Forums » Suggestions
Advanced Port
I think it might be cool to add a 4th port type. This port would be internal and would home a few things that we currently have like the radar extender and the mineral scanner (get rid of that silly beam it emits). Most ships would only have one of these ports or none at all. It would serve to seperate normal ships from "advanced" ships. If I fly an "advanced fighter", I want it to have some special advanced capabilites. An "advanced fighter" like the Corvus Vulturius or TPG Raptor might have 2 or 3 advanced ports. Introductory ships like the Vulture, Centurion, and Warthog mk1's wouldn't have these ports. Better variants of the ships would.
This port would precede the additon of several new add-ons like a cloaking device, radar jammer, shields, auto-pilot system, auto-repairer, etc... This list could go on to include all kinds of cool things that have been suggested on this board and anything else we'd ever think of.
One thing that all the advanced port add-ons should have in common is a high price. These things are state of the art and hi-tech. They wouldn't be very practical to have in your standard PvP setup. I'd guess that each add-on would cost between 10k and 30k credits, so having just one of these would probably double the cost of most ships.
Another thing they should have in common is a high energy drain. Maybe a high-end cloaking device would have infini-cloak with a FC battery, but you wouldn't be able to do much else while you were using it. You could only boost or fire weapons for a second or two before you'd have to shut it off. This would also make it impractical to use more than one of these add-ons at once. I imagine the same dynamic would be set up for shields and radar jammers. The highest level variant of each would work infinitely with a FC, but that would be the only thing you could use. Using 2 addons at once would only work for a second or two.
This port would precede the additon of several new add-ons like a cloaking device, radar jammer, shields, auto-pilot system, auto-repairer, etc... This list could go on to include all kinds of cool things that have been suggested on this board and anything else we'd ever think of.
One thing that all the advanced port add-ons should have in common is a high price. These things are state of the art and hi-tech. They wouldn't be very practical to have in your standard PvP setup. I'd guess that each add-on would cost between 10k and 30k credits, so having just one of these would probably double the cost of most ships.
Another thing they should have in common is a high energy drain. Maybe a high-end cloaking device would have infini-cloak with a FC battery, but you wouldn't be able to do much else while you were using it. You could only boost or fire weapons for a second or two before you'd have to shut it off. This would also make it impractical to use more than one of these add-ons at once. I imagine the same dynamic would be set up for shields and radar jammers. The highest level variant of each would work infinitely with a FC, but that would be the only thing you could use. Using 2 addons at once would only work for a second or two.
http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/7692
See "gadget port"
(Admittedly this thread will require digging)
See "gadget port"
(Admittedly this thread will require digging)
Damn, I looked through there but must of missed it... There's a lot of cool add-ons suggested in there. I wish we could start to see some of them. That thread is from 2003!
I say the devs should start throwing as much stuff as they can in. Don't worry so much about "balance". Things have a way of balancing themselves out. Plus, you can always tweak the specs and stuff later once everything has been tested thoroughly by the user-base.
I say the devs should start throwing as much stuff as they can in. Don't worry so much about "balance". Things have a way of balancing themselves out. Plus, you can always tweak the specs and stuff later once everything has been tested thoroughly by the user-base.
The reason they haven't been just tossing this stuff in is because they have been very busy rewriting the code to make the game engine more modular - so that they CAN just drop stuff in and tweak it instead of having to hard code it all. It is all about getting it right, instead of getting it right away.
There are many who feel very differently about balance than you do.
There are many who feel very differently about balance than you do.
I wouldn't really care about balance if we had 2k ships to fly, 20 k weapons to choose from, 500 batteries and 10k gadgets to choose from.
Since in hte end, it would be hell to balance all this, as will it be hell to make a decission :D
Since in hte end, it would be hell to balance all this, as will it be hell to make a decission :D
Disclaimer: The second portion of this post deals with balancing, and explains, using the very basics of mathematics the rules to maintaining a system that can be balanced regardless of what's put into it. Mostly a waste of time for anyone who's got a clear concept of how the unvierse continues to run without collapsing into itself every day. And without further ado..!
Let's not get into the habit of deciding what the devs "should" or "should not" do. Regardless, these are the things I got that struck a positive chord whilst reading Strat's suggestion:
A different port type adds new possibilites for ship types. Also the addition to price fits in nicely with the recent overall increase in ship costs. Particularly, the name "Advanced" has a nice ring to it, that matches the well the benefits associated. Plus, it adds a distinct difference between the phrase, gadget port.
Reading through Strat's words, I wondered why the heck a Corvus Vulturius or TPG Raptor would need mineral scanners for. The point of an advanced port is to make the ship in question better at whatever it does, no? After reading through "The return of the ever growing toys thread", and among the squabbles between which science fiction series is superior to which, I noticed that not once has it been suggested that there be a gadget to modify currently equipped weapons.
You like to load flares onto your Corvus Vulturius, do ya'? Try the ammo pod, only XX,000 credits at your nearest advanced port dealer. Maybe the cooldowns of your Axia Accelerated Positron blasters are slowing your precious TPG Raptor. Well then, just plug in the authentic modified cooling system! You'll find a delightful increase in firepower for only a small price in energy.
