Brainstorm This Retrofit Stations

[MacThule]

1. Player is in the build block of his station.
2. Player goes to Catalog, selects the blueprint for a larger version of the station with improved functionality and better defense.
3. Instead of BUY, Player clicks RETROFIT CURRENT.
4. The difference in block quantities is calculated and the cost in credits is deducted from Player's wallet.
5. Server deletes entity currently entered by Player.
6. Server spawns selected blueprint.
7. Server spawns Player's astronaut in nearest open space or teleports them away to where a BP would normally spawn relative to Player's last position.

Viola - stations can now be built in stages and economically upgraded as Schine releases new features.

 

[Edymnion]

At that point you might as well just set blueprints back to where they can be bought for cash. Because its a lot easier to make 100 million credits than it is to farm up/craft the mats for a station. People would just start with a one block station and "upgrade" it without ever actually building their own stuff if all it cost them was meaningless credits.

 

[terra mining corp.]

the fun part of the game for me is building from scratch and never completing a project because of updates and new ideas,let your imagination soar!

 

[kiddan]

We can almost do this already with the paste tool tbh.

 

[Reilly Reese]

At that point you might as well just set blueprints back to where they can be bought for cash. Because its a lot easier to make 100 million credits than it is to farm up/craft the mats for a station. People would just start with a one block station and "upgrade" it without ever actually building their own stuff if all it cost them was meaningless credits.

Just swap credits for blocks. Don't get hungup on one part of the suggestion.

 

[nightrune]

I've had a ton of thoughts on how I want station retrofits to work. This idea is fine and pretty fast to implement, but I want something a little deeper into gameplay.

Spoiler: My station idea

I want astrotech to really be a thing.

I want some sort of station control/core/computer (I don't care what) that allows you to attach a blueprint. It also allows you to go into creative with a copy of the current station or a blueprint and start modifying it.

With that basic mechanic you can now allow astrotech beams to aim at a structure and have it build like a shipyard, if they have the right amount of blocks.

I think blueprint spawning should go away, but this also allows you to fix your station after its been damaged. This allows the AI the ability to build it as well.

 

[whooplaah]

Couldn't the OP be accomplished with modular designs? I've used modular construction on ships before.

You build a station with docking ports. Then you build a "mess hall" ship and dock it to the station. Then you build a "barracks" ship and dock it to the station. Then you build a "docking port" ship and dock it to the station. It's the same thing as the OP, but with blocks and shipyards rather than credits.

The downside is that the HUD can get cluttered, and you have to put docking ports on everything. And you have to keep blueprints organized.

 

[kiddan]

Couldn't the OP be accomplished with modular designs? I've used modular construction on ships before.

You build a station with docking ports. Then you build a "mess hall" ship and dock it to the station. Then you build a "barracks" ship and dock it to the station. Then you build a "docking port" ship and dock it to the station. It's the same thing as the OP, but with blocks and shipyards rather than credits.

The downside is that the HUD can get cluttered, and you have to put docking ports on everything. And you have to keep blueprints organized.

You could do this, though it gets kinda annoying when you have to float over to each piece and fly it back to dock. Not to mention it would totally ruin the potential you could be getting from shields and such if it was just one large station. Saving and loading templates would work though! =D

 

[Edymnion]

I'd much rather see something along the lines of a shipyard computer for station construction, so that we could build stations in creative mode on server and avoid the need to swap back and forth between server and single player, transferring designs over as blueprints.

 

[Reilly Reese]

Couldn't the OP be accomplished with modular designs? I've used modular construction on ships before.

You build a station with docking ports. Then you build a "mess hall" ship and dock it to the station. Then you build a "barracks" ship and dock it to the station. Then you build a "docking port" ship and dock it to the station. It's the same thing as the OP, but with blocks and shipyards rather than credits.

The downside is that the HUD can get cluttered, and you have to put docking ports on everything. And you have to keep blueprints organized.

This would butcher the server with constant collision checks.

 

[Edymnion]

This would butcher the server with constant collision checks.

Eh, you set a rail speed controller set to 0 to the rail blocks to turn them off and it stops making the collision checks. Its a little extra work, but it solves that issue nicely.

