Modular ships

[KhaosHiDef]

Less of a game suggestion, more of a suggestion for people to think about how they build their ships.
An interesting concept i've had for a while. not sure about anyone else but my idea was ships to be modular mostly for repairs since the parts could easily be swapped out for something more efficient.
Since cargo, power and now thrust can be shared via rails why not make use of it?
(yes there probbably will be some performace issues and what not but it still would make ship repairs a lot easier)
in case the wall of text didnt give you an idea of what i mean this picture will help explain my idea:

A nice thing to see using this system would be that people could create model engines that could be removed from a ship allowing room for upgradeable ships.
Update: After messing around with this for a while the only problem i have ran into so far is how these modules will be swapped since most ships would need that amount of space just empty or an equally sized hole to remove the module. any ideas to get around this would be appriciated ^.^
i'd like your thoughts on this ship system ^.^

 

[Exozen]

Awesome, I'm imaging a scenario where you could have a ship go into combat, take too much fire, and return to a capital ship to swap out the damaged modules for fresh ones. Allowing for a quick return to combat while the damaged parts are scrapped/repaired.

Edit: You could maybe even swap weapons on the fly to better suit the current environment.

 

[Cryocasm]

I think its a game design choice by the devs that the shipyard module (only mechanism for automated repair so far) is locked onto stations in order to make battle more dramatic.

I suppose you could argue for a capital ship device that would allow you to only repair vessels according to a blueprint and can only be installed on a vessel above a certain mass threshold, but this would already sort of be circumventing the locking of shipyards to stations.

With "modular design" you might as well incorporate it into the ship when you're building it using the rail system.

 

[NorseEngineer]

the biggest problem with modular ships are the shield and power sharing, if you could effectively shield all the modules as well as if it was a 1 piece ship, then the hull could be plates you could take on/off to change modules.

 

[GRHayes]

Less of a game suggestion, ...

Currently I am working on a 600 meter modular ship.
The biggest issue with things being modular at present is one connection to the ship. If that gets taken out it creates a huge set of problems.
The module will try and break away while inside the ship starting to bounce around. You will watch every CPU core you have max out and frame rate drop to about 2.

Which is why I created the suggestion for multiple docking points. That way you could run a module into your ship and if one managed to be shot out at least others would hold it in place.

They could create groups for docks so you could release a group at a single time to undock when needed or currently we could do it with logic. If we had multiple docking points. Magnetic dock doesn't work or solve this. When a dock is broken it does a push away just as if you undocked. There is still a 5 second window to redock. since the unit bounces around because of the way collision system is don't it pretty much will never dock at all. In fact the more confined it is the worse it gets.

Yep I went through and did that much testing.

so yes, I love the modular design system but right now there are serious issues to be dealt with.

 

[jayman38]

I have always wanted modular ships. Not only for my own builds, but I think new players would prefer to buy large modules and cobble them together into medium-sized ships or even massive titans, without having to build block-by-block. I think that will bring in more casual gamers into the community.

I would like to build one gun and replicate it 8 times. (At this point, weapon turrets are a good modular part for ships) I'd like to build one reactor-engine and replicate it 3 times. etc. I'd also like to be able to build receptacles for modules built by master builders.

I'd like StarMade to have an optional Shoot-em-up mode, similar to battle mode, where different modules are attached when you find or buy "upgrades". Think: R-Type or Gradius.

 

[Snowfox1337]

I think the trouble going modular is at the core of the system. The rail docking. Its made to dock and transport ships around a larger structure...yes now its able to transfere between entities but that is more a feature for fighter resuply...it never really was intended to make a ship based on it. The closest solution to this i can think of doesnt allow you to remove the module after to change it either. In space engineers there is a link block that will turn anythibg linked to it into part of the other ship right down to power distribution. Having something like that allows ships to be modular euther permanetly or (if alternate connections are bulit between them) permanently. The issue is that is basically what we have now with rails but without the ability to place blocks between them and make it permanent.

I am a huge supporter of modular builds (My ships look like flying bricks when i build them anyway) But currently i see modularity being limited to replacable outer armor only...and with some weapons (ie cannon-beam/pulse 100%-exp/pierce/punch 100%) Armor might as well be paper against a cannonball.

 

[GRHayes]

I think the trouble going modular is at the core of the system. The rail docking. Its made to dock and transport ships around a larger structure...yes now its able to transfere between entities but that is more a feature for fighter resuply...it never really was intended to make a ship based on it. The closest solution to this i can think of doesnt allow you to remove the module after to change it either. In space engineers there is a link block that will turn anythibg linked to it into part of the other ship right down to power distribution. Having something like that allows ships to be modular euther permanetly or (if alternate connections are bulit between them) permanently. The issue is that is basically what we have now with rails but without the ability to place blocks between them and make it permanent.

I am a huge supporter of modular builds (My ships look like flying bricks when i build them anyway) But currently i see modularity being limited to replacable outer armor only...and with some weapons (ie cannon-beam/pulse 100%-exp/pierce/punch 100%) Armor might as well be paper against a cannonball.

Are you talking about these http://spaceengineers.wikia.com/wiki/Merge_Block
They allow you to do permanent or temporary. You can use them to hold to objects together while you connect them permanently with structure. Or you can use them as just docking points.

