Handling Fleet Carriers in 2018 - Fleet Carrier Concept

[andrak]

Instead of being critical of Frontier, I'm offering a detailed concept, with mock up images, on how I'd like FD to implement fleet carriers in 2018. As said in the video, this is my opinion, what I want to see and I'm not claiming I speak for everybody.

Mods, I'd appreciate it very much if you could please let this run for a while in dangerous discussion.



The concept covers:

• Outfitting
• Module Attachments
• Storage
• NPC Crew Positions
• Squadron Goals
• Squadron Missions
• Carrier Damage and Consequence
• Carrier Relocation
• Livery

I'd like to address the following issues:

• Content, challenge, reward for end game players
• Material, data, credit and time sinks
• Player storage limits
• Player custom home bases of operations
• Conveniences and costs associated with them
• Keeping players of different skill levels and play times together

Hopefully this sparks some more ideas and debate and it would be interesting to see what others think.

Thanks go to CMDR Ashelai and CMDR Porky McBacon for their input.

[ToCoSo]

Awesome concepts, deeply thought out with a great use of existing mechanics. You have taken the idea of a carrier and blended lots of things into it.

I really like the use of NPC crew, these are criminally underused and add another thing to be engaged with, more than just upgrading ships.
Great post, great amount of effort too!

[Verdigris]

I would love to see these ideas implemented. It would be fun, provide squadron content, and just general increase the investment of the pilots. It would certainly be one of the (if not the) most robust guild housing/content systems in a modern game.

[Cosmo]

Awesome suggestions and ideas.

I would like customizable designs for e.g. Federation, Empire and Alliance themed carriers.

[Bigskill]

Ras, let me tell you got my rep.
Personally You explained my ideas of capital ship with game mechanics, awesome.
And I agree, this way FD have the opportunity to change the game without too many problems, giving players groups what the have been asking for years now.
I took a brake from ED for lot of reason, endgame reached clog problems etc, something like that will definitively going to bring me back, but if I know FD this is just a Dream, they will figure out the cheapest and shorter way to get this out.
Squadrons ship will all looks like the Gnosis one, with different symbols, you want have any more storage like we have now, is too much work for them.
They will screw up for sure, Im not very optimistic.
Also they will let you grind forever to get the rep to afford one of these guild ship.... I already now....
Good job on that video nice ideas

[Achibot]

The most beautiful part of this sort of implementation is the manner is which it allows players to have a "presence" in the galaxy without interfering with FDs philosophical style of retaining direct control of permanent expansion.

In all honesty, if they don't do something very similar to what you suggest then it will go down, at least to my mind, as one of the biggest missed opportunities in gaming history. I've thought this from the first minutes after I heard about Fleet Carriers and your video has now convinced me that the fleshed-out version of those concepts is something that would quite simply transform this game in terms of depth, without compromising width or developer control.

[r0ckhat]

Rep for the ideas, rep for the effort, rep for presentation. Thumbs up all around.
I like the idea of putting community suggestions/ideas on the newsletters; I'd take a step further and introduce a kind of voting system. Present three suggestions from the community, with links to the forum threads and get Cmdr's to vote on them. As with the delivery instant/timed discussion of 2016 (?), the voting system can be linked to a single Cmdr account.
The suggestion with the winning vote will see that suggestion appear in the game at some point.

Smaller more QoL-orientated suggestions should also be included at frequent content releases.

[Dommarraa]

Seeing as they have announced it, I guess they have a pretty good idea how they are going to do it already.
Just setting yourself up to be disappointed

[DJmack]

I am primarily a solo player and this idea would make me seriously consider finding a group to play with. I do really like how you included solo players into the idea though. I'd like more features to allow players to be able to be able to use mechanics however they choose to play by giving them options. Like how hot swapping roles or npc crew would allow my anti-social self to get more use out of multi-crew, but with significant drawbacks like not being able to fly and utilize the gunner role at the same time. Great job on the concept and video.

[Skatez69]

So much time, effort and thought has gone in to this, and an amazing idea it is, that if FDevs comment on no other suggestions, I'd love to see them respond to this one. It's a shame I can only give 1 rep

[Badben]

Great video, and rep for all the work that went into this, but no offense, I think you're way off. You're basically expecting carriers to be clones of starports that are currently in game offering missions, outfitting, commodities, black markets and so on. I do not think a carrier will have any of these things on them, nor do I really want them to. Starports are everywhere in the bubble already, and I don't need one of my own. If I'm an explorer and I want to take my carrier outside the bubble, the only thing that would benefit me is cartographics, and I'm not going to spend 5 billion to have my own mobile cartographics.

Here's what I think we can expect.
-docking
-weapons (for the carrier with some ability to do battle)
-outfitting (but only with modules you've personally stored there)
-repair (as in repair your docked ship)
-restock (but you'd have to restock the carrier too therefore)
-storage (cargo and materials)
-group communication tools of one sort or another (but that might just be built into squadrons without the need of a carrier)

In short, I do not think carriers will be mobile group starports with all the same amenities. They will be mostly a place to park your different ships, repair them, store a few things.

[Drumatiko]

Great presentation Andrak, i totally support your idea's.

[Achibot]

Great video, and rep for all the work that went into this, but no offense, I think you're way off. You're basically expecting carriers to be clones of starports that are currently in game offering missions, outfitting, commodities, black markets and so on. I do not think a carrier will have any of these things on them, nor do I really want them to. Starports are everywhere in the bubble already, and I don't need one of my own. If I'm an explorer and I want to take my carrier outside the bubble, the only thing that would benefit me is cartographics, and I'm not going to spend 5 billion to have my own mobile cartographics.

No offense, but aren't you missing the primary point of the entire video? That each group can customise their base, to suit their own playstyle (not just your one) and then only have to maintain that base in the form that is most useful to them? Presumably having a truly maxed out base would be a process of many months, trillions of credits, thousands of player-hours and cost a significant fraction of the Imperial Household Budget to maintain. Want less, it costs less in time and effort, the point is everyone can build what they want.

What you are suggesting, I would not even build. It's just a PvP base, who cares? Now I'm not saying PVP bases are bad, clearly you want one and I'm sure it would offer a lot of value for those whose main interest is PvP. But I would seriously question the wisdom of designing something that only some fraction of the playerbase would have interest in.

[andrak]

Seeing as they have announced it, I guess they have a pretty good idea how they are going to do it already.
Just setting yourself up to be disappointed

I would be very surprised if they have much of an idea of how they are going to do what they announced at the expo. If they had a preview build (which they should have done) then maybe I'd think differently.

[MarcusKross]

Great concepts and suggestions but here is what is gonna happen,

Same as all features Fdev delivered since launch it will be bare minimum with little to no use.

I will take a picture of myself licking my flight stick and post it on the forums if it turns out to be fun, engaging and rewarding.