A few ideas occured to me as potential things that could be added in to make the shielding system more robust, and potentially even more diverse. Also, do not ask me to think up scaling algorithms for these for "concept", please... Let's go in the order that each idea started occuring to me:
"Advanced Shield Disperer", or "Canopy Shield"--requires a minimum amount of shield dispersers* already be attached to the ship/structure [with a higher amount for ships, perhaps--that way the LARGE, IMMOBILE STATIONS can actually benefit more from this, and not be sitting ducks for a fleet that happens to be skittering about them intimidatingly.] Would grant an a vastly increased amount of shields and a small boost to shield regen. [They'd have their own algorithms for diminishing returns, of course--but this is mainly to counter the fact that the base dispersers eventually degrade to the point where each block is worth an extra 1-2 shields, and for extra regen, you need another 40+ dispersers.]
*I mean specifically the original shield disperser block, and nothing else shield related. The bit of lore behind them can be that the rest of the dispersers are used to feed into these.
The next idea is two-fold:
"Shield Charger"--a block that doesn't do anything except add to the shield regen rate when out of combat. This would have, again, a separate algorithm--and possible not start diminishing for a little while longer... But would also scale up recovery time a little faster than normal. Drains more energy than dispersers would. [Additionally, for every so many, recovery time could be pushed up .5 above the current 4 second recovery cap.] And...
"Shield Bank"--meant to allow for a higher max shield, and cause a constant drain on power to do so. [If power zeroes out from this effect, your max shields will start to degrade down to whatever value they would be without the banks. The banks will remain inactive until your power reaches full.
"Shield Hardener"--Allows for damage mitigation on shields, akin to the armor rating of blocks--with their being a relationship between the hardener itself, and the amount of shields you have. However, there would also be a cap as to the effectiveness, of say 30%--meaning that, with strong enough shields and enough hardeners, your station or behemoth ship's survivalbility rating will probably skyrocket. [Let's say your a ship with just ONE disperser... It would take you 2 or 3 hardeners to reach the max. Past that point? I don't know.]
"Emergency Shield Generator!"--These would be a bank of generators that would allow for shield regen during combat--akin to what existed a while back, but nowhere NEARLY as strong. However, they'd only kick in if the shields were to go below a certain %-amount... Let's say 50% for basic ones, and 25% for more advanced ones. And they will keep draining power, and regenerating your shields, until they get back to the cutoff point. The ones that trigger at 50% can give, at first, maybe 10-15 regen per second for the first few blocks before degrading, and would consume about half against as much energy as normal shield regeneration would require.; while the stronger ones can start between 15-25 regen per second [while consuming about three times as much power as the first block to do so]. However, the power consumption of these won't matter much if your generators are beastly, right? Wrong! When the first tier emergency shield generator is activated, your power generation is cut by a fourth. When the second tier kicks in, you will lose an additional 50% of your base energy regen. [This won't matter TOO much for stations, but this is an implication for big ships to have some power storage ready if they plan on using these! They won't completely shut down your power, but they will force you to be careful with your weapons. So be ready to amass more power tanks if you plan on throwing both tiers in, for there goes 75% of your regen.]
Now then, on to the other topic at hand--weapons! Though the... Pulsator was fun and all, and is still being worked on, I'm fairly certain there are other, meatier weapons everyone would love to have access to for ships. The AMCs are nice, basic laser weapons, and the diversity of missiles is nice [though heatseeker missiles currently suck bollocks if you want to try using them on turrets, or plan on being a part of any decently sized fleet.... As they will simply turn back around and lock on to any other turret or nearby ship, regardless of allegience. The damage buff to basic missiles is nice, as was the change in calculation for the way missiles do damage in general... Though, currently, they are SLOOOW as hell.] the pulsator probably wasn't what people expected to have show up. It comes up as a nice idea for some utility, but what utility exists at the moment for the game isn't all too grand when you get down to it. Now, on to some of the weapons I have thought up!
