Limiting # of cameras on a planet

Just throwing this idea out there. What if planets could support a limited number of cameras on a planet? That way instead of installing 70+ cameras on a planet and spamming up the list, espionage types would have to be a bit more choosy about where they plant them.

YEEEEES OH MY GOD YES! PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

I am Bando and I approve this message. Make it so Wallbro.

This is my thought on it: http://i.imgur.com/QhLphsK.gif

What about having a range for monitor_camera instead? You can’t see cameras past a certain number of rooms as determined by skill, datapad, and whatever other factors you can think of. Cameras at the very limit of range may exhibit dropout.

At the risk of breaking with tradition.. while I also groan inwardly (and sometimes outwardly, making my wife look at me funny) when I watch camera numbers scroll by, I’m not sure there needs to be a hard OOC limit on it. There are already IC ways to fix that particular IC issue, after all.. I could hire some espionage types to clean it up, I could do it myself, perhaps, or maybe even petition the planet’s government to do something about it.

Of course, if there is some code-related advantage to reducing the number of cameras, then please ignore the above. Otherwise… I’d be happy to offer my services at a bargain price if you want cameras cleaned up off your planet 🙂

It’s an interesting idea, but I agree with what LED said. There are already in game mechanics that allow for managing planetary cameras. If they were a permanent fixture, then I could see a possible need to limit their numbers. However, they can be added and removed by those motivated to do so.

While on the subject of limiting camera numbers, what about adding in the ability to put cameras on ships/spacestations?

You can, Paco. Or at least you could last time I checked. You can only monitor them from within the ship though.

I get what you’re saying but I think there is a strategic component to this as much as it is a spam thing. Why put some thought into where you put your cameras when you can just blanket a planet with cameras in every room?

Yeah, so I’m cool with a limiter, but maybe limit it based on infrastructure…in that a world like Coruscant — heavily developed — can host more cameras than say, Ryloth’s zone — a stinky cave city.

I like the idea of limited cameras. That being said should it get implemented I think Oteri is on the right track. Highly populated/developed worlds should have a high limit, shitholes less so. Also it would be nice if certain areas cannot even support cameras. The desert of tatooine for instance or the caves of ryloth. Where are they drawing their power source from. Cameras should be limited to cities IMO. Or maybe if a camera is placed outside of a city it will only stick around for so long before it’s portable power source fails.

I’m pretty split on the hardcap. I like strategery, but I also like player control. I would not mind keeping or changing. One note though if hardcap instituted, I think installing a camera should automatically uninstall the oldest camera, since if it requires an uninstall, once it hits cap you have to find and uninstall to drop a new one. Creative espies could max out cameras in homes or other limited access areas to lock up the system or at the very least narrow band the opportunities for usefulness. +1 Seryb, make some areas not camerable, consider hidey-holes, secrets, possibly comm nodes. Making people actually have to check the nodes to see if they’re secure would provide opportunities for delicious ambushes!

This is an A+ idea.

Hmm. I leaning more towards no hardcap. It can be annoying the sheer number of some on certain planets, I think hardcapping it would be more annoying than good.