Any news on merging limpet controllers?

[CMDR_Raikkonen]

New exploration stuff looks great, but any news on being able to have a limpet controller that does multiple things?

I think Sandro liked the idea ages ago. Do we know if it will make it in this update? Seems the perfect update for it if you ask me!

Raik

 

[Vash627]

Maybe multiple related controllers could be merged into one with a mode switch function without too many balance issues. Though I think one universal controller for all limpet functions would be too much, right? Prospecting/collection could become one thing for miners, repair/fuel transfer could be combined pretty well for rescue operations. I think hatch breakers should remain their own thing though.

 

[Thetele]

Sandro has liked many ideas in last 4 years.

 

[CMDR_Raikkonen]

Maybe multiple related controllers could be merged into one with a mode switch function without too many balance issues. Though I think one universal controller for all limpet functions would be too much, right? Prospecting/collection could become one thing for miners, repair/fuel transfer could be combined pretty well for rescue operations. I think hatch breakers should remain their own thing though.

This would indeed make sense!

 

[Stealthie]

Just mentioned a similar thing in another thread...

I seem to recall hearing that limpet controllers were being modified so they could be used without the need for a cargo rack to store limpets.

Anybody know if that's going to happen or not?

Even if a limpet controller only had a single "reload" of limpets held internally (so, 1 limpet for a C1 controller, 2 for C3 and 3 for C5 etc) that'd be handy for explorers so they could fit a repair controller, synth' a reload of limpets and then use them to repair their ship when required.

 

[TheSisko]

Sandro has liked many ideas in last 4 years.

I liked those ideas too.

Powerplay Open Only
Powerplay Freedom Fighters
Limpet Controller Arrays

I dunno. These great ideas get suggested and liked by the devs, liked by the community (well, some of them) and then....

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

They're probably locked up in a Prisoner Cell. We're still waiting on that as well.

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

Even if a limpet controller only had a single "reload" of limpets held internally (so, 1 limpet for a C1 controller, 2 for C3 and 3 for C5 etc) that'd be handy for explorers so they could fit a repair controller, synth' a reload of limpets and then use them to repair their ship when required.

You know that a C5 controller is 16 times larger than a C1?

So there is a huge amount of space being wasted.

 

[Stealthie]

You know that a C5 controller is 16 times larger than a C1?

So there is a huge amount of space being wasted.

Very true but, from a gameplay perspective, the most obvious use for a self-contained limpet controller would be things where a minimal supply of limpets would be acceptable.

It'd certainly be nice to have C5 limpet controllers that could store a heap of limpets but I'm just saying I don't think many people would mind if they only held a minimal supply.

Looking at it pedantically, however....
A C1 limpet controller weighs 2t and fits in a C1 slot.
That being the case, a C5 limpet controller (which, presumably, is just 3 x C1 controllers mashed together and, perhaps, a bit of extra machinery and circuitry) should probably only weigh 10t at most and only take up 3 x C1 slots, thus leaving enough "spare space" in a C5 slot for 16t (a C4 cargo rack) of stored limpets.

 

[Habu2u]

Per Adam Waite, apparently not currently planned.

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...Four-Exploration-Reveal?p=7010341#post7010341

 

[Dagwit]

There's no use trying to make any sense of these things.

A limpet should weigh at most about 5 kg and you should be able to pack several hundred into the space of one cargo canister.

A limpet controller should be a piece of software in the ship's communications gear.

But since they are what they are, yes, a combined limpet controller would be nice. Add it to the things that everyone, including people at Frontier, thinks they ought to do, and they may do or they may not.

 

[Stealthie]

Per Adam Waite, apparently not currently planned.

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...Four-Exploration-Reveal?p=7010341#post7010341

Ummm, unless the subsequent discussion mentions it, the post you linked to refers to the idea of merging scanner functionality and not limpet controllers.

It's a while back since I heard anything about updating the way limpet controllers would operate but I seem to recall that the feedback from FDev was all in favour of changes.

 

[Cervantes01]

Thing is, there's a lot of people out in the black who are using limpets as they are so FD won't do anything to change how things work for them as evidenced by the recent exploration changes.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Per Adam Waite, apparently not currently planned.

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...Four-Exploration-Reveal?p=7010341#post7010341

That's scanner racks, not Limpet Controllers.

But I certainly will welcome a change to the Limpet Controller System, they're out of control, and y'all missed a few:

Decon Limpets, Research Limpets, and Recon Limpets are a thing too.

 

[Gun Star]

There's no use trying to make any sense of these things.

A limpet should weigh at most about 5 kg and you should be able to pack several hundred into the space of one cargo canister.

A limpet controller should be a piece of software in the ship's communications gear.

But since they are what they are, yes, a combined limpet controller would be nice. Add it to the things that everyone, including people at Frontier, thinks they ought to do, and they may do or they may not.

Have you ever taken a close look at the limpets? They are almost as big as a person.

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

Looking at it pedantically, however....
A C1 limpet controller weighs 2t and fits in a C1 slot.
That being the case, a C5 limpet controller (which, presumably, is just 3 x C1 controllers mashed together and, perhaps, a bit of extra machinery and circuitry) should probably only weigh 10t at most and only take up 3 x C1 slots, thus leaving enough "spare space" in a C5 slot for 16t (a C4 cargo rack) of stored limpets.

Looking, even more pedantically, at the C7 limpet controller, and you get this. Which also fits a few spare limpets. Plus, it takes some effort to get the mass up to 128 tonnes.

 

[Red River]

they should just make it like ammo and come preloaded just like the guns...

 

[Stealthie]

Looking, even more pedantically, at the C7 limpet controller, and you get this. Which also fits a few spare limpets. Plus, it takes some effort to get the mass up to 128 tonnes.

Doh! >_<

An entire ship with the same capabilities as a single module without a ship wrapped around it?!

As I just said elsewhere, I really wish they'd taken some time, this year, to sort out some of these inconsistencies.

 

[Habu2u]

Oops, my bad.

 

[Vasious]

Per Adam Waite, apparently not currently planned.

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...Four-Exploration-Reveal?p=7010341#post7010341

That was combined scanner, not limpet, racks

Oh oops I am too slow

 

[RamirezKurita]

You know that a C5 controller is 16 times larger than a C1?

So there is a huge amount of space being wasted.

That could actually work quite nicely if they make the actual controller weigh in at 1 tonne with the rest of the space filled with limpets, with additional limpets being able to be loaded into cargo bays.

This would mean a C1 would carry a single limpet, a C3 carrying 6 limpets, a C5 carrying 29 and the C7 having the large capacity of 124 limpets. They could also fill in the even-numbered gaps, with them having the same limpet capacity as the class below them but a larger inbuilt capacity.

Alternatively, they could make the limpet controllers themselves weigh in at 2 tonnes a piece, so a C1 has no inbuilt storage, while the C3 carries an additional 4 limpets in its reserve.

They could even go the whole hog and say that they simply have inbuilt cargo bays, with resupply automatically loading up their internal cargo with limpets; more limpets could be loaded into the normal cargo space while the limpets can be ditched (or used) to make room for more cargo. This would actually give some much-needed scaling for mining operations in larger ships as well as making strip mining more commercially viable as larger ships could simply load up on pure limpet controllers, giving them decent lysized limpet swarms while retaining enough cargo capacity for a decent mining run. Using the additional space as a cargo bay would resolve the wasted space issue nicely while also keeping limpet numbers relatively low (launching 64 limpets from a single class 7 controller would be both overkill without major overhauls to mining lasers as well as probably killing the network connections for other players).