 

[Lukwan]

Less of a game suggestion, more of a suggestion for people to think about how they build their ships.
An interesting concept i've had for a while. not sure about anyone else but my idea was ships to be modular mostly for repairs since the parts could easily be swapped out for something more efficient.
Since cargo, power and now thrust can be shared via rails why not make use of it?
(yes there probbably will be some performace issues and what not but it still would make ship repairs a lot easier)
in case the wall of text didnt give you an idea of what i mean this picture will help explain my idea:

A nice thing to see using this system would be that people could create model engines that could be removed from a ship allowing room for upgradeable ships.
Update: After messing around with this for a while the only problem i have ran into so far is how these modules will be swapped since most ships would need that amount of space just empty or an equally sized hole to remove the module. any ideas to get around this would be appriciated ^.^
i'd like your thoughts on this ship system ^.^

[DOUBLEPOST=1450569568,1450569017][/DOUBLEPOST]Excellent idea. I would very much like to have swap-able parts for my ship. This would allow tuning, and tweaking after field-testing a ship. Especially useful to appease the unruly Alpha-testers. How about a pair of 'Merge' blocks (one for each entity) that must line up, then you choose one core that goes into stasis until un-merged. Or create a new entity: Subsystem.

 

[Snowfox1337]

Are you talking about these http://spaceengineers.wikia.com/wiki/Merge_Block
They allow you to do permanent or temporary. You can use them to hold to objects together while you connect them permanently with structure. Or you can use them as just docking points.

Yes that is it. Merge block. Havent been able to play much of space engineers so i forgot. But that is exactly what we need in this game too. You can link a module to the ship, test it out, then if it works you can build it into the ship. If not then you simply scrap it.

 

[GRHayes]

Yes that is it. Merge block. Havent been able to play much of space engineers so i forgot. But that is exactly what we need in this game too. You can link a module to the ship, test it out, then if it works you can build it into the ship. If not then you simply scrap it.

One of the coolest parts about it is the ability to merge parts together and make a larger station or to convert back to ship so you can move it.
That would serve all the people wanting a nomadic ability on here. That way they could pick up and move to were resources are more plentiful. And have station ships that can build other ships. They would just have to convert to a station for the time being and be in a sector not filled with another station.

 

[Snowfox1337]

One of the coolest parts about it is the ability to merge parts together and make a larger station or to convert back to ship so you can move it.
That would serve all the people wanting a nomadic ability on here. That way they could pick up and move to were resources are more plentiful. And have station ships that can build other ships. They would just have to convert to a station for the time being and be in a sector not filled with another station.

It would be better if they converted back to ships since you can have more in a sector and they would be mobile so you can manuver them into position when they need to be merged.

 

[GRHayes]

It would be better if they converted back to ships since you can have more in a sector and they would be mobile so you can manuver them into position when they need to be merged.

They do. That is how you can move a station in SE. The modules can convert both ways.

 

[Snowfox1337]

Really? Well once the game stops lagging for me i have to try that. It will be great to be able to make mobile stations. We really need thay in this game too. Especially since you cant really blueprint a station and make another eleswhere.

 

[AtraUnam]

Really? Well once the game stops lagging for me i have to try that. It will be great to be able to make mobile stations. We really need thay in this game too. Especially since you cant really blueprint a station and make another eleswhere.

We currently lack mobile stations in order to prevent a faction setting up a homebased station/turret-blob outside another factions homebase and seigeing them with impunity.

 

[nightwalker_007]

Nice idea.... there's a copy/paste feature in the editor too. Although it would be nice if swapping bits in and out were easier in the game editor. It would make building stations far easier--- especially if we had the ability to place blocks in empty space, that way we can design ship systems first, crew quarters, then put a armor skin around the mass.

 

[GRHayes]

Really? Well once the game stops lagging for me i have to try that. It will be great to be able to make mobile stations. We really need thay in this game too. Especially since you cant really blueprint a station and make another eleswhere.

This was my first use of them. You probably can figure out huge that is by looking at the blocks near the entry. Notice the thrusters on all the modules. Yes, it would be cool to have that ability in this game.

[DOUBLEPOST=1450996670,1450996548][/DOUBLEPOST]

We currently lack mobile stations in order to prevent a faction setting up a homebased station/turret-blob outside another factions homebase and seigeing them with impunity.

Simple solution to that prevent them from turning back to a station in an already claimed sector. Not like that would be hard to program.

 

[Nickizzy]

One of the coolest parts about it is the ability to merge parts together and make a larger station or to convert back to ship so you can move it.
That would serve all the people wanting a nomadic ability on here. That way they could pick up and move to were resources are more plentiful. And have station ships that can build other ships. They would just have to convert to a station for the time being and be in a sector not filled with another station.

The problem with that in starmade is that all stations are on one "grid", and are all oriented in the same way. I guess you might need to press c (points the ship north) before changing it. This thread

 

[Megacrafter127]

The problem with that in starmade is that all stations are on one "grid", and are all oriented in the same way. I guess you might need to press c (points the ship north) before changing it. This thread

Not quite, the stations are all on different grids, all those grids just align by default. There once was an exploit allowing you to dock stations to ships, and the station would behave like any docked entity, except that warpgates didn't detect objects passing through them.

 

[whooplaah]

KhaosHiDef , this is something that I played around with. It wasn't so much about upgrading ships as it was about having a quick way to build new models from existing parts. If I made a cool docking bay why not just use it on a new ship. So I made the docks a ship unto themselves that I could buy, dock together, link logic, and use as a single docking bay on a larger ship.

I lost interest in the project shortly after I made the video, though.