Why is the Shipyard still just a dreary, holographic scrolling menu?

[Fray]

This certainly isn't a major issue that needs immediately addressing. However...

Buying ships in Elite is a fundamental pillar of the entire experience, and it really needs to be more than a pitiful data entry choose'n'select screen. People should be able to view all ships [that they're allowed to buy] in hangars. Short in-universe simulations - aka test flights - could even be added. I mean, loot boxes/crates in MP shooters have much more fanfair over being opened than Elite does with spending tens of millions of creds on spaceships...

Imagine a unique, brief music cue/sting (for Fed/Empire ships, traders, combat ships, etc. or perhaps one specific to each manufacturer) accompanying a very short cinematic pan/dolly of your new ship being raised into a bay - think any of the scenes in Mass Effect where the Normandy (or Tempest) is introduced. You could even have a brief over-the-shoulder shot of your character watching the ship being raised into view.

Elite does nothing to emphasise those moments when you finally pull the trigger on a major buy. It's just a click, a loading pause, and then you're sat in the flight seat of the new vessel - it should be something special, and the game needs to reinforce that. The game barely ever really shows off its greatest assets (the, by and large, superbly designed ships), so these kinds of sequences would go some way to addressing that as well.

 

[DDastardly00]

I agree with everything you said, have some Rep. The ship buying experience could be vastly improved with your suggestions. I hope Frontier see this.

I would love to see the wireframe of the ships go completely away. It honestly should be more like Forza when you are sifting through cars in your garage, you are looking at your actual cars not wire frame models. It also would be nice to see any ship kits and liveries you applied completely present in the menu screen while going through your ship inventory, would be a very nice touch.

 

[UmbraRex]

I'ma +1 this too.

great idea IMHO

 

[57thStIncident]

You are absolutely right. A lot of other games at the very least let you gaze upon your new whip in a 'hangar' view or the like. While it's more important to mostly focus on gameplay, I really have to think this would not have been very difficult at all.

From a role-play standpoint, it's also my impression that ships in the game may not be factory-fresh 'new' as many of the designs are scores or even over a century old. I can imagine selecting among them to be more like walking a used-car lot too. Sort of like gazing upon the parked MF at Mos Eisley and saying "What a hunk of junk!".

On a somewhat related note, I would be more inclined to sink actual $ into a paint job if I could
a) see it in the game a little more often (for example, when purchasing, switching ships, when first loading game etc.)
b) actually see a preview of what it would look like before purchasing
c) the camera view controls were friendlier. I'm much more used to the classic flight-sim type controls where you can easily rotate the camera around the ship.

 

[NewBlacksmurf]

Yep

I felt the same way early on and that feeling hasn't changed. Well actually it has changed after Holo-me was added.

The shipyard piece should have some pop to it. While it may not be best to go overboard, I wouldn't mind being taken into a new menu like holo-me rather than staying in the boring Orange menus.

 

[CMDR Cknarf]

When I first saw the T7, I thought the cockpit was like a big dome, or it would be high up on that ridiculous forehead of a ship.

Nope. Little bubble on the bottom. 95% forehead.

Thanks, shipyard hologram.

 

[mung0]

Hmm it ain't forza is it. Fair point. On the other hand sitting in that new cockpit; looking around your new home, taking her for a spin.. that's where the new ride good feelings are. The only problem with ed imo is that there's no test drive option.

 

[dubsdj]

I always find it amusing when you get into a ship from the year 3000 something and see those air con fans on the dash that are pretty much the same as the old fans in my Toyota corolla.
classy retro styling.

 

[mostly newish]

if you want music , may i suggest the bee gees ?

 

[Zerakue]

This would definitely be cool to see

 

[Taerlyn]

On a somewhat related note, I would be more inclined to sink actual $ into a paint job if I could
a) see it in the game a little more often (for example, when purchasing, switching ships, when first loading game etc.)
b) actually see a preview of what it would look like before purchasing
c) the camera view controls were friendlier. I'm much more used to the classic flight-sim type controls where you can easily rotate the camera around the ship.

Actually 2.4 adds previews for paint and attachments. Only while selecting them though, so you can't pan around or see what it looks like from other angles. Still a big improvement, I feel.

Also super agree with OP sentiment. Weapons and other equipment, it makes sense, you can shuffle parts all the time, but ship purchases (not rebuys) are rare and having a short little sequence would make it a lot more thrilling.

Also so being able to actually see ships before you buy would be a lot more immersive. You could even do one better to make them feel old by having random paint wear percentages on every ship in the yard. Add some character, even though it's super cheap to fix if you're a weirdo and want fresh paint.

 

[Esral Sa Nikto]

Great idea, Fray.

When I buy a new car in Forza, I get an turntable view and an announcement like "This is your new 1984 Ferrari Testarossa". And it feels great.

 

[Iskariot]

Why is the Shipyard still just a dreary, holographic scrolling menu?

Because it isn't a major issue that needs immediately addressing, I suspect.
Some things are prioritized, others are not, some never will.

One can always ask: Why this, why not that? Why that, why not this?

