WHAT: Allow collector limpets to in 'Area mode' to deliver stuff to friendly ships.
HOW: 1) Target a friendly ship in a Wing 2) launch Collector Limpet 3) Limpet behaves as in Area Mode, but delivers to the targetted ship.
WHY:
This would enable rewarding pirate (and mining) Wing teamwork by having a combat ship and a 'loot scow' work together - the combat ship pursues the target, cracks the hatch and distracts escorts/police, while the 'loot scow' receives the goods. It rewards teamwork by allowing both partners to be more effective than they would be alone, eg a T6 which cannot mount a huge limpet controller itself can be as effective at collecting, when assisted, as a pirate Anaconda mounting class 7 controller.
In a mining model, 'prospectors' can fan out, looking for a good strike, then work together to mine it with low powered individual beams, using their collectors to feed a cargo freighter.
It motivates teamwork between peers at any level of the game. In the existing Shark and Remora multiplayer mining model, the Shark has to be in a top-3 sized ship to mount a large enough Collector Limpet Controller to be effective, but has only a small economic advantage in this relationship.
GOTCHAS: The fair distribution of profits would require additional systems similar to the Multicrew session report.
HOW: 1) Target a friendly ship in a Wing 2) launch Collector Limpet 3) Limpet behaves as in Area Mode, but delivers to the targetted ship.
WHY:
This would enable rewarding pirate (and mining) Wing teamwork by having a combat ship and a 'loot scow' work together - the combat ship pursues the target, cracks the hatch and distracts escorts/police, while the 'loot scow' receives the goods. It rewards teamwork by allowing both partners to be more effective than they would be alone, eg a T6 which cannot mount a huge limpet controller itself can be as effective at collecting, when assisted, as a pirate Anaconda mounting class 7 controller.
In a mining model, 'prospectors' can fan out, looking for a good strike, then work together to mine it with low powered individual beams, using their collectors to feed a cargo freighter.
It motivates teamwork between peers at any level of the game. In the existing Shark and Remora multiplayer mining model, the Shark has to be in a top-3 sized ship to mount a large enough Collector Limpet Controller to be effective, but has only a small economic advantage in this relationship.
GOTCHAS: The fair distribution of profits would require additional systems similar to the Multicrew session report.