So, I'm opening this thread as I really want to have a better game. I'm enjoying very much the current incarnation of Elite, and I agree with many - most, if not all... - players in the forum that the game, although with plenty of potential, lacks many layers of gaming mechanic. In an effort to help as I can, I took many annotations during the last months. One of the topics in my list is the escape pod, and it's strange behavior. Or a lack of one...
As a little side note, I bought two extras accounts (!!!) to play in hard (ironman) mode, simply cause I do not feel that the current insurance mechanic is properly implemented. There are situations which clearly do not permit a CMDR to survive, and the other situations needs more care.
I have a simple proposal:
The Escape Pod should be deployable, as it's the reboot/repair or self-destruction routine. It could be damaged, and under extreme circunstances left inoperable, preventing a survival. It should be deployed before a "point of no return", when the hull collapse avoid the escape pod to be deployed, resulting one more time in the dead of the CMDR.
Mechanic proposal:
1) when the hull integrity reach 20%, alarms start to sound: "Danger! Extreme hull damage!"
2) reaching an integrity of 10%, an holographic text start blinking, accompanied by an audio alarm: "Escape-Pod ready to be deployed!"
FIRST LAYER
To succesfully escape and survive, the pod must be deployed before the ship destruction. It should needs at least a couple of seconds to deploy. It could be deployed from the low panel, the one which is responsible to deploy the SRV and the Fighter (maybe at the right corner?...).
SECOND LAYER
The escape-pod have an integrity value, as the hull of the ships, and it can damaged. Under certain circumstances, it will be left inoperable, preventing th CMDR survival. The following situation will heavily damage/destroy the pod, or prevent any rescue:
1) catastrophic failure at White dwarfs and Neutron stars
2) black holes (when they'll be better simulated)
3) if targeted by an opponent and repeatedly striked, WHEN STILL ONBOARD, depleting it's integrity.
THIRD LAYER (optional)
When succesfully deployed, there could be a third level of mechanic, provided by the integrity and the distance from the nearest station, which is a fixed ratio of integrity loss in space (this part really not so necessary, but doable), which is a (-%/Ly). So, for example, 1% of integrity is lost each Ly the pod has to travel to reach the nearest station... This also could force a variable time lag, so if you are really far you could not respawn instantly, as it is now. Like the "ship transport time", but with two options: slow/bulk cheap, fast/VIP expensive rescue services.
If there is no station under the maximum range, the CMDR do not survive.
Explorers could engineer and dramatically enhance the Pod integrity, under penalty of added weight to the ship.
ENHANCED INSURANCE SCREEN
Of course, you'll still have to pay the insurance for the ship, and maybe rescue fees could be apply, similar to the ship transport fee. So, if you are really far, and your pod do not have enough integrity to survive the distance to the nearest station, you could be able to hire a rescue service (if you have enough spare credits, of course...).
When succesfully escaped, the new "black screen of death" appear (think of it as the pod onboard communication system).
It presents the distance to the nearest station (or, if beneath the range, the last visited station); the time estimated to reach it; current hull integrity and estimated hull integrity to the target; rescue fee (if applicable); insurance screen.
* if some of the criteria could not be satisfied, it communicate the CMDR decease and, after that, present the new CMDR screen.
This is a behavior heavily supported in the lore and in the fictional books from the various authors.
I'm pretty convinced that this greatly enhance our gaming experience, providing more depth and meaning to a survival, giving stronger feel of danger (is it Elite: Dangerous, after all...).
Any thoughts and improvement to my proposal are extremely welcome. Let's help the Devs improve our experience!
As a little side note, I bought two extras accounts (!!!) to play in hard (ironman) mode, simply cause I do not feel that the current insurance mechanic is properly implemented. There are situations which clearly do not permit a CMDR to survive, and the other situations needs more care.
I have a simple proposal:
The Escape Pod should be deployable, as it's the reboot/repair or self-destruction routine. It could be damaged, and under extreme circunstances left inoperable, preventing a survival. It should be deployed before a "point of no return", when the hull collapse avoid the escape pod to be deployed, resulting one more time in the dead of the CMDR.
Mechanic proposal:
1) when the hull integrity reach 20%, alarms start to sound: "Danger! Extreme hull damage!"
2) reaching an integrity of 10%, an holographic text start blinking, accompanied by an audio alarm: "Escape-Pod ready to be deployed!"
FIRST LAYER
To succesfully escape and survive, the pod must be deployed before the ship destruction. It should needs at least a couple of seconds to deploy. It could be deployed from the low panel, the one which is responsible to deploy the SRV and the Fighter (maybe at the right corner?...).
SECOND LAYER
The escape-pod have an integrity value, as the hull of the ships, and it can damaged. Under certain circumstances, it will be left inoperable, preventing th CMDR survival. The following situation will heavily damage/destroy the pod, or prevent any rescue:
1) catastrophic failure at White dwarfs and Neutron stars
2) black holes (when they'll be better simulated)
3) if targeted by an opponent and repeatedly striked, WHEN STILL ONBOARD, depleting it's integrity.
THIRD LAYER (optional)
When succesfully deployed, there could be a third level of mechanic, provided by the integrity and the distance from the nearest station, which is a fixed ratio of integrity loss in space (this part really not so necessary, but doable), which is a (-%/Ly). So, for example, 1% of integrity is lost each Ly the pod has to travel to reach the nearest station... This also could force a variable time lag, so if you are really far you could not respawn instantly, as it is now. Like the "ship transport time", but with two options: slow/bulk cheap, fast/VIP expensive rescue services.
If there is no station under the maximum range, the CMDR do not survive.
Explorers could engineer and dramatically enhance the Pod integrity, under penalty of added weight to the ship.
ENHANCED INSURANCE SCREEN
Of course, you'll still have to pay the insurance for the ship, and maybe rescue fees could be apply, similar to the ship transport fee. So, if you are really far, and your pod do not have enough integrity to survive the distance to the nearest station, you could be able to hire a rescue service (if you have enough spare credits, of course...).
When succesfully escaped, the new "black screen of death" appear (think of it as the pod onboard communication system).
It presents the distance to the nearest station (or, if beneath the range, the last visited station); the time estimated to reach it; current hull integrity and estimated hull integrity to the target; rescue fee (if applicable); insurance screen.
* if some of the criteria could not be satisfied, it communicate the CMDR decease and, after that, present the new CMDR screen.
This is a behavior heavily supported in the lore and in the fictional books from the various authors.
I'm pretty convinced that this greatly enhance our gaming experience, providing more depth and meaning to a survival, giving stronger feel of danger (is it Elite: Dangerous, after all...).
Any thoughts and improvement to my proposal are extremely welcome. Let's help the Devs improve our experience!
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