Forums » Suggestions

Ship flag transponders / Ship avatars

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Sep 23, 2010 PaladinOfLancelot link
This idea has probably been proposed already, but surely not in this form. Yes, i admit it may sound stupid at first, but believe me, it will greatly increase the fun factor, as most people generally like to show off ;).

So the conception is to allow players to upload small avatars/ship flags (150 x 100) to the server, which will show up next to their ship on screens of everybody that is currently watching the ship from close distance.

This is how it could look. Notice that the flags are partially transparent, to make them less annoying.

FULL image: http://soofman.civ.pl/stuff/Vendetta/shipflag01.jpg


FULL image: http://soofman.civ.pl/stuff/Vendetta/shipflag02.jpg

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Details:

1. Flags are always visible in exactly the same shape & size (150 x 100), no matter how far the ship is (unless there are too many ships to fit the flags) on 1280x1024 or higher resolution screen. On smaller screens this could be scaled down proportionally to screen size / free space on HUD.
2. Player can switch off and on broadcasting of his own ship's flag at will
3. Annoyance/mess fix: If there is more than Y flags on the screen, flags are automatically downsized further.
4. Annoyance/mess fix: If there is more than X ships on player's viewscreen, only the closest ships' flags are shown.
5. Annoyance/mess fix: Flags are partially transparent (as visible on the screenshots), their transparence could be also adjusted in game configuration.
6. Annoyance/mess fix: There should be one adjustable keyboard button to immediately switch the flag on-screen display ON or OFF, in case of somebody gets annoyed by them, or if people start to abuse flags and put some stupid(porn) images in them.
7. Annoyance/mess fix: Flag display automatically moves to a place on screen where there is most of unused space.

Logical explanation:
Every ship has a transponder which broadcasts a signal with small image in space, making it easy to identify itself. Ship computers of all other vehicles nearby automatically decode the signal, convert it to image, and display/project it in the ship operator's cockpit.

Extras:
- There could be player flags & guild flags. So players could choose to display either guild flag or their own flag.
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This feature will be also very useful for guild wars & nation wars of all sorts, since everybody will be easily recognizable on the screen ( which probably will make watching a massive battle more like a watching a footbal game ;) ).
Sep 23, 2010 Pizzasgood link
There should also be an option for players to select the resolution at which flags are rendered by their client, so that if they have a big screen but only want to see the flags at half-size they could.

Not that I like this idea very much. But as long as there's an off-switch I don't really care.

EDIT: Image abuse could be dealt with by having them screened first, and have a game-imposed limit on how often you can change it so they don't get spammed. If you can only change image once or twice a day, it wouldn't be a big deal other than the initial influx when the feature is added.
Sep 23, 2010 ryan reign link
The only way this is a good idea is if other players have the option of turning off the ability to see the flags. Personally, I don't want to be forced to see every flag of every player who choses to have one.

Over all, -1.
Sep 23, 2010 Dr. Lecter link
You redacted that shit? You need yer head examined, nooblet.
Sep 23, 2010 Willis link
Having the avatar show up in the players profile (or whatever you call it) when you target them and press 'k' would be semi-cool. But otherwise it would just be a hindrance to combat and other activities.
Sep 23, 2010 tarenty link
Screen clutter. Interesting idea, but clutters up the screen.
Sep 23, 2010 vskye link
I seriously don't think the devs will allow people to upload crap to the server. On your computer, sure.

As others have mentioned, it would have to have a option to shut it off, and only show up when you target someone and press "k".

All in all, -1.
Sep 24, 2010 PaladinOfLancelot link
@ryan reign

[[[The only way this is a good idea is if other players have the option of turning off the ability to see the flags.]]]

Yes they have, it is included in the details. Were You actually reading my post, or just looking at the pictures ?

This feature would _ONLY_ make sense if it could be switched ON/OFF easily (with one key press preferably), otherwise it would be annoying.

Jeez. Don't be all so negative. No harm done here.
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@vskye

[[[I seriously don't think the devs will allow people to upload crap to the server. On your computer, sure.]]]

Man, you're getting nowhere with this "crap to the server" attitude.
If You want more people in the game, You've got to respect them and their "crap" data. Perhaps to You it's crap, but surely not to people who upload it.
Sep 24, 2010 vskye link
Ok, I'll redefine the word "crap" to mean possibly infected file(s) that contain a virus or whatever else that is bad, and requires more of the devs time.
Sep 24, 2010 Alloh link
I would like to see it inside 'k' tab info, as Willis proposed.

But I would prefer that there is allways a flag there. Everybody gets his nation's flag. If one joins a guild, then nation flag is replaced by guild flag. Then would be cool to see flag near player stats in HUD (top-right). Never floating mid-screen.

How to deal with someone who puts porn in flag? Or racism? Or any exploit/jpegbomb/virus/crap?

I guess the potencial for abuses, offense and such is too high for players' avatar, but very low and acceptable for Guilds. And few guilds results in little overhead of devs supervision...

So my vote goes to Flags in ('k',hud info) for Nation/Guild.
Sep 24, 2010 Pizzasgood link
Name color is sufficient for nation.

The idea here is a simple visual way to identify multiple ships at once without having to target them. Using 'k' breaks that.

I do think this would be useful under certain circumstances, especially if the player can scale it down to whatever size he prefers so he doesn't have big flags cluttering his screen. I would leave it off in general, but when I need to quickly identify who's who I'd flip it on for a moment.

Image abuse could also be mitigated by not allowing arbitrary images. There could be a flag-designer where you build a flag using preset elements. A careful arrangement of elements could still yield things that offend people, but it wouldn't be nearly as bad as with accepting raw images.

