StarMade Star Trek Idea

[Spartan4845]

So the server I play on has been building almost nonstop Star Trek based ships. I love it, they love it, kinda wish we could build Phaser Beam Arrays but there is only one true problem... power. Power take up so much of our ship designs and so the other day I started looking for a way to fix our servers power issues.

While crawling through files and .cfg text I came up with a crazy plan. Since it seems possible to turn custom blocks into higher power blocks, why no take it a step further. I aim to build a set of blocks that work with crafting to create a Warp Core blocks. The blocks while more costly to produce would greatly out match the standard power capacitor/reactor blocks. This would allow those that play a ST server to build ships with greater interiors, while keeping the size and effectiveness of the ships within an acceptable range.

I'm thinking that at the very least to add a dilithium crystal block so that when building a Warp Core these "rare" mats could keep legit building to a fair rate of construction. Also if a additional fuel system is added in the future a Matter/Antimatter fuel could be added to the Warp Core.

If I can figure out how to get the base power system added to the Warp Core block, I might try to combine power capacitor/reactor to the same block.

So in the end, am I crazy? Is anyone interested? Any tips that anyone might know? or by chance has something similar been done and have I missed it in my search?

 

[BDLS]

I haven't worked with custom block configs in a year or so, can any block have any properties now? For example: make something that blows up like a disintegrator but also have it generate power? Didn't work that way before, but good luck trying it out, perhaps it's possible now.

 

[Spartan4845]

I haven't worked with custom block configs in a year or so, can any block have any properties now? For example: make something that blows up like a disintegrator but also have it generate power? Didn't work that way before, but good luck trying it out, perhaps it's possible now.

I'm still working on getting my test block to work properly, half the time the game crashes. But your Disintegrator idea is genius, so if possible I will add Warp Core breaches, muahahaha.

 

[Snk]

Star trek idea: Make overdrive give you a huge bonus, but cost much more energy. Warp drives, anyways?

 

[Lecic]

Star trek idea: Make overdrive give you a huge bonus, but cost much more energy. Warp drives, anyways?

So, essentially overdrive before the over 100% speed boost bug was fixed? Remember that short period of time when everybody was building "warp ships" that went ridiculous speeds (3000+ on 75m/s servers)

 

[Snk]

So, essentially overdrive before the over 100% speed boost bug was fixed? Remember that short period of time when everybody was building "warp ships" that went ridiculous speeds (3000+ on 75m/s servers)

Oh, I remember that. You could make like 140 kilometers in seconds. But basically, yes. Not as op

 

[Spartan4845]

I like these Ideas.

1. Warp Cores for Power Cap/Regen with a Warp Breach installed.
2. Jump Drive or Overdrive as Warp Speed, the left over as Slipstream.

Just need a way to make a strip of Damage beams act as a Beam array... also get all this to work, lol

In truth I might redo tons of the blocks on my Server so that less blocks are needed for all things. That way we can have shuttles and ships with interiors, but still can survive/deal damage.

 

[Jaaskinal]

This has been suggested so many times before, and I don't disagree with it, but I do think that there's a possible balance issue.
The upgraded power block would have many advantages that are slightly less easily comparable than just statistics. It would takes less mass and space to generate more power, which would be a bit op for small ships. If it had a similar, but more powerful bonus than regular power, if you somehow amassed it, the bonus would have to be quite large. Though, it could be balanced to have a low bonus.
Aside from those few issues, I don't think it would make interiors better. It would simply make ships with better stats because they don't need to put as much power in it, so they can just cram in more shields/guns.
That being said, I'd definitely like to try this on a server and just see what happens. Possibly it could be balanced appropriately, and would do what an optimist would want, maybe it would do what a pessimist would observe. It might forever become a balance issue of "it costs too much, so we don't try to get it, we just try for normal power and take it if we happen across it." or "it is easy to get, so we don't even try to get power anymore, because it is such a better investment to use good power."

 

[Spartan4845]

This has been suggested so many times before, and I don't disagree with it, but I do think that there's a possible balance issue..."

I don't disagree that it could be OP or abused. If I put this on my groups server I think we will need rules to help keep it balanced. Rules that keep people from over loading their ships with weapons and such, mabey even a Mass to Thrust/Shields/Weapons chart that set a cap to help keep everything fair.

