Yeah the TG will have some obvious communication arrays in order to coordinate their ships.
Yes. For the Trading Guild they are mostly utilitarian except when it comes to the spawn station, as that is a major hub. That is why they are grey colored. The blue and white will be toned down on other TG builds. There will still be plenty of detail though. The fundamental styles for all other planned factions has been figured out but we haven't started their builds just yet.
I don't see why not. Although there are some specifics that need to be sorted if we allow this to happen. Perhaps a reputation is needed with the TG in order to buy their vessels. Wouldn't want them having you in a TG ship pirating other TG ships. You might have to prove your loyalty. That is obviously the RPG route and we haven't really discussed it as NPC's aren't in yet.
I really wish we will be able to attack NPC faction homebases...Hello!
Today I am showing off the new and improved stick shops. That is what they are commonly known as among the community. There is no real designation for this thing, but perhaps there should be.
As you can see it is very similar to the current mathematically generated stick shops. We felt it was quite an iconic shape and wanted to keep it. So what's the deal? Why is this thing a giant stick? These stations are automated and unmanned. The TG has to spread so many of these stations throughout the universe that it was worth it to invest in cheap mechanical based systems. Looking closer we can see the structure is quite basic.
The stick shops are manufactured near the TG homebase (not the spawn shop). From there they are launched into space and may drift for long periods of time (even millennia or more). When the station approaches it's final destination the rings on the structure activate. They act as gyroscopes and inertial dampeners that slow the station to a stop, where it will remain indefinitely. From here the stations automated shop transaction systems will begin accumulating profits from anyone that decides to trade here. Eventually civilization reaches these shops and the TG can come collect their profits.
To give a sense of scale, here is a the small freighter next to the shop.
The shop features 4 USD's, two on either end. The entire build is symmetrical, so you will be upside down if you dock at the "bottom".
Inside the small interior you will find a large window where an automated trade system observes your actions and travels from either end of the station. This simple robot lives here it's entire life.
That's just about all that can be said about this station. Hopefully now you will understand why so many of these structures can be found in the region of space known as the Frontier.
Now it is quite clear users here want to help create these assets, in one way or another. I think I should explain the plan, which should answer some concerns. The Schine team, councilors and testers will likely be getting their hands on these assets first. A number of councilors are already giving feedback and fixing issues, mostly on the spawn shop for the moment. A few of them are certainly more experienced with ship systems than I am or Saber, the other major builder. We also have Lancake and Andy who should be able to help when we need it and they are certainly more knowledgeable with game mechanics.
After these groups have done some solid and official testing, and we are still unsure about systems then we will ask you here. I can throw up stats, by then the ship might be available in some form or even already in the game. There is plenty of time to adjust things if we need to. I don't expect perfect versions of these assets to make it into the game on the first try. For now, let's focus on the visuals and the lore side of things, as many of these assets have yet to get systems in. If you have feedback in that regard by all means let me know!
Thanks for reading and fly safe!
Twas mine. Bench really made it come to life though.
Stick shops should be vulnerable in the future. Actual Homebases plus a few necessary stations will be the only ones truly invulnerable. Idk why stick shops still have an invulnerability.
Because its a terrible idea to make them destroyable on servers. The "bubble" around spawn where new players start off is going to have no shops other than the always poorly stocked spawn.
We know that, but it's also not going to be easy to remove other factions from the area, by means of diplomacy or force. The area around spawn will have more than just spawn shop as well. Already something that has been thought about with many solutions to help new players along.
When there are actually defense forces coming to the rescue of shops under attack, it might not be as easy as you might think. Plus I'm sure blowing up a TG shop will put you in the bad grace of the TG, meaning their shops are now closed to you and all of their ships are hostile.
That way players could dynamically interact with a universe and impact the styles of certain factions while the styles of the main factions would remain unique.
At the risk of hijacking this thread, I agree with Rimmer. If you can destroy shops that only benefits large factions and players who are well off; no matter how great the deterrent might be, those players with access to super capital ships won't give a damn. They'll just want to put a strangle on the local economy, thereby increasing their dominance.
