I like the idea of an equipment port. Roda also makes a good argument about the relative value of heavy ships being reduced with the addition of equipment ports to light ships. Adding 2 equipment ports to moths, taurs, hornets, rags, atlas, and mauds could work.

While I agree that equipment ports would encourage the use of currently underused utilities, I would bet that the ports are never going to make it onto a ship.

Utility/equipment ports are meant to be used in groups. While the playerbase isn't really large enough for some of these items to make it into heavy use... I believe that the current implementation of these utilities are over-nerfed, and could use some buffing, keeping in mind that they are in fact already heavily nerfed as they take up a weapon port.

Since Incarnate's issue with equipment ports seems to be balance and the idea that that there is no "perfect" ship config... I think the only chance equipment ports are going to happen is if they come with inherent disadvantages.

Like Roda's argument, Incarnates' sucks the logic dong pretty hard -- and for the same reasons. But since rationality has never been Inc's forte and it's his game, I agree that it's unlikely to happen

I thought adding a utility/add-on port is common sense since it makes ships more customizable.. Maybe I'm crazy.

You can buff add-ons all you want, but for the most part, people will never sacrifice a weapon port; at least combat wise.

I hope that these will never make it into the game. They place arbitrary restrictions on the functionality of your ship. The idea of giving your ship ports rather than built in weapons is to allow you to customize your own ship, for better or for worse. An equipment port is an unnecessarily restricted small port, where you have to outfit your ship the way we like "because we said so." How does your vision of a perfect ship compare with theirs? Maybe they like something that is strictly worse in combat, such as a gatling cannon Ragnorak, because it is their own damn game to play? The thing about an open ended game such as this is that everyone can have their own way of "winning", if you call it that. The idea is to let them play their own game not force them to play yours. This may seem counter-intuitive, then, that adding equipment ports on ships will decrease variety/choice. Compare what would happen, instead, if small ports were added. The positron whores (me) would be able to use that, miners could add mining beams/scanners, and you weirdos can see through the blue. But we already have those choices! People can use what they want in their own ships. In addition, ships like the behemoth (were) balanced for not having small ports, as they (were) unable to use items such as mineral scanners to compensate for their immense cargo hold. While you are trying to add to this freedom, you end up restricting it by creating carebear ports.

God, it is hard to type on this thing.

i must have missed the part where the OP suggested that using the equipment port would be mandatory.

+1 to the OP

'i' must have missed the part where I suggested that using the equipment port would be mandatory.

-1 to the OP

+1, Starpwn

You people are all fucking retarted. By adding a "equipment port", there is a spot to place an add-on (so people will actually use them). If you want to still sacrifice your weapon slots for additional add-ons, you still can! Adding an "equipment port" would allow add-ons to be used more frequently, hence making more ships customizable.

If you think the current system is customizable as it is, you my fella, are incredibly wrong. One of the biggest complaints among new players is the lack of customization, which is why they quit and go play Eve.

if you don't want to use an equipment port, then you don't have to.

i'd rather be forced to have a choice of running equipment in a dedicated equipment port or leaving it empty over the current situation. devs: throw us a bone (please)!

Can of Bees
If a ship have a port, any type, you can fill it or not. A Hornet has 4 small ports, and you do not have to equip all them.

An E-port on many (not all) ships, or more, would increase a lot our options for customization, including leave that E-port empty!

To make more clear, the E-ports should be equiped with equipaments that does not requires a trigger. So no offensive weapon.

--- Extending the OP ---
Some possible equipaments to be added:
-Extra power cell
-Scanners (mineral, cargo, addons, etc)
-Spoofers (cargo, ship, transponder)
-Blockers (cargo, radar, etc)
-Radar extenders (group share, ion storm, fog, long range, ...)
-ordnance automated defense (against missiles)
-Anything that does not require a trigger to act

That's what COB said, you English-challenged dolt.

Can we please get some Dev input so we can stop arguing about it and move on to argue over something else?

I think someone already quoted Inc. on this very topic.

Inc just happens to be wrong.

" i must have missed the part where the OP suggested that using the equipment port would be mandatory. "

I think that I have too. I think I've already said that I never proposed limiting equipment addons to only the equipment port. They could still be placed in weapon ports as well. And hell, they could be left empty if you wanted to, as people have already pointed out. But this way, you could still have one addon mounted any time, even if you were going to go have a fight. You wouldn't have to do what any sane combatant would do if he were out looking for a fight, what everyone I see in game does, and neglect addons in favor of guns.

ryan: we have dev input. I'm pretty sure they'll add more if something changes.

I meant more recent dev input that made any kind of logical sense.