"*Something* Lance" Plasma maybe? Who knows! Better yet, who cares! The thought behind this, beyond the obvious "Damage, Range, Reload, and Projectile Speed", would be... Penetration! How many blocks this thing can go through before it stops [unlike AMCs that stop upon hitting the first block they come in contact with, even if they do like 2K damage and would make sense if they kept going a little at least...] Now, would these come in at 20% each? No! They'd come with the standard 25% for the first four things, with nothing into penetration--giving them only the standard 1 block hit. [So "1 pen"] You have to sacrifice from whereever else you want to buff up their penetration. Also, given what they are, their speed will also be a lot higher when compared to most other weapons--but their base fire rate will also be relatively... Lower. ~Cough~ Want a beam that does 4K damage and can cut a swathe through 10 layers of hardened hull from about a thousand meters away? Okay then! Oh, sorry, you wanted to fire that once every few seconds? Sorry, it's got a twenty second reload buddy. [Obviously, this'd be a big gun to get those kind of numbers... As per usual]
"Harrier Drone" This would be a more advanced sort of thing, and would be far from a standard weapon--it would be a remote-controlled "shiplet" that the size, shields, and firepower are determined based on the size of the "hangar" you build for it. [this will calculate open space within an environment that has five enclosed walls] Where does this come in handy? A drone carrier, of course, where you fly the ship around with some decent weapons... As your friends control a few of these things. Got enough friends? Make a half dozen or so drone bays, and your friends can quickly take control of some of these. The statistics for the drones can be changed, as well as what weapons they use--though they'd be limited to AMCs, d1000s, and even Astrotechnobeams, as well as a few of the weapons from here [I will point out which... Sorry, they don't get the lances.] However, their "reload time" will not be toggleable. It will be based off how large the drone is, and the cooldown will not start until the current drone dies or leaves operational area. How large would the operational area be, you say? Probably two sectors or so, maybe smaller with another block used to extend the range by about 100m at a time for all Harrier Drone Control Computers.
"Internal Securities Drone" Ever get tired of having to patrol your ship with your little defense weapon drawn to ensure people don't start slaughtering each other, or repelling a raiding party along side some of your soldiers more used to ducking in the halls? Well, this bastard will do the trick for ya. It will be two blocks--the computer, and a block they are deployed from... With the added fact that these drones are either constructed or bought, and then STORED inside the deployer block--and each drone takes an entire slot in the deployer's inventory, with say a max of twelve slots. If your active drone is destroyed, you will be kicked out of the computer. To get out of the computer otherwise, you must return the drone to the deployer--it will work akin to docking a ship, but it will be specific to this block. How big will the drone be? Probably about .8m in all directions, with only 10 hull points... But a decent shielding of, say, 200--with 5 regen when out of combat, with a 1s recovery. Its weapon? 10 damage, on a 500ms cooldown. So, they pack a punch and can take a small beating before going down. Now, what's preventing people from using the harriers for this same purpose? Nothing! Other than the fact that with 5 blocks to get something weaker than this drone to try and patrol the halls of their ship would probably not be a worthwhile endeavour.
"TacN" This would be a lone, placeable block, that requires manufacture--you cannot buy it from the shop [though acquisition through /giveid won't be affected]. What is it exactly? Well, let's put it simply: You need a buttload of Dis-Integrators to make it. That paint the picture? Now then, what could these be used for? Pretty much all the same things we're thinking about using Dis-Integrators for, but we can manage it with a twentieth the number of blocks [or maybe far more effectiveness with half? ;3] These would likely be something you make a scary, "Do Not Fly" zone for people to avoid going near. Make a few physical "guided missiles" that can eventually be controlled by the Bobby AI [if we can ever get the ability to tell it to act like a "missile" or a "mine"..."]. Give them an armor value of 25% and 200 HP, but make it so that shooting them detonates an explosion of about quarter force. [Which is a lot better than it being full force in your face, right?]
"M.A.C." Who says we can't use a solid projectile any more? Now, what distinguishes this from all other weapons, hmm? Ever feel like all your weapons shoot tiny projectiles for the size you make them? Not any longer! The M.A.C.'s projectile will be based on the "hollow" space inside the gun. [Meaning, you make a giant empty rectangular box with an opening at one end.] How big the projectile gonna be? Probably about 60-75% the size of the hole. No, this won't eat items from your inventory! A slug of hot slag will be materialized inside the barrel to be fired off. Now, what are the drawbacks? A delayed firing time--as it will take a moment for the slug to spawn, and the cannon to sling it off. And a decently long recharge time. The benefits? Long range, the ability to damage an area of blocks [akin to a missile, but it will hit shields like a fat mom at a Chinese buffet, and will damage all blocks it smacks into the same amount... Not distributed. No, the damage of the projectile will be applied to ALL blocks hit. Have fun with these! =3]
"Ion Cannon" Essentially what you think it is. A weapon to damage shields, that will likely do little to nothing against hull. How much damage will it do to shields? Three times as much as an AMC of equal blocks, with the added "Debuff" it will apply to hit targets--their recovery time is increased by an amount, scaled on the number of blocks in the cannon--with a minimum of, say, .5--and a max of 2. [meaning that you won't have a lovely .5 recovery, and the ability to go hide on the other side of an asteroid for your shields to start swooping back up.] No, it will not stack. It will refresh with each shot. How about damage to actual blocks? Anywhere from half that of an AMC... To nothing. [*Zero damage to hardened hulls/faction blocks, *quarter damage to normal hulls, *half damage to anything without armor ratings]
*Keep in mind--these comparisons are in relation to an AMC of equal size.