So you see, Strat had precicely the right idea. We're not playing WoW here, and even if we were, we wouldn't all pick Engineer as our second profession. The concept of Advanced ports is way cooler than some obscure trinkets that hardly make a lick of sense anyways. Besides that, I just wanna' be the first kid on the block to show up with a mint condition Advanced Centaurion Itani Border Guardian.
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And as for balancing, the solution is as simple as life itself. So long as whatever aspect your modifying...
Weighs more,
Requires more energy,
Increases spin torque,
Costs a *TON* more... (This is a fickle quality, because we don't want the game to be all about money.)
Is harder to obtain, (Licenses, Faction, etc.)
Is less accurate,
Fires slower,
Or whatever additional negative quality you can think of,
... than the aspect unmodified, then the values will automatically balance themselves. This is because everything will the have it's place.
* For example, I prefer using Plasma HX cannons when pirating, because they're by far the most energy efficieny gun on the market. So what if they're slower? When you're hunting a ship that can't surpass 160m/s anyways, what's the value of speed? So what if they do less damage per second than a Nuetron Blaster? If I have to sit and let my battery recharge, I've pretty much lost the kill anyways.
* If that's not bad enough, I like to use Hornet MkI's on the hunt. Yes, the MkIII seems like it'd be more suited for combat, but the infini-boost on the MkI makes all the difference in the world when pirating 'moths. And when not using Plasma HX's, I stock up on Neutron Blaster MkII's, because MkIII's cost nearly half again as much energy to fire.
* Hell, even the EC-89 is handy, because of it's 45 energy per second boost. I haven't thought of a way to make that useful, but a certain feeling tells me it involves pirating. >:D
In fact, there are only a few cases in VO when the 'lesser' quality items don't surpass the 'higher' quality counterparts in atleast some way. Positron Blasters are worse than Neutron MkI's in every way, and Neutron MkII's better than MkI's in every way, save for availability, and unless I'm mistaken, Chaos Swarm Missles trump Locust Swarm Missles every time. That's about it.
- SuperMegaMynt
Let's not get into the habit of deciding what the devs "should" or "should not" do. Regardless, these are the things I got that struck a positive chord whilst reading Strat's suggestion:
A different port type adds new possibilites for ship types. Also the addition to price fits in nicely with the recent overall increase in ship costs. Particularly, the name "Advanced" has a nice ring to it, that matches the well the benefits associated. Plus, it adds a distinct difference between the phrase, gadget port.
Reading through Strat's words, I wondered why the heck a Corvus Vulturius or TPG Raptor would need mineral scanners for. The point of an advanced port is to make the ship in question better at whatever it does, no? After reading through "The return of the ever growing toys thread", and among the squabbles between which science fiction series is superior to which, I noticed that not once has it been suggested that there be a gadget to modify currently equipped weapons.
You like to load flares onto your Corvus Vulturius, do ya'? Try the ammo pod, only XX,000 credits at your nearest advanced port dealer. Maybe the cooldowns of your Axia Accelerated Positron blasters are slowing your precious TPG Raptor. Well then, just plug in the authentic modified cooling system! You'll find a delightful increase in firepower for only a small price in energy.
So you see, Strat had precicely the right idea. We're not playing WoW here, and even if we were, we wouldn't all pick Engineer as our second profession. The concept of Advanced ports is way cooler than some obscure trinkets that hardly make a lick of sense anyways. Besides that, I just wanna' be the first kid on the block to show up with a mint condition Advanced Centaurion Itani Border Guardian.
*************************************************************************************
And as for balancing, the solution is as simple as life itself. So long as whatever aspect your modifying...
Weighs more,
Requires more energy,
Increases spin torque,
Costs a *TON* more... (This is a fickle quality, because we don't want the game to be all about money.)
Is harder to obtain, (Licenses, Faction, etc.)
Is less accurate,
Fires slower,
Or whatever additional negative quality you can think of,
... than the aspect unmodified, then the values will automatically balance themselves. This is because everything will the have it's place.
* For example, I prefer using Plasma HX cannons when pirating, because they're by far the most energy efficieny gun on the market. So what if they're slower? When you're hunting a ship that can't surpass 160m/s anyways, what's the value of speed? So what if they do less damage per second than a Nuetron Blaster? If I have to sit and let my battery recharge, I've pretty much lost the kill anyways.
* If that's not bad enough, I like to use Hornet MkI's on the hunt. Yes, the MkIII seems like it'd be more suited for combat, but the infini-boost on the MkI makes all the difference in the world when pirating 'moths. And when not using Plasma HX's, I stock up on Neutron Blaster MkII's, because MkIII's cost nearly half again as much energy to fire.
* Hell, even the EC-89 is handy, because of it's 45 energy per second boost. I haven't thought of a way to make that useful, but a certain feeling tells me it involves pirating. >:D
In fact, there are only a few cases in VO when the 'lesser' quality items don't surpass the 'higher' quality counterparts in atleast some way. Positron Blasters are worse than Neutron MkI's in every way, and Neutron MkII's better than MkI's in every way, save for availability, and unless I'm mistaken, Chaos Swarm Missles trump Locust Swarm Missles every time. That's about it.
- SuperMegaMynt