Forums » Suggestions

The Utility Port thread

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Dec 05, 2009 Aticephyr link
Let's do it. It's time.

My suggestion: Hogs (including greyhound), all cargo ships (taur, mauds, moths, [edit] atlas), and raptors have one. Other ships I'm ambivalent about.

Things that count as utilities: Radar extenders, AWACS units, cargo scanner/blockers. [edit] Mineral scanners could also count as utilities (I'm ambivalent about this one).

If you have utility port suggestions, put 'em here.
Dec 05, 2009 ladron link
Yeah, this needs to happen now. We're starting to see a lot of ship add-ons that are clearly not weapons (which is a good thing) but we have to jam them into weapons ports.

Mineral scanners should also go into a utility port.

You forgot to mention the Atlas. I'm not sure whether you meant for it to be included among "cargo ships" or not, but I think it probably should.

I'd also suggest that anything that can fit in a utility port should also fit in a small weapons port, but not the other way around. Thus, you could put a radar extender and a mineral scanner on a hog (1 small port and 1 utility port), but could never equip more than 1s 1l actual weapons.
Dec 05, 2009 Aticephyr link
I'd also suggest that anything that can fit in a utility port should also fit in a small weapons port, but not the other way around. Thus, you could put a radar extender and a mineral scanner on a hog (1 small port and 1 utility port), but could never equip more than 1s 1l actual weapons.
I like that idea a lot.

As for Atlas and Mineral scanners: added to the OP. I had forgotten them; thanks for the reminder.
Dec 05, 2009 endercp12 link
Personally, I don't really see the need. If you want to see what a particular ship is carry'n before you waste your time blowing it up only to be rewarded with 120cu's of purified water, there should be a cost. The cost in this case is a weapons port. The same thing goes for the blocker. If you really dont want people to see what you have in your hold; you have to give something up. In this instance, a tiny bit of your defensive capabilities. Point to all this? It just seems rather appropriate that you lose a little something from your combat abilities to gain a non-combat edge.
Dec 05, 2009 Aticephyr link
It just seems rather appropriate that you lose a little something from your combat abilities to gain a non-combat edge.
Agreed. But that's why these items have things such as large mass and grid usage. IMO I believe a small constant energy drain would also be appropriate. The thing is, the ports don't get used in their current form, as few people are willing to load them in exchange for a weapon port (it's a huge sacrifice). Hence the idea of a Utility port.
Dec 05, 2009 peytros link
i never get any credit around here
Dec 05, 2009 blood.thirsty link
/givemoney "peytros" 1

: )
Dec 05, 2009 ladron link
IMO I believe a small constant energy drain would also be appropriate.

Only if it can be switched off.
Dec 05, 2009 exDragon link
Adding ports to all ships will be an overall buff to the ships so you don't have to take something away. One simple way of doing it is have ships all the existing ship stats plus make a new one called utility ports.

Some devices for them include

Thruster stabilizer: Increases max thruster speed. No addition power drain.

Turbo stabilizer: Increase max Turbo speed. No additional power drain.

Radar extender: The small port one would take less slots then then large port one. However the radar extenders work now, these will work in the same way.

Thruster Energy Transformer: Increase the efficiency of the thrusters so the force they exert is increased. No addition power drain

Turbo Energy Transformer: Increase the efficiency of the turbo so the force they exert is increased. No additional power drain

Thruster stabilizer and energy transformer: Does both for thrusters but a reduce amount. No additional power drain

Turbo stabilizer and energy transformer: Does both for turbo but a reduce amount. No addition power drain.

Impact Stabilizer: Sets you ship up for impact so you take less damage. From a game point of view, it will increase your effective armor by some percentage.

