I was just musing that the way vendetta has ships (Buying, equipping and such) could be changed in a few small ways to add to the game.

This is a thread towards that end.

I was thinking along the lines of having a several 'pre-made' ships that are massed produced. They come with decent weps/batts and better models unlocked as time goes on, through lisences and missions. You start out not having to equip your own wep and batts like times of old when you bought a EC - 88. So this starts adding a bit of content in the way of different corporations and different models of ships. (They'd each be named, such as "Corvus Hawkhead" = vulture with duel sunflares, fc battery)

You then can't swap out weps on all the ship models easily; some you have to spend money on to change*.(This adds a little money sink, along with the potential to put a skill in place to wave that cost. But that can be done *in the future*). Then at high levels, or high mission strings, you can buy straight-up hulls, plain old ships like we buy now. The advantage would be in weight (they'd be a bit lighter, by around 5-10%, due to bloat ware the companies put in) and they'd have slightly more hp depending on the hull rating you buy (vulture hull - xith alloy)

This is another step in the direction of crafting; you'd eventually be able to create your own hulls and customize the alloys; Strengthening or lightening and stuff. This idea is in-between a low-hanging apple and a large feature. It would take a couple of weeks to work out- both management wise and development.

*others are have better then normal weps but cannot be swapped out - specialized ships.

This all kinda works with ship naming aswell; once you start naming ship versions and are forcing the player to 'customize' their ships, they'll naturally want to name their creations. So a Corvus Hawkhead would turn into the Bald Hawkhead and such.
Any other ideas on what to do with ships can go here; criticism welcome.

I like it. You don't buy a new car, and THEN purchase an engine, tranny, suspension and the like. No, you get it all as one big mass-produced package, complete with all the crap that makes it pass mandatory laws that make new cars bloated, overweight, underpowered crap.

Same story with civilian and military aircraft, and I doubt the economic concept of savings through mass-production will likely disappear in the future.

Personally, I'd like to see ship modifications done in a more "customizing your ship" way. Swapping engines would be a huge ordeal, but might be worth it. Swapping out weapons wouldn't be as hard given they are the same or less weight, have the same requirements, and handle about the same. Anything other than this would be far more drastic.

Think of how Escape Velocity handled upgrading engines, sensors, or the like. Only add an aspect of "maybe it won't be any better. maybe it'll be worse."

There would have to be more clearly stated specs as well as an explanation of what they mean, proper speed:mass (kinda' sorta') ratios and that sort of thing, as well as an easier way to view ship specs in the PDA. It's really difficult to see it very well the way it is right now.

This would, of course, only work with a complete server reset, else the requirements would be met before even thought of.

Edit: This does not mean I am against it, of course. I think this would be great and give players something to work towards, as part of the endgame.

I like the idea, but I fear that if it were implemented that it may become very complex and confusing for new and old players alike.

Is there any middleground between this and what we have now?

How would what he plans be complex to players? At basic levels, it'd be no different than other games, where you pick a ship, and it has certain weapons and equipment.

At more complex levels, it'd(hopefully) satisfy even the most micro-managing of us.

Honestly, I'd like to see the straight-up hulls just be a lot more expensive. Sort of like buying a kit car, it's not cheap.

The thing is that it's cheap to get back on your feet when you get killed, which happens a lot. It's best to have cheap ships, but better upgrades should be the expensive stuff. This would also open an avenue for paying insurance on certain ships or equipment; a deductible would be paid and the player would receive their equipment.

That's a new one, I'll almost bet.

insurance is a good idea. I have all my valuables insured in real life...in case of theft or damage...(cameras, computers jeep...etc...etc...)...if i had an intergalactic fighter craft, I would definately insure it.

there could be varying levels of insurance percentage Vs. payment, certain people would have to pay more, example...people based in grey space. others would be unable to be insured, pirates or players with KoS status.

Insurance would not be viable.

Don't even try to argue for it;

Would you insure someone who expects to be attacked/killed on a regular basis? Not without making it cost an exorbitant amount.

at which point, no one would buy it.

Insurance? Why?

Everything is so damn cheap as it is. That's like getting a protection plan, with on-site technical support and third-party insurance on a bottle of Mountain Dew.

I'm just saying that if you make ships more expensive, then insurance would be something for the devs to look into. Especially if, perhaps, the upgrades cost a lot or were limited. That would take a major overhaul of the money system as it is, so it's probably not a very viable avenue.

Oh, yeah, if ships were more expensive, it'd totally make sense to insure them.

I would say insurance would be a good candidate for capships, but we apparently won't be able to outright purchase them.

Along those same assembly lines, I have an idea; modules themselves would incorporate smaller pieces that add function into the module. As VO becomes more advanced, those pieces might incorporate yet more pieces. A neutron blaster contains an energy core, which contains a perpetual motion machine, and so on, with connections between the various tiers. Constructing a ship from the ground up from available pieces may be impractical, and so assembly lines might produce ready-made modules based on their design in the same fashion that a Carrier pilot may wish to buy a dozen ready-made fighters of various styles without dictating each and every module used. Naturally, out fitting your ship would allow this option.

MC1171611 said "The thing is that it's cheap to get back on your feet when you get killed, which happens a lot". Militaries may wish to offer insurance to trusted and proven pilots, on the basis that those who are in charge have some responsibility over the deaths of their soldiers. I feel a reasonable NPC run insurance policy would have some basis over the competence of the pilot involved. If a pilot with a high kill:death ratio accepts a mission with a high failure rate, one might conclude that he deserves a compensation even if he should fail.

Let us avoid a situation where everyone buys the highest insurance they can afford, all of the time, no matter what, because it is the only logical choice available. *cough, EVE hack-ack cough*

I agree with the original design. It would certainly allow for a lot more personality among ships, and it would get rid of the lack of power cells.

I'm for it, so long as it is feasible. It would certainly be convenient for when PC cappies are introduced.