[Game-play] Emergency/Distress Beacon

[phrasz]

TL;DR: A Navigation point that appears with a color (orange perhaps?) on the Nav menu.

This could be an automated feature on cores, or an added block, that will activate and show within X sectors.

• Example 1: a ship is derelict on a server for 2 weeks (server config option) and the distress beacon activates and can be picked up within 5 sectors.
• Example 2: A ship after recieving X damage will auto activate when the beacon box is present on the ship.
• Example 3: Pirates and hostiles can place one and activate the beacon to set traps.

Anti-Trolling: make the beacon's cost 5 Million+ credits.

Previously/similarly mentioned:
http://star-made.org/content/resumed-larrys-suggestions-updated-02072013
http://star-made.org/content/first-impressions-suggestions

 

[Zardox]

I like it.



My suggestion would be to make multifunctiononal blocks that could be linked togeather to achieve the results you suggest here - or different results if linked to other modules?

So, let\'s say a \'Diagnostics\' block recording damage

linked to

an \'Alarm!\' block

linked to

a \'Signal Beacon\' block.



Each of these blocks could be used on their own in other ways too?

 

[therimmer96]

I have to disagree as you would be alerting other players too your location, meaning some people will come and assist in your destruction so that they can steal your ship or be a troll

 

[phrasz]

Note the added block option^. I concur with your opinion about alerting others, thus it could be made optional...

 

[Zardox]

But who says you are alerting just the people you don\'t want?

I play a game that has general distress beacons... the results are not always bad.

And... if that\'s your concern add another block to my list

\"encrypt / decrypt\" (code) block.

Allows any message to be encrypted or maybe sent as a burst signal.

That way your faction could get the message at once (giving your sector location) while \'enemy\' factions would have to decrypt the signal?

Time to decrypt could depend on the level of the block?

For example

Level of Encrypt = Level of Decrypt -> time to decode = 60 sec (for an example)

Level of Encrypt 1 level higher than Decrypt -> time to decode = 240 sec

Level of Encrypt 2 levels higher than Decrypt -> time to decode = 480 sec etc...



Level of Encrypt 1 level lovwer than Decrypt -> time to decode = 30 sec

and so on... you get the idea.

Or decrypts could be based on a percentage chance based on the difference of level of the code blocks in use?



Lots of ways to maybe make this work as a fun game element.

 

[phrasz]

The only issue I see counter to your idea (which sounds really cool btw) is chat: anyone could send to friendlies via chat where they are, but having a \"decrypt block\" to intercept beacons would be a very different/cool approach.

 

[Zardox]

Yes, sadly Skype (and others) do tend to allow players to get around these ideas.