Forums » Suggestions
Ambushing
As it stands, the radar is an unbelievable piec of technology. Not only can it discern freind/foe, but it can also distinguish containers, distinguish (and eliminate) asteroids, and distinguish stations (turning it into white fuzzy things with S's on them).
Now, clearly the use of this radar is very handy when looking for things, such as players or cargo, but it also prevents ambushing.
I propose this: The ability to turn your personal ship "dead". IE You turn off every system and therefore the enemy radar sees you as an asteroid. This would allow you and a group of close friends a chance to actually ambush someone in a storm-filled asteroid field. It would also give you a chance to hide if you're being destroyed; jsut fly behind a nearby roid and shut down. Maybe the enemy will find you, maybe he won't.
Now, one thing with this: you are shutting down EVERY system, that includes life support. Afterall, technology this good would definately beable to pick up even the slightest system "noise". Therefore, you can only be "shut down" for ten minutes (subject to change of course, it aint my game =P ) before you are forced to restart the systems so that you can live.
Ten minutes, IMO, is ample time to do what you need. If you see an enemy on radar, quickyl shut down and he may not see you. This also prevents people from simply staying shut down next to a WH indefinately until some hapless victim wanders through. Finally, 10 minutes is also enough time for back-up to arrive if you are in a "sticky" situation with an enemy.
One last point: There would need to be some sort of lag time between start-up and full operation. Maybe you're engines work fine right away, but you can't turbo for 30 seconds and you can't fire weapons for a full minute (again, this is adjustable). That way, if you set up an ambush, you better be sure you can catch the guy you are ambushing before he runs away or simply shoots you in your awkward state of start-up sickness.
Just another idea I had =P
Now, clearly the use of this radar is very handy when looking for things, such as players or cargo, but it also prevents ambushing.
I propose this: The ability to turn your personal ship "dead". IE You turn off every system and therefore the enemy radar sees you as an asteroid. This would allow you and a group of close friends a chance to actually ambush someone in a storm-filled asteroid field. It would also give you a chance to hide if you're being destroyed; jsut fly behind a nearby roid and shut down. Maybe the enemy will find you, maybe he won't.
Now, one thing with this: you are shutting down EVERY system, that includes life support. Afterall, technology this good would definately beable to pick up even the slightest system "noise". Therefore, you can only be "shut down" for ten minutes (subject to change of course, it aint my game =P ) before you are forced to restart the systems so that you can live.
Ten minutes, IMO, is ample time to do what you need. If you see an enemy on radar, quickyl shut down and he may not see you. This also prevents people from simply staying shut down next to a WH indefinately until some hapless victim wanders through. Finally, 10 minutes is also enough time for back-up to arrive if you are in a "sticky" situation with an enemy.
One last point: There would need to be some sort of lag time between start-up and full operation. Maybe you're engines work fine right away, but you can't turbo for 30 seconds and you can't fire weapons for a full minute (again, this is adjustable). That way, if you set up an ambush, you better be sure you can catch the guy you are ambushing before he runs away or simply shoots you in your awkward state of start-up sickness.
Just another idea I had =P
Jumpgate had something like this that'd work well here too: whenever you snuggled up RIGHT NEXT to an asteroid, you went radar invisible. That'd work well in Vendetta, since most important objects are fairly near asteroids but not right next to them (in most cases.)
Don't know if you can view the old threads (you should be able to), but this is quite an old topic. I've had the same opinion from the earliest (alpha?) tests..
But maybe the idea can get new life and we can get nice things like stealth mods, jammers, sensor pods, EMP mines, system-specific-damaging weapons. (Remember the gun in Freespace that damaged specific systems? The disruptor, I think it was called.) I would like to see a distinction between active and passive sensors - ie. you are more visible with active sensors, but you can see farther.
And there should be a couple types of asteroids that are opaque to sensors, for the pirate-rich sectors, although this might require some occlusion tests.. Maybe if a ship is within a couple meters of one of these roids, it is harder to lock on to or the blip appears scrambled.
Ah, the possibilities are endless.
But maybe the idea can get new life and we can get nice things like stealth mods, jammers, sensor pods, EMP mines, system-specific-damaging weapons. (Remember the gun in Freespace that damaged specific systems? The disruptor, I think it was called.) I would like to see a distinction between active and passive sensors - ie. you are more visible with active sensors, but you can see farther.
And there should be a couple types of asteroids that are opaque to sensors, for the pirate-rich sectors, although this might require some occlusion tests.. Maybe if a ship is within a couple meters of one of these roids, it is harder to lock on to or the blip appears scrambled.
Ah, the possibilities are endless.