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I'm posting this to start a serious thread for the ideas that Ive had about how changes could be made to the game. I do this with the understanding that somethings are simply rediculous or impossible to do with this game. I will also be using multiple sources of inspiration for all of my ideas.
Weapons
Currently there are 3 types of missiles and 1 type of cannon. Antimatter cannons are a good start to the game but I bet there are others who would like more. There are quite a number of options to choose from as well. I would have considered adding a laser cannon here but the antimatter cannon is pretty much just that.
Accuracy: I think all weapons should have a bit of inaccuracy. It was mentioned in another thread. Even with advanced technology your weapons wont always hit and I've learned this from many other games. This should be no different here.
Beam Cannons/weapons. These are the cannons that you'd see on massive ships. Things like this have been seen in Star Wars and EVE Online, as well as plenty of others I'm sure. They would be mostly used for attacking another large ship. They should require a large amount of power and the the projectile beam should be continuous as opposed to the antimatter cannon that fires bursts. It should also require a larger amount of blocks in order for it to be effective. Since these would be fitted on a capital ship there would be space enough for it anyway.
Ion cannons/emp cannons. The Ion cannon from star wars disabled ships. Essentially electromagnetic pulse (emp) cannons do the same thing. However they both can be different to incorporate variety. The EMP cannon could be used to attempt to disable someones systems. For the most part, EMP would effect shields the most, as shields are an energy barrier, and EMP's are meant to disrupt electrical and energy systems. EMP's could also be used to lower stats on weapon systems and drain small amounts of power each shot. It would sort of act like a debuff. When a weapon is hit with an EMP its stats would go down a few points. After a few moments it could return to normal. Perhaps one of the stats of the EMP cannon itself could be how long the debuff lasts along with the other regular stats for weapons. The Ion cannon could be the capital ship version of this. It would act like a beam weapon. Over time the beam would drain shields and weapon stats. Both of these weapons would hardly have any effect if at all on the armor blocks. It would be purely for disabling systems. I know there is already a power drain beam, for that read on.
Energy Neutrailzer: As I understand it, the powerdrain beam is this weapon. It drains enemy power and returns it to your own ship. The same thing can be found in EVE Online. This weapon stands out from emp and ion cannons because of the fact that it steals power. I dont want to seem like I am repeating the same two weapons here. This type of gun should probably stay the way it is. It should be able to fit any size ship. It also goes well with logistics weapons. More about that below.
Remote Repair. Essentially the PowerSupply Beam is this weapon. The astrotechnician is another. I believe that there could be one more however. Perhaps a beam that restored another ships shields could be implimented? You already have 2 down and I dont see why the dev couldnt add another. If power, can be stolen and given, and armor damaged and repaired, then why cant shields get boosted after they are taken down? Just makes sense really and if shields are going to stay as nerfed as they are then perhaps this could even it out again without touching the shield mechanics at all. It wouldnt be a direct fix as it requires someone to transfer shielding to another person.
Missiles/rockets: Currently I think that missiles and rockets in game are overpowered for the number of blocks they take. Missiles could be just as complex as the weapon I stated above, in that they could deal EMP damage or hull damage or just explode. For now I think tuning them down would be sufficient. Once shields are gone rockets can annihilate a ship and it seems a bit too blunt. I also find the rocket mechanics sort of strange. The more blocks means the rocket does more damage? Why? Does it propell it faster? Further? Why would the launch tube determine the damage caused by a rocket. Does a larger rocket array mean the rocket is larger? It sorta makes no sense. While range and accuracy and speed could be determined by a launch tube, the actual warhead would be determined by the rocket itself. I'd rather have the damage, and blast radius of the rocket determined by the type I'm firing rather than the launch tube.
General Ship Stuff
Gravity: I read somewhere that gravity should be a doorway that one enters and their gravity is turned on or off. I countersuggested that gravity should instead have an area of effect. This way a person could enter a gravity field and feel its effects without having to touch a button. Gravity shouldnt draw much power and its area of effect could increase significantly with each gravity unit placed. It would mean however another stat and possibly another load on the computers :-/ The gravity unit should have 3 different states if its implimented this way. Always on, Always off, or Area of Effect. This way we could keep the mechanics of the current gravity unit and add the new one where entering a gravity well would force you to land.
Oxygen: I know that it will be implimented in the game eventually. I think that theres some simple solutions and complex ones. A simple solution would be to activate a block, refilling your oxygen supply. They should reqiure power to perform. And of course the larger the life support system, the more effiecient it is. People would need an oxygen refill every 30 minutes? maybe an hour? The complex version would be to use life support systems to create an area of effect like the gravity unit idea above. Entering it would refill oxygen, draining it from the area. The larger the area, the larger the system has to be in order to handle it. That might seem like a bit much but for space station but I think it'd be more realistic.
