Customizable ships

[BMF1000D]

I languished over where to post this... it's a ship idea but doesn't fit the format milo started, so, sorry if it's in the wrong place.

SGE Ships

SGE has a good selection of ships for different purposes; however, I think the structure of ship selection is being underutilized. Part of the fun with MMORPG’s is customization. For some players, that means appearance. For others, it is all about performance. For most, I think it is a mixture. If I were making my own space MMORPG, the ships would definitely have to be hand built, customizable affairs (with basic starter ships pre-built, of course). A great deal of satisfaction can come from slowly upgrading a ship one piece at a time as parts become available. In RPG MMORPGS, the customization comes from equipping the character. You have armor, shields, rings, swords, bows, potions, necklaces, etc. In SGE, the spaceship is the character. Currently the game play progresses with no reward for long periods of time, then all of a sudden you can buy a gun ten times as powerful. Progress needs to be more gradual and spread out over a longer period of time to hold player interest.
If I could design the ship interface, it would be something like this. Ships would consist of an empty hull that can be configured to accomplish the players goals (or purchased preconfigured from a merchant). Each hull would have maximum internal mass and critical dimensions that can be utilized. This concept has been utilized in “Mech Warrior” games as a drag and drop interface with much success. The terms used in mech games are usually weight and critical spaces. I’m proposing using mass and dimensions, not just to rehash a similar concept, but make it more applicable for a space environment. Also, each hull type would specialize in boosting one particular component attribute that was placed inside the ship, such as shield strength or power output or self repairing nannites or stealth capabilities or warp travel time, etc.
This allows for a player to choose a ship that will best serve the components he wants to build into the ship. Therefore, there may be several similarly sized chassis that have very different characteristics. This leads to ship designs that may have strength in one system, but sacrifice strength in another. In other words, a ship isn’t necessarily better, but different. It allows specialization of ship function that gives the player a high degree of control without allowing any one design to be too powerful. Of course, there will be different classes of ship size that could obviously be used to make a more powerful ship, but simply getting a bigger ship will not be an upgrade, as it will now be slower due to the added mass unless a player upgrades power supply, engines, etc. To some degree this specialization already exists in SGE, but is not customizable. With a customizable interface, that control is in the hands of the player instead of the game designer. No longer will the game designer hear “I want a ship that does this” or “I want a ship that does that”. Now it is up to the player to build it. The designer simply moderates by balancing the attributes of the internal components, with a few, rare, overpowered items introduced occasionally, perhaps with a limited lifespan or number of uses.
Here are three examples of possible ship builds:
Player 1 chooses to load three impulse engines into his ship instead of the standard single engine. This makes the ship very, very fast within the solar system. Also, he installed a high end warp drive so others can’t outrun him through warp gates. Unfortunately, he had to triple up on power supplies to drive the engines, which reduced additional components he could carry. He has decent internal mass left over for cargo, but because of the critical dimensions of the engines and warp drive he chose, the weapons he can equip are low end. Also, he has mediocre shielding because he wanted to retain good cargo hauling. Most of the time he can rely on speed to outrun anything in the galaxy and make a huge profit while doing it, but if his engines get disrupted by an EMP mine or a rocket disruptor, he hasn’t got much chance in a dogfight. Sometimes he gets stuck when he is fumbling around to hit a warp gate, because he only had enough power supply for a low-end autopilot controller.
Player 2 takes the low key approach because he is a newbie. He uses minimal low end components throughout the ship to retain a low electronic signature. Because of his low ES, most of the big warships can’t even get a target lock on him. He has learned that the higher ES a ship has, the more expensive targeting computer it takes to lock onto a “low ES” ship. He could shoot at the big warships, but it would take a very long time to get through their shielding and armor. They would just laugh at him unless he had a swarm of friends. He creeps around the galaxy, going largely unnoticed and doing whatever he wants unhindered. It’s a slow way to progress, but safe. His nightmare is the rare veteran newbie killer that has spent billions on a small ship with a targeting computer sensitive enough to punch through high ES weapons and shields to pick up his low ES ship on radar. When this happens, he tries to fly toward the big battleships, knowing they can easily target the high ES veteran foe and gladly kill him for high XP. He only has to hope he can find one quickly. He’ll be glad when he can afford a better ship and not be wary of the rare newbie hunter.
Player 3 is a killer. He’s not fast, but he doesn’t have to be. He’s armed to the teeth and ready to break veteran players. He’s equipped mine launchers and loaded out EMP mines. Whatever ship steps foot into his hunting ground will lose power immediately. If the prey has too small of an ES to lock onto, he’ll reset his trap and watch it scurry away. If it’s a prize big enough to target, he fires missiles as he closes on the target, switches to lasers when the missiles run dry, and fires his devastating cannons as he gets to point blank range. He can destroy an average veteran ship in a hurry. He had to use a big, heavy hull to equip this much weaponry, so he is very slow, he can’t take a lot of damage himself, and if something runs away he’ll never catch it. He is forced to prepare a position and wait for a foe to stumble into it. He can’t target the smallest ships because he didn’t have enough money to afford the incredibly expensive “high ES” targeting computer, which makes him vulnerable to coordinated attacks from low ES vessels. He’s like a brute with a very big club but a slow swing. He also hopes another well armed brute doesn’t come along, as his shields may not hold up.
As you can see, configurable ships add a great customizable element to the game. Also, it allows for better use of specialized character classes. You can create mechanic professions to modify advanced ship configurations, engineer professions for player crafted engines, weapon specialists for advanced weapons, theoretical physicist professions for advanced shields etc. Instead of programming in new items or systems, you could allow a way for players to “invent” new technologies every few months by doing research in their field of specialty. It would create more interdependence between Bartle types (http://www.guildcafe.com/bartle.php ). It would allow for rare ship components to be gathered by explorers as well (sort of like artifacts are now). If a particular ship configuration is too powerful, the individual components can be nerfed instead of the whole ship. For example, make shield generators more massive or less massive or increase the critical dimensions, etc. Also, the introduction of electronic signature keeps fights on a level playing field for the most part. A veteran player could spend incredibly large amounts of money on a “high ES” targeting computer to be able to attack newbies, but the money would be more efficiently spent protecting himself from veterans. High dollar targeting computers could be made un-insurable, to increase the risk of buying them. Here are some random examples of ship hulls:

Ship A: Internal Mass = 100 Dimension = 80 Weight = 100, +10% raw material handling capacity
Ship B: Internal Mass = 150 Dimension = 60 Weight = 150 +15 percent power supply output
Ship C: Internal Mass = 120 Dimension = 150 Weight = 120 +10% shield generator output

All of the components that go into the ships would have six attributes that affect how well they would work with various hulls and other components. Also, regions of solar systems could be made to affect ship attributes differently. For example, certain high gravity suns could wreak havoc on missile function, or high heat suns could overheat ship systems faster, requiring ships to incorporate more cooling to operate effectively in a given region. Players might have to adapt their ships to perform optimally in a given sector, or deal with a performance handicap if they choose not to.

Here are the basic component attributes, some of which I have fleshed out, some of which I have not.

Component Attributes
Mass
Dimensions
Weight
Electronic Signature
Heat generation
Power consumption

Mass - Every component has mass. Every hull has a maximum mass that it can hold. Ergo, mass limits how much “stuff” can go in a ship.

