Make a universal limpet controller using AFMU style mechanics, and make limpets context sensitive

[Danieros]

I partially like this idea as every limpet is bought the same way. Only the controller programming really sets the limpets apart, and I don't think there's much sense in having a different controller for every limpet type as it's just installing firmware inside them.

I dislike the idea of limpet synth and I think the current limpet in the hold system is fine. I advocate that we should be using our cargo hold for more reasons, not less. A combat ship has very little reason for having cargo holds because the we can't even bring extra ammunition in the hold, and an explorer has no need of cargo because DSS probes are freely created out of nowhere and extra modules can't be stored in the cargo hold.

The middle ground that I think would make sense is giving limpet controller modules a bit of space to hold limpets, like every other module can hold ammunition. It could also make sense that technological advancements lead to limpets being a lighter weight, so for example instead of 1 ton per limpet they could be buffed to only take something like 0.8 tons (and this is what justifies the new generation of limpet controllers being able to hold a few limpets).

Context sensitive might be too limiting in case we ever get new limpet types. It might be future-proof to have a few settings for each different context that may have limpet type overlaps. I feel that we should be able to customize our limpets behavior more.

 

[Robert Maynard]

The limpets are not free though- its just the size of module that dictates how many can be made from the available ammunition the module carries. A T-9 could fit a module that houses loads for example. The difference is limpets are no longer discrete.

Then limpets would be in limited supply and not able to be synthesised at need - which would not be much good to those in deep space.

Again, the smaller the module size, the less you carry. But it then also opens up more options for ships- is this bad?

The combined controller would reduce the required compromise in any ship build that carries more than one limpet type already - free limpets'd just be gilding it, in my opinion.

Although this is not the intention and both suggestions are separate, why is this bad? Its also illogical because I can sense the 'misuse' angle here. Why would someone who wants to grief someone use thruster disrupting drones to stop them, when all they want to do is kill you regardless? Why stop you, then kill you, when they'll just swoop in anyway?

Some players like to toy with their victims, to more effectively sponge all the fun for themselves - although this would probably end up with that type of player complaining about the fact that menu exit exists and / or that the delay is too short.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Then limpets would be in limited supply and not able to be synthesised at need - which would not be much good to those in deep space.

But they would be able to be synthed, that was in the original OP- just as AFMU ammo can be synthed if I recall right. You can harvest mats quite happily.

The combined controller would reduce the required compromise in any ship build that carries more than one limpet type already - free limpets'd just be gilding it, in my opinion.

But at the same time it simplifies things down to one module, and keeping that module fed. For me at least I'd rather have self contained utility modules than several.

Some players like to toy with their victims, to more effectively sponge all the fun for themselves - although this would probably end up with that type of player complaining about the fact that menu exit exists and / or that the delay is too short.

So its a hypothetical edge case then? Its no different to LR lasers, Grom bombs etc.

 

[Factabulous]

If you fire a limpet at a Thargoid so you want to repair it or sample it*? both are valid

* yeah, just joking, even I rarely repair 'em

Edit: Um, yeah - good idea - gets around the issue of choosing a limpet type for most cases.

 

[Rubbernuke]

If you fire a limpet at a Thargoid so you want to repair it or sample it*? both are valid

* yeah, just joking, even I rarely repair 'em

What scares me with Thargoid tissue samples is that the limpet seems to fly up the Thargoids er......passage at the back.

 

[Robert Maynard]

But at the same time it simplifies things down to one module, and keeping that module fed. For me at least I'd rather have self contained utility modules than several.

Which significantly reduces the current compromise required to use limpets, i.e. only one module rather than at least two and no requirement to carry a cargo rack at all.

So its a hypothetical edge case then? Its no different to LR lasers, Grom bombs etc.

I doubt it'd be hypothetical if they were introduced - and could be used by ships that wouldn't need to equip cargo racks.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Which significantly reduces the current compromise required to use limpets.

To me its needlessly complex, but thats my opinion, especially with infinite probes these days being on the other end.

I doubt it'd be hypothetical if they were introduced - and could be used by ships that wouldn't need to equip cargo racks.

