Can we have escape pods back? (aka "Take em alive! I want prisoners!!!")

[TheSisko]

In the original game, destroying a ship would unleash an escape pod. I think they should return to ED and unleash some decent gameplay with them.

Imagine taking on a Pirate Lord (have you seen the mission boards? The bubble is full of them these days! ) and capturing the Pirate Lord's escape pod. Sure, you could hand over the prisoner to the police (for an reasonable exchange fee), or maybe you could give him/her back to the Pirate Faction - for an outrageous exchange fee.

Either way, it would be a great use for those invisible Prisoner Cells which (like Comets) are in the game but not viewable for some reason.

Maybe that Pirate Lord's faction could contact you via a tip-off:

You have our Pirate Lord. We wish to.....negotiate, for his release. Meet us at this system. Come quickly. Come alone.

You could just keep the Pirate Lord prisoner and face an endless number of attempts to retrieve him - the exact reverse of the current hostage missions!

Maybe capturing him and keeping him/her as a 'guest' would eventually trigger a tip-off:

I've put some Void Opals away for a rainy day. Stashed them at this system. They're yours - if you let me go.

Or you could sell Pirate Lord into slavery......what? Don't look at me like that, this galaxy is cruel at times.

You could even feed them to Thargoids. Hell, I've heard some humans out there are hungry thanks to the Blight, and, well.......everyone's gotta eat.........right? Just tell the buyers you've found a supplier of animal meat, they'll never know. If they say 'this meat tastes funny' tell em its that new Impossible Burger stuff. .......I am a bad Commander?

Anyway, bring back Escape Pods!

 

[Yaffle]

Not a bad idea - you could shoot or scoop in the original, the latter going to slaves. Sidestepping the obvious problems doing this with players (there's not much gameplay stuck in your hold) there's a lot to be had from this.

We get 'Dead or Alive' missions, the latter getting more $$$ as you'll be a target from the pirate's buddies until you get to the station and hand them over.

Or, you get a popup like the 'mission critical message' we get now from the pirate's gang, who offer you rep/cash for repatriating, but makes you decrease rep with the bounty issuing faction. If you can trust the pirates to let you leave once the pirate lord has been dropped off with them, of course.

 

[SpeakerToAliens]

Now that's a damn fine idea.

 

[Retropolitan]

So am I the only one that used to shoot those escape pods? Really?

 

[Zieman]

Yeah, why not?
Because multiplayer.

 

[xzanfr]

Anyway, bring back Escape Pods!

ED would do well to play oolite which absolutely nailed the concept and implementation of escape pods using pretty much same ideas as noted by TheSisko.
On a general level, ED could learn a lot from oolite.

 

[WR3ND]

+1 Nice idea.

I suppose Commander pods would have some diplomatic immunity to being scooped up by other Commanders instead of a rescue team, or something, something... to facilitate the instant rebuy option in the game.

 

[TheSisko]

Yeah, why not?
Because multiplayer.

I admit I was thinking about NPCs in my opening post. To make this work in Open play, maybe you could pay credits to the Commander who took you hostage. Or with the aid of your trusty space legs, you break out of your prisoner cell, fight your way to the bridge and seize control of the ship. If Frontier are really creating 3D interior models of the ships, they might as well use them.

 

[TheSisko]

ED would do well to play oolite which absolutely nailed the concept and implementation of escape pods using pretty much same ideas as noted by TheSisko.
On a general level, ED could learn a lot from oolite.

Didn't know about Oolite, thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Cmdr Nemo]

So am I the only one that used to shoot those escape pods? Really?

Before they changed what passenger's do when they don't want to pay. I'd abandon them in space. Unassuming they were in escape pods, when I find any pods while mat hunting on a planet, I destroy them.

 

[ebbrell]

Oh yeah I remember the escape pods.

 

[S~P]

If memory serves me when you scooped up an escape pod they were automatically turned into slaves. Which seems like a fitting end for a pirate.

 

[xzanfr]

Didn't know about Oolite, thanks for the heads-up.

The best link for it is here: http://www.oolite.org/download/
Give it a go, especially if you're a fan of the original version of the game.
Interestingly there's a lot of mods which have covered many of the issues that ED are encountering, so give a good indication of things that work and things that don't.

A couple of you're excellent ideas about the escape pods have been explored (in a more simplistic environment) and I feel that the sell for slaves / release mechanic & trying to capture or choose to destroy mission targets in escape pods works particularly well.

 

[Reggit]

I for one boasted a large collection of my friends frozen corpses in Eve Online back in the day...

And what was it in Diablo...Ears i think....lol

....I could get behind that again - Mwhahaha!

 

[rrobes]

Great idea, been suggested before years ago, nothing was done then, now?

Wouldn't bet my Life Support on it.

"Hello?
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone at home?
Come on, now..."
Pink Floyd

FD?

 

[TheSisko]

The best link for it is here: http://www.oolite.org/download/
Give it a go, especially if you're a fan of the original version of the game.
Interestingly there's a lot of mods which have covered many of the issues that ED are encountering, so give a good indication of things that work and things that don't.

A couple of you're excellent ideas about the escape pods have been explored (in a more simplistic environment) and I feel that the sell for slaves / release mechanic & trying to capture or choose to destroy mission targets in escape pods works particularly well.

Damn! Its more Elite than Elite Dangerous! I know what I'm playing on my next day off work. Thank you for the link.

 

[TheSisko]

Great idea, been suggested before years ago, nothing was done then, now?

Wouldn't bet my Life Support on it.

Neither would I, but a Commander can dream, right?

 

[metatheurgist]

ED would do well to play oolite which absolutely nailed the concept and implementation of escape pods using pretty much same ideas as noted by TheSisko.
On a general level, ED could learn a lot from oolite.

Yep, there's a lot things oolite does better then ED.

 

[SAB380]

This was in the original game discussions back in the Kickstarter and DDF days.

 

[insanephoton]

+1 Nice idea.

I suppose Commander pods would have some diplomatic immunity to being scooped up by other Commanders instead of a rescue team, or something, something... to facilitate the instant rebuy option in the game.

My personal head canon is that PF escape pods aren't really escape pods but a form of teleportation. Essentially you die but a new copy of you is made in whatever station. It would explain why your ship explodes when you run out of air. You could even say that it's restricted to the PF because either they own the technology and won't share it, or it's considered too risky by everyone else.