Dimensions – Sometimes a part just won’t fit, even if it is low mass. Dimension accounts for the odd sizes of parts. Sometimes these are rare, advanced, or experimental parts.

Weight – Every component adds weight to the ship, which reduces acceleration and handling. Most cargo types add weight as well. Some of the heaviest weight comes from armor.

Electronic Signature – All components add electronic signature that makes a ship more detectable to enemy targeting sensors. Some components add very little, while some are very “noisy”. Some components are especially designed for lower ES than a standard part, making them more valuable. Also, stealth emitters generate anti-energy waves, lowering a ships overall ES. Normally, you would want as low an ES as possible.
Conversely, all of this ES noise can make it hard for your own ship to target enemies. A basic computer allows you to target enemies that are lower than 15% of your own ES. By spending extraordinary amounts of money, it is possible to buy a targeting computer that targets smaller ES ships.

Heat – Most components generate heat. If you generate too much heat, one or more of your components could shut down, burn out or explode. Engines, power supplies and lasers are usually the biggest culprits. Also, “over-clocking” components can increase the risk of overheating. There are coolant systems that can reduce heat. Certain solar systems will be hotter than others. Proximity to stars will be a factor as well.

Power consumption – It takes a lot of power to run a starship. If there isn’t enough power, components will function poorly or not at all. Nearly all components consume power, so if you don’t plan carefully you’ll find yourself short on power.

Component Types

Engines
Impulse (Intra-sol)
Warp (Inter-sol)
Maneuver
Brake

Armor
(Placement can be changed to protect specific areas)
High Weight – basic armor effective against all weapon types
Low Weight – advanced, lower weight for improved speed, acceleration
Reactive - good against missiles, cannon
Refractive - good against lasers and plasma

Shields
Traditional-fixed power cell
All or none – shields hold at full or collapse completely
Regenerative – behave like traditional but recharge from power source
Sub component: Balance effectiveness against different weapon types
Reflective – Redirect laser attacks back at attacker, ineffective against other weaps

Weapons
Missiles – limited missiles per ammo case, long range,
Lasers – normal range, overheats enemy as it damages
Cannon - limited shells per ammo case, massive damage
Phased Plasma – advanced alien tech, massive damage, long range
EMP – disrupt electronics and/or power of enemy
Mine/Beacon launcher – deploy mines,
Ammo Case – holds ammo!!!

Coolant
Prevents overheating and meltdown of various systems

Electronics and Accessories
Targeting sensor array – to attack at all, (pinpoint enemy systems?)
Tactical sensor – Can “snapshot” an enemy ship configuration for study
Navigation – Inter-solar and warp jump data
Probe – Intra-sol data
Cloak – Reduce electronic signature
Galactic Map
Shield Disruptor
Warp Disruptor
Signature Generator - Imitate the ES of large ships on Navigation sensors or attatch a large signature onto a smaller ship for targeting
Chafe – missile counter measure-limited ammo
Plasma diffuser – plasma counter measure- uses high power
Jammers – Reduce tactical sensors of others, raises ES

Power Source - Heart of ship, provides power for all components, varying mass, size, output, etc.
Nuclear
Solar Panels –
Anti-matter
Batteries – used as a buffer between reactor output and ship usage

Cargo – Cargo is basically unused space on the ship. Raw materials can be hauled in an amount equal to whatever mass is left over. Finished products, like turrets, engine parts, would also require a certain amount of dimensions to be available in addition to mass.

A new concept that can be added to the game with customizable ships is component damage and failure. In combat, a specific component might be damaged and loose function. As a result, it would need to be repaired or replaced. Repairing and replacing these components might require certain tools or help only available from another player specialized in a certain profession, or maybe it would be much cheaper through another player.

These are just preliminary thoughts on ship customization. I’d like to continue adding details to my idea, but would like some feedback from the game designers on what it would take to make this a reality. I realize it would require a lot of work. I would be willing to help in whatever capacity I could. Also, community feedback would be good.

Edit: Sorry about the poll. Just saw the guidelines.

[Starblazer]

I love the idea and would add some unique aspects to the games simple and sometimes bland game play. Would be cool to be able to just change a ships colors, but will be awesome to pick what ship components you want or need for a particular task. Expensive ship upgrades will give players on permaverse's a way to spend their excess credits and give them opportunities to personalize their ship types.

Since you can do pretty much what you want on the game, why not give us a chance to do the same thing with our ships!.

[Elemayo]

I love the idea of ship customization.

Some parts of your idea are a little to extensive, and would in all likely-hood, completely change the current style of gameplay. Other than that this would add much needed diversity amongst ships.

[kswisher]

pretty much every thread ive ever seen about ship custumization has been supported by players, even ones calling for the selection of colored exhaust. Dont hold ur breath on this idea though. it is however a great one, and i can tell u put a lot of thought and time into this, so nice work.

[Cheesy]

i like the customization part but it seems a little bit over done. this would complicate the game 2 a degree that would trip up newbs even more. this game already is complicated ive been told that by peeps ive tried2 start playing the game. they nevergot into itbeaces the game wa 2 them "over complicted with way too many things to take in at once" adding the heat details and everythig would deture newbs and even scare off a few vets after all this would change alot about the game. the way u speak of targetimg sytems and all that make it sound as if ur changing the current fighting sytem alot. i like the current figting sytem cause unlike most games ur controling everything instead of watching ur character fight with u only controling wat attacks he uses, in starport u move target shoot and manuever so u actually use skill. but i like the idea but its over complicated aand would never get implemented this way its a cool idea tho but it sounds like a totally new game...sounds like a sequel

[BMF1000D]

this would complicate the game 2 a degree that would trip up newbs even more. this game already is complicated ive been told that by peeps ive tried2 start playing the game. they nevergot into itbeaces the game wa 2 them "over complicted with way too many things to take in at once"

People that don't want to customize could buy a pre-built ship or a custom rig made by another player?

the way u speak of targetimg sytems and all that make it sound as if ur changing the current fighting sytem alot.

That's not my intent. One way of implementing ships that you can't target would be to have them simply not show up on your screen, like a stealth fighter or cloak. Or if people don't like that then the ship could be grayed out or translucent. Shots fired at the ship would simply float through it.

It would certainly offer additional combat strategies. Many of these ideas already exist in game to some degree, but the player has no control over tweaking them to taste.

[NeatLogs]

Nearly everybody would like ship customisation. However, a few suggestions on your ideas:

Since you are proposing that every component has weight, which you are saying doesn't have a maximum, why don't we just get rid of that statistic and just say that mass affects acceleration and handling? I mean unless, physics and realism aside, your ship components aren't going to have weight and mass in a proportional relationship?

If mass and weight are related, I also suggest that the mass maximum be done away with altogether, and just make it that if you have too much "weight" (my simple high school science education is cringing here), your ship will have such idiotic acceleration and turning that you couldn't get away from the gravity of some suns without the /warp command. That'll teach people. (Or we can make that a warning as a part of the creation process, I guess).

Electronic Signature: *sigh* Even with your reply to cheesy, I'm not sure you've thought this through for every single weapon. Your idea would work if the only weapon in starport was the grav beam. With the other weapons, the only way I could see this being implemented was if ES affected hit boxes.

Our version of heat is energy. Let's keep things simple huh? Otherwise, with your version of heat, it might not feel like starport any more! I don't like the "some solar systems are hotter" either, but the choice to overclock systems is just fine with me. This is, however, a completely separate system that will need massive changes to the user interface.

