How about having a different jet output color depending on the type of engine you have?

/me likes

A "vapor trail" similar to the ships in Homeworld would be nice too. But only when boosting. Whoosh! Not too long, but a gradual fading effect with a long tail would be nice. Mmmh...

I concur with Arolte. A vapor trail that gradually faded and was coloured either with respect to your engine or to your nationality.

why id you post this twice?

Vapor trails YES. It adds a greater sense of speed and flowing movement. Who doesn't love vapor trails?

"Who doesn't love vapor trails?"

-My video card. :˜(

You don't even need pixel shaders or any other additional hardware rendering features to get vapor trails to work. It's nothing more than a 2D transparent mesh that fades over time, creating a smooth flowing gradient. Stuff like that could easily be software rendered at the least. An rglow effect could enhance it but it wouldn't be necessary. It probably won't bog down FPS rates either, since it only appears when you're boosting. And I'm pretty sure it can be turned off in a graphics menu if it is that much of an FPS hit.

could make nice art work (depending how long it lasted)

Wow, two great ideas in one thread! Must be some kind of record!
:P

...must...not...die!

I think this idea has come up before with the idea of buying metals to put in your engine.

(metals burn different colors)

Why not make the vapor trails dangerous? Itd be like a massive version of the lightcycle game, but where you have next to no chance of dying.

We're turning Vendetta into TRON now?

Youre right, where would the bass go?

Not really, paeddy. It's only for when you boost. And the vapor trail clears out quickly. It doesn't stay behind forever, making a whole mess of the sector.

Uncle Dave: Why make trails cause dammage? After all, its just used up propellant, and stuff thats already been burned. It is intert, just glowing as its cooling down. I don't think they should cause dammage.

It should last maybe a tiny bit shorter then the trails in homeworld 2. Any longer and it starts presenting a lag problem.

Eh well. That is IF the devs ever decide to use vapor trails in the first place.

Skyfox; you thought I was serious? :p

hobbo ships' trash trails *would* cause damage