Would anyone be interested in the idea of Prototype/Hidden Ships?

[Qud]

Imagine flying around the galaxy trading, exploring doing whatever when you dock and out of sheer luck decide the check the shipyard.

Clicking through you pass the sidewider... the cobra.. the orca when out of nowhere, you stumble upon a ship costing 336 million credits.

You've never seen the name before, and while it's as slow as a t9 it has 3x the shields 2 huge hard points and a (potential)FSD that can carry you just as far as an asp.

Do you hoard this secret?
Do you tell your closest friends?
Do you tell the entire community?

What do.

 

[rckstr]

Where did you find that ship?
Just kidding. Sure it would be great but it wouldn't be a secret for long

 

[M00ka]

Imagine flying around the galaxy trading, exploring doing whatever when you dock and out of sheer luck decide the check the shipyard.

Clicking through you pass the sidewider... the cobra.. the orca when out of nowhere, you stumble upon a ship costing 336 million credits.

You've never seen the name before, and while it's as slow as a t9 it has 3x the shields 2 huge hard points and a (potential)FSD that can carry you just as far as an asp.

Do you hoard this secret? <YES>
Do you tell your closest friends? <HELL NO>
Do you tell the entire community? <YEP, BUT GET THE SYSTEM & STATION WRONG >

What do.

.
In all honesty, swear like a trooper cos I only have 100 Million in credits

 

[Jinax]

Having in mind the human sphere size, technical advancement, endless colonised worlds and trillions of population total... Existence of that kind of ships is highly possible. Or even little-series ships which are very hard to obtain (imagine being allied with such independent faction and the selling locations are 1-3 stations only, with only 1 ship in store every 24 hours).
Cost for that ships must be double or triple their price compared to mass-built ships, such as the Cobra or Sidewinder. As we all know mass-production push cost lower.

How much car concerns do you know? BMW, Jaguar, VW, Audi, Lincoln, Chevrolet, Dodge, Škoda, Fiat, Renault, Peugeot... All of them are large concerns.. But what about manufacturers who build cars not by thousands/millions, but by hundreds or even single units?
By this point of view, your idea gives sense.

PS. or even, what about pirate "uglies"? (name taken from SW universe) - ships whose parts are combined from different ships.. I can imagine Vibra (viper+cobra) or Six-Asp (t6+Asp), even Cobrier (cobra with additional engines from Imp Courier) or Sidagle (sidewinder + Eagle).

 

[Qud]

Where did you find that ship?
Just kidding. Sure it would be great but it wouldn't be a secret for long

Thats the idea. ideally they would disappear after a day or two and pop back up in other spaces.

the whole point of these ships would be one of two things imo
1. prerelease of a future ship, say the corvette available without rank requirement
2. secret and only obtainable through chance encounter, stronger than your average bird
3. release of ship that normally requires rank but available to only those with a piracy record (like Buying a stolen clipper)

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Having in mind the human sphere size, technical advancement, endless colonised worlds and trillions of population total... Existence of that kind of ships is highly possible. Or even little-series ships which are very hard to obtain (imagine being allied with such independent faction and the selling locations are 1-3 stations only, with only 1 ship in store every 24 hours).
Cost for that ships must be double or triple their price compared to mass-built ships, such as the Cobra or Sidewinder. As we all know mass-production push cost lower.

How much car concerns do you know? BMW, Jaguar, VW, Audi, Lincoln, Chevrolet, Dodge, Škoda, Fiat, Renault, Peugeot... All of them are large concerns.. But what about manufacturers who build cars not by thousands/millions, but by hundreds or even single units?
By this point of view, your idea gives sense.

PS. or even, what about pirate "uglies"? (name taken from SW universe) - ships whose parts are combined from different ships.. I can imagine Vibra (viper+cobra) or Six-Asp (t6+Asp), even Cobrier (cobra with additional engines from Imp Courier) or Sidagle (sidewinder + Eagle).

PythaConda Pls.

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.
In all honesty, swear like a trooper cos I only have 100 Million in credits

Thats today, dude.

I had 56 million a week ago, now i have 140~ in assets.

trading isnt as fast as I've been told but tis real bruh

 

[IronGremlin]

I'm for this if they only spawn once, and implement ship naming.

So CMDR Stan has THE prototype cobra mk V with custom heat sink technology and a large hardpoint - "Hel's Breath"

It's a stealth ship, capable of downing even an anaconda at range without ever leaving silent running - or so they say.

Only one such ship in the entire galaxy.

 

[Cmdr Ig]

Of course, if these really are rare and exotic ships, then when you get blown up, you can't go expecting a direct replacement on the insurance... where would they replace it from? That would add a certain extra stress to proceedings....

But certainly, "hacked" ships could be interesting. For instance, ships with large internal modules jury-rigged into multiple small module slots, or with tweaked thruster capabilities - a little less boost for a bit more turn, a load more range for a hellish hit to wear and tear, various other stat tweaks. It would spice things up a little perhaps.

 

[Snarfbuckle]

I would rather see available (but rare) minor faction variants of ships with minor hidden stats instead of extremely powerful vessels with silly prices.

-Faction must rule the system to be able to sell it

-Faction variant can be ANY ship

-Faction ship stats are minor

-Ship cost should not be excessively different from existing ships but you might have to pay 10-20 percent more

-You need reputation to buy one

-Has faction paintjob added

Example:
The trading corporation Planet Express have a majority control over Farnsworth System and their Hauler variant is available at Leela Station

Name: Planet Express Hauler
Stat Change: +20% Max Speed / -20% Armour & Shield

Name: Planet Express Eagle
Stat Change: +10% weapon recharge bonus / -10% system & engine recharge

Military Variants of ships require navy standings

Name: Imperial Navy Courier
Stat Change: +1 Agility / -10% Armour

 

[Qud]

@irongremlin

That seems a little ridiculous. If you had a constant wanted state and a hella high rebuy cost okay, as I'm sure all the powers would want to get that tech for themselves via wreckage salvage.