Power consumption: Is that just supposed to be something that we can simplify to "we already have energy" again, or is there supposed to be a maximum power statistic for each hull?

Brake: What? No! Just turn around and impulse in the other direction like we already do.

Armour: If we had armour, it wouldn't be starport anymore. Just put the options in this category under shields.

Weapons: This, I imagine, would be secondary weapons, since we can already buy primary weapons at the starbase. This is the one area in which I think you have not specified enough options. Secondary weapons customisation could fill a page. Otherwise, just have a standard secondary weapons with each hull. Ammo is just unnecessarily tedious.

Coolant: But then nobody will buy my superconductors!

Electronics and Accessories: Apart from the items that are already an option whichever ship you have, *sings* nooooo..... nooooo..... nooooo....

Cargo: Only if the spare room is connected to the outer hull should it be counted as space that can be used for cargo. And as for the ability to put hardware into cargo... as realistic as this actually is, please remember that Starport has a long and rather balanced history of not being able to put hardware into cargo.

Component damage and failure: Again, we've never had component damage and failure in the ships we have now... This will not feel like Starport.

Look, I like your ideas, but most of them, when considered, really could do with more thought, specifically in the area of "would this game still be feel like the old Starport we know and love if these changes were implemented". My analysis is that your ideas aren't really based so much around Starport gameplay as maybe Eve Online gamplay.

Another thing you have to consider is the amount of information that would need to be processed by the server. Adding solar system heat? That'd just lag you on warping in. Electronic Signature? Being able to change electronic signature? Then having more than 5 people fighting together might crash the server.

Please revise your proposal and make appropriate changes.

To kswisher and Starblazer: I'm not sure you read his post in its entirety.

[Lumanaty]

this sounds alot like eve to me .. which reminds me i should get back in to eve

[BLADE2]

Good ideas, therefore, will never be implemented.
Sorry, history has shown that dramatic improvements are rare, and when they do occur, they are riddled with bugz and toonces spends the next month trying to address everyone's concerns about it.

[BMF1000D]

Does anyone know how often Toonces or other game designers/coders read the research lab? I am just wondering if they tend to respond to these posts at all or only if they think they might implement it. I'm not looking for an affirmation from them about the idea, just wondering if they typically use the silent treatment to shoot down ideas or if they are just that busy.

Watch as my idea catches on fire and plummets through the atmosphere of Sol! (apparently)

I apprecaite the feedback I've been getting from forum members anyway.

[milo]

history has shown that dramatic improvements are rare,

i'd just like to rebuke this statement

to name a few:
- research patch
- more colony management changes (over several patches)
- multi shot solars
- ship adjustments
- more solar changes (drag) (p.s. toonces you need to increase the drag on greenhouses, without sacrificing solar range. of you don't greens have lost their niche and are usless)

and these are only a few rencent ones

oh and say i like the idea

[BlackNova]

I will pay you 1,000 credits to put your monologue on paragraphs

Nova

[BlackNova]

Ew, i just realised that i revived an old thread. Shame on me.

[McGrod]

Im sure I saw something about modding your ship to your style coming to reality

[devilwolf]

deffinatly an idea worth looking at, which, makes me wonder if toonce will look at it. At a minimum, let us customize the ships that are available, if not going with the whole build your own idea.

[NeatLogs]

It's a good time to bring this thread back up, to be honest. Maybe we can work something out here. *dunks thread in chlorinated bath to remove smell*

[Stklr]

i read the first sentance then was like "hug this"

So I cant add anything to the discussion.


Meliza

[Paneak]

i read the first sentance then was like "hug this"

So I cant add anything to the discussion.


Meliza

Rare event....i agree with you. This is a wonderful idea but keeping it balanced would be tricky.

[BMF1000D]

Rare event....i agree with you. This is a wonderful idea but keeping it balanced would be tricky.

Balancing it would require taking a best guess at what will work, implementing it, and taking feedback from hundreds of players over months of playtime.

That also happens to be what successful game companies like Blizzard are doing.

I'm not saying everything I originally posted would be retained after trial and error, but you've got to start somewhere. I know it's pain in the posterior, but don't you think in the end it would be worth it to make the game more enjoyable (not to mention addictive)?

*shrug*

[NeatLogs]

Getting a balance through trial and error is not the way to go about this, I think. The best way would be if the quality of the ship was based on player creativity and design ability. A good example would if you had to fit the subsystems into the ship yourself like a puzzle and how well those systems work depend on how close they are to the centre of the ship. That's already close to balanced because it'd be impossible to do a "perfect" setup. Especially if all the systems and the ship hull you fit them in were a funny shape.

There must be other and better ways of ship customisation that is pretty much balanced right from the start.

[BMF1000D]

Getting a balance through trial and error is not the way to go about this, I think.

I'm not trying to be a smart alec, but that's the only way fine tuning ever works. Yes, what you said is correct about a puzzle type layout with no one perfect build. But you will still have builds that are more powerful than others for the amount of invested time/money or purpose.

Instead of balancing one ship, you are having to balance each individual component that can be used and all the combinations that each "puzzle" can deliver. Suddenly you have thousands of ship possibiltes and prices.

Why do you think major game companies hire play testers? It's not just for bugs. It's for play balance. The best idea on paper may not be so good in practice. I still think it would be worth the effort invested, though
it's important for people to realize that it wouldn't be perfect at first.

[NeatLogs]

I guess any system will need fine tuning. I agree that anything that is implemeted would need a few months to get right.

Back to the issue of ship customisation, I'm not sure we should use "levels of research". It'd be frustrating on a rebang, and veteran engineers should be veterans because they know how to get the best out of the game mechanics, not solely because they've been there the longest.

One of my other points with the "puzzle" that I didn't mention is that there will be some setups that are more powerful in every way while using less money. But that would be offset by the fact that somewhere along the line, money and time was spent to discover it in the first place.

Some random stuff:

- I wonder if it will be difficult to implement unique ship component trade? The server database might not be built to handle that kind of thing.

- Thousands of ship prices? Millions is more like it. 200 million and one, to be exact.

- Even though you can't sell ships, I wonder if you can sell ship assembly instructions. If you have all the right components and the instructions, it assembles automatically. Naturally, the instructions don't actually show you how it's done. More fun that way.

- Heck, you could have assembly instructions for components, so you don't have to keep repeating time-consuming assembly actions. We'd need new storage for the new item though. You can't exactly put it in hardware slots.

[Hear_Me_Out]

Customizable ships is a great idea but starport is very complicated already. First of all we need one more ship like isc but more expensive and you can get with -rep or +rep. Then we can talk about customization. Make it simple, load it patch by patch. First of all, you should be able to choose different colors for ships. Second of all, we need a new wep same price as grav but longer range like fusion but better. What I am hearing is way too complicated, and will rpevent new players from starting. So make it simple, you buy ships, and you may add ons tuff, but it isn't neccisary. No complicated BBQ, none of this mass deimensions crap the game is nerdy enough already. Maybe like you can upgrade your engine, get body kits and stuff, like in need fore speed. Just keep it simple. Toonces, you gotta listen, i ain't been playing for that long but I can see already how vets will tire of the same old thing. Yes it's addictive, but we are begging for new features. Please reply to this toonces! Oh, editing here, great freaking idea. Just a thought, interesting subject here, maybe if players could actually design stuff, like say a type of base, like the death star, then sell it. Like if a player could design a drone, like npc ships that you create for your corporation. Corporations should be able to manufacture stuff, this could add a whole new level of playing to the game, especially to pax galaxies. Just a thought...