Forcefields: If you've watched Star Wars, or Star Trek then you'll see their forcefields eventually. They mostly serve to contain air in a ship where there are hull breaches or landing bays. I think they can be used for this as well as a defence. It should be a simple block that extends the forcefield in one direction. The further the distance the more power it requires. The more forcefield blocks the more efficient. Then we can have a strip of forcefield blocks on our hangers protecting us intead of plexdoors, which arent seen on hanger openings as much. I think itd add to the sci fi feel of the game. They could be shot at with weapons in order to take them down and set to prevent ships or players from opposing factions from entering until they forced off or destroyed.
Warp drives and star gates:
This is the big one. First Id like to say that I think both of these should be used. Ive heard that warp drives and jump gates should be attached to your ship before you use them. This seems as though it would never work. I do not want to fly my ship into some dockable ring in order to travel at warp. A warp drive should be small enough to attach to any ship. I have no clue how a warp drive would have to translate into game code. Would it make us travel faster? Would it be a limited type of teleport? As for the stargate I think these things are DOPE. EVE uses them and of course things like the Stargate series as well. They should not require that you fit inside it. You could use your core and target the jump gate in order to use it just like docking although any part of the gates structure would allow it to activate. Its range should be dependant on its powersupply. Any ship that uses it should loose something in the process, whether it be shields or power or both. Jump/star gates should only be able to transport a person to another jump/star gate that has been built.
Planets
Currently my only wish for planets is to make them a bit larger and a bit more spaced apart. I feel as if they arent worth that they should be. Of course aliens are already being worked on so I shall wait and see what comes up when they are implimented.
**EDIT**
Radar and stealth.
Earlier I saw a post about how small ships, under 5 mass would not show up on radar because they are too small for it to detect. That seems like complete bull imo. A fighter is not meant to be invisible. Its meant to be a quick way of delivering a small punch without being easily targeted, to harass smaller ships. Fighters also shouldn’t really have the power requirements to use a stealth system. My solution: The smaller the size of the ship, the closer it has to be before the targeting reticle shows up. This would be based off dimensions, not mass. Radar is based on sight, not mass, so implement it that way.
Stealth
Stealth on its own is something used on frigates and cruisers. Eventually the ships will get large enough where a stealth system will be inefficient. That being said they should also be large power requirement from the stealth system. This keeps the ship balanced. They won’t have room or the power left to use on massive weapon systems, and eventually players will use stealth with ships that make sense.
Beam weapons / salvage cannons
Someone above mentioned that salvage beams should be turned into the Beam weapon idea that I had posted. While effectively they act the same way, they should stay separate types of guns. The salvage beam is useable on ships that are overheating. If that is the case then that ship was destroyed and will eventually blow up. This is the point where you come in and take what remains of the ship or haul it off somewhere to fix it or salvage it in a secure location. Beam weapons are entirely different. They shouldnt give you anything when you hit a block, it should simply destroy it. The idea is that it is a large form of the antimatter cannon and can whittle down sheilds and armor quickly. The downside is that it would require a massive amount of power to draw from, and there should even be the possibility of overheating added to these guns. Now that I think about it, overheating guns should be implimented on all systems.
Over-heating systems.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that this could turn into a big problem. The idea is that with weapons that fire energy, or lasers or antimatter, there should be some sort of disadvantage for firing them for extended periods of time or constantly. I propose adding a new block in the fashion of a cooling system. This block could be grouped together for a better effect on the weapon and would be attached to the weapon computer of the system you want to keep in check. This isn’t something that would require many blocks, one or two could suffice for a turret, even a large one. The only reason is because in so many games, theres always a downside to firing energy weapons constantly. In halo, in star wars, in eve, weapons overheat, and it should be no different here.
Specialty Blocks
This is the main suggestion I’ve thought up today. Have you ever flown around and salvaged a ship or looted an enemy in another game. You find a cool sword in WoW or better gear in a chest or an upgrade to your ship in EVE. Why wouldn’t that possibility exist for this game. What I suggest is the addition of blocks, with randomized uses and stats for your systems. What about a special power converter, that increases your recharge rate, or heat dispersers for your weapons, that increase the rate of fire. All the systems implemented in the game could benefit from this. It’d be more useful to salvage a ship and get components for anything other than just more power blocks, who says they don’t have special equipment on board? Specialty items like this should still be rare, like loot in any other game. Hidden away on pirate stations occasionally, or lost and buried on a planet. I’ve got plenty of ideas for things like this and will list them below. The names for these don’t have to be exact, I assume some sort of randomization would be implemented with this, like adding numbers and letters to the part : “ZZ-145 Power Relay”
Heres a list of some of these I thought of off the top of my head.