It would also nearly eliminate the possibility of malware via flags, since arbitrary data is not being dealt with anymore. And if the flags are stored and transmitted as the combination of elements creating them rather than as raw image data, storage space and bandwidth could also probably be significantly less.

EDIT: Another option, which would involve even less data transfer and have no possibility of abuse is to use an identicon type system, based off the name of the character. Of course that would also not allow any personalization, and would not be as memorable. If the algorithm were to be restricted to creating the shapes, the player could then be allowed to set the color, which would at least allow some personalization.
Sep 24, 2010 The Shedu link
ah... /me no like.
Sep 26, 2010 ryan reign link
"The idea here is a simple visual way to identify multiple ships at once without having to target them"

As is already accomplished by targetless. Moving on.
Sep 26, 2010 Pizzasgood link
No it isn't. Targetless tells you who's in the sector. It does not tell you which ship is which. You have to actually target the ships to find out.
Sep 26, 2010 ryan reign link
GASP! You have to press a button to figure out who is who! That is way to much work, how lazy are you? And in keeping with the OP, exactly how mush useless garbage work do you want to heap on the devs for something that has absolutely no benefit what so ever and does absolutely nothing to improve the game?
Sep 26, 2010 Pizzasgood link
Darn right I think having to press buttons (and untargeting my current target) is more than I should have to do. I want to be able to look at my screen and automatically know which ships belong to which people quickly with minimal input from my end.

And it's not just the having to press a button that is a problem. I'm willing to press a button. But the targetless method still only identifies people one at a time. If there are four people in front of me, I have to press it, note the name/ship, and repeat three more times. And then reacquire my original target.

On the other hand, if something like the OP were implemented, I could press one key to turn it on, identify who is who, and press the key again to turn it off. (Or I could have it set up so I hold the key to enable it, and simply release the key to disable it.) My target would not be modified.

It would be excellent for group events like Nation War.
Sep 27, 2010 PaladinOfLancelot link
@negative voters

You are (mostly) not getting the general conception which stands behind my ideas to improve the game, thus You rate some of them negatively.

I tweak 98% of my suggestions in a way, that when You would add them to the game, the EXISTING gameplay (for players who don't like changes or just like the "old way" better) would be unchanged, while giving NEW, cool features to everybody else.

The conception is that when You add new features, the number of extra functionalities You can add without making the game worse is almost LIMITLESS, providing You implement proper BALANCE ADJUSTEMENTS and ANNOYANCE REMOVAL mechanisms.

SO IT'S A NON-ZERO SUM GAME. WIN - WIN situation. No harm done ever. If You don't know what I'm talking about, check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory#Zero-sum_and_non-zero-sum

Non-zero sum game is a game, where gain by one player does not necessarily correspond with a loss by another. And this is exactly the thing I'm trying to do - create features which can only improve (or leave unchanged) the game experience, without any potential loses.
Sep 27, 2010 PaladinOfLancelot link
@ryan reign

[[[for something that has absolutely no benefit what so ever and does absolutely nothing to improve the game?]]]

I definately do not agree.

There are potentially great benefits here:

1. Giving people (& guilds) ability to show off (yes, it does matter a lot for some). Showing off creates prestige, the same as in real world. Guess why in many MMO games people buy stuff that just looks better, while not having much better stats ?
Showing off & prestige is (unfortunately) an important part of ANY human society, MMO communities included.

2. Add footbal match-like battle watching ability. As every player will be easily identified, You always know what is going on. It will be really fun to watch a small/big battle event from distance.
Just grab a beer/popcorn and enjoy Your show.

3. Enable definately BETTER visual identification for players & Guilds. Yes, Your brain can actually recognize flag-player relation FASTER, than playername-player relation. Also, the flags would always be the same big, no matter the distance, which should further improve the experience.

4. (...) There are dozens of other ways in which this can be used that You can't even imagine now because of Your local, closed-box thinking.

5. EDIT: Also read what @Pizzasgood said (targetless method still only identifies people one at a time).
Sep 27, 2010 ryan reign link
1. Then show off with skill. A pretty little picture creates no prestige.

2. This one is just fucking ridiculous.

3. So, your brain can actually recognize a flag faster than you can recognize a printed name and guild tag? Back that up with fact.

4. Good list them all. By the way, why is it that when ever some one disagrees with you... they are closed minded afraid of change, unable to think outside the box... blah blah, blah? Did you ever consider the possibility that your ideas suck?

Sep 27, 2010 ryan reign link
Quick question, are you high, stupid or both?

"WIN - WIN situation. No harm done ever."

The implementation of this atrocious turd you've polished and called an idea, draws time away from the developers. Time that could be used for, the economy, fixing the faction system, improving conquerable stations, player owned cappies... etc... etc.
Not to mention that your idea... (and I use the term idea in the loosest possible terms here)... does nothing to improve game play.

This is actually lose/lose.

Don't bother replying if the best you can do is...

" because of Your local, closed-box thinking."
"i think my ideas are great and i will not stop posting them because this forum is completely, totally overrun by trolls."
" if you would sometimes stop and think instead of just kicking every newbie's ass on the forums, You would also see that my ideas would make this game 10 X as interesting as it is now"
"Because its completely overrun by CONCRETE Pirates & trolls, which do not want ANY CHANGES, and they destroy anybody who proposes to make changes."
" You want this game to be space-quake like it is now forever."
"instead of trolling every one of my threads, its You who should shut up, LISTEN, and THINK. A little imagination is all it takes."
"You're just not thinking out of the box. You only see Vendetta for what it is now. I see Vendetta for what it could be. "
"You are (mostly) not getting the general conception which stands behind my ideas to improve the game, thus You rate some of them negatively."