So, this is not a new idea... but, it occurs to me that one of the issues with player run cappies is speed and how they handle. However, those issues might not be so bad with a Trident aimed specifically at mining. No one would expect it to handle well or be fast.

It would also give the players/Devs an opportunity for feedback on any issues known or unknown with piloting other cappies (Though I firmly maintain that the Trident is not a capito ship.).

To prevent imbalance it could have mining beams hardwired into it and maintain some or all of its turrets. Given its shielding and high hull points a pilot jumping from control to turrets wouldn't be such an issue of certain death.

I think capships need a their own UI for piloting. Such as, navigation (especially among roids) and targeting (enemy recognition isn't as simple as a single player ship nor as an NPC capship).

If there are current art assets in the pipeline that can be used for a mid-sized capship, then those would be near ideal as a large trading/mining/combat platform and still use the current UI, but only if the turrets (if any) are not auto-fire turrets.

+1, whenever we do get cappies... (soon, maybe?)

The only way to accurately pilot a trident with the current interface is to set your heading and switch to the third-person view to see how you're doing, because your rotation is hard to determine and can get screwed up easily.

+1 to user-operated tridents
+1 to specialized versions of civilian tridents.

All those limitations stated just seems to me a fair balance to what it provides. Should be just like that. Sluggish to turn, uber-slow to travel, and the pilot have no guns!

No need for tactical displays, hire 4 gunners, or at least one!

No need to sector route, learn to fly with heavy load.

No need for special UI. Maybe, as a celebration, give a new HUD, but basically the same elements, with details like one speed indicator for each engine.

And my vote is that civilian trident should have NO shields, at least initially.

But I still would prefer another ship, "the brick" or "the bucket", almost same stats as tridents, but with another model... for mining, crafting, host guilds...

Multiple piloting roles: sorta related to real life subs or something (not that I know how a sub works) have a captain who sets course, someone responsible for throttle with a unique UI and a wheelman, also unique UI.

I'm sure this has be mentioned before..

An interesting idea inspite of the questionable nature of the source....

If the trident was hardwired with 6 hd beams if might be worth the hassle....

I recall some discussion of having a choice for auto pilot and manual control possibly split between multiple players but I never saw any response from Incarnate on what he decided to persue. As a test case a trident requiring 2 players and manual only operation would be a blast to mine with.

IIRC, the devs explicitly stated that capital ship control was not going to be first-person. Now, does the Trident count as a capital ship?

I would say no, because they are more like gunships, despite the docks. I would certainly like to see user-flown Tridents. I wonder if it's a possibility.

Exactly, Tosh.

For every practical reasoning, a Trident is a bigger Moth with shields. If you pay attention, the Moth have more weapons than a trident: {3 turrets + 2 Large ports} vs {4 turrets}.

(Never saw it written, but seems that Trident turrets holds Large weapons, as Chaos, while moth/atlas holds small, as Gauss2. Even then they are close, 2L3s vs 4L.)

Tridents are not more capital ships than Moths are. Since Connies are freighters, I only see need for tactical controls in HACs.

It would be GREAT to have the cooperation plataform that tridents are, to reunite players. Better if we could alternate between gunner and pilot, but making "Civilian Trident", controlled exactly as a heavy loaded moths.

Missing definitions for tridents:

-Single or Shared ownership?
Single is as now, only owner can pilot it. Shared will require adoption of keys for each ship.
Another approach, more simple, would be rental. Until keys are implemented, single pilot.

-Docking or Depart? What to do when owner wants to log off? Or his connection drops?
I propose simply that you rent trident at a station, it warps in, you launch from station and dock to it to control, and return to same station sector, order it to return to docks and when the pilot launches from it, the 'botpilot' warps away.
(dreaming, later build some decent docks and shipyards)

----->BACK TO OP
-1 to SIX port. Instead, make a Mining beam TURRET. Owner equip turrets to make more defensive (3Def/1Min) or mining-efficient (4Min), resulting in equivalent to 2...8 Large Mining Beam MkII.

The current mechanics only lacks a way for the ship to dock.

Allohs suggestion is close to possible. A rental could be made availible for two players in a group at the same station. They would have to both dock within a few minutes and the rental would end if either player were to undock from the trident for more then a few minutes or if either player leaves the sector the trident is in.

I really liked the group demand for renting a Trident.

But the Rent-A-Trident is not my idea. Check RG10's Trident Rental Mission. Ideas evolve.

Main caveat there was the AI/IFF/Faction system. If instead of AI-controlled trident it becomes a player operated, all those problems are gone, since no IFF/AI is required, just like an UberMoth.

Searching that post led me to an ancient, but very interesting reply from Inc.

This certainly deserve a topic of its own. Sorry, RR...