[NeatLogs]

You started out by saying "Let's not have this complicated"...
... Then it was "Let's implement manufacturing logistics and market competition".

There's plenty of ways to make something in a game appear simple. Most of it has to do with a decent UI. The complexity that comes with infinite potential combinations doesn't seem so daunting when faced with something that looks like a jigsaw game. Just because there is a whole lot of thinking, balancing and adjusting that will go on in the designing and high competitive levels, doesn't mean it can't be simple for a new player to get into it.

Think of it this way. FPS games are simple, right? Four arrow keys for movement and a shoot button. Maybe there's a jump and a crouch. But damnit, the other team captures the flag in less time than I can find some weapons. Also, that guy over there headshots me EVERY TURN!

Lousy campers.

What we DON'T want is an "upgrade the engines" kind of ship customisation. Then it just becomes one more thing you have to buy to make sure you have the best stuff available. We also don't want just "paint your ship" customisation. Cause that's just a waste of credits, especially in rebangs.

All the "mass dimensions crap" is to make sure that even if the system looks simple, there's a lot of gameplay that can be found if you really got into it. Just like in an FPS where you don't HAVE to pay attention to aiming or team tactics, you don't have to pay attention to the mass dimensions crap.

[BMF1000D]

Well said, Neatlogs.

[Catfish]

sweet mother of god, am i supposed to actually read all of that?? whitenovas right

I languished over where to post this... it's a ship idea but doesn't fit the format milo started, so, sorry if it's in the wrong place.

SGE Ships

SGE has a good selection of ships for different purposes; however, I think the structure of ship selection is being underutilized. Part of the fun with MMORPG’s is customization. For some players, that means appearance. For others, it is all about performance. For most, I think it is a mixture. If I were making my own space MMORPG, the ships would definitely have to be hand built, customizable affairs (with basic starter ships pre-built, of course).

A great deal of satisfaction can come from slowly upgrading a ship one piece at a time as parts become available. In RPG MMORPGS, the customization comes from equipping the character. You have armor, shields, rings, swords, bows, potions, necklaces, etc. In SGE, the spaceship is the character. Currently the game play progresses with no reward for long periods of time, then all of a sudden you can buy a gun ten times as powerful. Progress needs to be more gradual and spread out over a longer period of time to hold player interest.


If I could design the ship interface, it would be something like this. Ships would consist of an empty hull that can be configured to accomplish the players goals (or purchased preconfigured from a merchant). Each hull would have maximum internal mass and critical dimensions that can be utilized. This concept has been utilized in “Mech Warrior” games as a drag and drop interface with much success. The terms used in mech games are usually weight and critical spaces.

I’m proposing using mass and dimensions, not just to rehash a similar concept, but make it more applicable for a space environment. Also, each hull type would specialize in boosting one particular component attribute that was placed inside the ship, such as shield strength or power output or self repairing nannites or stealth capabilities or warp travel time, etc.

This allows for a player to choose a ship that will best serve the components he wants to build into the ship. Therefore, there may be several similarly sized chassis that have very different characteristics. This leads to ship designs that may have strength in one system, but sacrifice strength in another. In other words, a ship isn’t necessarily better, but different. It allows specialization of ship function that gives the player a high degree of control without allowing any one design to be too powerful. Of course, there will be different classes of ship size that could obviously be used to make a more powerful ship, but simply getting a bigger ship will not be an upgrade, as it will now be slower due to the added mass unless a player upgrades power supply, engines, etc.

To some degree this specialization already exists in SGE, but is not customizable. With a customizable interface, that control is in the hands of the player instead of the game designer. No longer will the game designer hear “I want a ship that does this” or “I want a ship that does that”. Now it is up to the player to build it. The designer simply moderates by balancing the attributes of the internal components, with a few, rare, overpowered items introduced occasionally, perhaps with a limited lifespan or number of uses.


Here are three examples of possible ship builds:

Player 1 chooses to load three impulse engines into his ship instead of the standard single engine. This makes the ship very, very fast within the solar system. Also, he installed a high end warp drive so others can’t outrun him through warp gates. Unfortunately, he had to triple up on power supplies to drive the engines, which reduced additional components he could carry.

He has decent internal mass left over for cargo, but because of the critical dimensions of the engines and warp drive he chose, the weapons he can equip are low end. Also, he has mediocre shielding because he wanted to retain good cargo hauling. Most of the time he can rely on speed to outrun anything in the galaxy and make a huge profit while doing it, but if his engines get disrupted by an EMP mine or a rocket disruptor, he hasn’t got much chance in a dogfight. Sometimes he gets stuck when he is fumbling around to hit a warp gate, because he only had enough power supply for a low-end autopilot controller.


Player 2 takes the low key approach because he is a newbie. He uses minimal low end components throughout the ship to retain a low electronic signature. Because of his low ES, most of the big warships can’t even get a target lock on him. He has learned that the higher ES a ship has, the more expensive targeting computer it takes to lock onto a “low ES” ship. He could shoot at the big warships, but it would take a very long time to get through their shielding and armor. They would just laugh at him unless he had a swarm of friends.

He creeps around the galaxy, going largely unnoticed and doing whatever he wants unhindered. It’s a slow way to progress, but safe. His nightmare is the rare veteran newbie killer that has spent billions on a small ship with a targeting computer sensitive enough to punch through high ES weapons and shields to pick up his low ES ship on radar. When this happens, he tries to fly toward the big battleships, knowing they can easily target the high ES veteran foe and gladly kill him for high XP. He only has to hope he can find one quickly. He’ll be glad when he can afford a better ship and not be wary of the rare newbie hunter.


Player 3 is a killer. He’s not fast, but he doesn’t have to be. He’s armed to the teeth and ready to break veteran players. He’s equipped mine launchers and loaded out EMP mines. Whatever ship steps foot into his hunting ground will lose power immediately. If the prey has too small of an ES to lock onto, he’ll reset his trap and watch it scurry away. If it’s a prize big enough to target, he fires missiles as he closes on the target, switches to lasers when the missiles run dry, and fires his devastating cannons as he gets to point blank range. He can destroy an average veteran ship in a hurry. He had to use a big, heavy hull to equip this much weaponry, so he is very slow, he can’t take a lot of damage himself, and if something runs away he’ll never catch it.

He is forced to prepare a position and wait for a foe to stumble into it. He can’t target the smallest ships because he didn’t have enough money to afford the incredibly expensive “high ES” targeting computer, which makes him vulnerable to coordinated attacks from low ES vessels. He’s like a brute with a very big club but a slow swing. He also hopes another well armed brute doesn’t come along, as his shields may not hold up.
As you can see, configurable ships add a great customizable element to the game. Also, it allows for better use of specialized character classes.

You can create mechanic professions to modify advanced ship configurations, engineer professions for player crafted engines, weapon specialists for advanced weapons, theoretical physicist professions for advanced shields etc. Instead of programming in new items or systems, you could allow a way for players to “invent” new technologies every few months by doing research in their field of specialty. It would create more interdependence between Bartle types (http://www.guildcafe.com/bartle.php ). It would allow for rare ship components to be gathered by explorers as well (sort of like artifacts are now). If a particular ship configuration is too powerful, the individual components can be nerfed instead of the whole ship.

