Read by Council Information as a Resource/Commodity

[Madman198237]

This may be a suggestion that won't be implemented until later, but I feel that it is a neat idea that will add value to many of the things already in the game.

So, as you may have noted in the title, this post is about information and it's role in the game. Right now, players basically have all the information they want, whenever they want it. I'd like to change that. I propose that information become a sort of commodity: You have a limited amount of information, and you can trade it with other people or find it yourself.


So, for the basics: Each person has their own set of information, what their character "knows" and what they don't. This would be most obvious in the field of the map: You have information about your "home" system (The spawn system) and nowhere else. In order to learn about other places, you must go there or trade with someone (Player or AI, perhaps allowing for some sort of "explorer" AI to hang around trade stations and talk to players) to find out about other systems.

This gives the scanning system a use, as scans would rapidly increase the amount of area you know things about.


Next, I would like to see a new computer relating to the antenna, the communications computer, which uses the same antenna as the scanner. These computers use the dimensions of your antenna system to determine range (Not based on a percentage of your ship---a larger ship has better detection/communications equipment, that's just how it is) in which you can share information with people. This limits your connection to people, making it more difficult to find someone who wants to be alone in multiplayer, and can make the universe a lonely place.


One final thing: The information you collect while in a ship should be stored in the ship's core. If you sell the ship, you should wipe the core first. If your core overheats, then you can't wipe it until it reboots. If the enemy should capture your ship in battle, and you haven't wiped the core, they will be able to see all the systems you've gained information about.

Also, if you wipe a ship's core's memory, it cannot jump anywhere in particular---it's got no navigation data. You will have to reacquire the data somewhere (Your suit can't tell the nav computer how and where to go), before jumping around. This is a balance measure to prevent someone going into combat from wiping their core immediately as soon as they take hull damage. It should take some time to wipe the core, as well.

I think that's the most of the basics, anyway. I apologize for the wall of text (Not) and hope that you read the whole thing (You probably didn't) in order to understand my suggestion (Which you probably can't, through no fault of your own).

 

[Reilly Reese]

This may be a suggestion that won't be implemented until later, but I feel that it is a neat idea that will add value to many of the things already in the game.

So, as you may have noted in the title, this post is about information and it's role in the game. Right now, players basically have all the information they want, whenever they want it. I'd like to change that. I propose that information become a sort of commodity: You have a limited amount of information, and you can trade it with other people or find it yourself.


So, for the basics: Each person has their own set of information, what their character "knows" and what they don't. This would be most obvious in the field of the map: You have information about your "home" system (The spawn system) and nowhere else. In order to learn about other places, you must go there or trade with someone (Player or AI, perhaps allowing for some sort of "explorer" AI to hang around trade stations and talk to players) to find out about other systems.

This gives the scanning system a use, as scans would rapidly increase the amount of area you know things about.


Next, the magical, physics-bending chat system should disappear, replaced with a system based around your use of an antenna. I would like to see a new computer relating to the antenna, the communications computer, which uses the same antenna as the scanner. These computers use the dimensions of your antenna system to determine range (Not based on a percentage of your ship---a larger ship has better detection/communications equipment, that's just how it is) in which you can talk to people. This limits your connection to people, and can make the universe a lonely place.


One final thing: The information you collect while in a ship should be stored in the ship's core. If you sell the ship, you should wipe the core first. If your core overheats, then you can't wipe it until it reboots. If the enemy should capture your ship in battle, and you haven't wiped the core, they will be able to see all the systems you've gained information about.

Also, if you wipe a ship's core's memory, it cannot jump anywhere in particular---it's got no navigation data. You will have to reacquire the data somewhere (Your suit can't tell the nav computer how and where to go), before jumping around. This is a balance measure to prevent someone going into combat from wiping their core immediately as soon as they take hull damage. It should take some time to wipe the core, as well.