But why? Like I said in the other thread you'd have to be totally asleep to fall prey to them, and the amount of people wanting to fiddle about with victims is negligible. I mean, has the world fallen apart due to LR laser / Grom / reverb molesting? No it hasn't.

 

[Robert Maynard]

But why? Like I said in the other thread you'd have to be totally asleep to fall prey to them, and the amount of people wanting to fiddle about with victims is negligible. I mean, has the world fallen apart due to LR laser / Grom / reverb molesting? No it hasn't.

What's the need for a ship without cargo racks to carry thruster disruption drones, if not to engage in piracy?

 

[Rubbernuke]

What's the need for a ship without cargo racks to carry thruster disruption drones, if not to engage in piracy?

Piracy requires storage space as well. But the point still stands- you would have to be flying a ship with no PD at all, really slowly and not see the lurking ship on your radar to have one reboot your drives. If anything its a PvE device built for NAV piracy. Its less fiddly too because you can then refill your controller in the 3 button landing menu.

 

[Franc Kaos]

Nothing to add but I whole heartedly endorse this request.

 

[Tividar]

Oh. Hell. Yes.

The only possible confusion would be with hatches- you could make it so hatches could only be repaired via drone if integrity was <10% for example (below the threshold for cargo spilling). They take the chance of a malfunctioning hatch over it being hacked, but even then thats fine because a malfunctioning hatch spills the cargo

Force/allow sub-targeting the cargo-hatch for Hatch-breakers and this problem goes away. Ditto Fuel Tanks for Fuel Limpets. Beaten to the punch...

• Fuel Transfer Limpet - Target Fuel Tank
• Hatch Breaker Limpet - Target Cargo Hatch
• Prospecting Limpet - Target Asteroid
• Research Limpet - Target Thargoid
• Collector Limpet - Target Cargo
• Repair Limpet - Target Ship
• Repair Limpet (self) - No Target default behavior
• Decontamination Limpet - Engineering Experimental

Add Asteroids to the list of targetable objects.
Add Fuel Tanks, Surface Deposits, Sub-Surface Deposits, and Fissures to the list of sub-targetable systems.
Change Collector Limpet behavior so that after recovering (or failing to recover) the target cargo it reverts to area pick-up.
Obsolete the Decontamination Limpet Controller and add "Decontamination Protocol" as an Experimental Effect applicable to the Universal Limpet Controller.

I like the idea of AFMU-like "ammunition" for the limpet controller, but I don't see why this setup couldn't work with the existing limpet's-in-the-cargo mechanic.

Being able to target asteroids (and sub-target deposits and fissures) would be great. In addition to being able to distinguish between prospecting and collecting, you could actually use the turret function for mining lasers. You could also collapse the SSD Missile and the SC Launcher into a single Missile Hardpoint with an "Advanced Prospecting" Engineering Experimental.

 

[Darkman Returns]

A Universal Controller just makes so much sense I can't understand why FDev haven't retro-implemented it already. There are so many gameplay interactions that are missed because you need to have a specific limpet controller and don't have it.

Stoutbeard's proposal makes good sense if FDev want to make us pay to upgrade the stock Controller to include the different capabilities.

 

[badibeat]

A compromise could be a limited number of firmware slots per Limpet Controller, which can be fitted similar to Hangar Bays. It could also allow a limited number of rebuilds per type, similar as for Ship Launched Fighters.

 

[GraphicEqualizer]

Definite yes on the universal limpet... not so much on the synthesis only and not taking up cargo space... and rather than it being immediately universal I'd rather see them 'reprogrammable' which would take a few moments/minutes so there is still an element of strategy, programming your limpets for a specific task.
PS. If they were immediately universal how would they know to repair a ship vs hacking their cargo etc. Make them programmable.

 

[ohforf3]

I partially like this idea as every limpet is bought the same way. Only the controller programming really sets the limpets apart, and I don't think there's much sense in having a different controller for every limpet type as it's just installing firmware inside them.

This is how I think a universal controller should be done. Controller can handle X limpets and has Y program slots. After installing you can pick what programs to load into the slots and add those programs into your fire controls.

Similarly I would like to see a class 2 nav com that lets you have auto dock and super cruise assist in 1 slot for the times when you are doing boring trade routes and landing so much you get dizzy.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

I suppose this, but in return, all ships should lose an internal module slot.