Shield Reinforcer - Adds a large amount of shield threshold.
Anti Antimatter Screen - Increase threshold against antimatter. **This would be useful for different types of weapons systems.
Shield Booster - Increases recharge rate of shields.
(Weapon name) Accelerator Coil - Increases speed of weapon shots.
(Weapon name) Superconductor - Increases rate of fire.
(Weapon name) Rangefinder - Increases distance of shots.
(Weapon name) Additional Charge Battery - Increases damage **Mostly a energy weapon thing
Missile Loading Bay Accelerator - Increase rate of fire
Warhead Cataylst Unit - Increases damage of missile
Warhead Fuel Cache Unit - Increases range of missile
Warhead Afterburners Unit - Increase speed of missile
Warhead Fragmentation Shells - Increases radius of missile.
Ship scanner - Provides info on ship capabilities in a separate window **Extremely rare and semi OP
Survey Scanner - Provides info on the resources available from asteroids like materials or numbers of blocks
Microwarpdrives - Gives a large boost to speed for a small amount of time. Almost like a strong push
Afterburner - Increases thrust
Overdrive Injector - Increases thrust greatly at the expense of more power. **Used in ships with small space for thrusters.
Inertia Dampeners - Increase acceleration in any direction
Inertia Stabilizers - Increase maneuverability
Reactor Control Unit - Boost power recharge rate
Power Capacitor Unit - Greatly Increase maximum power reserves
Powergrid Subroutines - Reduces power requirements for all ship systems slightly
Sensor Array Network - Increase range that objects can be locked on to
Cloak Dispersion Generator - Decreases amount of cloaking units needed to cloak a ship
Cloaking Field Regulator - Decrease power need for cloak systems
Target Painter - Combats jamming
All of these would have randomized stats and some sort of code added to it just to make it seem like specialty equipment.
For now thats all I can think of. I might edit or add comments below for anyhting else that I come up with. Please tell me what you think. And holy S#!% that was a lot of typing. Thanks for reading.
Weapons
Currently there are 3 types of missiles and 1 type of cannon. Antimatter cannons are a good start to the game but I bet there are others who would like more. There are quite a number of options to choose from as well. I would have considered adding a laser cannon here but the antimatter cannon is pretty much just that.
Accuracy: I think all weapons should have a bit of inaccuracy. It was mentioned in another thread. Even with advanced technology your weapons wont always hit and I've learned this from many other games. This should be no different here.
Beam Cannons/weapons. These are the cannons that you'd see on massive ships. Things like this have been seen in Star Wars and EVE Online, as well as plenty of others I'm sure. They would be mostly used for attacking another large ship. They should require a large amount of power and the the projectile beam should be continuous as opposed to the antimatter cannon that fires bursts. It should also require a larger amount of blocks in order for it to be effective. Since these would be fitted on a capital ship there would be space enough for it anyway.
Ion cannons/emp cannons. The Ion cannon from star wars disabled ships. Essentially electromagnetic pulse (emp) cannons do the same thing. However they both can be different to incorporate variety. The EMP cannon could be used to attempt to disable someones systems. For the most part, EMP would effect shields the most, as shields are an energy barrier, and EMP's are meant to disrupt electrical and energy systems. EMP's could also be used to lower stats on weapon systems and drain small amounts of power each shot. It would sort of act like a debuff. When a weapon is hit with an EMP its stats would go down a few points. After a few moments it could return to normal. Perhaps one of the stats of the EMP cannon itself could be how long the debuff lasts along with the other regular stats for weapons. The Ion cannon could be the capital ship version of this. It would act like a beam weapon. Over time the beam would drain shields and weapon stats. Both of these weapons would hardly have any effect if at all on the armor blocks. It would be purely for disabling systems. I know there is already a power drain beam, for that read on.
Energy Neutrailzer: As I understand it, the powerdrain beam is this weapon. It drains enemy power and returns it to your own ship. The same thing can be found in EVE Online. This weapon stands out from emp and ion cannons because of the fact that it steals power. I dont want to seem like I am repeating the same two weapons here. This type of gun should probably stay the way it is. It should be able to fit any size ship. It also goes well with logistics weapons. More about that below.