Well, that's everything I have managed to think of so far. People's thoughts on the mayhem they would sow were some of these things to be put in?
"Advanced Shield Disperer", or "Canopy Shield"--requires a minimum amount of shield dispersers* already be attached to the ship/structure [with a higher amount for ships, perhaps--that way the LARGE, IMMOBILE STATIONS can actually benefit more from this, and not be sitting ducks for a fleet that happens to be skittering about them intimidatingly.] Would grant an a vastly increased amount of shields and a small boost to shield regen. [They'd have their own algorithms for diminishing returns, of course--but this is mainly to counter the fact that the base dispersers eventually degrade to the point where each block is worth an extra 1-2 shields, and for extra regen, you need another 40+ dispersers.]
*I mean specifically the original shield disperser block, and nothing else shield related. The bit of lore behind them can be that the rest of the dispersers are used to feed into these.
The next idea is two-fold:
"Shield Charger"--a block that doesn't do anything except add to the shield regen rate when out of combat. This would have, again, a separate algorithm--and possible not start diminishing for a little while longer... But would also scale up recovery time a little faster than normal. Drains more energy than dispersers would. [Additionally, for every so many, recovery time could be pushed up .5 above the current 4 second recovery cap.] And...
"Shield Bank"--meant to allow for a higher max shield, and cause a constant drain on power to do so. [If power zeroes out from this effect, your max shields will start to degrade down to whatever value they would be without the banks. The banks will remain inactive until your power reaches full.
"Shield Hardener"--Allows for damage mitigation on shields, akin to the armor rating of blocks--with their being a relationship between the hardener itself, and the amount of shields you have. However, there would also be a cap as to the effectiveness, of say 30%--meaning that, with strong enough shields and enough hardeners, your station or behemoth ship's survivalbility rating will probably skyrocket. [Let's say your a ship with just ONE disperser... It would take you 2 or 3 hardeners to reach the max. Past that point? I don't know.]
"Emergency Shield Generator!"--These would be a bank of generators that would allow for shield regen during combat--akin to what existed a while back, but nowhere NEARLY as strong. However, they'd only kick in if the shields were to go below a certain %-amount... Let's say 50% for basic ones, and 25% for more advanced ones. And they will keep draining power, and regenerating your shields, until they get back to the cutoff point. The ones that trigger at 50% can give, at first, maybe 10-15 regen per second for the first few blocks before degrading, and would consume about half against as much energy as normal shield regeneration would require.; while the stronger ones can start between 15-25 regen per second [while consuming about three times as much power as the first block to do so]. However, the power consumption of these won't matter much if your generators are beastly, right? Wrong! When the first tier emergency shield generator is activated, your power generation is cut by a fourth. When the second tier kicks in, you will lose an additional 50% of your base energy regen. [This won't matter TOO much for stations, but this is an implication for big ships to have some power storage ready if they plan on using these! They won't completely shut down your power, but they will force you to be careful with your weapons. So be ready to amass more power tanks if you plan on throwing both tiers in, for there goes 75% of your regen.]
Now then, on to the other topic at hand--weapons! Though the... Pulsator was fun and all, and is still being worked on, I'm fairly certain there are other, meatier weapons everyone would love to have access to for ships. The AMCs are nice, basic laser weapons, and the diversity of missiles is nice [though heatseeker missiles currently suck bollocks if you want to try using them on turrets, or plan on being a part of any decently sized fleet.... As they will simply turn back around and lock on to any other turret or nearby ship, regardless of allegience. The damage buff to basic missiles is nice, as was the change in calculation for the way missiles do damage in general... Though, currently, they are SLOOOW as hell.] the pulsator probably wasn't what people expected to have show up. It comes up as a nice idea for some utility, but what utility exists at the moment for the game isn't all too grand when you get down to it. Now, on to some of the weapons I have thought up!
