Be nice to have these. Something like a small or large equip item. Useful mainly to pull a targeted cargo crate to the ship collect "sweet spot" when within certain range say 100 meters maybe. Would reduce need to sometimes make a multiple pass to hit the crate "just right" as the "sweet spot" seems to vary from ship to ship or the by the view that is being used. If time to collect the crate is desired for added "player stress" under certain situations could have that the beam has to remain locked for a given amount of time to pull the crate in.

+1 if this Tractor beam is manufacturable.....

Why? I can't think of any situation where you couldn't just fly over the cargo...

Maybe for those weird times where the game sticks a cargo crate inside an asteroid or station part, but I think that'd be better addressed by making it impossible for stuff to be inside asteroids or stations instead.

Again, flying over the cargo still requires hitting a "sweet spot" on your ship. Different ships seem to have a different "sweet spot" and this current mechanism has inconsistent results from ship to ship or view.
+1 to it being a manufactured item tho. in fact make it only a manufactered item even better, but at least have the option available.

With modification, on top of cargo uses if each one can apply a fixed negative force to a ship,so you can stop or slow down ships (depending on the weight and inertia of said ship and the amount of these tractors you or your allies are applying to it)

The exact numbers someone else can work out

Sweet spot?

Your ship isn't a box. It's actually shaped like how it looks. You need to hit the crate with your ship to pick it up. That means it's substantially easier to pick up cargo flying a Behemoth than it is a Vulture.

+1 great idea

Yes, sweet spot. I have flown directly through the center of boxes using most of the ships avail to me at this time with an empty hold. While some register the pick up others do not. The Tunguska Miner requires the center of the rear pass through the crate for pick up, The Centaur usually does better at picking up through the wing, and some require to pass just above the crate, while others require the nose pass through it. I tend to prefer 3rd person view, where you think you may be flying direct on to a crate, it many times has that you are not, at the last moment. While I'm not interested so much in the combat possibilities of having tractor beams, it would make cargo pick up in space more consistsnt, seeing as how there are no cargo transfers avail when docked at station or on cap ship as would be the case in a more realistic simulation.

Shadowhawke, the only thing that affects pickup of crates is lag and cu/unit.

I expected this to be about something for affecting other ships. WTF can't fly well enough to pick up cargo??

Irrespective of the difficulty piloting ships to pickup cargo, I think a tractor beam, or perhaps a tractor magnet that draws the cargo every so slightly towards you, would be nice. I suspect the problem lies in the non-moving nature of cargo items.

-1. The problem is your connection or your computer.

-1. You will eventually become better at picking up cargo, and flying in general.

no

I fully support this original idea, applaud the poster and officially chastise every player (including my own self) for never thinking of this idea and not posting it dozens of times prior to this, the first time anyone had thought of it.

That aside... a tractor beam that affects other ships would be really cool for combat, ship transport etc... etc...