Recognized GalaxyNet (Interstellar internet)

[Daniel L.]

My idea would be a hyperlinked set of files that would be controlled by individual players. This would allow factions to have their own promotional sites and players to chat in a new way.

This would replace the existing chat system. So now instead of infinite distance of communication players would have to be near friendly relay antennas in order to chat with other players through an IRC like system.

Plus factions would no longer be viewable from a complete list and would require direct contact with a piece of faction property in order to be able to access them.

Private chat between faction members would require a private relay network.
Public chat between average players would require a neutral relay network.
Diplomacy between factions would also need a neutral network.

This would mean that every faction would need to construct infrastructure in order to function which would reduce the number of factions in general, As any player will notice, The factions list on every faction is extremely clogged with dozens of abandoned 1-player noob factions, And requiring massive amounts of money to produce infrastructure in order to function.

The blocks required for this would be:

SERVER BLOCK:
These would contain GalaxyNet Sites.

TRANSMITTER BLOCK:
These would control antennas.

ANTENNA BLOCK:
These would transmit the data. The range of transmission would scale with antenna size.

HOW WOULD THESE WORK?
In order to create a GalaxyNet Site you would need to write the site on the Server block, Then place a Transmitter block and a bunch of Antenna blocks , And connect the Antennas and server to the transmitter.

In order to make a relay station just connect antennas to a transmitter block. Access to the relay would depend on faction.

In order to create a long distance network you need to build multiple relay stations of the same faction Stretched as far from each other as possible to still be in comms range.

Ships would carry a limited Antenna and transmitter system capable of communication of a maximum of one system, And astronauts only a sector.

This would add an aspect of exploration as players will be able to discover new factions and other players. And individual areas of space will become isolated in many ways as players will only know of factions and other players within the systems that they have explored.

 

[Ithirahad]

Not sure if StarMade is a large enough game for this yet, but once it supports 200+ people on one server this would be a very interesting thing to implement. At the very least, I do support making global chat work through something like this, but IDK about ships not being able to use it. They should be able to use high-range transmitters as well, but perhaps they might have to have a relay a certain amount of systems away... So an intergalactic expedition would need to bring along a whole bunch of relay blueprints and set them up along the way.

 

[NTIMESc]

While I do think the in-game communication system needs a severe overhaul, I think this suggestion would result in a fragmented and cumbersome system. What happens when these blocks are destroyed? Are you cut from everyone? Does the "public neutral network" replace the current general chat?

If you want players to actually use it, then it has to be simple. Otherwise players will just use external systems (like TeamSpeak, Mumble, or Steam Friends), rather than set up a complex network like this.

I would be in favor of a system that is mostly automatic in terms of setup. For example, all ships and stations automatically create a public network, and factioned ships automatically create private networks that appear and disappear when in range. Range could default to one system for a station, a few sectors a Ship Core, and 1 sector for an astronaut. It could be extended with the current Scanner Antenna (which also needs an overhaul).

 

[Ithirahad]

Sometimes I wish that TS, Mumble, and co. didn't exist... :P
Also yes, the idea is that the public network would replace magic global chat.

 

[aRottenKomquat]

I like the premise, but like said before, it'll just push people to use external chat systems instead.

 

[HolyCookie]

I liked the first sentence and the third. I know some factions make promotion videos and such, having this viewable in game like with EVE-online would be awesome. But the part where you spread the very little communication that is already there is a bit crazy. Right now finding battles is already a hell of a job, if you break the connection to the 10/20 players. I would also like to use advertisements on other sites of players for a faction.

 

[Daniel L.]

I liked the first sentence and the third. I know some factions make promotion videos and such, having this viewable in game like with EVE-online would be awesome. But the part where you spread the very little communication that is already there is a bit crazy. Right now finding battles is already a hell of a job, if you break the connection to the 10/20 players. I would also like to use advertisements on other sites of players for a faction.