 

[Franc Kaos]

...
Similarly I would like to see a class 2 nav com that lets you have auto dock and super cruise assist in 1 slot for the times when you are doing boring trade routes and landing so much you get dizzy.

I'd like it if they were built into the computer and used no slots

 

[Morbad]

I dislike synthesis and dislike the magical fighter hangars that can somehow 3D print hundreds of tons more fighters than the total mass of the module they come from, so I'm completely ok with limpets taking up cargo space...though I wouldn't mind if they were reusable, to an extent.

I do think limpet controllers should be universal. The idea of programmable limpets and fixed-function controllers is some silly write-only-memory kind of nonsense

 

[Misty_Dark]

I dislike synthesis and dislike the magical fighter hangars that can somehow 3D print hundreds of tons more fighters than the total mass of the module they come from, so I'm completely ok with limpets taking up cargo space...though I wouldn't mind if they were reusable, to an extent.

I do think limpet controllers should be universal. The idea of programmable limpets and fixed-function controllers is some silly write-only-memory kind of nonsense

I was toying with the idea to have limpets controllers having a number of limpets in them, and to you either restock these on a station or use magical synthesize to restock lost limpets.

But with limited amount of limpets, they should not be one time use like today, but reusable...
So limpet are sent out and do their business and return back and get picked up again. So you could theoretically reuse these forever if they do not get destroyed... and we would treat all the stored limpets as one big pool of limpets, so we do not get anoying quirks like, I have a size 1 controller and size 7 controller, all the stored limped in my size 1 controlelr have been destroyed, so it is emptyu, but I have plenty more in my size 7 controller, but this controlelr is already controlling 3 limpets, so I can not launch another limpet form my size 1 controller...this would be really annoying, so I have a limpet available, and I "free" controller, limpet can be programmed and sent out.

For Prospector limpets, these would launch and fly to the rock and shoot the "prospector" into the rock and then return....


We select what kind of limpet by assiging what kind of limpet we want to launch by assigning what kind of limpet we will launch in the fire groups, just as it works today, but the list of available limpets to send out, would be of every kind ... so pretty long... as a bonus feature, adding the possibility to bind launching a specific limpet to a button of our choice, would be really nice


The number of limpets a limpet controller can control is the same as today, so no change there, but we could now add size 2, 4, 6, 8 limpet controllers that hold twice as many limpets than what the size 1 (2), 3 (4), 5 (6), 7 (8) do.
the examples is just for discussion, so not that I actually suggest this to be final number of limpets per controller.
So if a size 1 limpet controller can hold 5 limpets, then a size 2 limpet controller can hold 10 limpets, but they can only control one active limpet each.
So it could be something like this. I had some idea behind this madness... but they do not really match the current weight of the limpets, and my reason why we get more % increase in even sized modules is that the actuall limpet controller is the same size so all the extra space is for storing limpets.
Size 1 - 5 limpets, control 1 active
Size 2 - 10 limpets(+100%), control 1 active
Size 3 - 15 limpets(+50%), control 2 active
Size 4 - 30 limpets(+100%), control 2 active
Size 5 - 45 limpets(+50%), control 3 active
Size 6 - 90 limpets,(+100%) control 3 active
Size 7 - 135 limpets(+50%), control 4 active
Size 8 - 270 limpets(+100%), control 4 active


Optional for calculating jump range etc, limpets should be treated like cargo racks, that have a fixed weight+ what ever limpets they have stocked, so yo gain extra jump range, you could drop limpets..
The alternative for easy implementation is to have fixed weight on each limpet controller, regardless if they hold any limpets or not...





So another take on a universal limpet controller, that have a finite number of limpets available,
We have the same "balance" as today with how many limpets we can launch based on how many and what size limpet controller we have.
We can restock these with synthesize mechanics, and it should be with material you can gather with an SRV or by mining, so explorer friendly.
We get to have more sizes available so we do not feel that we have wasted some potential by placing a size 3 in a size 4 slot.
Optionally we get another option select waht kind of limpet to launch by allow us to do extra keybinds for what kind of limpet to launch (really great for players who want to build their virtual cockpit and hav ea big limpet controllpanel)