So I was thinking about an idea with the radar that would open up a bit of different gameplay, like stealth for instance and ambushing. Just an idea I thought I would bounce off everyone else. So here it is...

The ability to configure our radars to our needed advantage and roles. Something that could be set on the fly while in space. I was thinking of the ability to reduce or increase (up to the maximum of 5000m) our radar detector ranges and our being detected. For instance, I configure mine to be 500m, so my maximum scanner range is 500m and my maximum range of being detected by others is also 500m. This includes of course targeting others, I can't target or see anyone on the radar sensors beyond 500m. Why? It introduced stealth flying within the game, If I could spot my targets by eye then I could sneak up and ambush them. Or I set mine low and enter enemy proximity and do some recon on their current operations, like BP and BS assessments. Now naturally if you have your's set to 4000m and someone else has theirs set to 3000m, they can't see you beyond 3000m and neither can you see them beyond that. That might get a bit tricky, but if anyone has any thoughts or tweaks for that, absolutely welcome to post them. I'd prefer lots of community discussion on this and not just people agreeing and disagreeing.

I think it might introduce a fun and interesting dynamic into the game. This would make things pretty fun for stealth/ambushing/bounty hunting/pirating. And naturally BP and BS heh and maybe even HS.

just a thought. Discuss.

[edit] maybe the ability to target in the 4000m vs 3000m scenario in favor of the 4000m but not visible in sector list or hud radar?

[edit2] maybe limit the amount the radar can be reduced based on the ship size, for instance a vulture can drop it to 500m while a moth can only drop it to 4000m

Interesting idea. I still like this though:

http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/16355

I wasn't really thinking of increasing the radar range at all unless there was a way to do that already, but there isn't so...

playing within the current sphere of things with this idea.

I think that if you want to increase the range of your radar, they should make an addon for the radar that will increase the range (or, maybe, make it part of the ships description so each ship may have a slightly different radar).

And you 4000m vs 3000m might be worded wrong. If someone has theirs set to 3000m, the one with 4000m should be able to see them if they are at 3500m, but the one with 3000m cant see the one with 4000m.

The way you worded it, it sounds like if I set my radar off, no one will be able to see me. That is just bad because then everyone would turn their radars off when getting into skirmishes.

I think ALL players should show up as "unknown" until they are within 2.5K of your radar. That way there is some stealth up to the point where the player would know if they are being engaged.

kp

maybe i did, but as i said that part was tricky and anyone is open to tweak it. I'm not sure about 4000m vs 3000m = 3500m scanner range against the 3000m ship. But rather make the 3000m range when inside the 4000m range targetable but invisible on hud radar. But again there are a lot of ways to go about in this scenario.

also to keep this thread on topic, lets refrain from talking about addons to *increase* radar range. Would be better to use another thread to discuss that. Sticking to the original topic, anyone else have any ideas or criticisms?

The basic problem behind the radar range determines both detection and being detected idea is that one side inevitably has the ability to determine the range at which the two people can see each other. Essentially, one person's choice will always not matter to the range at which they're detected. The maximum determined model removes the possibility of stealth, and the minimum determined model removes the incentive for anything but stealth. An interesting fix would be your idea of setting different minimum radar ranges for different ships (that's easily rationalized by saying that it's the range at which it is impossible for your ship to evade detection). I'm really not sure how well that would work out though.

"I think ALL players should show up as "unknown" until they are within 2.5K of your radar. That way there is some stealth up to the point where the player would know if they are being engaged."

Something similar to this has been posted for discussion by the dev's, and will likely be implemented in the future. At the very least, you will no longer be able to see everyone who is in the same sector if they are beyond a certain (as far as I know) finalized range.

http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/20512#254639

Maybe, but I'd like to see the ability to set your radar detection down at the cost of being able to see very far. The idea of everyone flying at nearly invisible radar is silly anyway, because no one will ever find each other. And that is something people will figure out for themselves. Also, perhaps make the ability purchasable per ship, make it costly and a money sink. Something like "advanced radar computer" or something to buy that is added to your ship at no cost to your mass or port usage. But this is going off into something that has never been done before so moving on...

Also again, larger ships have a higher minimum radar range limit. Smaller ships would have very little limit, but then they're basically blind and going by eye. It's not as if you'll just be unseen by radar, but you'll be mechanically blind and only able to see what is in front of you.

Any other thoughts?

Interesting idea. I foresee a plugin that sets your radar to max range every 10 seconds for a burst scan, and then leaves it at min range. Result: you are invisible but can still see others.

You'll appear every 10 seconds as a noisy PING on others' prox alarms.

that and there could be a limit set to how many times you can change it or only change it in the station. like groups.