Forums » Suggestions

Marker Buoys

Mar 21, 2005 mgl_mouser link
It's been suggested before that we can have Navigation Points saved in game to locate objects in a sector (such as a specific rock).

I thought of something even cooler than this: Marker Buoys.

One would buy them in a station as cargo items. Buying them one at a time, or in bulk, VO would ask to name the buoy.

Then, in a given location, one would jetisson the buoy where desired. A user selecting the buoy and getting info ('k') on it would reveal the buoy message/name.

Buoys would be non-volatile: aka, they remain in space until disposed of. They can be shot at and destroyed, or picked up.

I can see many uses for these:

-drop an in-sector note to passers-by such as guild adds
-pirate warnings
-ore location
-claim a sector as yours (Sedina B-8!)
-claim other players as yours
-buoy ralleys/threasure hunt

Buoys could look like regular cargo crates, maybe with a different color. Perhaps even color-configurable.

Any thoughts on this?
Mar 21, 2005 kihjin link
Ooo, I like this idea.

How long would the buoys last? And can they be destroyed? I suppose the first question is sort of answered by the second...
Mar 22, 2005 mgl_mouser link
Quote: "Buoys would be non-volatile: aka, they remain in space until disposed of."
Mar 22, 2005 hakamadare link
no, they'd need to have a lifetime, othewise some yahoo with too much time on his hands will buy 200,000 of them and drop them all in front of a wormhole and laugh while everyone else's frame rate goes completely to hell or the sector crashes or some such.

i'd recommend that rather than buoy expiration being based on time, each sector should have a limit on the number of buoys concurrently active. whenever someone would the n+1st buoy, the oldest buoy in the sector would expire. what's more, the buoy limit per sector should be something small, like 20, or maybe 50.

also, buoys should have mass and take up cargo space - perhaps 1 cu per 5 buoys?
Mar 23, 2005 mgl_mouser link
I would make the buoys 1cu each.

I dont see how one buoys would weigth more than typical ore. unless it's made of samosa but that's another story.
Mar 23, 2005 Forum Moderator link
Jun 26, 2007 upper case link
fm would be kind to point where this is a duplicate. it's not in the list. or was stripped long ago.
Jun 27, 2007 drazed link
We now have multi-colored cargo crates =D Drop some free gov cannons near your roid and you're set ;)
Jun 27, 2007 Whistler link
It's cleverly hidden under:

marking buoys / beacons / waypoints[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]