unit), and want more communism:
Make energy and metal storage intrinsic to player
Rename storage to Metal Storage or Metal Buffer, it doesn't give storage though.
Storage only collects team-wide excess metal (ie, not much in most lobpot games)
Storage distributes stored metal to team as if it was a mex.

If you think storage is 100% useless:
Make energy and metal storage intrinsic to player
Excess metal visualized by idle cons smoking a lead pipe

nice idea! of storages storing excess metal and then sharing it back to team like a mex.

quote: nice idea! of storages storing excess metal and then sharing it back to team like a mex

That is already a mechanic without the storage. Any excess metal you have is evenly split among your teammates, nothing is lost unless everyone is overflowing.

All metal is your team's metal, you are just in charge of spending a portion of it as you see fit.

I'd love to see (a better player than me) think about the uses of the Storage, and whether storage in its current form is really the only solution to those situations or other solutions can be devised.

My vote is for storage to be removed. It does not add to the "fun" of the game. At least as far as a lob like me can see. It detracts from it.

From a game-design standpoint, I think having the storage unit as an option makes sense and is not a problem in itself. The game sets a limit on the player but also a way to manipulate that limit, this gives them more freedom to express and play the way they want. Similar to how Souls-like games lets your increase your health or stamina (not really but to show my point).
The way storage is now it's also very simple and intuitive, if it was baked into every constructor per talas's shower-thought then it would probably contribute to unnecessary convolution.

It also provides the opponent with an additional way to sabotage your economy if your com is down. Allowing them to weaponize the metal excess mechanic even more.

Fully agreed with mrdetonation. I wish there were at least some intrinsic storage for each player. I do understand that weaponizing metal excess is a valid strat to some extent. But it seems like a bad idea that com died = cloak fields flickering in and out across the map because I forgot to build a backup storage, the most noob-trap part of the game (right after caretaker)

So how about a 200 metal+energy intrinsic storage for each player? Then commanders could supplement with an additional 300 to give the usual buffer of 500.

As for lobs building too much storage... sigh. This is not an easy problem to solve but not forcing them to become aware of it early in their career is a good start (which can be done by player-intrinsic storage).

I like the idea of storage gaining only from overdrive, but I imagine it's not a full solution. And honestly any "full" solution (i.e. stop lob draining team by hoarding) would probably be a little arbitrary, going against the dynamic nature of the game. So how about that: a kinda arbitrary solution that might work => I propose shutting off player metal income above 1000 stored metal in the "all welcome" lobbies.

i remembered that during a game i raided a backline with a few sneaky skuttles.. i found a row of like 8 storages.. and i blew most of them up.. only to realize "wait did i just help there team win" O.o

yay, a storage discussion! =)
i want to share thoughts i have about storage.

what if you could somehow 'drop' the storage container of your commander somewhere, before you send him go play with the other commanders.


about making all the storage into one global team-storage:
the fact that mex income is shared, makes it undesirable to steal the mexes from your teammembers. that is a good thing, that might also work for the storage dillemma somehow.

> who has less storage

FTFY

yeah right, because campaign missions are the only way to provide a tutorial