Forums » Suggestions

capship sightings relayed to owner

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Feb 21, 2022 We all float link
We should also look at this old quote from Inc when considering this suggestion:

" Spotter bots are undesirable and are being eliminated from the game "

So the question is: does a capital ship relaying info to its owner = spotter bot?

Personally, i would say no. I would use that intel to tell me when someone has found my capital ship and if i need to go back to defend it. Additionally, placing a capital ship in a busy sector and getting updates of comings and goings of other players would get annoying fast. That constant stream of data would need an off switch in settings.

To that end: the capship should relay ALL ship traffic. NPCs and players alike. That alone would keep it from being used as a spotter in a station sector. All that npc traffic would cause most users to to turn it off.
Feb 21, 2022 Undeniable link
So the question is: does a capital ship relaying info to its owner = spotter bot?

Yes , Some players will purposely leave their capships all over the map and monitor whole sector with a single capship.These days a single player owns multiple capships under several characters/accounts. Like Scotiaknight said a group of players will place it all over the map in all useful places/stations. This makes spotting players too easy , sorry if i'm blunt but all the recent suggestions i'm seeing here is to make things easy :- whether for Pirates or Manufacturers. We need people to play this game the way it is. It's not hard to login & fly & catch players manually.

In short : It removes the need to manually fly a combat/chase ship & find players manually.

Umm.. no. Spotter bots are not intended gameplay.. at all. They've been ignored up to a point, but they've been getting out of hand for awhile.
Feb 21, 2022 Undeniable link
I'd also like to reply on this statement:-"I would use that intel to tell me when someone has found my capital ship and if i need to go back to defend it".

Developers already added a notification feature "which notify players when their capship is under attack" along with "Attacker name"
Feb 21, 2022 We all float link
That is a different notification than i want. Knowing if you ship is under attacker or deshielded is much different than knowing if someone just found your ship and you want to get back to defend it (or message it to move sectors).
Feb 21, 2022 Sid123 link
While I don't own a capship, I have seen how fast they can be deshielded and killed so receiving a notification after they have been deshielded is too late. So receiving a notification when ships enter a sector is required. And their use as spotter bots can be limited by the suggestions made by haxmeister and We all float.

Also, Undeniable, "making things easy" is in itself not a bad thing. If making things easy serves to make gameplay more enjoyable and rewarding, it should be implemented. The NFZ rules made things easier for newbs. The qbeam made mining easier for cappie owners. Etc. The problem, as in the suggestion rules, arises when it makes things one-sided. And allowing cappies to relay info is useful for all players alike.
Feb 22, 2022 biretak link
Scotiaknight, My ship is usually in grey or deneb. Why suggest an insulting idea like this? Nobody wants to harass new players.

scotiaknight: you can guarantee those ships wont be placed anywhere that puts them in legitimate danger. they will be placed in dau and other magic systems, in nfz's, and used to harass new players. they wont be attacked any more then, than they are now, which is almost never. thats literally the OPS whole playbook. all kinds of fluff excuses to benefit pirates. it benefits no one else.
Feb 22, 2022 Undeniable link
I have seen how fast they can be deshielded and killed so receiving a notification after they have been deshielded is too late

My opinion differs: I have seen how hard it became for some non capship pilots. These days players already have follow/park commands along with Attacker notification. I have seen some players immediately calling their capships to follow them when it is under attack to avoid conflict.

If making things easy serves to make gameplay more enjoyable and rewarding, it should be implemented.

Spotter bots in any shape or form is bad for the game as a whole. Some players have multiple capships under different accounts.Someone can open several clients on their PC & place them all over the map.Basically if you own like 4 capships someone will be able to park them in 4 different systems/sectors & will ask them to follow before someone even manage to attack. This imo effect the combat part of gameplay.

If you're leaving your capships for any reason, it should involve the risk of doing so.

However i'd +1 this idea, if the owner of the capship stop getting notifications after certain time like let's say 5 minutes & will be required to redock to enable spotting notifications again.This will stop players from leaving their capships purposely for longer periods of time in useful locations to use them as spotter bots.
Feb 22, 2022 SkinWalker link
+1

This is not a "spotter bot" related issue.

This is matter of logically available technology for a space faring civilization. If I have a ship in a given sector with coms, it follows that I should have access to that ship's radar/sensors. Not allowing access is offering a "magic solution" since it would certainly be a magical reason why I'd be blind to my ship's sensors three systems away.

To guard against them being parked as spotters in NFZs, give them 30 minutes of spots. Then it goes dark if it stays in the NFZ. Reason: the advertisement signage floating around the stations interferes with ships sensors (that friggin' BUZZING!).

But honestly, if the decision is ultimately to NOT provide us with capship spots, I'm fine with it. Most of my capship kills are because I located the unattended ship in an empty sector. Without being spotted. I just think it's logical to see whatever my ship sees wherever I am.