Remote Repair. Essentially the PowerSupply Beam is this weapon. The astrotechnician is another. I believe that there could be one more however. Perhaps a beam that restored another ships shields could be implimented? You already have 2 down and I dont see why the dev couldnt add another. If power, can be stolen and given, and armor damaged and repaired, then why cant shields get boosted after they are taken down? Just makes sense really and if shields are going to stay as nerfed as they are then perhaps this could even it out again without touching the shield mechanics at all. It wouldnt be a direct fix as it requires someone to transfer shielding to another person.
Missiles/rockets: Currently I think that missiles and rockets in game are overpowered for the number of blocks they take. Missiles could be just as complex as the weapon I stated above, in that they could deal EMP damage or hull damage or just explode. For now I think tuning them down would be sufficient. Once shields are gone rockets can annihilate a ship and it seems a bit too blunt. I also find the rocket mechanics sort of strange. The more blocks means the rocket does more damage? Why? Does it propell it faster? Further? Why would the launch tube determine the damage caused by a rocket. Does a larger rocket array mean the rocket is larger? It sorta makes no sense. While range and accuracy and speed could be determined by a launch tube, the actual warhead would be determined by the rocket itself. I'd rather have the damage, and blast radius of the rocket determined by the type I'm firing rather than the launch tube.
General Ship Stuff
Gravity: I read somewhere that gravity should be a doorway that one enters and their gravity is turned on or off. I countersuggested that gravity should instead have an area of effect. This way a person could enter a gravity field and feel its effects without having to touch a button. Gravity shouldnt draw much power and its area of effect could increase significantly with each gravity unit placed. It would mean however another stat and possibly another load on the computers :-/ The gravity unit should have 3 different states if its implimented this way. Always on, Always off, or Area of Effect. This way we could keep the mechanics of the current gravity unit and add the new one where entering a gravity well would force you to land.
Oxygen: I know that it will be implimented in the game eventually. I think that theres some simple solutions and complex ones. A simple solution would be to activate a block, refilling your oxygen supply. They should reqiure power to perform. And of course the larger the life support system, the more effiecient it is. People would need an oxygen refill every 30 minutes? maybe an hour? The complex version would be to use life support systems to create an area of effect like the gravity unit idea above. Entering it would refill oxygen, draining it from the area. The larger the area, the larger the system has to be in order to handle it. That might seem like a bit much but for space station but I think it'd be more realistic.
Forcefields: If you've watched Star Wars, or Star Trek then you'll see their forcefields eventually. They mostly serve to contain air in a ship where there are hull breaches or landing bays. I think they can be used for this as well as a defence. It should be a simple block that extends the forcefield in one direction. The further the distance the more power it requires. The more forcefield blocks the more efficient. Then we can have a strip of forcefield blocks on our hangers protecting us intead of plexdoors, which arent seen on hanger openings as much. I think itd add to the sci fi feel of the game. They could be shot at with weapons in order to take them down and set to prevent ships or players from opposing factions from entering until they forced off or destroyed.
Warp drives and star gates:
This is the big one. First Id like to say that I think both of these should be used. Ive heard that warp drives and jump gates should be attached to your ship before you use them. This seems as though it would never work. I do not want to fly my ship into some dockable ring in order to travel at warp. A warp drive should be small enough to attach to any ship. I have no clue how a warp drive would have to translate into game code. Would it make us travel faster? Would it be a limited type of teleport? As for the stargate I think these things are DOPE. EVE uses them and of course things like the Stargate series as well. They should not require that you fit inside it. You could use your core and target the jump gate in order to use it just like docking although any part of the gates structure would allow it to activate. Its range should be dependant on its powersupply. Any ship that uses it should loose something in the process, whether it be shields or power or both. Jump/star gates should only be able to transport a person to another jump/star gate that has been built.
Planets
Currently my only wish for planets is to make them a bit larger and a bit more spaced apart. I feel as if they arent worth that they should be. Of course aliens are already being worked on so I shall wait and see what comes up when they are implimented.
**EDIT**
Radar and stealth.
Earlier I saw a post about how small ships, under 5 mass would not show up on radar because they are too small for it to detect. That seems like complete bull imo. A fighter is not meant to be invisible. Its meant to be a quick way of delivering a small punch without being easily targeted, to harass smaller ships. Fighters also shouldn’t really have the power requirements to use a stealth system. My solution: The smaller the size of the ship, the closer it has to be before the targeting reticle shows up. This would be based off dimensions, not mass. Radar is based on sight, not mass, so implement it that way.
