Scanners work on everything.

[RabidBat]

Pretty simple idea, make scanner detect all ships, AI, Player controlled, and unmanned ships.

Especially helpful in situations like the current one where if you're lucky enough to spawn a pirate ship from attacking a station, it spawn miles away and often out of nav/visual range.

Just for me at least makes no sense making AI and unmanned ships undetectable.

Real life Radar, and even most popular SciFi scanners detect unmanned vehicles no problems. AI or otherwise

"Ship on radar captain! No life signs detected!!!!!"

Not sure how Scanner work programming wise, guess it detects astronauts going by how it appears to work, just change that to detecting ship cores. and voila, everything is now detectable.

No more losing pirates your hunting! new loot to be found when exploring. No more needle in a haystak building of ships. sure build them undocked and in space, but now they will have to be defended. Same for docked ships on un-homed outposts.

 

[mhami65]

This is something that should be added in. That way people can't just leave ships laying around everywhere.

 

[Ciaranhappy!]

i like the idea! maybe have the current type and a more advance less compact version (so this)

 

[SuperWookie]

They should also clean up the scan history box so its easier to read when there's several entities.

 

[Ciaranhappy!]

good idea also, nice to see you again wookie though, remember me?

 

[Bonusinches]

Makes sense, but especially the cleaning of scan history box, maybe add a button on each entry to delete said entry like Faction news etc?

 

[RabidBat]

I'd also suggest giving them a buff, make an upgradeable resource/price/power cost heavy scanner with a much longer range than 4 sectors by default.
With such a large universe you need counters to decrease the needle in a haystack feel that comes along with it and increase player interaction and exploration.
I'd also suggest making Radar Jammers and Cloakers have modules so for example a small scanner cannot unjam any a Jammer with a greater amount of modules. This would add to ship design and balance imho. For me it makes no sense that something like a small fighter could uncloak or unjam a much much larger warship as equally as a large ship should unjam smaller craft.


Actually this has me thinking about a few things in regards to balance. Might make a new thread later to discuss those.

 

[PizzaPress]

I'd also suggest making Radar Jammers and Cloakers have modules so for example a small scanner cannot unjam any a Jammer with a greater amount of modules. This would add to ship design and balance imho. For me it makes no sense that something like a small fighter could uncloak or unjam a much much larger warship as equally as a large ship should unjam smaller craft.

I like the idea of balancing it, but personally would prefer making larger ships easier to decloak: thus small ships can hide and run easier, giving them a useful role. I think it should be an effect system, with different effects at different percentages, and perhaps ramping power requirements at larger percentages. Then there can be actual scout/stealth fighters.

 

[Lecic]

Make it so it only shows things that you have selected in your nav window show up when you scan. I don't want my scan filled with 50 nearby asteroids, or get hundreds of scan items of "XTREME_N00BSL4Y3R BATTLESHIP TURRET #1-250."

 

[SuperWookie]

Make it so it only shows things that you have selected in your nav window show up when you scan. I don't want my scan filled with 50 nearby asteroids, or get hundreds of scan items of "XTREME_N00BSL4Y3R BATTLESHIP TURRET #1-250."

Yeah a filter option would be quite nice also.

 

[Gunmetalmonk]

I agree. I didn't even know that AI and unmanned ships did not show up on scanners. If AI controlled ships don't show up on scanners, can I then just build a ridiculous amount of attack drones and go around surprise attacking anyone? If unmanned ships don't show up and I plot a course, go afk to refill my drink and come back with my salvage tug firmly lodged into The Death Faction's Flag Ship (cause they are offline)...

I think that all uncloaked entities that are in the universe need to be detectable.

But scanning and jamming need more. The current system is too simplistic. Radar jamming is a product of power generation? Scanning charge time and power depend on the number of antenna vs ship mass vs power generation?

I expect my scanner to be running at all times when undocked from my faction home. I expect it to inform me of situational changes in my area. Easily done with user set flags. I expect to be able to do different types of scans. I want Omni directional scanning at all times with the range equal to my weapons range. I want directional scanning (for example a 30 degree arc) with some serious range on it. I want to be able to scan an object (be it a planet, asteroid, sun, ship or station) and get meaningful information.

Scanning needs to be tied to the size of the array, much like power generation and sizepower are. The bigger the sizepower + block power, the more powerful the scan and range. You could add different types of scanning computers. Long Range (have to charge up before use, charge time dependent on range), Area (on all the time), Battle (detects hostiles only and helps Player/AI prioritize targets, as in, who is targeting you), Object (used to scan anything you can target, gives back useful information: % composition of blocks, highest density, where enemy ship has taken damage, etc) You could even build the arrays differently for better efficiency. The speed of system should be tied to the number of computers linked together. More flops is what you need for faster scanning. Change the power use to a constant drain, like shields. With added energy usage when accessing specific scans.

Radar jamming. Give us more things to jam. communications, scans, warheads, transporters. Perhaps different computer systems. I'd like to see directional jamming. Some kind of transmitter block array like an antenna to determine power and range.

It would add quite a bit of functionality and RP to the game too. With the current set up, I don't want to be the comms officer. I got two buttons to push, and one can turn the other off.

As far as people parking ships in free space. Have a system where if you find one, you can report it derelict. If after X days, the owner has not logged in and retrieved their ship, the ship get's impounded. Could be player mission for pve cash or in a pvp world, it's off to the chop shop.

 

[Ciaranhappy!]

maybe making it that you can deactivate all systems making you undetectable? (so your emit no heat, so the scanners wouldn't pick up your heat signature as you don't have one.