“We Want New SRVs” - But Do We?

[IndigoWyrd]

This comes up often enough to warrant my speaking up in this subject. We keep hearing various people clamor for new SRV’s, but I have to ask if new SRV’s are really what we want.

Let’s consider a few things:

1. The SRV bay is small, compact and works just fine.

2. The SRV Scarab chassis is tested and proven.

3. The potential of the Scarab is really untapped.

So what if it’s not really new SRVs that we think we want, but rather the option to customize the vehicle cassis we already have?

What sort of customization? Well, let’s start with the obvious: all of it.

Chassis armor, power plant, reactor, life support, sensors, weapons, all the way down to the wheels.

Throw some heavy, reactive armor and a cannon or rail gun on it and you’ve got your tank. Swap out your cannon turret for a laser drill and swap out the sensors and you’ve got a surface mining rig. Add an optional cargo expansion and you’ve got a decent mining rig.

Swap the sensor and turret again, switch the wheels over to a thruster assembly, change the power plant and you’ve got a high-speed assault vehicle akin to a skimmer - the possibilities and variety expand exponentially.

Meanwhile you maintain the SRV’s relatively low price. Now mix things up just a little more and allow twin-bay hangers to carry two different SRV configurations and you’ve reached a whole new potential level of game play options.

Of course, this will also mean adding the game play elements to support the additional options, as right now the SRV is somewhat limited to collecting cargo, shooting skimmers and defense points, scanning and dropping cargo items, so things like surface mining would need added. Additional interactions, such as deep research scanning, core sample collection and the like would need added as well, but that’s DLC I’d pay for gladly. What about the rest of you?

 

[[PS4] Lorenzo Waringos]

Yes, I would love this. Been thinking about it a lot as I use the SRV a lot. Maybe introduce a new hanger that could hold various modules you can fit as required, save going back to the station you could just go to your ship and configure it in there. Obviously I would keep the basic hangar for a basic SRV, for basic requirements.

 

[Sylow]

Sounds nice. But a fully modular system, including the replacement of the propulsion system, is much more work than just adding one or two new models and be done for.

So yes, your idea would be nicer than just one or "complete package" alternatives to the SRV. But realistically, considering how long we're already waiting for an alternative, i'd be more than happy if we'd just go the SLF route. Create two additional models (repulsor and tracked), which mostly vary in terms of speed, traction, armour and shields to the base SRV.

Then maybe, just maybe, provide variants of those three models, which sacrifice something in favour of something else. So one could sacrifice hull/armour for two more tons of cargo space, the next one might surrender cargo space for more speed and the next again gives up speed to gain stronger shields.

It sure isn't as pretty and flexible as suggested in the thread here. But i would be more than happy about it and it would be much less effort to build than the given suggestion here. So if given the option between "really flexible SRV building system" and "maybe a new SRV or even just a numerically different variant, along with new things to do on planets", i would always take the second.

 

[Bloodsign]

Yes, also let NPC crew drive SRVs.

 

[dm06]

I am not a planetary geologist, but how deep does it need to drill to get something useful instead of dust?...

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I am not a planetary geologist, but how deep does it need to drill to get something useful instead of dust?...

When drilling core samples, these can go quite deep. The Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia is some 7.5 miles deep.

Mining operations can extend to tremendous depths as well. Ever see one of those little drilling rings in Elite? We don’t know how deep they’re going to extract ore either.

 

[HAMM3R]

I'd like to have studded tires as an option in the outfit screen. For them icy conditions. Could be just me but the skidding and sliding tends to get annoying after a while. And being a Northerner, the fact that I'd be roving icy moons and planets thousands of Ly's from the civilization using summer tires has always baffled me. Would also make more sense to carry two around. One equipped for "arctic" expeditions and the other for regular desert/rock/stoner planets, instead of just being a 'backup'.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

Options is what I want.
Whether FDev choose to implement that by adding new SRVs or by making the existing SRVs modular is entirely up to them. I'd just like more choice.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Options is what I want.
Whether FDev choose to implement that by adding new SRVs or by making the existing SRVs modular is entirely up to them. I'd just like more choice.

And people think Pro Choice is a bad thing...

While it may prove to be more work, the not-a-season 4 upgrade should, if nothing else, show us that Frontier is capable at taking their time to work on something.

As for studded tires...

Why settle? We already, right now, make a completely modular, bolt-on, rim and wheel replacement track. Just slap these on for your icy/snowy ventures, cut your top speed, and go where no mere wheel can.

With the advent of the Icy Planet overhaul, this just seems like a logical extension.

 

[Nasc]

Had a similar thought the other day but was more thinking along the lines of making an extra SRV be something more than just "the spare".
Perhaps a setup with harder suspension to better drive on a high g world. Or spiked tired for ice, more torque for hills but less speed etc.

 

[RolloTreadway]

What (it seems to me, going by what's said on this forum) the great Eliteplaying public want is to be able to do more with an SRV. It's not about having one stamped Lakon and another stamped Core or whatever. It's more that we can choose from dozens of ships to make something that does exactly the job we want, and we can't have an SRV that's even slightly specialised.

Whatever method FD wish to use to get this done is up to them. Well, of course some people will complain about literally anything FD might do. But as long as it ends up with a bit more specialisation, I don't think you'll get more than the usual handful complaining about how we get there.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

What (it seems to me, going by what's said on this forum) the great Eliteplaying public want is to be able to do more with an SRV. It's not about having one stamped Lakon and another stamped Core or whatever. It's more that we can choose from dozens of ships to make something that does exactly the job we want, and we can't have an SRV that's even slightly specialised.