Stealth
Stealth on its own is something used on frigates and cruisers. Eventually the ships will get large enough where a stealth system will be inefficient. That being said they should also be large power requirement from the stealth system. This keeps the ship balanced. They won’t have room or the power left to use on massive weapon systems, and eventually players will use stealth with ships that make sense.
Beam weapons / salvage cannons
Someone above mentioned that salvage beams should be turned into the Beam weapon idea that I had posted. While effectively they act the same way, they should stay separate types of guns. The salvage beam is useable on ships that are overheating. If that is the case then that ship was destroyed and will eventually blow up. This is the point where you come in and take what remains of the ship or haul it off somewhere to fix it or salvage it in a secure location. Beam weapons are entirely different. They shouldnt give you anything when you hit a block, it should simply destroy it. The idea is that it is a large form of the antimatter cannon and can whittle down sheilds and armor quickly. The downside is that it would require a massive amount of power to draw from, and there should even be the possibility of overheating added to these guns. Now that I think about it, overheating guns should be implimented on all systems.
Over-heating systems.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that this could turn into a big problem. The idea is that with weapons that fire energy, or lasers or antimatter, there should be some sort of disadvantage for firing them for extended periods of time or constantly. I propose adding a new block in the fashion of a cooling system. This block could be grouped together for a better effect on the weapon and would be attached to the weapon computer of the system you want to keep in check. This isn’t something that would require many blocks, one or two could suffice for a turret, even a large one. The only reason is because in so many games, theres always a downside to firing energy weapons constantly. In halo, in star wars, in eve, weapons overheat, and it should be no different here.
Specialty Blocks
This is the main suggestion I’ve thought up today. Have you ever flown around and salvaged a ship or looted an enemy in another game. You find a cool sword in WoW or better gear in a chest or an upgrade to your ship in EVE. Why wouldn’t that possibility exist for this game. What I suggest is the addition of blocks, with randomized uses and stats for your systems. What about a special power converter, that increases your recharge rate, or heat dispersers for your weapons, that increase the rate of fire. All the systems implemented in the game could benefit from this. It’d be more useful to salvage a ship and get components for anything other than just more power blocks, who says they don’t have special equipment on board? Specialty items like this should still be rare, like loot in any other game. Hidden away on pirate stations occasionally, or lost and buried on a planet. I’ve got plenty of ideas for things like this and will list them below. The names for these don’t have to be exact, I assume some sort of randomization would be implemented with this, like adding numbers and letters to the part : “ZZ-145 Power Relay”
Heres a list of some of these I thought of off the top of my head.
Shield Reinforcer - Adds a large amount of shield threshold.
Anti Antimatter Screen - Increase threshold against antimatter. **This would be useful for different types of weapons systems.
Shield Booster - Increases recharge rate of shields.
(Weapon name) Accelerator Coil - Increases speed of weapon shots.
(Weapon name) Superconductor - Increases rate of fire.
(Weapon name) Rangefinder - Increases distance of shots.
(Weapon name) Additional Charge Battery - Increases damage **Mostly a energy weapon thing
Missile Loading Bay Accelerator - Increase rate of fire
Warhead Cataylst Unit - Increases damage of missile
Warhead Fuel Cache Unit - Increases range of missile
Warhead Afterburners Unit - Increase speed of missile
Warhead Fragmentation Shells - Increases radius of missile.
Ship scanner - Provides info on ship capabilities in a separate window **Extremely rare and semi OP
Survey Scanner - Provides info on the resources available from asteroids like materials or numbers of blocks
Microwarpdrives - Gives a large boost to speed for a small amount of time. Almost like a strong push
Afterburner - Increases thrust
Overdrive Injector - Increases thrust greatly at the expense of more power. **Used in ships with small space for thrusters.
Inertia Dampeners - Increase acceleration in any direction
Inertia Stabilizers - Increase maneuverability
Reactor Control Unit - Boost power recharge rate
Power Capacitor Unit - Greatly Increase maximum power reserves
Powergrid Subroutines - Reduces power requirements for all ship systems slightly
Sensor Array Network - Increase range that objects can be locked on to
Cloak Dispersion Generator - Decreases amount of cloaking units needed to cloak a ship
Cloaking Field Regulator - Decrease power need for cloak systems
Target Painter - Combats jamming
All of these would have randomized stats and some sort of code added to it just to make it seem like specialty equipment.
For now thats all I can think of. I might edit or add comments below for anyhting else that I come up with. Please tell me what you think. And holy S#!% that was a lot of typing. Thanks for reading.