For example, make shield generators more massive or less massive or increase the critical dimensions, etc. Also, the introduction of electronic signature keeps fights on a level playing field for the most part. A veteran player could spend incredibly large amounts of money on a “high ES” targeting computer to be able to attack newbies, but the money would be more efficiently spent protecting himself from veterans. High dollar targeting computers could be made un-insurable, to increase the risk of buying them. Here are some random examples of ship hulls:

Ship A: Internal Mass = 100 Dimension = 80 Weight = 100, +10% raw material handling capacity
Ship B: Internal Mass = 150 Dimension = 60 Weight = 150 +15 percent power supply output
Ship C: Internal Mass = 120 Dimension = 150 Weight = 120 +10% shield generator output

All of the components that go into the ships would have six attributes that affect how well they would work with various hulls and other components. Also, regions of solar systems could be made to affect ship attributes differently. For example, certain high gravity suns could wreak havoc on missile function, or high heat suns could overheat ship systems faster, requiring ships to incorporate more cooling to operate effectively in a given region. Players might have to adapt their ships to perform optimally in a given sector, or deal with a performance handicap if they choose not to.

Here are the basic component attributes, some of which I have fleshed out, some of which I have not.

Component Attributes
Mass
Dimensions
Weight
Electronic Signature
Heat generation
Power consumption

Mass - Every component has mass. Every hull has a maximum mass that it can hold. Ergo, mass limits how much “stuff” can go in a ship.

Dimensions – Sometimes a part just won’t fit, even if it is low mass. Dimension accounts for the odd sizes of parts. Sometimes these are rare, advanced, or experimental parts.

Weight – Every component adds weight to the ship, which reduces acceleration and handling. Most cargo types add weight as well. Some of the heaviest weight comes from armor.

Electronic Signature – All components add electronic signature that makes a ship more detectable to enemy targeting sensors. Some components add very little, while some are very “noisy”. Some components are especially designed for lower ES than a standard part, making them more valuable. Also, stealth emitters generate anti-energy waves, lowering a ships overall ES. Normally, you would want as low an ES as possible.

Conversely, all of this ES noise can make it hard for your own ship to target enemies. A basic computer allows you to target enemies that are lower than 15% of your own ES. By spending extraordinary amounts of money, it is possible to buy a targeting computer that targets smaller ES ships.

Heat – Most components generate heat. If you generate too much heat, one or more of your components could shut down, burn out or explode. Engines, power supplies and lasers are usually the biggest culprits. Also, “over-clocking” components can increase the risk of overheating. There are coolant systems that can reduce heat. Certain solar systems will be hotter than others. Proximity to stars will be a factor as well.

Power consumption – It takes a lot of power to run a starship. If there isn’t enough power, components will function poorly or not at all. Nearly all components consume power, so if you don’t plan carefully you’ll find yourself short on power.

Component Types

Engines
Impulse (Intra-sol)
Warp (Inter-sol)
Maneuver
Brake

Armor
(Placement can be changed to protect specific areas)
High Weight – basic armor effective against all weapon types
Low Weight – advanced, lower weight for improved speed, acceleration
Reactive - good against missiles, cannon
Refractive - good against lasers and plasma

Shields
Traditional-fixed power cell
All or none – shields hold at full or collapse completely
Regenerative – behave like traditional but recharge from power source
Sub component: Balance effectiveness against different weapon types
Reflective – Redirect laser attacks back at attacker, ineffective against other weaps

Weapons
Missiles – limited missiles per ammo case, long range,
Lasers – normal range, overheats enemy as it damages
Cannon - limited shells per ammo case, massive damage
Phased Plasma – advanced alien tech, massive damage, long range
EMP – disrupt electronics and/or power of enemy
Mine/Beacon launcher – deploy mines,
Ammo Case – holds ammo!!!

Coolant
Prevents overheating and meltdown of various systems

Electronics and Accessories
Targeting sensor array – to attack at all, (pinpoint enemy systems?)
Tactical sensor – Can “snapshot” an enemy ship configuration for study
Navigation – Inter-solar and warp jump data
Probe – Intra-sol data
Cloak – Reduce electronic signature
Galactic Map
Shield Disruptor
Warp Disruptor
Signature Generator - Imitate the ES of large ships on Navigation sensors or attatch a large signature onto a smaller ship for targeting
Chafe – missile counter measure-limited ammo
Plasma diffuser – plasma counter measure- uses high power
Jammers – Reduce tactical sensors of others, raises ES

Power Source - Heart of ship, provides power for all components, varying mass, size, output, etc.
Nuclear
Solar Panels –
Anti-matter
Batteries – used as a buffer between reactor output and ship usage

Cargo – Cargo is basically unused space on the ship. Raw materials can be hauled in an amount equal to whatever mass is left over. Finished products, like turrets, engine parts, would also require a certain amount of dimensions to be available in addition to mass.

A new concept that can be added to the game with customizable ships is component damage and failure. In combat, a specific component might be damaged and loose function. As a result, it would need to be repaired or replaced. Repairing and replacing these components might require certain tools or help only available from another player specialized in a certain profession, or maybe it would be much cheaper through another player.

These are just preliminary thoughts on ship customization. I’d like to continue adding details to my idea, but would like some feedback from the game designers on what it would take to make this a reality. I realize it would require a lot of work. I would be willing to help in whatever capacity I could. Also, community feedback would be good.

Edit: Sorry about the poll. Just saw the guidelines.

BBQ that took forever

[Cheesy]

sweet mother of god, am i supposed to actually read all of that?? whitenovas right

I languished over where to post this... it's a ship idea but doesn't fit the format milo started, so, sorry if it's in the wrong place.

SGE Ships

SGE has a good selection of ships for different purposes; however, I think the structure of ship selection is being underutilized. Part of the fun with MMORPG’s is customization. For some players, that means appearance. For others, it is all about performance. For most, I think it is a mixture. If I were making my own space MMORPG, the ships would definitely have to be hand built, customizable affairs (with basic starter ships pre-built, of course).

A great deal of satisfaction can come from slowly upgrading a ship one piece at a time as parts become available. In RPG MMORPGS, the customization comes from equipping the character. You have armor, shields, rings, swords, bows, potions, necklaces, etc. In SGE, the spaceship is the character. Currently the game play progresses with no reward for long periods of time, then all of a sudden you can buy a gun ten times as powerful. Progress needs to be more gradual and spread out over a longer period of time to hold player interest.


If I could design the ship interface, it would be something like this. Ships would consist of an empty hull that can be configured to accomplish the players goals (or purchased preconfigured from a merchant). Each hull would have maximum internal mass and critical dimensions that can be utilized. This concept has been utilized in “Mech Warrior” games as a drag and drop interface with much success. The terms used in mech games are usually weight and critical spaces.

I’m proposing using mass and dimensions, not just to rehash a similar concept, but make it more applicable for a space environment. Also, each hull type would specialize in boosting one particular component attribute that was placed inside the ship, such as shield strength or power output or self repairing nannites or stealth capabilities or warp travel time, etc.

