from my mtrek days... when a ship targets another ship, he should receive information on what type of ship, the ships status (such as damage, speed, course), possibly armaments, possibly cargo, etc. i think type of ship should be displayed at a minimum (in addition to information already displayed). ship status and armaments could be displayed when the other ship gets closer (2000m).

euhm should't your shields stop unwanted radarscannings.

I really don't like people knowing what I'm carrying. /me starts getting paranoid if pirats get hold of that kind of technique. No lonely tradecog will be safe from that time on "looks full of sorrow"

cheers

you should be able to determine what information people recieve from a scan. They'll always be able to tell what type of ship you are, but things like damage and cargo, status (trading, fighting) etc. should be user configurable, like a motd. if you don't want peeps to know what kind of cargo you're carrying, don't display it. if you're a pirate and you want peeps to think you aren't hostile, tell them you're trading.

also, having a separate status report sent to teammates would be useful. you could include things like damage and ammo left... so they could help you if you're in trouble.


also, i think shields that you could turn on, but would deplete your battery would be cool.

Well it could simply take some time to gather all the information. On the plus side it might actually cut down on newbie pirating. If pirates see that a newbie is carrying no widgets or only really cheap widgets around, they probably won't spend their time and energy attacking 'em. So it could work both ways.

Actually, it would make for an interesting addition to the gameplay. What if you're carrying illegal cargo into or out of a policed area? Run!!! Although I'd prefer it if you had to activate it on every ship you scanned, and it would take a few seconds. /me thinks of EVN... "Please stop your ship to be scanned" "BULLSH*T!!!" *Hyperjumps out right near the planet because he's got a horizontal booster* :P

You've been playing the updated sigma missions haven't you?

"You must take these codes to rebel II, this is not exactly legal, you minus well consider the mission a failure if you get scaned"
after leaving earth...
Please stop your ship to be scanned.
after completing the mission...
Odd it seems all of the federation hates you now =P

Hooray for EVN addicts!!! :P

I don't know about cargo contents... it seems a bit rogueish of a device to be available to the general public. Maybe on a faraway system that's dangerous to get to and in a neutral (read Pirate) area of the finished game it could be available for purchase as a contraband item.

But definitely some kind of ship info as to class, relative damage levels, speed etc. etc. should be available.

In terms of sensors I would also like to be able to buy sensor upgrades for the ship (obviously wouldn't fit on ever ship and could take away battery power in return) that can target and assess ship data more than 2000m away from your ship. Perhaps a powerhouse version could sweep and within 7,000 or 8,000m of its location. 2000m just seems so short of a distance. This could help traders keep an eye on potential threats to them and for the future Vendetta it could help the larger capital ships stay alive and give them time to react and assess their danger levels in a system.

that's a good idea rambone,

but then with a button where you can switch to the nearest non AI-player.

Because it's sometimes disastrous for not being able to select a player enemy who is shooting at you because a AI is closer.

cheers

i have to admit, scanning cargo seems a little excessive. i think that anything that a person could visually see from the outside of a ship should be included. i think type of ship, speed, course (relative to your own ship), type of armaments (from a close distance), damage (from a close distance).

how are armaments attached to ships. are their ports internal or external? if the ports are internal than armament types should not be revealed. if they are external, then they should.

maybe instead of giving a concise damage report (percentage), then levels of damage can be given. either undamaged / damaged or undamaged / light / moderate / heavy.

as for speed and heading, it would be nice to know if the ships are heading away or towards you. this is especially useful when running from missiles and trying to determine if your opponent is coming in for another attack run.

Daehun, that's easy... look at your distance to the other person. If it's increasing, that's good, if decreasing, that's bad. :D

Bleep Bleep Bleep Bleep Bleep.

- Either someone has a pooie ring tone on their phone or it means missles are chasing you and have been fired within 2000m.

Conclusion: someone within 2000m's luv's you...
What do you need scanners for, this is a game of peace and honesty not war subdefuge.

lol.

WM

<quote> how are armaments attached to ships. are their ports internal or external? </quote>

well, you'll never find me firing off a swarm in the cockpit ;-)