Things I Wish I Knew

[Edymnion]

Working on a small titan that will be my main carrier/capital ship, wishing I knew a few things about:

1) How smart will NPC crew be? Do I need to make sure everything they do is on one level because they won't be able to use elevators? Or do I need to put in ramps between floors for them? Can they use a transporter?

2) What kind of space are they going to require? Do I need to make them individual quarters, or can I get away with barracks and bunk beds because they won't really do anything but stand around in there anyway?

3) Precisely what will and will not be allowed on a capital ship? Pretty sure I remember them saying factories and shipyards would be viable on a capital ship, but gonna suck to build out and decorate those spaces ahead of time just to find out it won't actually happen.

4) Are NPCs going to do anything productive right away? What kind of productive things will they do? Do I need to be building computer rooms for them to access? Or do they simply have to be on the ship?

Le sigh, things that would be great to know while building but won't know until things get released.

 

[Panpiper]

"Enquiring minds want to know."

I have resigned myself to building my old way until the release of the crew and quarters update. Once that comes out, that's when I build an entirely new line of ships.

 

[KiloZulu]

Working on a small titan that will be my main carrier/capital ship, wishing I knew a few things about:

1) How smart will NPC crew be? Do I need to make sure everything they do is on one level because they won't be able to use elevators? Or do I need to put in ramps between floors for them? Can they use a transporter?

2) What kind of space are they going to require? Do I need to make them individual quarters, or can I get away with barracks and bunk beds because they won't really do anything but stand around in there anyway?

3) Precisely what will and will not be allowed on a capital ship? Pretty sure I remember them saying factories and shipyards would be viable on a capital ship, but gonna suck to build out and decorate those spaces ahead of time just to find out it won't actually happen.

4) Are NPCs going to do anything productive right away? What kind of productive things will they do? Do I need to be building computer rooms for them to access? Or do they simply have to be on the ship?

Le sigh, things that would be great to know while building but won't know until things get released.

1.) Developers have stated that you will be able to train your crew to follow a path and activate logic. In this way, you can let them know where their work and living quarters will be, and how to get there. You will tell them to go to a location, press a button, then move to another location, etc. As such, you should be able to make them use elevators and doors to move between levels.

2.) I can't imagine that they will require much space. My own suspicion is that Schine will add in a "bed block" or something for the purpose. I'm more curious if there will need to be a minimum distance between their work station and rest station.

3.)...

4.) Not sure if I understand what you mean by productive? They are supposedly going to increasingly improve the functionality of whatever system they are put in charge of as they gain experience - so an engineer would boost the ship's thrust performance, while a weapons officer might improve the accuracy/damage of guns.

 

[Lukwan]

A) How many Soma dispensers per 100 square feet? :grin:

B) Will quarters have to be WiFi-ready? (Who pays for Cable?)

C) Are 'waste disposal' units going to be a thing?

D) Ya... and how many sex-bots will they need before they mutiny? :wink:

 

[StarWars1981]

1. How many NPCs to run missile cruiser of approx. 250m and 60k mass? With massive numbers of somewhat pointless PDTs, a couple bigger turrets, and a few forward-firing missiles? i.e. raw numbers of NPCs to systems of various types would be an excellent resource.

2. Do I need to build RP interiors now? Cause I haven't yet, and if they actually have a point I might just do so.

3. Can NPCs walk through each other?

4. How much space do they need?

5. Do they need protection, or can I mount them on the hull?

 

[KiloZulu]

1. How many NPCs to run missile cruiser of approx. 250m and 60k mass? With massive numbers of somewhat pointless PDTs, a couple bigger turrets, and a few forward-firing missiles? i.e. raw numbers of NPCs to systems of various types would be an excellent resource.

2. Do I need to build RP interiors now? Cause I haven't yet, and if they actually have a point I might just do so.

3. Can NPCs walk through each other?

4. How much space do they need?

5. Do they need protection, or can I mount them on the hull?

1. You won't need any NPC's to run a ship - they will provide bonuses to systems that they are capable of operating. At present you can't have more than five NPC's under your control at any one time. I don't know if that will have any impact on their ability to crew a ship.

2. You will need ship interiors if you use crew. The dev's stated that crew will need a place to rest in addition to their work station, or they will start to incur penalties to their performance. That doesn't mean you have to create lounges, restrooms, and all sorts of crazy stuff. You can be as Spartan as you wish, as long as you create the necessary space for the NPC needs.

3. I believe they can at present, and my personal opinion is that it wouldn't change.

4. I haven't seen that stated. An NPC crew member would have a work station and a rest location. I suspect that each will be a single block in size, but it might be cool if those blocks created a zone around them (kind of like the old docking areas prior to rails.)

