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- Jun 12, 2015
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One of the things that Starmade has long lacked, is a means of pressurizing the interior of a spacecraft or the surface of a planet with breathable air.
Thus I suggest a new addition: Gas Blocks and Gas Zones.
How would gas blocks work? Simple. Each block has a "Pressure" variable that defines the thickness of the gas within the block.
A gas block tests its surroundings every half-second or so, checking to see if a side is exposed to space or a gas block with a different Pressure level.
If there's space, then the block spawns a new block there and splits its Pressure among the two of them. Thus a single, full-Pressure block will split into two half-pressure blocks.
If the block detects a non-equal gas block next to it, then it either gives or takes a certain amount of Pressure from that block -- this can go on until the Pressure of an entire area is equalized at a single value.
A gas block can be spawned from an Air Vent block, which must in-turn get its gas from bottles that can get generated from a Factory block. In order to make a gas bottle, you need these ingredients: glass or metal, and the gas-source of your choice (an example of a 'gas-source' would be Ice to generate breathable air.)
Gas blocks cannot be seen or manipulated by the player.
If the Pressure level goes below perhaps 10% (configurable by admins), then the block is destroyed. This means hull-breaches finally pose a risk.
With this system, a ship's interior can be pressurized with gas that expands to fill open space.
Every planet would be surrounded by a non-block 'Gas Zone', which would function like an ordinary planetary atmosphere. These Zones can function as a source of gas to be used aboard ships, as well.
This would, of course, finally give purpose to the space-suits and helmets carried by every player.
It might also be a good idea to place limits on the things a player can do while wearing a helmet (or suit) so that the player would have a need for an environment in which they could remove it.
Thus I suggest a new addition: Gas Blocks and Gas Zones.
How would gas blocks work? Simple. Each block has a "Pressure" variable that defines the thickness of the gas within the block.
A gas block tests its surroundings every half-second or so, checking to see if a side is exposed to space or a gas block with a different Pressure level.
If there's space, then the block spawns a new block there and splits its Pressure among the two of them. Thus a single, full-Pressure block will split into two half-pressure blocks.
If the block detects a non-equal gas block next to it, then it either gives or takes a certain amount of Pressure from that block -- this can go on until the Pressure of an entire area is equalized at a single value.
A gas block can be spawned from an Air Vent block, which must in-turn get its gas from bottles that can get generated from a Factory block. In order to make a gas bottle, you need these ingredients: glass or metal, and the gas-source of your choice (an example of a 'gas-source' would be Ice to generate breathable air.)
Gas blocks cannot be seen or manipulated by the player.
If the Pressure level goes below perhaps 10% (configurable by admins), then the block is destroyed. This means hull-breaches finally pose a risk.
With this system, a ship's interior can be pressurized with gas that expands to fill open space.
Every planet would be surrounded by a non-block 'Gas Zone', which would function like an ordinary planetary atmosphere. These Zones can function as a source of gas to be used aboard ships, as well.
This would, of course, finally give purpose to the space-suits and helmets carried by every player.
It might also be a good idea to place limits on the things a player can do while wearing a helmet (or suit) so that the player would have a need for an environment in which they could remove it.
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