 

[TwoWheeledToad]

This certainly isn't a major issue that needs immediately addressing. However...

Buying ships in Elite is a fundamental pillar of the entire experience, and it really needs to be more than a pitiful data entry choose'n'select screen. People should be able to view all ships [that they're allowed to buy] in hangars. Short in-universe simulations - aka test flights - could even be added. I mean, loot boxes/crates in MP shooters have much more fanfair over being opened than Elite does with spending tens of millions of creds on spaceships...

Imagine a unique, brief music cue/sting (for Fed/Empire ships, traders, combat ships, etc. or perhaps one specific to each manufacturer) accompanying a very short cinematic pan/dolly of your new ship being raised into a bay - think any of the scenes in Mass Effect where the Normandy (or Tempest) is introduced. You could even have a brief over-the-shoulder shot of your character watching the ship being raised into view.

Elite does nothing to emphasise those moments when you finally pull the trigger on a major buy. It's just a click, a loading pause, and then you're sat in the flight seat of the new vessel - it should be something special, and the game needs to reinforce that. The game barely ever really shows off its greatest assets (the, by and large, superbly designed ships), so these kinds of sequences would go some way to addressing that as well.

Mmm... nice idea! Have some rep

 

[Stingray NGAGE]

Brilliant idea, come on FD!!!

 

[Abigor]

+1 from me yooooo

 

[fishgotnosole]

Liking the test drive idea, also the glammed up purchase process.

Rep +1 to OP.

 

[Fray]

I would love to see the wireframe of the ships go completely away. It honestly should be more like Forza when you are sifting through cars in your garage, you are looking at your actual cars not wire frame models.

I suppose there could be issues with asset loads when trying to flick through several fairly large ships all with nameplates, skins, and emblems - so perhaps one argument against upgrading the humdrum Shipyard screen would simply be ease of use.

Scrolling through your owned 'garage'/hangar would be awesome (better still, walking around your owned crafts like Test Drive Unlimited 1/2 allowed), but I reckon when buying new ships a simple ship preview or 'showroom' button could be utilised.

CQC of course, could remain a 1x1 combat session, but it would be nice to import "my ship" with "my config and engineering" and see how it performs against your ships "config and engineering", and have a 1x1 combat session.

I've never used CQC, but I rather assumed you could import your own builds. Again, a little like Forza; events for stock and tweaked entries.

But yeah, at present the only way to test fly certain ships is in the tutorials... and those aren't exactly optimum conditions for seeing whether you like how a ship handles or not.

When I first saw the T7, I thought the cockpit was like a big dome, or it would be high up on that ridiculous forehead of a ship.

Nope. Little bubble on the bottom. 95% forehead.

Thanks, shipyard hologram.

Imagine buying a house via a crappy monochrome hologram and realising those open-view windows round the side weren't actually windows... That's about as dumb as buying a spaceship via the Shipyard is.

Oh, and the T7's a beaut', and I won't hear otherwise. ; -)

On the other hand sitting in that new cockpit; looking around your new home, taking her for a spin.. that's where the new ride good feelings are.

As I said above and in the other thread that made me think about this; would you buy a house or car without seeing in in person? Or in colour?! It's surely clear the Shipyard is the way it is because it's just been neglected. But an overhaul would be a significant improvement.

For those who've been playing a while? We know how every ship looks, either because we've encountered a ton of them in the game, and/or we've seen them time and time again in Elite coverage by people like Obsidian Ant. Or, knowledge of role use and overall 'quality' means we don't exactly need to take a Corvette for a test flight because it's effectively an end-game combat/kinda-multirole craft. Same goes for familiarity with other ships; I've never flown a Vulture outside those crappy older tutorials, but I could describe its flight characteristics as well its pros and cons in terms of build.

But newer players? Making money's almost offensively easy for rookies these days, it seems, but many ships are still very pricey, and every single purchase is a big deal. And so a rookie has to make a purchase based on an awful, ugly, monochrome 2D holo, plus the not exactly thorough model descriptions? That's not a good element of game design at all.

Because it isn't a major issue that needs immediately addressing, I suspect.
Some things are prioritized, others are not, some never will.

One can always ask: Why this, why not that? Why that, why not this?

Absolutely, but as it stands it's just flat out bad design, as well as immersion breakingly incongruous (i.e. the house/car purchase comparison). As I said; loot box openings in MP games have more attention put into them - and those tend to be quite regular occurrences.

Buying ships in Elite is the core goal for all players at various points in their careers - the entire experience revolves around them, and yet the game ultimately treats them, and the moment of acquiring a new'un, like an inventory selection (which is obviously quite literally all it is).

And this surely isn't a question of 'Oh, you can have a fancier looking shipyard screen, or an exploration overhaul'. Yes, time and resources must be allocated regardless, but a shipyard tweak or overhaul wouldn't take much effort, and it would leave a long lasting impact for all players for the rest of the game's lifespan.

 

[WotnoChad]

+1 CMDR Fray. Come on FD. QL must have (please)

 

[DustyArne]

Never actually thought of this, and i like the idea..