This allows for a player to choose a ship that will best serve the components he wants to build into the ship. Therefore, there may be several similarly sized chassis that have very different characteristics. This leads to ship designs that may have strength in one system, but sacrifice strength in another. In other words, a ship isn’t necessarily better, but different. It allows specialization of ship function that gives the player a high degree of control without allowing any one design to be too powerful. Of course, there will be different classes of ship size that could obviously be used to make a more powerful ship, but simply getting a bigger ship will not be an upgrade, as it will now be slower due to the added mass unless a player upgrades power supply, engines, etc.

To some degree this specialization already exists in SGE, but is not customizable. With a customizable interface, that control is in the hands of the player instead of the game designer. No longer will the game designer hear “I want a ship that does this” or “I want a ship that does that”. Now it is up to the player to build it. The designer simply moderates by balancing the attributes of the internal components, with a few, rare, overpowered items introduced occasionally, perhaps with a limited lifespan or number of uses.


Here are three examples of possible ship builds:

Player 1 chooses to load three impulse engines into his ship instead of the standard single engine. This makes the ship very, very fast within the solar system. Also, he installed a high end warp drive so others can’t outrun him through warp gates. Unfortunately, he had to triple up on power supplies to drive the engines, which reduced additional components he could carry.

He has decent internal mass left over for cargo, but because of the critical dimensions of the engines and warp drive he chose, the weapons he can equip are low end. Also, he has mediocre shielding because he wanted to retain good cargo hauling. Most of the time he can rely on speed to outrun anything in the galaxy and make a huge profit while doing it, but if his engines get disrupted by an EMP mine or a rocket disruptor, he hasn’t got much chance in a dogfight. Sometimes he gets stuck when he is fumbling around to hit a warp gate, because he only had enough power supply for a low-end autopilot controller.


Player 2 takes the low key approach because he is a newbie. He uses minimal low end components throughout the ship to retain a low electronic signature. Because of his low ES, most of the big warships can’t even get a target lock on him. He has learned that the higher ES a ship has, the more expensive targeting computer it takes to lock onto a “low ES” ship. He could shoot at the big warships, but it would take a very long time to get through their shielding and armor. They would just laugh at him unless he had a swarm of friends.

He creeps around the galaxy, going largely unnoticed and doing whatever he wants unhindered. It’s a slow way to progress, but safe. His nightmare is the rare veteran newbie killer that has spent billions on a small ship with a targeting computer sensitive enough to punch through high ES weapons and shields to pick up his low ES ship on radar. When this happens, he tries to fly toward the big battleships, knowing they can easily target the high ES veteran foe and gladly kill him for high XP. He only has to hope he can find one quickly. He’ll be glad when he can afford a better ship and not be wary of the rare newbie hunter.


Player 3 is a killer. He’s not fast, but he doesn’t have to be. He’s armed to the teeth and ready to break veteran players. He’s equipped mine launchers and loaded out EMP mines. Whatever ship steps foot into his hunting ground will lose power immediately. If the prey has too small of an ES to lock onto, he’ll reset his trap and watch it scurry away. If it’s a prize big enough to target, he fires missiles as he closes on the target, switches to lasers when the missiles run dry, and fires his devastating cannons as he gets to point blank range. He can destroy an average veteran ship in a hurry. He had to use a big, heavy hull to equip this much weaponry, so he is very slow, he can’t take a lot of damage himself, and if something runs away he’ll never catch it.

He is forced to prepare a position and wait for a foe to stumble into it. He can’t target the smallest ships because he didn’t have enough money to afford the incredibly expensive “high ES” targeting computer, which makes him vulnerable to coordinated attacks from low ES vessels. He’s like a brute with a very big club but a slow swing. He also hopes another well armed brute doesn’t come along, as his shields may not hold up.
As you can see, configurable ships add a great customizable element to the game. Also, it allows for better use of specialized character classes.

You can create mechanic professions to modify advanced ship configurations, engineer professions for player crafted engines, weapon specialists for advanced weapons, theoretical physicist professions for advanced shields etc. Instead of programming in new items or systems, you could allow a way for players to “invent” new technologies every few months by doing research in their field of specialty. It would create more interdependence between Bartle types (http://www.guildcafe.com/bartle.php ). It would allow for rare ship components to be gathered by explorers as well (sort of like artifacts are now). If a particular ship configuration is too powerful, the individual components can be nerfed instead of the whole ship.

For example, make shield generators more massive or less massive or increase the critical dimensions, etc. Also, the introduction of electronic signature keeps fights on a level playing field for the most part. A veteran player could spend incredibly large amounts of money on a “high ES” targeting computer to be able to attack newbies, but the money would be more efficiently spent protecting himself from veterans. High dollar targeting computers could be made un-insurable, to increase the risk of buying them. Here are some random examples of ship hulls:

Ship A: Internal Mass = 100 Dimension = 80 Weight = 100, +10% raw material handling capacity
Ship B: Internal Mass = 150 Dimension = 60 Weight = 150 +15 percent power supply output
Ship C: Internal Mass = 120 Dimension = 150 Weight = 120 +10% shield generator output

All of the components that go into the ships would have six attributes that affect how well they would work with various hulls and other components. Also, regions of solar systems could be made to affect ship attributes differently. For example, certain high gravity suns could wreak havoc on missile function, or high heat suns could overheat ship systems faster, requiring ships to incorporate more cooling to operate effectively in a given region. Players might have to adapt their ships to perform optimally in a given sector, or deal with a performance handicap if they choose not to.

Here are the basic component attributes, some of which I have fleshed out, some of which I have not.

Component Attributes
Mass
Dimensions
Weight
Electronic Signature
Heat generation
Power consumption

Mass - Every component has mass. Every hull has a maximum mass that it can hold. Ergo, mass limits how much “stuff” can go in a ship.

Dimensions – Sometimes a part just won’t fit, even if it is low mass. Dimension accounts for the odd sizes of parts. Sometimes these are rare, advanced, or experimental parts.

Weight – Every component adds weight to the ship, which reduces acceleration and handling. Most cargo types add weight as well. Some of the heaviest weight comes from armor.

Electronic Signature – All components add electronic signature that makes a ship more detectable to enemy targeting sensors. Some components add very little, while some are very “noisy”. Some components are especially designed for lower ES than a standard part, making them more valuable. Also, stealth emitters generate anti-energy waves, lowering a ships overall ES. Normally, you would want as low an ES as possible.

Conversely, all of this ES noise can make it hard for your own ship to target enemies. A basic computer allows you to target enemies that are lower than 15% of your own ES. By spending extraordinary amounts of money, it is possible to buy a targeting computer that targets smaller ES ships.

Heat – Most components generate heat. If you generate too much heat, one or more of your components could shut down, burn out or explode. Engines, power supplies and lasers are usually the biggest culprits. Also, “over-clocking” components can increase the risk of overheating. There are coolant systems that can reduce heat. Certain solar systems will be hotter than others. Proximity to stars will be a factor as well.

Power consumption – It takes a lot of power to run a starship. If there isn’t enough power, components will function poorly or not at all. Nearly all components consume power, so if you don’t plan carefully you’ll find yourself short on power.

