We could go the BTech route and have mass/slot based system, which is sorta what is said here.

chibi-dr:
what you say about space-physics is not correct.

mass of objects *IS* a big factor even where there is no friction. a large mass needs more energy added to be set in motion (even in a vacuum). so for instance with the same engine a small (light) ship will speed up faster than a large (heavy) ship. the same amount of energy is then required to stop it again.

the same is true for turning your ship. it starts turning, then needs the same amount of energy to stop it again when facing the desired direction.

I know this is not exactly how it works in the game, but to a certain degree these principles are built-in. so you see these things are important when tweaking your ship and could add to the game, because mass and engine strength really count

general) an adaptation to the ship building system where each hull has a set amount of usable space and each piece of equipment takes up a set amount of space, so you have more flexibility/can have more fun building your ship

a) the engine type combined with the total weight of your design would then dictate the maneuverability/accelleration of the ship, space left unused would be automatically fitted with cargo modules and tell you the load capacity

b) you would be able to fit items more than once, for example you could do away with some weapons and fit an extra battery to have more chance to run from pirates if you are just trading

c) restrictions (as with the current 'ports' system) would still apply, as not all equipment would fit into each hull, for instance consider the centurion, it now has only one small weapon port because it is a small ship, but with the hull-space system, after fitting a decent engine and a battery there simply would not be enough space left to fit much more than a small weapon - unless you know where to shop for the right equipment... ;)

d) external equipment fitting would be possible for some hull types, like specific trading vessels will be able to strap extra cargo modules to their hulls which in turn would impact their maneuverability and accelleration (but grant no extra armor for the ship they are attached to), they could even be shot off to steal cargo without destroying the entire ship rightaway so such a trader has a small chance to run from a hostile encounter if it doesn't have an escort

opinion) i put it very simply here, because i think such a system does not have to be complicated at all and still provide lots of variation and exitement configuring and testing ships, this is one of the things i personally consider big fun in the game

spaces tabs enter keys punctuation please.


now onto the dissection of the post.

These ideas have been discussed before, however since the boards don't have a search funtcion.. we'll rehash them once more

a) i have no real problem with the idea that the engine should determine the maneuverability to a point. However the design of the hull itself does need to have some bearing on it. a more massive hull is going to have more inertia.. and as such be harder to change direction in. as for the remaining space being used for cargo, nope, cargo needs a designed space.. it has to be the right shape and needs to have access. make a cargo module that takes up space in the ship and we can work that out.

b) multiple batteries creates a severe balancing issue, since our "batteries" are really more "generators". 2 batteries would allow unlimited turbo using a heavy engine.. this is BAD. It would also allow continuous fire with several of the weapons. Additionally if you have 2 batteries in a valk, then all you need is a single tachyon cannon and you can turbo AND fire just about forever. (2 fast charge batts, medium engine).

c) very confusing, the general idea is to get rid of the ports.. if you get rid of ports, you cant effectively place restrictions. I'd hate tosee someone mount an advanced gat on a cent and give it a light engine /fast charge battery combo.

d) external fittings would need to MASSIVELY degrade the agility/ acceleration of a ship. once you start to snap things onto the outside of a hull, you are changing the balance of the thrust. also you add mass/inertia which radically alters your maneuverability.

All in all This would probably be much more difficult to implement from a programming standpoint and alter far too much of the games current balance to be totally viable. This isn't to say that the future ship configuration won't be more flexible than it is now.. just that this particular way of doing it might not be effective.

There are several really good threads on this subject, but unfortunately they are all in the old archives.

I think spellcast sums up the problems with a completely flexible 'volumn based' configuration pretty well though.

Interestingly, 'a' is pretty much already the way things work, except that its the hull which ways something not the engine. Quite a few of us would be in favor of blending a 'mass based' (or even 'volume based') system with the current 'slot based' system to add balance and complexity. But, I for one at least am convinced based on previous conversations that keeping the slots is a very good thing.

agility, acceleration, maneuverability bla bla
it shouldnt be effected much unless your near a planet,
another ship, or space station. there is no friction
in space like on earth and the only thing that effects
these things is gravity so mass wouldnt be a big factor
unless your near another larg mass..