Forums » Suggestions

Trident docking capacity

Jan 05, 2015 Death Fluffy link
I am probably both shooting myself in the foot and about to piss a lot of people off, so here goes XD

I believe I understand why the method of docking was changed originally in that players were able to dock 4 XC's and as a result move 1600 cu of cargo.

My suggestion is to seperate the cargo area and the docking area, but limit the docking area to 175 cu per dbha, or 700 cube per Class M with a maximum allowance of 4 docked ships regardless of ship size. This would allow for the same current max capacity as well as keep the two areas distinct. Players would at most be able to dock 2 XC's or three heavy combat ships and still be able to load 4 lighter combat ships.

Ships added from station inventory would automatically go into the docked storage if they fit and never to the cargo hold.

May the flaming begin

The point being to take away the magical docking ability.
Jan 05, 2015 csgno1 link
Lets simplify. One docking space for the owner, all else goes in cargo space. Limit the owner's docking space if you think it best.
Jan 05, 2015 greenwall link
sorry, I really don't see the problem with how it currently is. Who is on the suffering end of the current 6 (not 4) XC docking ability? Must we really make changes simply for the sake of making things more "real"?
Jan 05, 2015 Death Fluffy link
I am thinking more in terms of versatility and game play.

Imagine mining with the 6 ship setup. Currently if you are doing this alone, you will have a mining rag and 5 XC's, giving you 1000 cu of potential ore storage. However, to do this, you have to undock, collect and redock for each portion. My suggestion allows you to collect the majority without this encumbrance. It also allows you to switch from mining or transport mode to farming mode without having to make a trip to M7.

Also, imagine that I exit my ship in an ec or a UDP raptor and then try to dock with an XC or rangerok. Depending on whatever else I have on the ship, I may not be able to dock making me a fairly easy target unless I can get out of the sector or dock with the station.

I wouldn't call this a priority, just my suggestion on the matter.
Jan 05, 2015 greenwall link
Ah I see... actually this makes more sense now. Honestly it would have been best if this kind of thing had been thought of in the beginning, and not later on down the line of development. Essentially what we need in capital ships is the ability to distinguish between flyable ships (stored carrier-style) and commodity ships (stored as goods).

It wouldn't be a good idea to do a redesign of the docking ability of capital ships if ship trading isn't taken into account. Indeed, hauling 6 valks or skyproms is another use of the current setup.
Jan 05, 2015 bojansplash link
I have been playing with a trident for a very short time so from my 'newbie dent owner' perspective... it should have 3 separate sections:

1. cargo hold - direct cargo storage space
2. hangar - docking up to 5 ships (accommodating gunner crew or fighter squad + pilot)
3. armory - storing weapons & equipment that can be used for re-equiping ships docked in hangar
Jan 05, 2015 abortretryfail link
Who is on the suffering end of the current 6 (not 4) XC docking ability?

Those of us who want to use the ship for something other than a over-bloated cargo hauler. Just because the owner can overload the stupid thing because of an oversight in the implementation doesn't make it useful when only two, maybe 3 other people can dock on it.
Jan 05, 2015 Conflict Diamond link
Also, imagine that I exit my ship in an ec or a UDP raptor and then try to dock with an XC or rangerok. Depending on whatever else I have on the ship, I may not be able to dock making me a fairly easy target

The owner can always dock, which led to the current exploit that you can load six ec89's up via the load menu at Latos M7, then replace them one by one by docking XC's from N-15, giving a solo trident 1200cu of cargo that won't drop if the trident is destroyed. (or 5 XC's and one mining rag for 1018cu). No one else can dock with you without hauling it back to M7 to re-fit.
Jan 05, 2015 davejohn link
It could do with sorting out one way or another. Fixing the anomaly that a npc dent in deneb can only hold one ship at a time would I think be part of this.

I would extend that to fixing the numbers for connies and hacs as part of the same exercise.
Jan 05, 2015 meridian link
The problem with the current implementation:
The cargo bay can be filled with 6 ECs, which can then be swapped out one at a time for XCs given the fact that the owner is always allowed to dock. Using this exploit allows the Trident's 800cu cargo bay to hold 1200cu of goods.

Allowing the owner to always be able to dock is a good feature, so it would be good to keep that functionality while eliminating the exploit.

Alternate solution:
Give the Trident one hanger allowing for the owner to dock (captain's hanger). The hanger can hold at most one ship regardless of the ship's size and has no impact on available cargo space. Additional ships can be stored in the cargo bay provided there's room, but they will subtract from the available cargo. The other key feature to make it work is that the owner should be able to remotely launch a ship currently in the hanger to make room for their own ship to dock.

Perhaps anyone with docking rights to the trident should be permitted to stow their ship in the hanger if it's empty, but it would be at the risk that the owner could decide to commandeer the hanger at any point.
Jan 06, 2015 Pizzasgood link
That exploit does not need a complex solution. If the owner tries to dock with a full trident, it should just automatically jettison random shit until there is room.
Jan 06, 2015 meridian link
Jettisoning random crap is not a solution.

Plus, adding the captain's hanger fixes the problem of not being able to dock with NPC tridents, as it would ensure that at least one player can always dock (or at least 2 players can dock for the non cargo transport tridents).
Jan 06, 2015 abortretryfail link
1200cu of cargo that won't drop if the trident is destroyed.

I think this needs to be fixed before anything else. If you kill somebody's Trident, the loot is your prize. Cargo on docked ships should drop when the whole thing goes kaboom.