5. They need protection if you don't want them to get shot up by weapon fire.

 

[Edymnion]

4.) Not sure if I understand what you mean by productive? They are supposedly going to increasingly improve the functionality of whatever system they are put in charge of as they gain experience - so an engineer would boost the ship's thrust performance, while a weapons officer might improve the accuracy/damage of guns.

1) Yes they will eventually, but will it be in the first update?

2) How? Do they need access to computers or thrusters, or does them just being on the ship work?

These will be important questions.

 

[godmars]

i want to know whats going to get nerfed next balance patch before i spend hours using it in a design (again) :frown:

 

[Panpiper]

i want to know whats going to get nerfed next balance patch before i spend hours using it in a design (again) :frown:

Chain drives?

 

[Heillos]

Chain drives?

Chain drives have a long lifespan ahead of them yet: a jump drive rework isn't even on the horizon so far, and it's fairly well-established that Schine is resigned to their existence until then. Travel was far too tedious before their development, after all.

 

[Scypio]

4. I haven't seen that stated. An NPC crew member would have a work station and a rest location. I suspect that each will be a single block in size, but it might be cool if those blocks created a zone around them (kind of like the old docking areas prior to rails.)

Plz no. I don't want interiors to be empty rooms.

 

[Ithirahad]

Plz no. I don't want interiors to be empty rooms.

I'd imagine that the zone wouldn't prevent you from having blocks in it. It would just define an area of the ship as a rest zone or whatever.

 

[Panpiper]

I'd imagine that the zone wouldn't prevent you from having blocks in it. It would just define an area of the ship as a rest zone or whatever.

Although I am sure there will be some sort of checks, lest that 'zone' be filled with shield blocks. I suspect it will be like the guide rails. They will be actual blocks we place that will be slightly visible in build mode but invisible and able to be walked through when in normal mode. Decoration in that space probably will detract from the available space for the crew blocks and therefore be technically less efficient than completely empty space, but this will still be a vast improvement for RP ships, where not only the decorative blocks are a waste (in terms of combat efficiency), but so is the space. Each crew will require a minimum number or rest blocks and recreation blocks. More than the minimum of rest blocks means they rest faster (?, XP gain rate bonus?), more than the minimum of recreation blocks means their morale goes up faster/higher maybe.

 

[Ithirahad]

Although I am sure there will be some sort of checks, lest that 'zone' be filled with shield blocks. I suspect it will be like the guide rails. They will be actual blocks we place that will be slightly visible in build mode but invisible and able to be walked through when in normal mode. Decoration in that space probably will detract from the available space for the crew blocks and therefore be technically less efficient than completely empty space, but this will still be a vast improvement for RP ships, where not only the decorative blocks are a waste (in terms of combat efficiency), but so is the space. Each crew will require a minimum number or rest blocks and recreation blocks. More than the minimum of rest blocks means they rest faster (?, XP gain rate bonus?), more than the minimum of recreation blocks means their morale goes up faster/higher maybe.

If it were filled with shield blocks, NPCs could not get into it and rest, so it does not matter if there are checks or not.

 

[Panpiper]

If it were filled with shield blocks, NPCs could not get into it and rest, so it does not matter if there are checks or not.

You would only need two open blocks for your Borg like crew docking pod.

 

[Edymnion]

Yup, whether or not they need access to actual critical systems (again, like a room with the various weapon computers in it) so that they can directly interact with them, or if we can just make little play areas for them will end up with vastly different results in terms of builds.

If they do have that requirement, then we'll want to put all the computers together so that they can be easily reached. If they don't, its better defensive building to spread the computers out and bury them in armor and systems so that a single well placed missile explosion doesn't cripple your systems by blowing up all of your computers at once.

 

[KiloZulu]

I've built ships where I have "future construction" locations - areas that I've left unfinished in case future updates create a need. I'm trying to reduce the number of ships that become obsolete due to game updates like the rail system or storage space requirements. I just wall off a corridor with some yellow-striped drywall that can be knocked out when needed.

 

[Ithirahad]

I've built ships where I have "future construction" locations - areas that I've left unfinished in case future updates create a need. I'm trying to reduce the number of ships that become obsolete due to game updates like the rail system or storage space requirements. I just wall off a corridor with some yellow-striped drywall that can be knocked out when needed.

Yeah, I do that in stations and whatnot.

 

[StarWars1981]

Yeah, I do that in stations and whatnot.

I completely fill ships and throw expletives around when updates mean I have to tear it all out again.



Joking

 

[Dire Venom]

1) Yes they will eventually, but will it be in the first update?

2) How? Do they need access to computers or thrusters, or does them just being on the ship work?

These will be important questions.

I presume we would have 'workstation' blocks (which idealy would look similar to the Decorative Consoles we have now, or even just add the function to the counsel).
By pressing R on the block you can assign a workstation from a drop down lists of the ships functions.
Well at least thats how I see it working :3