Ship Mods!

This is a thread to discuss ship modifications. I’m in favor of a system using components. It would take a lot of leg-work to get set up, as ships will need to be set up in a completely different manner and then components need to be put in the game. I was thinking something along the lines of different ‘slots’ for different components. In favor of keeping ships somewhat balanced, rather than being a set number, the components could function as modifiers. IE:

A base ship has a speed of 100. The base ship’s base sublight drive has a modifier of 1. The owner obtains a better drive (1.5) and has it installed. The ship now has 150 speed.

OR:

All ships have 0 weapons from the get-go. A starfighter is outfitted with a laser kit that gives it two lasers. The owner scraps those and replaces it with a better kit, it now has four lasers.

This could be done with every component attached to ships. You’d need different classes for different shipsizes, but not necessarily for everything. As I said, there’s a lot of work behind it but it could lead to so much cool stuff. It gives pilots more to do with their ships, it makes ships more flexible, it gives engineers more work and gives clans a very large group of items to develop. I’d also like to see a maintenance skill tied into this. And another thing I’d like to see is optional bays. I’m still trying to figure out how you would code in addable/removable bays for most ships.

i love this. it would give a new element to develop too. instead of just developing a new ship, you could develop an upgraded component instead for gradual upgrades. at some point, you would have to get to the point where you couldn’t develop upgrades anymore, but it would add a whole new dynamic to ships. excellent idea.

I’m really starting to be in favor of this change because of the amount of doors it opens up. Here are a couple thought on the topic;

1) Immys now only need to balance components NOT ships
1a) This could possibly lead to a larger variety of player created ships, as immys really only need to balance the components, not the layout/description of a ship

2) We could implement this system via a cost to benefit system. The more armor/weapons you throw on a ship, the less fuel/speed the ship has, etc.. It would need a lot of balance at first, but then it would require little immortal maintenance (hopefully).

3) I think there would need to be a degradation system for the higher ‘tier’ components; not only are the really epic parts/bays expensive, but they cost to keep working properly.

Anyways, great ideas Avanga. I think this could be a large step towards a total revamp of our space system.

I like this idea. The only question I would have would be balance. Case in point being the Millennium Falcon. It required heavy maintenance and was almost always falling apart. Yes, I want a freighter with military grade weapons, sensors, hyperdrive, shields, and armor. But I personally would like to see a downside to having all this. The hyperdrive "fails" often and suddenly you need to repair it. Fuel leaks while in space. Refueling costs more money then 10 credits now. That kind of thing.

exactly. that’s the point i was getting at

Another idea I just had for along these lines: a security component. Some ships had anti-theft systems installed. Either through electric shock or small auto-turrents kicking in. Kinda like a protect_account to stop hacking. A protect_ship to stop picking locks.

The day develop does not get to 87,000,000 credits in a week or so. We can talk about lame develops.

[quote:2tje5auj]I like this idea. The only question I would have would be balance. Case in point being the Millennium Falcon. It required heavy maintenance and was almost always falling apart. Yes, I want a freighter with military grade weapons, sensors, hyperdrive, shields, and armor. But I personally would like to see a downside to having all this. The hyperdrive "fails" often and suddenly you need to repair it. Fuel leaks while in space. Refueling costs more money then 10 credits now. That kind of thing.[/quote:2tje5auj]

if fuel were going to start randomly leaking, it would need to be slower than sabotage’s purge rate. there’s a difference between needing maintenance and being dead in the water.

They were just suggestions for "failing" ship systems. Specifics aren’t necessary at this stage. More of the IMMfather blessing on this the day of their daughter’s wedding.

every ship should have a mod that makes it explode when the ship runs out of fuel

If your car explodes when you run out of gas, you should probably have a word with your mechanic. Why would a ship explode when all of the combustible materials have been used up? And what purpose would that even serve?!

Speaking of running out of gas, though, what about life support failing after awhile if you run out of gas?

That would make sense, seeing as your engines have failed, eventually your oxygen scrubbers and such would run out of air, or be unable to recycle it again, or no longer be able to convert your C02 back into oxygen again.
Solution? Everyone carries a miniature arboreum in their cargo hold!

I don’t really like the idea of ships killing people when they run out of fuel. It’s pointless.