The reason for my suggestion that global chat should be replaced by networks is that currently space in SM is so "Vast" that long range comms should require a network to function, This would IMO increase the attention factions give to each other as factions will only know the ones that they have already met and thus will be more likely to fight local factions.

 

[HolyCookie]

The reason for my suggestion that global chat should be replaced by networks is that currently space in SM is so "Vast" that long range comms should require a network to function, This would IMO increase the attention factions give to each other as factions will only know the ones that they have already met and thus will be more likely to fight local factions.

unless of course a faction doesn't want to be found.... then they stay hidden and do sneak attacks, factions will literally not know what hit them. I don't know if your theory is correct, but I think the idea of an internet thingy should be out there to be considered at the very least.

 

[Lecic]

unless of course a faction doesn't want to be found.... then they stay hidden and do sneak attacks, factions will literally not know what hit them. I don't know if your theory is correct, but I think the idea of an internet thingy should be out there to be considered at the very least.

It's not as if there aren't already factions that just sit in another galaxy and attack people who have no idea they existed.

 

[Dire Venom]

There are some good ideas in this post, however I can see this being very confusing for new players and annoying for others.
At least not in starmades current state.

 

[Criss]

There are a few issues with this approach. Nothing prevents players from using external chat channels or voice coms to communicate. If this is present on a server it can prove a useless feature and possibly a waste of development time because we aren't forced to only use this system to communicate. That is not to say I don't think there should be local chat and ally chat channels. I think once we start looking into factions more the need for these will present themselves. I also personally advocate for more complexity and having to physically establish communication networks in the universe isn't a hard concept to grasp.

Communication will become more important as fleets, factions, npc's and more come into play. Should there be a delay in messages from your assets on the field? Do physical builds need to be present in order to gain accurate information? I think so. Forcing an entire server, even by config file, to require this however is where this gets tricky. It should be a configuration option, and it should take into account external means of communication. With that I will gladly bring this up once we start looking into expanding factions and chat channels.

 

[HolyCookie]

Voice chat? Anyone?

 

[Daniel L.]

Voice chat? Anyone?

Your avatar goes perfectly with that post xD, And yes i do agree.

 

[jstenholt]

Voice chat? Anyone?

Pretty sure that the devs have almost entirely ruled this out.

As for the OP, honestly? An awful idea.

Not only is a super complex chat function a significant barrier to entry for new players, but it just sounds like an absolute pain in the ass. Even on a hypothetical server with a constant population in the hundreds, this would be completely tedious, even while role-playing.

Does chat need an overhaul? Sure, maybe in the distant future. Do we need a system where physical blocks are required to take full advantage of all chat functionality? Unequivocally: no.

 

[lupoCani]

While perhaps the system itself has merit, there's the inevitable fact of game design that you simply cannot restrict communication. Communication happens between people playing the game, it is not part of the game. There's plenty of services for communicating between people, the game just offers the one that's most convenient for itself. Bog it down with gameplay restrictions, and you'll just have people use teamspeak instead.

Edit- wait, it seems Lancake already said pretty much this. And here I scrolled past it thinking there wouldn't be any official word on it.

 

[Madman198237]

Interesting ideas. Perhaps not for communication of words....but of things like blueprints and designs. You can tell people about things, but you can't send them your map data or ship blueprints unless they're within range of your antenna, and possessed of an antenna as well. So it's all well and good if you tell a faction member about this cool new mining drone you've built...but how about you now need to get him building some? What do you do? Well, build a couple of antennas. Maybe the "personal computer" blocks could gain usage here: Link an antenna and communications array computer (For lack of a better term) to it, and suddenly information sent to you by your allies has a place to reside, rather than the crazy idea that your helmet (Which everybody leaves in the pocket dimension anyway) can store a map of several galaxies among other bits of info.

Another idea: Make a standard antenna module block and use it for communications, scanning, jamming, the works. One antenna is structurally similar (If not identical) to another, and functions in the same way. This will save ID's and recipes and increase realism.