 

[nightwalker_007]

1. Player is in the build block of his station.
2. Player goes to Catalog, selects the blueprint for a larger version of the station with improved functionality and better defense.
3. Instead of BUY, Player clicks RETROFIT CURRENT.
4. The difference in block quantities is calculated and the cost in credits is deducted from Player's wallet.
5. Server deletes entity currently entered by Player.
6. Server spawns selected blueprint.
7. Server spawns Player's astronaut in nearest open space or teleports them away to where a BP would normally spawn relative to Player's last position.

Viola - stations can now be built in stages and economically upgraded as Schine releases new features.

I've suggested something like this, but different :P several times.
See:
Convert ship core to anchor makes ships/asteroids into station-like objects
Design computer for both starbases and ships

In summary:

Instead of spawning a station from a blueprint, you create a ship with storage and a shipyard/design computer. From this design computer, a new station can be spawned. The ship will orient it's self to the galactic center, and a hologram of the station will appear while the station is being spawned, just like had it been in a ship yard. I've suggested re-purposing the existing "death star core" block for the purpose of creating a station from a ship and act as the station control module. As an added bonus, this module could be entered like a ship's core so one could go around the station, activate ship remote modules, check cameras, and control the station's AI--but being able to jump form one core to another could be an issue so that shouldn't be allowed.

Now, from this design/shipyard computer, you could repair your station, or modify the existing design, and potentially load a new design instead. So long as there's enough inventory on the station for the repair or new design, it will complete.

 

[MacThule]

Couldn't the OP be accomplished with modular designs? I've used modular construction on ships before.

You build a station with docking ports. Then you build a "mess hall" ship and dock it to the station. Then you build a "barracks" ship and dock it to the station. Then you build a "docking port" ship and dock it to the station. It's the same thing as the OP, but with blocks and shipyards rather than credits.

The downside is that the HUD can get cluttered, and you have to put docking ports on everything. And you have to keep blueprints organized.

Sadly no. One of the core elements of a station is the factory complex, and you can't dock a factory ship to the core station. You have to build a small factory first, use it to build up, then re-fit it with greater capacity.

Credits, blocks - I care not. Credits will be easier to code. That is my focus - improved functionality with a minimal burden on Schine. Players don't build a station and then use that station for years. We spend absurd amounts of time building and rebuilding stations. At first my stations got more interesting and attractive over time, but now they're going the other way because I'm sick of building similar function features again and again and can't be bothered, knowing that in a couple months the entire station will probably be scrapped anyway.

 

[Lukwan]

I propose that upgrading and expanding could be done with a 'Merge' feature. Could Schine allow for a docked entity to be merged; losing status as an independent entity? The core of the docked entity would be deleted and all blocks would become part of the Station/Ship.

 

[StarWars1981]

To use docked sub-stations, perhaps build the main station as a large pylon, surrounded by an empty sphere of anything - I would probably use arms of armor, covered between each with crystal armor or some such. You have a couple large access ports covered with a forcefield/sliding door/whatever to move dockable station parts in. The main station also comes equipped with docking ports in each "arm". These arms carry the main station's shielding outside the array of usable docked modules, while still allowing flexibility and the use of fewer things designed on-site; they can be blueprinted and brought in from elsewhere. All that has to happen is the main station core be built every time. Annoying, but you can't have everything. As for merging ... if it's possible, that'd be great. Then you can dock things and still have only 1 entity floating in space.

 

[Madman198237]

Star's idea is useful, because if you then take and put the factory complex (The essential part, really, of a station) on the core, the modules can be aesthetic or hangar bays, whatever. Although the merge feature and especially the central idea behind this suggestion itself would add for neat abilities, such as the use of a pre-built fighter build/repair bays on a station formerly used only for mining.

 

[spunkiethefirst]

I like the shipyard method, in this case a retrofit frame is built to the stations new dimensions or greater, link to retrofit computer, load the retrofit design, make sure there's enough storage space and material linked to the retrofit controller, then hit the retrofit button.

When the retrofit design is loaded it shows the shipyard like projection of the stations new layout with the ability to rotate and shift its final position, as long as it fits within the retrofit frame. When adjustments are finalized a list of needed materials is then calculated and displayed within the appropriate menu in the retrofit controller, taking into account the blocks of the existing structure.

Would be great if warp gate and wireless links could be maintained through the process as well.

Might want it to give out a warning if there is a player shop on the structure with credits and materials still in it.