Radios + Display

[nightwalker_007]

This shares a little similarity to Read by Council - Voice/Text Radios except you have to get out of your ship core to use it in most cases.

Add a radio block attached to displays. I suppose the sensor computer (since it has an antenna) could double as a radio. The radio is two way. So it would require two connected displays, one connecting in, and another connecting out. When it receives a signal on the selected frequency, then the incoming display (attached with c on the radio and v on the display) would update and also send send an activation signal. To send a signal, update the text on the ongoing display (c on the display v on the terminal) and then, either send an activation signal to the radio, or by entering text and hitting a "send" button in the radio's GUI window.

There would be 4 local channels (0-3) that only work in the current sector, 4 (0-4) solar system wide channels, 16 galaxy wide signals (0-16) and 8 (0-7) intergalactic channels. Each signal could optionally be encrypted by 32-bit number. There is no penalty for receiving a signal, but transmitting would break cloak and radar jamming. To send/receive a signal within the solar system would require at least one antenna unit. To send outside of the solar system would need 8 in a row to reach systems within a jump drive's distance, 8x2 would get anything within 3 jumps, and 16x4x2 would be needed to reach the entire galaxy. Intergalactic antennas would require a larger array depending on how far the signal needs to be pushed. For the nearest galaxy, a 16x4x2 array would be needed. For each additional galaxy over would require doubling the array size (32x4x2, 64x4x4,128x4x8, up to 256x4x16). Power usage would share the same consumption as the sensor array for transmitting. Minimal power wold be needed for receiving signals (one power reactor block's worth).

Ideally the server would keep track of the radios in the game, and cache the last 8 messages they would have received had the entity with the radio been active. When the entity becomes active, it would get the messages 3 logic ticks apart (a tick being the delay block's cycle time) to allow the messages to be processed by logic (which could involve saving them to a bank of displays). This would also mean relay stations would occasionally need to be manned to push signals along.

To add another element to gameplay: The radio's encryption code would be visible to any player that gains physical access to an undamaged a radio...which gives a pratical reason to keep a warhead on your ship somewhere...

 

[nightrune]

This is the thread I wrote on the subject.

Chat/Channel Block

 

[nightwalker_007]

This is the thread I wrote on the subject.

Chat/Channel Block

Your topic doesn't quite fit with what I wrote here. It has no concept of encrypted channels, or buffering of messages when a sector is offline, or of logic activation. This is significant because this radio could be used to send messages that could trigger other logic actions, especially when used with my suggested [search][/search] tags as mentioned in https://starmadedock.net/threads/displays-connected-to-rail-rail-docker-to-send-commands-to-from-docked-entities-beamed-logic-block.28317/

 

[nightrune]

Your topic doesn't quite fit with what I wrote here. It has no concept of encrypted channels

Right here in the main post

Interaction with other features:
Permission modules would create secure channels in their own namespace as well.

You can actually build ciphers with display module logic already, It wouldn't be too bad to have a docked module that was just your cipher engine that let you put in a key.

or buffering of messages when a sector is offline

I inferred it, but it was not explicit

Activate the button. The display module then contains the last message received from the channel. This operates just like a current display block.

The sector/system could just save the last value, reducing the memory and storage overhead on the server. A listening station would then create a display computer for storing the data from the channels.


As for this,

, or of logic activation. This is significant because this radio could be used to send messages that could trigger other logic actions, especially when used with my suggested [search][/search] tags as mentioned in https://starmadedock.net/threads/displays-connected-to-rail-rail-docker-to-send-commands-to-from-docked-entities-beamed-logic-block.28317/

Logic and display are now intricately linked. You would have to use a sensor setup to do specific things. Specifically I want a remote terminal to open hangar doors on stations without specific wireless blocks. Mine works for this, uses many existing mechanisms and allows dynamic channels. The last page of the thread is talking about how to get range to work correctly. They are very similar ideas, but I think mine is more flexible and builds on existing mechanics.