Component Types

Engines
Impulse (Intra-sol)
Warp (Inter-sol)
Maneuver
Brake

Armor
(Placement can be changed to protect specific areas)
High Weight – basic armor effective against all weapon types
Low Weight – advanced, lower weight for improved speed, acceleration
Reactive - good against missiles, cannon
Refractive - good against lasers and plasma

Shields
Traditional-fixed power cell
All or none – shields hold at full or collapse completely
Regenerative – behave like traditional but recharge from power source
Sub component: Balance effectiveness against different weapon types
Reflective – Redirect laser attacks back at attacker, ineffective against other weaps

Weapons
Missiles – limited missiles per ammo case, long range,
Lasers – normal range, overheats enemy as it damages
Cannon - limited shells per ammo case, massive damage
Phased Plasma – advanced alien tech, massive damage, long range
EMP – disrupt electronics and/or power of enemy
Mine/Beacon launcher – deploy mines,
Ammo Case – holds ammo!!!

Coolant
Prevents overheating and meltdown of various systems

Electronics and Accessories
Targeting sensor array – to attack at all, (pinpoint enemy systems?)
Tactical sensor – Can “snapshot” an enemy ship configuration for study
Navigation – Inter-solar and warp jump data
Probe – Intra-sol data
Cloak – Reduce electronic signature
Galactic Map
Shield Disruptor
Warp Disruptor
Signature Generator - Imitate the ES of large ships on Navigation sensors or attatch a large signature onto a smaller ship for targeting
Chafe – missile counter measure-limited ammo
Plasma diffuser – plasma counter measure- uses high power
Jammers – Reduce tactical sensors of others, raises ES

Power Source - Heart of ship, provides power for all components, varying mass, size, output, etc.
Nuclear
Solar Panels –
Anti-matter
Batteries – used as a buffer between reactor output and ship usage

Cargo – Cargo is basically unused space on the ship. Raw materials can be hauled in an amount equal to whatever mass is left over. Finished products, like turrets, engine parts, would also require a certain amount of dimensions to be available in addition to mass.

A new concept that can be added to the game with customizable ships is component damage and failure. In combat, a specific component might be damaged and loose function. As a result, it would need to be repaired or replaced. Repairing and replacing these components might require certain tools or help only available from another player specialized in a certain profession, or maybe it would be much cheaper through another player.

These are just preliminary thoughts on ship customization. I’d like to continue adding details to my idea, but would like some feedback from the game designers on what it would take to make this a reality. I realize it would require a lot of work. I would be willing to help in whatever capacity I could. Also, community feedback would be good.

Edit: Sorry about the poll. Just saw the guidelines.

BBQ that took forever

i take it you never made it outta picture books cat XD

[Draze]

You could make simple customization like painting the ship. it would be a fun way to make your ship distiguished and mabye even add a ship name. Anyways my 2 cents.

[NeatLogs]

Ahem:

We also don't want just "paint your ship" customisation. Cause that's just a waste of credits, especially in rebangs.

Let me explain. If customisation only involved painting your ship, it would be fun for all of ten minutes. Maybe 3 hours if there were some awesome options and a major graphics overhaul. So simply painting your ship, especially considering the low-grade graphics we have now, would add next to no gameplay. While it'd be nice to show your colours, you can bet that what most people would do is paint their ship black because black goes with anything and it's harder to see. That would be just boring. Some people might go with red for the ARGH I BATHE IN BLOOD look. But after a week of that colour scheme, what people will see is an annoying lack of style.

[Michael2]

sweet mother of god, am i supposed to actually read all of that?? whitenovas right

I languished over where to post this... it's a ship idea but doesn't fit the format milo started, so, sorry if it's in the wrong place.

SGE Ships

SGE has a good selection of ships for different purposes; however, I think the structure of ship selection is being underutilized. Part of the fun with MMORPG’s is customization. For some players, that means appearance. For others, it is all about performance. For most, I think it is a mixture. If I were making my own space MMORPG, the ships would definitely have to be hand built, customizable affairs (with basic starter ships pre-built, of course).

A great deal of satisfaction can come from slowly upgrading a ship one piece at a time as parts become available. In RPG MMORPGS, the customization comes from equipping the character. You have armor, shields, rings, swords, bows, potions, necklaces, etc. In SGE, the spaceship is the character. Currently the game play progresses with no reward for long periods of time, then all of a sudden you can buy a gun ten times as powerful. Progress needs to be more gradual and spread out over a longer period of time to hold player interest.


If I could design the ship interface, it would be something like this. Ships would consist of an empty hull that can be configured to accomplish the players goals (or purchased preconfigured from a merchant). Each hull would have maximum internal mass and critical dimensions that can be utilized. This concept has been utilized in “Mech Warrior” games as a drag and drop interface with much success. The terms used in mech games are usually weight and critical spaces.

I’m proposing using mass and dimensions, not just to rehash a similar concept, but make it more applicable for a space environment. Also, each hull type would specialize in boosting one particular component attribute that was placed inside the ship, such as shield strength or power output or self repairing nannites or stealth capabilities or warp travel time, etc.

This allows for a player to choose a ship that will best serve the components he wants to build into the ship. Therefore, there may be several similarly sized chassis that have very different characteristics. This leads to ship designs that may have strength in one system, but sacrifice strength in another. In other words, a ship isn’t necessarily better, but different. It allows specialization of ship function that gives the player a high degree of control without allowing any one design to be too powerful. Of course, there will be different classes of ship size that could obviously be used to make a more powerful ship, but simply getting a bigger ship will not be an upgrade, as it will now be slower due to the added mass unless a player upgrades power supply, engines, etc.

To some degree this specialization already exists in SGE, but is not customizable. With a customizable interface, that control is in the hands of the player instead of the game designer. No longer will the game designer hear “I want a ship that does this” or “I want a ship that does that”. Now it is up to the player to build it. The designer simply moderates by balancing the attributes of the internal components, with a few, rare, overpowered items introduced occasionally, perhaps with a limited lifespan or number of uses.


Here are three examples of possible ship builds:

Player 1 chooses to load three impulse engines into his ship instead of the standard single engine. This makes the ship very, very fast within the solar system. Also, he installed a high end warp drive so others can’t outrun him through warp gates. Unfortunately, he had to triple up on power supplies to drive the engines, which reduced additional components he could carry.

He has decent internal mass left over for cargo, but because of the critical dimensions of the engines and warp drive he chose, the weapons he can equip are low end. Also, he has mediocre shielding because he wanted to retain good cargo hauling. Most of the time he can rely on speed to outrun anything in the galaxy and make a huge profit while doing it, but if his engines get disrupted by an EMP mine or a rocket disruptor, he hasn’t got much chance in a dogfight. Sometimes he gets stuck when he is fumbling around to hit a warp gate, because he only had enough power supply for a low-end autopilot controller.


Player 2 takes the low key approach because he is a newbie. He uses minimal low end components throughout the ship to retain a low electronic signature. Because of his low ES, most of the big warships can’t even get a target lock on him. He has learned that the higher ES a ship has, the more expensive targeting computer it takes to lock onto a “low ES” ship. He could shoot at the big warships, but it would take a very long time to get through their shielding and armor. They would just laugh at him unless he had a swarm of friends.

He creeps around the galaxy, going largely unnoticed and doing whatever he wants unhindered. It’s a slow way to progress, but safe. His nightmare is the rare veteran newbie killer that has spent billions on a small ship with a targeting computer sensitive enough to punch through high ES weapons and shields to pick up his low ES ship on radar. When this happens, he tries to fly toward the big battleships, knowing they can easily target the high ES veteran foe and gladly kill him for high XP. He only has to hope he can find one quickly. He’ll be glad when he can afford a better ship and not be wary of the rare newbie hunter.