"*Something* Lance" Plasma maybe? Who knows! Better yet, who cares! The thought behind this, beyond the obvious "Damage, Range, Reload, and Projectile Speed", would be... Penetration! How many blocks this thing can go through before it stops [unlike AMCs that stop upon hitting the first block they come in contact with, even if they do like 2K damage and would make sense if they kept going a little at least...] Now, would these come in at 20% each? No! They'd come with the standard 25% for the first four things, with nothing into penetration--giving them only the standard 1 block hit. [So "1 pen"] You have to sacrifice from whereever else you want to buff up their penetration. Also, given what they are, their speed will also be a lot higher when compared to most other weapons--but their base fire rate will also be relatively... Lower. ~Cough~ Want a beam that does 4K damage and can cut a swathe through 10 layers of hardened hull from about a thousand meters away? Okay then! Oh, sorry, you wanted to fire that once every few seconds? Sorry, it's got a twenty second reload buddy. [Obviously, this'd be a big gun to get those kind of numbers... As per usual]
"Harrier Drone" This would be a more advanced sort of thing, and would be far from a standard weapon--it would be a remote-controlled "shiplet" that the size, shields, and firepower are determined based on the size of the "hangar" you build for it. [this will calculate open space within an environment that has five enclosed walls] Where does this come in handy? A drone carrier, of course, where you fly the ship around with some decent weapons... As your friends control a few of these things. Got enough friends? Make a half dozen or so drone bays, and your friends can quickly take control of some of these. The statistics for the drones can be changed, as well as what weapons they use--though they'd be limited to AMCs, d1000s, and even Astrotechnobeams, as well as a few of the weapons from here [I will point out which... Sorry, they don't get the lances.] However, their "reload time" will not be toggleable. It will be based off how large the drone is, and the cooldown will not start until the current drone dies or leaves operational area. How large would the operational area be, you say? Probably two sectors or so, maybe smaller with another block used to extend the range by about 100m at a time for all Harrier Drone Control Computers.
"Internal Securities Drone" Ever get tired of having to patrol your ship with your little defense weapon drawn to ensure people don't start slaughtering each other, or repelling a raiding party along side some of your soldiers more used to ducking in the halls? Well, this bastard will do the trick for ya. It will be two blocks--the computer, and a block they are deployed from... With the added fact that these drones are either constructed or bought, and then STORED inside the deployer block--and each drone takes an entire slot in the deployer's inventory, with say a max of twelve slots. If your active drone is destroyed, you will be kicked out of the computer. To get out of the computer otherwise, you must return the drone to the deployer--it will work akin to docking a ship, but it will be specific to this block. How big will the drone be? Probably about .8m in all directions, with only 10 hull points... But a decent shielding of, say, 200--with 5 regen when out of combat, with a 1s recovery. Its weapon? 10 damage, on a 500ms cooldown. So, they pack a punch and can take a small beating before going down. Now, what's preventing people from using the harriers for this same purpose? Nothing! Other than the fact that with 5 blocks to get something weaker than this drone to try and patrol the halls of their ship would probably not be a worthwhile endeavour.
"TacN" This would be a lone, placeable block, that requires manufacture--you cannot buy it from the shop [though acquisition through /giveid won't be affected]. What is it exactly? Well, let's put it simply: You need a buttload of Dis-Integrators to make it. That paint the picture? Now then, what could these be used for? Pretty much all the same things we're thinking about using Dis-Integrators for, but we can manage it with a twentieth the number of blocks [or maybe far more effectiveness with half? ;3] These would likely be something you make a scary, "Do Not Fly" zone for people to avoid going near. Make a few physical "guided missiles" that can eventually be controlled by the Bobby AI [if we can ever get the ability to tell it to act like a "missile" or a "mine"..."]. Give them an armor value of 25% and 200 HP, but make it so that shooting them detonates an explosion of about quarter force. [Which is a lot better than it being full force in your face, right?]
"M.A.C." Who says we can't use a solid projectile any more? Now, what distinguishes this from all other weapons, hmm? Ever feel like all your weapons shoot tiny projectiles for the size you make them? Not any longer! The M.A.C.'s projectile will be based on the "hollow" space inside the gun. [Meaning, you make a giant empty rectangular box with an opening at one end.] How big the projectile gonna be? Probably about 60-75% the size of the hole. No, this won't eat items from your inventory! A slug of hot slag will be materialized inside the barrel to be fired off. Now, what are the drawbacks? A delayed firing time--as it will take a moment for the slug to spawn, and the cannon to sling it off. And a decently long recharge time. The benefits? Long range, the ability to damage an area of blocks [akin to a missile, but it will hit shields like a fat mom at a Chinese buffet, and will damage all blocks it smacks into the same amount... Not distributed. No, the damage of the projectile will be applied to ALL blocks hit. Have fun with these! =3]
"Ion Cannon" Essentially what you think it is. A weapon to damage shields, that will likely do little to nothing against hull. How much damage will it do to shields? Three times as much as an AMC of equal blocks, with the added "Debuff" it will apply to hit targets--their recovery time is increased by an amount, scaled on the number of blocks in the cannon--with a minimum of, say, .5--and a max of 2. [meaning that you won't have a lovely .5 recovery, and the ability to go hide on the other side of an asteroid for your shields to start swooping back up.] No, it will not stack. It will refresh with each shot. How about damage to actual blocks? Anywhere from half that of an AMC... To nothing. [*Zero damage to hardened hulls/faction blocks, *quarter damage to normal hulls, *half damage to anything without armor ratings]
*Keep in mind--these comparisons are in relation to an AMC of equal size.
Well, that's everything I have managed to think of so far. People's thoughts on the mayhem they would sow were some of these things to be put in?