Shield: Acts like rechargeable armor. Every shield will have an armor value determining how much damage they can absorb. A damage taking charge rate which is how fast it charges after being hit by an attack. A non damage taking charge rate which is how fast it charges if you haven't been hit for a certain period of time. A period of time it takes to go from damage charge rate to non damage charge rate. Charge rate is measured in armor/second. It will also have a shield on power drain rate which is the energy/second used while the shield is just on. A shield recharging drain rate which is the energy/second used while it is replenishing armor. You can even split the further into energy used while recharging from recent damage and energy used while recharging in damage not taken recently mode. The shield would have three modes. Off which uses no energy and does no repair you shield if its damaged. Off but charging which has your shield off but it is repairing the damage. The energy drain rate during this mode is either the recent damage drain, the non recent damage drain or nothing if you shield has no damage. On, which has your shield on and charging. The energy drain is the energy need to just have it on plus the repairing drain if its damaged.

Backup chargers: Adds to your total energy regeneration rate.

Backup energy storage: Adds to the total size of your energy bar.

Backup battery: Adds to both charge rate and total size of energy bar. This will have weaker versions of both effects.

Mineral scanner: Will work the same way now.

Mining beam: Will work the same way now but the one that goes in a large port will take up twice as many slots as the one that goes into a small port.

Radar stealth: Reduces the distance you can be picked up on radar. There will probably be some that completely remove you from radar even if you close enough that you scratching the other persons paint job. This will have a constant energy drain while on. When turned on it will work instantly. If a ship is flying by you and your radar can not pick it up, then you will not hear them.

Visible stealth: Changes you to look like a small asteroid. You should use existing sprites of small asteroids in game so it looks realistic and a random number generator should pick the sprite used each time. This will have different stats like how fast it changes your sprite from ship to a asteroid. If you allow them to move while this is on, then different energy drain rates for being used while moving and not moving. When this is activated it will completely remove you from radar. There will be no transition time for radar stealth just like there wasn't any for the radar stealth device. Someone moving closer to you then the boundaries of the asteroid you are disguising as will be able to see you ship inside. It will look like a hollow asteroid. If a ship is flying by you and you can not pick them up on radar, you will not hear them. All units will have a radar pick up range as well.

Jump Thrusters: A thrust that blast once when used. It has a much higher force on it then normal thrusters but last a very short duration. This uses a set amount of energy depending on the thruster. When installing jump thrusters, it will ask which direction you want them pointing. For interface, there will be a circle with a moving radius to determine the horizontal direction it is installed and another circle with a moving radius to determine the vertical adjustment to it.

Portal Ion Storm: When used it release an object in space that causes an ion storm within a certain radius of its location. It last for a certain period of time and has a set amount of armor. It will disappear if its armor goes to zero. Different versions will have different radius, durations and armor. It may take energy to fire but it will have an ammo system. While its out, it shows the animation of an ion storm around the area it effects. Like an actual ion storms, warping to another area will not be possible while inside it.

Warp Stabilizer: Reduces the minimum distance you need to be from something to be able to warp away by a certain percentage.

Decoy: Ejects an object that expands to look exactly like your ship. You can either tell this to go into a certain position and then maintain the position and distance from you or control it manually. Be warned that while controlling it manually, your ship sits helplessly. What ever your ship fires, this ship will fire at the same target, however when the fake shot hits another ship, it will do nothing but disappear. If for example, you position this ship at another asteroid and fire your mining beam, it will fire a mining beam at the asteroid it is near, however it can't collect anything. It is just for show. It can be programmed told to do different things if surprised attacked like fight back ( which it will pretend to be attacking the other ship even though it is doing no damage), run toward you, run in random direction fly back to base & dock, fly to a certain sector, etc ... The ship will show damage based on how damage you ship is but its true HP bar will be far less. This will have ammo and cause a constant power drain while one is out.

Anti-stealth module: Increase the range you can pick up someone is radar stealthed. This has a constant energy drain while on. If this was to increase the range by 3000 meters and a stealth unit was to prevent you from seeing them from any more then 2000 meters. Then you would be able to see them from 5000 meters away assuming your radar can see that far. This is why high quality radar stealth units could have negative numbers for detection ranges. An anti stealth device will have to counteract the negative number before you can start seeing someone on radar.

