What if there was a panal in the "purchase ship" section of the station menue that said "create custom ship" or something. You could be charged by the part and the size.

Elaborate on what you mean by 'custom,' as far as parts and size...

I mean like the ship could be grouped into small medeum and large, each one costing more(like small would cost less than large and so on). Parts could be grouped into weapons and batteries and so on. And like it is now different weapons cost different prices.

Aside from the initial free EC-89, all ships are like that. You buy the ship empty, then you put in weapons and batteries and (eventually) other stuff.

Yes but with this you can create your own ship that looks however you want it to.

Let's use me as an example

I think I have mediocore graphics capabilities, if I ever chose to teach myself them. I could be much much better if I went to school for them. Anyway, the ships I would design wouldn't come out great, given my current level of knowledge and skill. There are people worse than me. While mine's may look vaguely like how I wanted it too, but with many mistakes and imperfections, some people would be flying around bricks. Literally, a block.

Personally, I couldn't fight such a block or see it pass by without laughing.

Plus, things need to be balanced and stuff by the devs. Suggestions for ship designs are welcome, ala Tumblemonster's Ship Design Contest, but don't get your hopes up.

I think he means like.. having ships look different based on the equipped addons. Or something. I'm not really sure.

I think he actually means make your own ship. Like, engines, weapons, batteries, computers, everything.

*sigh of relief* YES that is what i mean! Oh and moldy, i ment it would be sort of "drag and drop"

Yes. I would like a raganar mkIII frame please.... with a centaur mkIII Engine... behomoth spin gyroscopes... fast charge, triple flare, double gattling turrent... to go please... quarter of a million credits!?!?!?.... are you nuts!?!?!... I'll take three.... er... four...... yea... four...

While it would be fun to make them, Alpha001, the creation of such a system (I'm assuming you're suggesting something along the lines of Maxis' Spore engine) would take a very very very very long time to create. Not only that, but there would be no way to gauge the balance or effectiveness of the ships that were created. The situation would probably get out of hand very quickly. Procedural generation is a tricky business, I hear.

However, a certain degree of customization will be available (or so the rumors go). You'll be able to buy all kinds of add-ons for your ships which will change the outward appearance of them. But I'm not a dev, so don't count this as official or anything. Its just what I've heard around.

http://www.vendetta-online.com/h/universe_ships.html

I would like the body of a Centurion with the Engine of an Orion Hornet, drop in a pilferred UltraCharge Battery.... hmmm... toss in the Thrusters of a Valkyrie. That thing can turn fast for it's weight.

/me imagines a racing ship...

In other words, Alpha001, that is a very, very, VERY bad idea.

I just think you should be able to change the shape of the ship to make it really custom.

>I just think you should be able to change the shape of the ship to make it really
>custom.

that would be bad. we'd get all the PVP jocks flying unbelivaly tiny spgeres to minimise their vulnerability to weaponsfire.

Alpha001,
there have been a number of sugestions regarding tweeking ships to make them perform better in one area at the expence of another. the problem with a free-form ship designe system is it is very difficult to designe and balance especially with the twitch based combat suystem.

if i understand there was a time when engins were just another system you had to buy and equip, but it was found that that hindered variety in that only one or 2 engins were ever used, and as a result ships became more homogenious.

I think this is very possible.
Here's how:

Let's say I buy a Centaur, and I get to choose:
-- nose 1, 2 or 3
-- midsection 1, 2 or 3
-- cockpit 1, 2 or 3
-- wings 1, 2 or 3
-- tail 1, 2 or 3
.. etc etc etc

The variations could be only slight (pointy vs. rounded nosecone, rounded vs. squared cockpit), and it would still look a little distinct.
Just the above compontents would allow over 80 different combinations, and all of them could be directly "Dev approved".

Of course, then they'd need to make 80 different models for the Centaur, each with a different geometry file, different textures, a differnet collision mesh, etc. Time is a factor, man.

No offense, but I think the lego style ship-building is a bit impractical and silly. It doesn't fit into a game like this.
While its not a bad idea, per se... I just don't think its a good idea for VO.
I have absolute full faith in Luis creating any kind of ship that I would want to fly (as demonstrated by the EC-89... which is probably my favorite ship now... o.o).

But again, it looks like the devs have some level of visual cofigurability in the future plans. Just follow the link I posted above and look at some of the pictures. Cargo upgrades will add extra sections to the ship... different ship variants will have different engine configurations... missile turrets vs energy turrets... etc.

Sorry to bump an old thread.

I was thinking custom ships would be a good idea. They should be reserved for players who reach a certain level or complete a certain series of missions. They would be an end-game item. I envision players with level 10 XP all around having access to a "ship factory" or something like that.

The system should be based on points. Different parts use up a different numbers of points. Your total number of points is determined by an XP level or some currently non-existent equivalent. A good engine would cost 10 points while a better one would cost 15. You might only have 50 available so you'd have to balance it. You want to save some for armor, cargo, etc...

Different parts would weigh different amounts. A small weapons port might weigh 1000 kg, while a large might would weigh 2000. Better armor plating, engines, cargo holds, etc... would weigh more than cruddy ones.

The same would go for price. Better parts would make the overall price of the ship go up.

I would suggest that the visual aspect of these ships be less intricate. Have a few base model ships (different from the current standard line) and a few subtle variations you can choose for each. Have all the possible permutations saved within the program. Some cosmetic features would correspond to parts you already selected (like engines) and some would be independent and picked to meet the buyers taste.

These ships could be named by the buyer and possibly even sold to less experienced players who do not have access to a ship factory or just to less points.

Make these ships only available at the factory you originally built it in or maybe only at ship factories in general or in a certain group of systems. Maybe certain factories make certain base models or parts. If you died in Sedina, you might have to go all the way to Deneb to get another one of your custom ships.

The big reason I think this would be a good idea is that it'd give players a goal. I'd really be working hard to get my levels up if I knew it meant getting to build my very own super-cool dream ship.

It would keep experienced players motivated as well. Once you got all your XP levels to 12, you would get an extra 10 points to work with. XP levels of 14, 16, etc... would accordingly give you more points. Players would constantly be working to get to the next level to improve their ship and test it in combat (or in trade, hahaha). I think it would make the game much more addictive and engaging. You'd ALWAYS have something to work towards. It would be the ultimate CONTENT.

This very much fits in with what I wrote here:
http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/11406?page=7#140547 (crafting)