I was thinking today, that its somewhat unfair for everyone to be able to see exactly what ship variant you have, all the time. Now i have no problem with the type of ship being displayed, and even the common variants that are in use everywhere.

However, for things like the orion centurion Rev C and the mining marauder, having the name of the faction there is just a little annoying, because once you see one, then you know where to go to get one, so heres my suggestion:

Perhaps for faction specific ships, unless you have the levels and reputation needed to at least SEE the ship in your buy menu, the display could show "unknown centurion variant" or "unfamiliar marauder chassis"

This is directly related to the fact that i had to work for a long time to get the mining maud, working on a best guess as to where it would be, and now people who have seen me flying it know exactly what they need to work on to get it.

It'd really be fun to warp into the middle of a bunch of n00bs flying an "Unknown Marauder Variant" and send them into a panic yelling "I'm going to nuke you all with my Alien Marauder!" and launching miscellaneous explosives into their midst...heh.
-:sigma.SB

I just like the sense of adventure in seeing "unknown" variant. That's pretty cool.

yea, thats kinda what i was going for Forum Mod. :)

I really like it.

I think the greatest reason why something like this is necessary is because it gives us something to work for.

When I see someone in a ship that says "unknown" the only thing i'd know is that I want it and would play long hours to be able to get it.... instead of just looking at spellcast's ship-info to see where he got it.

Nicely thought out.

Great idea, I love it!

I think you should be able to see the exact name if you have the right faction tho, regardless of levels. Wouldn't Orion tell you about their secret Hornet if they trusted you?

yes, more mystery in the game, love it. Thats one of the aspects that makes this game exciting to me, the mystery (although sometimes there is still a litle lack of it ;)

As a small modification to Spellcast's idea:

All of the standard variants of a ship are already in the ship's "database," (ie. Centurion Mk III, Warthog MkIV, maybe even Serco Vulture Guardian)

All non-nation/non-standard variants display "unknown Marauder variant" until that ship is available for you to buy (or maybe, until it's available to look at?), at which point it displays it displays the actual name.

I like the idea of more unknowns to explore, but I'd also like to see a better way of solving the mystery than just a "best guess." Maybe something like NPCs flying around in unknown faction variants, engaged in appropriate activities, that could be followed back to a station where the ship is available.

That's a great idea Beolach.

I dont object to people being able to find out, but I dont like the fact that I raised several factions to find the mining maud and because the faction name is in the ship variant, anyone who sees me knows right where to go.

It would also be neat to engage in specialized missions that will unlock and identify certain cases of these "unknown" ship variants.

Sorry but I want everyone to know what I'm flying. Do you hide up the 'Ford' logo on your '67 mustang? Do you chop the fins off your 58 DeSoto? Do you yank the flying angel off the front of an old Chrysler? I dont think so.

It should be a choice of the players whether to broadcast their ship's identity.

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A compromise is to remove faction names from ship variant names. Instead of '------ Mineral Marauder', it could just say 'Mineral Marauder'. Instead of Corvus Vulturis, it could just say Vulturis. Axia Guardian Wraith becomes Guardian Wraith. BioCom Vulture becomes Vulture TX or something

I do make the dealer take their little decal off the back when I buy a car. Sometimes good gameplay and reality are at odds. So if keeping it a mystery makes the game more fun, then do it. Who cares if it makes sense or not?

Furious: Sure, the dealer might leave the decal on their car, but if you were to take a radar and scan the car, you might be able to tell the difference between a late 90's Toyota Corolla and a Geo Prism, and at that, which model of Corolla or which model of Prism you're scanning.

Basically, we're assuming that the computer decides which model of ship it's scanning based on what the hull looks like, frequencies and strengths of energy emissions (from the radar, from the engines), etc. If that data isn't pre-loaded into your computers, then it cannot make a complete decision on what it's scanning. It might be able to tell that it's scanning a Marauder (and not a Vulture), but it can't what model of Marauder it's scanning because the energy emissions don't match anything in the computer's database. But we'll assume that when you're able to buy that type of ship, then you load all the information into your computer and can then decide the differences.

The only major exceptions to this rule should probably be the Itani Valk and Serco Prom. We should assume that the Serco and Itani governments would make sure that its pilots know exactly what kinds of ships the other government employs. Only brand-new ships might not necessarily be identified until spies steal emission scans, etc.

What about that customized street racer? Sure it used to be a Ford (ok, maybe a bad example), but can you tell where it was souped up by looking at it?

In any case, I think we agree that it would be more fun to implement the 'unknown ship variant' idea.

"Basically, we're assuming that the computer decides which model of ship it's scanning based on what the hull looks like, frequencies and strengths of energy emissions (from the radar, from the engines), etc"

I'm thinking cammoflage here, make your rag lok like a centaur on radar, then when they close in, boom, hit em with everything you got, or even better, group 4 or 5 cent's together, make them look like a centaur on screen, and when your prey closes in, gang bang!!!