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@snarf how is 300 million silly? These rare ships aren't supposed to be affordable they're supposed to be rare jewels in space

 

[Snarfbuckle]

@irongremlin


@snarf how is 300 million silly? These rare ships aren't supposed to be affordable they're supposed to be rare jewels in space

You've never seen the name before, and while it's as slow as a t9 it has 3x the shields 2 huge hard points and a (potential)FSD that can carry you just as far as an asp.

It's not the pricetag, its the silly stats.

The game dont really need special overpowered ships that are unique snowflakes.

They also become incredibly difficult to balance.

A better way to flesh out the universe is to have faction ships and modules.

I would rather have a choice between 10 different eagles, 10 different fixed class 1 pulse lasers than 3 unique ships hidden somewhere with silly stats.

We already have powerful ships in the game that cost a lot of money, more of them are not needed.

 

[Tarman]

It's not the pricetag, its the silly stats.

The game dont really need special overpowered ships that are unique snowflakes.

They also become incredibly difficult to balance.

A better way to flesh out the universe is to have faction ships and modules.

I would rather have a choice between 10 different eagles, 10 different fixed class 1 pulse lasers than 3 unique ships hidden somewhere with silly stats.

We already have powerful ships in the game that cost a lot of money, more of them are not needed.

I agree with this sentiment; I want a breadth and depth of selection, so that there are lots of nuanced points to consider when picking ships even of the same basic frame.

I also remember how much gear-grinding went on when modules were REALLY hard to find. If there's some Seekrit Squirrel Super Ship hidden out there, all its stats would be on Google as soon as someone peeked the code, and then it'd just be a debate about its imagined effectiveness and yapping about it being locked away randomly.

 

[Matt168]

I will be happy enough when they release all of the initial 30 ships mentioned at the launch event. Rather than having prototypes in the game, I would probably prefer a few non-playable shuttles, cargo ships etc, making populated space look a bit more, erm, populated - it's just then a question of why not make them playable...

 

[Snarfbuckle]

I agree with this sentiment; I want a breadth and depth of selection, so that there are lots of nuanced points to consider when picking ships even of the same basic frame.

I also remember how much gear-grinding went on when modules were REALLY hard to find. If there's some Seekrit Squirrel Super Ship hidden out there, all its stats would be on Google as soon as someone peeked the code, and then it'd just be a debate about its imagined effectiveness and yapping about it being locked away randomly.

Exactly.

Like spending several months after you have found a specific ship with say a bonus for 20% increased cargo scanner time and now you have found a smuggler hold module that adds an additional 20% to scanner timer but reduce your cargo by X tonnes depending on rating.

Or debating if faction B's Medium burst laser that does damage of a Large laser but with increased energy demand and slower cooling is a good choice over faction A's medium beam laser that takes twice as long to overheat but drains more energy.

 

[Snarfbuckle]

I will be happy enough when they release all of the initial 30 ships mentioned at the launch event. Rather than having prototypes in the game, I would probably prefer a few non-playable shuttles, cargo ships etc, making populated space look a bit more, erm, populated - it's just then a question of why not make them playable...

Well, they have shown that they can create different ships with the same hull with the Diamondback version so there are a lot of options there.

And that's just module sizes, then we have all the other stats they can fiddle with.

Asp Turtle - X2 small hardpoints, twice the shield strength
Asp Trailblazer - +50% Jump Range 1/2 armour and shields

 

[Apos]

I'd love some custom ships and modules, but it would have to be balanced properly and obviously you'd have to lose them as soon as you died, because insurance companies don't cover that.

Could be tied with missions and having more personal ties with minor factions.

 

[CMDR Generic EventHandler]

Since I still haven't seen a Diamond back in a shipyard, I think we already have it.

 

[Snarfbuckle]

I'd love some custom ships and modules, but it would have to be balanced properly and obviously you'd have to lose them as soon as you died, because insurance companies don't cover that.

Could be tied with missions and having more personal ties with minor factions.

For that part I would like to see a simple customization option.

1. Choose module
2. Switch some basic stats
3. Loose insurance value of module

Example:
Increasing the fire rate of a plasma accelerator to +25% to 0,5 adds +25% energy cost per shot and if you loose your ship the weapon is not included in the rebuy cost.

increasing the jump range of a frameshift drive by 20% also might increase fuel cost 20%

 

[Apos]

For that part I would like to see a simple customization option.

1. Choose module
2. Switch some basic stats
3. Loose insurance value of module

Example:
Increasing the fire rate of a plasma accelerator to +25% to 0,5 adds +25% energy cost per shot and if you loose your ship the weapon is not included in the rebuy cost.

increasing the jump range of a frameshift drive by 20% also might increase fuel cost 20%

Indeed that's how module modification would most likely work. At least for starters.

For more exotic modifications, it could also be tied to the black market as well. Because modifying that plasma accelerator might not be exactly legal. Same way most countries have laws for guns and mild or strict limitations to what is legal to citizens.

 

[Poseidal]

You should find prototypes, and then find out exactly why they were prototypes. Enjoying the insurance screen every time you FSD, for example.

 

[Tarman]

Well, they have shown that they can create different ships with the same hull with the Diamondback version so there are a lot of options there.

And that's just module sizes, then we have all the other stats they can fiddle with.

Asp Turtle - X2 small hardpoints, twice the shield strength
Asp Trailblazer - +50% Jump Range 1/2 armour and shields

The DBX and DBS are separate models. They aren't just a statswap.