Whatever method FD wish to use to get this done is up to them. Well, of course some people will complain about literally anything FD might do. But as long as it ends up with a bit more specialisation, I don't think you'll get more than the usual handful complaining about how we get there.

That’s part of the beauty of a modular system - if you don’t want it, you don’t buy or equip it. This really is one of those Too Simple solutions. Of course, as I stated initially, this modularity does require the “things to do” to go hand in hand with it.

 

[Old Duck]

1. The SRV bay is small, compact and works just fine.

I've suggested before that Frontier could add a larger SRV by making a bay designed for ships that can carry SLF hangars.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I've suggested before that Frontier could add a larger SRV by making a bay designed for ships that can carry SLF hangars.

I’ve seen, though I wouldn’t be upset by this, I think the Scarab frame is more than suitable for all our SRV needs, if modular. A larger SRV isn’t really going to give us anything a small one can’t. If you really feel the need to move 14+ tons of cargo across a planet, buy a Sidewinder.

A 2-ton expansion (cargo rack on the roof) for the Scarab is more that suitable if you’re going surface mining, just park your ship closer.

 

[sandkid]

While there has been lots of art - mostly fan-made - for new SRV models, I suspicion OP's suggestion is likely what FDev has in mind. It certainly would make more sense and only requires reworking the graphics of the existing model to reflect its loadout.

That said...

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if FDev goes the route of new models instead because the same argument as OP would make perfect sense for another vehicle already existing in many formats: the SLF. It probably just boils down to coding where having multiple SLFs, instead of a single that can have a unique loadout, is easier to implement.

That seems like a lazy way to do it but then again, had they opted for OP design we might still not have SLFs or SRVs. Don't take that as your idea sucks, OP - I agree and would want more customization in my SRVs and SLFs. Just pointing out what is likely the reason behind the design decisions we see thus far. It kinda sucks, but such is development.

 

[VR SenseiMatty]

I introduce my concept for a new exploration SRV, or we should better call it the:

AEV - Advanced Exploration Vehicle.

STORAGE: The AEV requires a 2H/2G Planetary Hangar.
PERFORMANCE: It's lighter and 50% faster than the Scarab. It can deploy spikes from the wheels to be more stable on ice and climb steep slopes. When spikes are deployed the max speed is halved.
FIRE POWER: It is equipped with a single small mining repeater. It can break rocks and extract minerals but it is ineffective in combat against other vehicles.
CARGO SPACE: a magnetic hook is installed in the back of the AEV. When the hook is extended it can tow a canister or an escape pod. Max speed is halved and boost is disabled when the hook is deployed for vehicle stabilization and safety.
SENSOR ARRAY: The original SRV Cargo boot is replaced by a sensor array, an advanced tool for explorers.

THE SENSOR ARRAY
3 advanced sensor are installed in the sensor array:

PULSE WAVE SURFACE SCANNER ANALYZER: it works exactly the same as the mining PWS, but this detects rocks, ships, buildings and surface cracks (see below for cracks). The result of a scan is displayed with glows in different colors and the intensity. The colors indicates the signal type. The intensity indicates: when it's about rocks it says the rarity of the materials, if it's a ship or a building it says if it's human or not human. The pulse wave scanner has a 5 km radius of detection capability.

ADVANCED COMPOSITION SCANNER: It replaces the basic version. The advanced feature allows to analyze rocks and minerals before cracking them. With this information the mining repeater will be able to extract more materials from the rocks: instead of 3 materials it will extract 4 very rare, 5 rare and standard, 6 common and very common).

THE PLANETARY CORE SCANNER: The planetary core analyzer is the next step in the exploration data aquisition for the Interstellar Cartography. It is meant to add more activities and gameplay during planetary explorations and, as a side effect, increase the reward of the low-value scan of the rocky/ice landable planets.
The planetary scanner is used on Surface Cracks. These are common and can be found with the Pulse Wave Surface Scanner Analyzer.
The CMDR needs to park the AEV on top of the crack and deploy the Planetary Core Scanner Probe. The mini-game is the same as for the sub-surface missiles mining (development time limitation): holding the associated fire button the probe will start drilling into the ground. When high density and high quality soil is found just release the fire button and the probe will emit an energy pulse that analyzes the planet core.
Every successful scan adds 50,000cr of value to the planet exploration data. A maximum of 3 energy pulses can be emitted. After the third pulse no additional data will be collected for that planet. If the CMDR can successfully collect information from the 3 energy pulses he will be rewarded with a full planet detailed core scan that will increase the planet data value to 250k credits for a generic rock/ice moon, 500k cr for a HMC and 1milion for a rich metal content planet.
The CMDR will also be rewared by adding his name to the new entry in the planet description: "Core First Scanned By"

 

[M0rty]

if we upgrade our SRVs to the level of customization you outlined, i better see some redneck racing tracks and a competitve league

 

[[PS4] Lorenzo Waringos]

Has there ever been a CG involving SRVs?

Would be amazing, dozens of CMDRs, trundling across a planet surface. Hauling tiny cargo and data to help build/reconstruct a land base that (for some reason) ships could not land near.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

if we upgrade our SRVs to the level of customization you outlined, i better see some redneck racing tracks and a competitve league

You must have missed the last Killer Whales Alpha Ring Race at the guardian site. Those formations make amazing tracks!

 

[BlackSpaceCowboy]

switch the wheels over to a thruster assembly, change the power plant and you’ve got a high-speed assault vehicle akin to a skimmer - the possibilities and variety expand exponentially.

This.

If we could have a skimmer SRV the combat with other skimmers could be amazing. You could strafe left and right avoiding fire.