Anti visible stealth scanner: Works like mineral scanner but only for people visibly stealthed. If you use a mineral scanner on someone visibly stealthed then it will just show the ore that asteroid is suppose to be, however if you mine it nothing will happen.

Directional shields: Works just like shields but doesn't complete cover you. The advantage to these will be there lower slot requirement, lower weight and lower energy use. You can pick the direction it faces just like the jump thrusters.

You would be able to fit as many devices as you have space for in your utility ports for. Larger ships will have more ports then smaller ships and higher quality ship will have more then lower quality ships. This will open new variants of ship like ones with extra utility ports just like how there are ships with extra cargo room. You want to pick a good scale for how many ports a ship has. You don't want so many that its pointless to have that much detail while having enough so you can accurately give a range of ports used for the quality of device going into the ship ( like the different amount of ports used for radar stealth that covers you for 5000 meters, 4000 meters, 2000 meters, -2000 meters). Also higher quality utility devices will be able to provide the same thing for less amount of ports, mass, etc...
Dec 05, 2009 theratt10 link
@ ExDragon: Some interesting ideas but I don't think VO is ready for most of them.

You forgot the Revenant.
Dec 05, 2009 blood.thirsty link
ye forgot comm jammer!!

prevent target from chatting/calling for help on any chat channel for 2 minutes...

: p

bleed well
Dec 05, 2009 yodaofborg link
@ exDragon

Someone has to say it, this is a thread about a new port, not what could go into it.

@ the rest.

As it stands, I see no reason to use the new scanner or any other addon because I have to sacrifice a gun. Yeah, sure, sometimes while in a storm in a chase scenario, I would have loved to have an extender on board, but would I give up an nt2 for it? Not on yer nelly!

It is less hastle to just shoot up your target and find out what he has inside. So yeah, I fully agree now that we have more *none combative* addon's that we should have a port just for them. Maybe not all ships should have a utility port, and maybe some should have more than one, but yeah, now we have more than one usefull addon that nobody will use, bout time for a new port!
Dec 05, 2009 exDragon link
If nothing else, ideas of what you plan on eventually putting in it should help with how to design the utility port system.
Dec 05, 2009 endercp12 link
this particular add-on, Atice, has only 100kg mass, so its mass nor its grid usage (4) are a particularly large enough handicap to make it balanced should you add an entirely new port.
Dec 05, 2009 Death Fluffy link
Oh sure. Incarnate gives you guys a bit of ice-cream and now you all want spoons. Greedy bastards. :P
Dec 05, 2009 Aticephyr link
this particular add-on, Atice, has only 100kg mass, so its mass nor its grid usage (4) are a particularly large enough handicap to make it balanced should you add an entirely new port.

Such things are easily fixed :).
Dec 05, 2009 Dr. Lecter link
Shut up with the fucking balance whine already. None of you have a clue what "balanced" means.
Dec 05, 2009 Inco link
"this particular add-on, Atice, has only 100kg mass, so its mass nor its grid usage (4) are a particularly large enough handicap to make it balanced should you add an entirely new port."

And who are you in game?

Hey, it is just a ....... scanner. BOTH sides get the utility port. Pirates can scan, traders can block. Let us have some fun, quit crippling the ideas and let the game to evolve. We already have gadgets that nobody use. Yoda is perfectly right.
Dec 05, 2009 ladron link
Shut up with the fucking balance whine already. None of you have a clue what "balanced" means.

Quoted for truth.

Anyway, the cargo scanner isn't something that benefits pirates directly. You silly traders should be trying to make it as easy as possible for us to use them, so that we can consider lowering our price when we see that your cargo isn't worth much.
Dec 05, 2009 Dr. Lecter link
To be fair, if I catch you in an XC that I know is full of Sedina chocolates, swarms, or group radar extenders, you're not getting to pay me.