Player 3 is a killer. He’s not fast, but he doesn’t have to be. He’s armed to the teeth and ready to break veteran players. He’s equipped mine launchers and loaded out EMP mines. Whatever ship steps foot into his hunting ground will lose power immediately. If the prey has too small of an ES to lock onto, he’ll reset his trap and watch it scurry away. If it’s a prize big enough to target, he fires missiles as he closes on the target, switches to lasers when the missiles run dry, and fires his devastating cannons as he gets to point blank range. He can destroy an average veteran ship in a hurry. He had to use a big, heavy hull to equip this much weaponry, so he is very slow, he can’t take a lot of damage himself, and if something runs away he’ll never catch it.

He is forced to prepare a position and wait for a foe to stumble into it. He can’t target the smallest ships because he didn’t have enough money to afford the incredibly expensive “high ES” targeting computer, which makes him vulnerable to coordinated attacks from low ES vessels. He’s like a brute with a very big club but a slow swing. He also hopes another well armed brute doesn’t come along, as his shields may not hold up.
As you can see, configurable ships add a great customizable element to the game. Also, it allows for better use of specialized character classes.

You can create mechanic professions to modify advanced ship configurations, engineer professions for player crafted engines, weapon specialists for advanced weapons, theoretical physicist professions for advanced shields etc. Instead of programming in new items or systems, you could allow a way for players to “invent” new technologies every few months by doing research in their field of specialty. It would create more interdependence between Bartle types (http://www.guildcafe.com/bartle.php ). It would allow for rare ship components to be gathered by explorers as well (sort of like artifacts are now). If a particular ship configuration is too powerful, the individual components can be nerfed instead of the whole ship.

For example, make shield generators more massive or less massive or increase the critical dimensions, etc. Also, the introduction of electronic signature keeps fights on a level playing field for the most part. A veteran player could spend incredibly large amounts of money on a “high ES” targeting computer to be able to attack newbies, but the money would be more efficiently spent protecting himself from veterans. High dollar targeting computers could be made un-insurable, to increase the risk of buying them. Here are some random examples of ship hulls:

Ship A: Internal Mass = 100 Dimension = 80 Weight = 100, +10% raw material handling capacity
Ship B: Internal Mass = 150 Dimension = 60 Weight = 150 +15 percent power supply output
Ship C: Internal Mass = 120 Dimension = 150 Weight = 120 +10% shield generator output

All of the components that go into the ships would have six attributes that affect how well they would work with various hulls and other components. Also, regions of solar systems could be made to affect ship attributes differently. For example, certain high gravity suns could wreak havoc on missile function, or high heat suns could overheat ship systems faster, requiring ships to incorporate more cooling to operate effectively in a given region. Players might have to adapt their ships to perform optimally in a given sector, or deal with a performance handicap if they choose not to.

Here are the basic component attributes, some of which I have fleshed out, some of which I have not.

Component Attributes
Mass
Dimensions
Weight
Electronic Signature
Heat generation
Power consumption

Mass - Every component has mass. Every hull has a maximum mass that it can hold. Ergo, mass limits how much “stuff” can go in a ship.

Dimensions – Sometimes a part just won’t fit, even if it is low mass. Dimension accounts for the odd sizes of parts. Sometimes these are rare, advanced, or experimental parts.

Weight – Every component adds weight to the ship, which reduces acceleration and handling. Most cargo types add weight as well. Some of the heaviest weight comes from armor.

Electronic Signature – All components add electronic signature that makes a ship more detectable to enemy targeting sensors. Some components add very little, while some are very “noisy”. Some components are especially designed for lower ES than a standard part, making them more valuable. Also, stealth emitters generate anti-energy waves, lowering a ships overall ES. Normally, you would want as low an ES as possible.

Conversely, all of this ES noise can make it hard for your own ship to target enemies. A basic computer allows you to target enemies that are lower than 15% of your own ES. By spending extraordinary amounts of money, it is possible to buy a targeting computer that targets smaller ES ships.

Heat – Most components generate heat. If you generate too much heat, one or more of your components could shut down, burn out or explode. Engines, power supplies and lasers are usually the biggest culprits. Also, “over-clocking” components can increase the risk of overheating. There are coolant systems that can reduce heat. Certain solar systems will be hotter than others. Proximity to stars will be a factor as well.

Power consumption – It takes a lot of power to run a starship. If there isn’t enough power, components will function poorly or not at all. Nearly all components consume power, so if you don’t plan carefully you’ll find yourself short on power.

Component Types

Engines
Impulse (Intra-sol)
Warp (Inter-sol)
Maneuver
Brake

Armor
(Placement can be changed to protect specific areas)
High Weight – basic armor effective against all weapon types
Low Weight – advanced, lower weight for improved speed, acceleration
Reactive - good against missiles, cannon
Refractive - good against lasers and plasma

Shields
Traditional-fixed power cell
All or none – shields hold at full or collapse completely
Regenerative – behave like traditional but recharge from power source
Sub component: Balance effectiveness against different weapon types
Reflective – Redirect laser attacks back at attacker, ineffective against other weaps

Weapons
Missiles – limited missiles per ammo case, long range,
Lasers – normal range, overheats enemy as it damages
Cannon - limited shells per ammo case, massive damage
Phased Plasma – advanced alien tech, massive damage, long range
EMP – disrupt electronics and/or power of enemy
Mine/Beacon launcher – deploy mines,
Ammo Case – holds ammo!!!

Coolant
Prevents overheating and meltdown of various systems

Electronics and Accessories
Targeting sensor array – to attack at all, (pinpoint enemy systems?)
Tactical sensor – Can “snapshot” an enemy ship configuration for study
Navigation – Inter-solar and warp jump data
Probe – Intra-sol data
Cloak – Reduce electronic signature
Galactic Map
Shield Disruptor
Warp Disruptor
Signature Generator - Imitate the ES of large ships on Navigation sensors or attatch a large signature onto a smaller ship for targeting
Chafe – missile counter measure-limited ammo
Plasma diffuser – plasma counter measure- uses high power
Jammers – Reduce tactical sensors of others, raises ES

Power Source - Heart of ship, provides power for all components, varying mass, size, output, etc.
Nuclear
Solar Panels –
Anti-matter
Batteries – used as a buffer between reactor output and ship usage

Cargo – Cargo is basically unused space on the ship. Raw materials can be hauled in an amount equal to whatever mass is left over. Finished products, like turrets, engine parts, would also require a certain amount of dimensions to be available in addition to mass.

A new concept that can be added to the game with customizable ships is component damage and failure. In combat, a specific component might be damaged and loose function. As a result, it would need to be repaired or replaced. Repairing and replacing these components might require certain tools or help only available from another player specialized in a certain profession, or maybe it would be much cheaper through another player.

These are just preliminary thoughts on ship customization. I’d like to continue adding details to my idea, but would like some feedback from the game designers on what it would take to make this a reality. I realize it would require a lot of work. I would be willing to help in whatever capacity I could. Also, community feedback would be good.

Edit: Sorry about the poll. Just saw the guidelines.

BBQ that took forever

i take it you never made it outta picture books cat XD

Definetly Not Then ...