 

[Colt556]

I don't think it'd be "op" or "abused", it'd just straight up replace normal power blocks. The balance of ships, the metagame would revolve around these new stats. Nothing would really change because all ships would increase. Ship A with it's interior will be the same compared to ship B without an interior. as they both benefit equally from the new power blocks. All this does is enable more space for other systems which cancels out any potential overpoweredness. Yeah, sure, more guns means more damage but at the same time you're also getting more shields and more shield regen, so it cancels out.

Would take some serious balancing to make it so a warpcore block and a normal power block can co-exist with warpcores being used on big ships and normal power blocks being used on small, thus making big ships even harder to come by. But other than that it really doesn't change much.

 

[Jaaskinal]

I don't think it'd be "op" or "abused", it'd just straight up replace normal power blocks. The balance of ships, the metagame would revolve around these new stats. Nothing would really change because all ships would increase. Ship A with it's interior will be the same compared to ship B without an interior. as they both benefit equally from the new power blocks. All this does is enable more space for other systems which cancels out any potential overpoweredness. Yeah, sure, more guns means more damage but at the same time you're also getting more shields and more shield regen, so it cancels out.

Would take some serious balancing to make it so a warpcore block and a normal power block can co-exist with warpcores being used on big ships and normal power blocks being used on small, thus making big ships even harder to come by. But other than that it really doesn't change much.

It wouldn't be OP in the long run, really, but it would sortof cause all old ships to become obsolete if it's too easy to obtain.

 

[Spartan4845]

Well this is only something I'm working on for my groups server and might share if anyone wants it if I ever finish it. The only good thing is, everyone on the server is building Star Trek ships atm and foreseeable future. It'll just allow us to build ships with not only a combat capable load out for PVE/PVP, but also allow for more Style due to the lessening of the powers footprint.
[DOUBLEPOST=1422517122,1422516348][/DOUBLEPOST]Second thought is that to make the Warp Cores require an additional custom block when building them, I'd add Dilithium to asteroids in rare amounts to off set the cores construction. Also I'll make it so each core while better than normal power still requires more than one to run larger ships on my server.

So say a hand full of cores (1-3), while not hard to build, is only enough to power a shuttle, shields and all. Even better an Idea chart.

• (1-3) Small Shuttle - Shields, Engines, Small Array of Weapons
• (5-10) Runabout Sized ship - Same load out as Shuttle slight adjustment for size,
• (25+) Defiant Sized ship - Shields and Engines, minimal weapons - Extra Needed for more weapons and Overdrive
• (75+) Cruisers in General - Shields and Engines, more for weapons and such.

What this would allow, atleast for a Star Trek Server, is more room at a greater cost. Plus it'll be awesome if I figure out how to work in a Warp Core Breach.

But any servers that use this might want to work out rules for their use, or only allow admin spawning of them.

Mine will most likely be a set of "Max Cores" based on ship size, as well as other systems. Also a minimum Interior such as Bridges, Enginnering rooms, Shuttlebays, and such.

 

[Snk]

You should add custom blocks that allow people to directly access and modify the ship's systems, so you can have actual crews/

 

[Spartan4845]

You should add custom blocks that allow people to directly access and modify the ship's systems, so you can have actual crews/

do you mean building or controlling?

 

[QuantumAnomaly]

To keep it from being OP, there could be a simple equation in place where "warp cores" are far LESS powerful until they hit a certain number of blocks, thus keeping them off of smaller ships like fighters, since they wouldnt profit at all from using them, but making them more powerful for large ships that would be using that much space or more for power to begin with.

 

[Snk]

do you mean building or controlling?

Direct system management

 

[Rohen]

Did anyone actually manage to get custom block to "do" anything?

I only found out how to give them textures, hp and armor and decide if and when they do in which color do they generate light. Oh and of course if you can enter them and if you can walk through them.
I have not found a way to make them "do" anything like generate power or shields.

So far i can use them only for decoration.

There are increased power settings on the server i am playing on.
And we do have some Star Trek ships flying around.
The main issue with star trek ships is to fit turrets on the bigger ones that look good.

 

[Spartan4845]

Yes so idea dead for the moment, can't get the blocks to work.

To Rohen: We are working on a turret design to act as phaser beam arrays, if they work I"ll post a download in a seperate post. Only issue with them is turning server power and weapons up so that they work but can stay compact enough.