[power 2.0] Docked Armor (not shields) solutions and ideas

[Jojomo]

So I am just currious if you guys (pvpers) have any ideas on how to approach this problem. It seemed to be an critique worthy point on the new system, and I am very interested on how other players think about this problem and possible solutions.

Implementing shields 2.0 in their current form would be one solution. Shield range bubbles are large and docked hull would need to be outside them, meaning docked hull would be absurdly large and heavy.

 

[GnomeKing]

that might be true Jojomo: the thing is shields 2.0 just seems dumb and pointless overall when shield radius is so damn huge... :/

what about the fundamental concept of having an actual/more defined 'main ship/entity/etc' as a basis for working through several issues with 'docked builds' ?

 

[kulbolen]

An issue some of us seem to have (and mentioned elsewhere, add ref...) is more about the concept of what defines a 'main entity' vs 'intentional fixed subordinate entity'. I think we all at some point conceptualize our 'ship' as a kind of whole thing; we attach turrets to a ship for example, not just 'collect together various entities'.

i think you are trying really hard to speak for everyone else in your effort to push your opinion. i think there are TONS of examples of ships composed of separate operational entities.

Equally it would be a push to conceptualize our undocked armor plate in the shipyard as somehow a 'ship' with the same existential independence as the battleship it has just been unhooked from (though with the power of cube in the cube-verse we can of course add a few thrusters and other bits and pieces and turn that plate into the mobile 'Get Undocked! Absinthe Bar' )

i have on several occasions hopped into a docked entity to use as a ship once my main ship was disabled.

In regard of docked-things and numerical attributes, within the cube-verse of Starmade, it seems to me entirely logical that when entities are docked together, characteristics (ie thrust, hp, and armor) should be combined and summed for the total main-entity, which becomes 'My Ship' in any functional/practical way we have of conceptualizing it.

this part is probably true, but more for balance and stability reasons than any of the stuff youre trying to tell us we think.

 

[GnomeKing]

But lets try a more productive approach:

>> make armor / HP of any docked entity additive to the the cumulative total of the main entity it is attached too (while it is attached).

in that way docked armor just becomes pointless, as it is identical to actual armor on the ship (as i believe is intended in the concept of ship armor/hp in the first place)

this part is probably true

"docked entities are the worst offenders, and people use them whether for performance or for interesting quirky shit" (kulbolen)

what about the fundamental concept of having an actual/more defined 'main ship/entity/etc' as a basis for working through several issues with 'docked builds' ?
[doublepost=1511604119,1511602254][/doublepost]Examples:

-At spawning all cores are default 'ship' - not just AI but 'core designation' now also needed to activate turrets during building
- Designated 'turret-part' cores remain 'turret-parts' (not 'ship') if detached, unless the core is entered and the designation is reset (eg to 'ship') - it will remain the case that any core can be re-designated as any other type through player action.
-docked 'doors' and similar (including docked hull-plates)....not sure about how to work those entities in; as-well-as 'ship' and 'turret-part', 'ship-part' could also be added to core designation scheme...

what do you think ?

By 'fixing' the relational status of different entities, it might be easier to arrive at solutions to several problems > eg
A)limiting high-load calculations for collisions, turret clipping, undocking etc, ...
B) and also be a basis for solving 'status-unclear' items like docked armor/'mega-docked-builds' without resorting to arbitrary limits and nerfs...
C)and provide clear clear foundational logic as to how "My Ship" has its numerical attributes summed and calculated, both as a single cohernet and pilot-able creation, and potentially as an unloaded fleet entity.

 

[GnomeKing]

But lets try a more productive approach:

>> make armor / HP of any docked entity additive to the the cumulative total of the main entity it is attached too (while it is attached).

in that way docked armor just becomes pointless, as it is identical to actual armor on the ship (as i believe is intended in the concept of ship armor/hp in the first place)




"docked entities are the worst offenders, and people use them whether for performance or for interesting quirky shit" (kulbolen)

what about the fundamental concept of having an actual/more defined 'main ship/entity/etc' as a basis for working through several issues with 'docked builds' ?
[doublepost=1511604119,1511602254][/doublepost]Examples:

-At spawning all cores are default 'ship' - not just AI but 'core designation' now also needed to activate turrets during building
- Designated 'turret-part' cores remain 'turret-parts' (not 'ship') if detached, unless the core is entered and the designation is reset (eg to 'ship') - it will remain the case that any core can be re-designated as any other type through player action.
-docked 'doors' and similar (including docked hull-plates)....not sure about how to work those entities in; as-well-as 'ship' and 'turret-part', 'ship-part' could also be added to core designation scheme...

also just remembered where this was also said:

Turret core - specialized to hold weapons, no need for propulsion/navigation, stationary except for swivel action
Station core - stationary, can't dock/can only be docked to, doesn't use internal power to supply docked ships/drones, can hold factories
Ship core - feeds power to docked turrets but not drones, requires human pilot
Drone core - fleet AI, self-navigation/docking/undocking, combat like default faction ship AI

what do you think ?

By 'fixing' the relational status of different entities, it might be easier to arrive at solutions to several problems > eg
A)limiting high-load calculations for collisions, turret clipping, undocking etc, ...
B) and also be a basis for solving 'status-unclear' items like docked armor/'mega-docked-builds' without resorting to arbitrary limits and nerfs...
C)and provide clear clear foundational logic as to how "My Ship" has its numerical attributes summed and calculated, both as a single cohernet and pilot-able creation, and potentially as an unloaded fleet entity.