I think that's the most of the basics, anyway. I apologize for the wall of text (Not) and hope that you read the whole thing (You probably didn't) in order to understand my suggestion (Which you probably can't, through no fault of your own).

There are some good ideas here but shouldn't be removing global chat.

 

[Madman198237]

Why not? It'd increase immersion and add some mechanics to the game if a faction needed to set up some sort of relay station.

Heck, we could even get into a "Galactic Holonet" sort of situation where one large faction or group of players builds a series of relays and charges for their use. Which would be VERY interesting.

 

[Reilly Reese]

Why not? It'd increase immersion and add some mechanics to the game if a faction needed to set up some sort of relay station.

Heck, we could even get into a "Galactic Holonet" sort of situation where one large faction or group of players builds a series of relays and charges for their use. Which would be VERY interesting.

Well generally speaking there are a lot of issues with the removing of a serverwide chat. Announcements can't be made and players can not get information that may not have been told to them at spawn or on the servers thread.

 

[Madman198237]

Well admin-based chats and functions could still be global. This is an idea relating to the sharing of information among normal players, not meant to necessarily apply to admins.


That said, there is a problem with that that I forgot, and that is that people will just tend to move to other means to chat like TS. I'm amending the OP so that it mentions the alternative method I thought up:

Make it possible to share data (Of any kind) with other people through chat, but require an antenna and/or relay system in order to share that information. That means that in order to reach another faction member's new outpost, they must set up a communications system so you can learn it's location.


So yeah, I forgot about that objection to global chat---someone brought it up in the last thread that got derailed onto this topic.

 

[ToasterBorst]

Some of this is certainly good stuff and some of this has already been recognized by the council and Schine this term! -> Recognized - Sharable Star Charts

In relation to the discussion on global chat, perhaps config settings for server owners to limit access to global chat would be sufficient? Allowing RP servers to maintain a more immersive environment?

 

[Madman198237]

Yeah, I edited that portion of the OP to reflect the problems with restricted chat.

The real point of this post is that I'd like to see less free information, and more value in exploring or communicating/working with other players. Also, more value for antennae.

 

[jayman38]

I think information as a resource will come into focus for the devs when they start working on a mission system. A mission system will require information resources.

I think you should be able to store information resource objects inside the decorative computers, as if they were chests, and that you should be able to link as many decorative computers as you like, and the information objects will be replicated to all the linked computers. On the other hand, there should be "protected" information resource objects that cannot be copied, and are only found at the one place they are. This will be important to keep individual missions from becoming free-for-alls, with everyone racing to finish the same mission.

You also wouldn't expect something like a map to treasure or a fabulous ship graveyard to be copy-able.

 

[Madman198237]

I like the idea, jayman. That would be a logical extension. Perhaps decorative items placed on a ship or station are instantly linked to the ship core, or to each other if they're on a station, and that they increase the information storage capability of that ship or station.


Also, it'll add a reason to board rather than destroy ships----you can find out things if you board them, whereas a destroyed or damaged computer will yield no information. (Or perhaps a damaged but not destroyed computer will only store SOME of its original info, the rest being lost to damage....hmmmmm)

 

[Valiant70]

If you limit global chat, people will exploit/circumvent it with out-of-game communication.

 

[Madman198237]

I made note of that at least twice, and have already adjusted the OP.

 

[wanzer]

I do like the idea of players setting up relay stations to broadcast .. and mby link with logics to scramble the data
perhaps a server side setting for enabling or disabling global chat coming from players and having to rely on devices
"only the spawning sector open for chat ofc for asking help and stuff"

the idea of trading information might also be nice for hunting purposes like the location of player bases

 

[Madman198237]

Yeah, that's what I'm going for. The chat thing is, as mentioned before, hard to implement because people will just switch to TS and similar mechanisms for chatting.

The scrambling idea is a great one. If you don't have the right logic setup at one end, you can only receive jumbled, meaningless sounds.