Yes you read that right, I'm suggesting a point update dedicated to carnage! Obliteration! DESTRUCTION!
Loose the shackles of the hard edge box boundaries and let the horror commence!
Ahem... Haven't you noticed how everything is too pristine in the Elite Dangerous universe? When we crash our ships, our shields seem to protect not only our hulls, but the surfaces we impact. I would love to see some really nice surface deformation tech get into this game, not only that, but there are lots of other possibilities related to destruction that I will discuss below. My suggestion comprises the following:
I don't see why this concept should be insurmountable, after all, Planet Coaster already has a really advanced terrain deformation tool. The Anaconda already has a ship damage model, and destructible assets have been a thing in video games at least since the PS2 era (Red Faction 2, how I fondly remember you). Also, wing missions need to be more than just big versions of single player missions, each CMDR needs to be able to have a role - funnily enough you're already moving in that direction with the suggestion of Wings pirating Megaships - one CMDR takes out the weapons, one defends the Wing from security, and the others loot the cargo - surely that can be linked in with Wing Missions, and extended to settlement missions. I'm not saying it's a "non-trivial" task, hence why I think it would make a good full point update, but it sure as hell would be fun, and would go a little bit further to making the galaxy less of a sterile untouchable beauty and more dynamic.
Loose the shackles of the hard edge box boundaries and let the horror commence!
Ahem... Haven't you noticed how everything is too pristine in the Elite Dangerous universe? When we crash our ships, our shields seem to protect not only our hulls, but the surfaces we impact. I would love to see some really nice surface deformation tech get into this game, not only that, but there are lots of other possibilities related to destruction that I will discuss below. My suggestion comprises the following:
- Deformable planetary surfaces that react differently according to the area's composition. Currently the only surface marks we make are with our SRV tyres. But I would wager that most CMDRs have at some point crashed into a planet's surface - scraped their hulls along the floor or bumped into cliff edges. The layer of deformable material doesn't have to be thick - maybe only half the length of an Anaconda - but I would love to see ice that cracks, sand that shifts, rocks that shatter, mud that squelches, snow that compacts. This would be in response to our weapons as well as to our ships hitting them. How amazing would the Distant Stars Death Plunge have been if the fleet's destruction resulted - even ever so briefly - in the creation of massive craters around them. I'm not asking for this stuff to be persistent - just like ship battle scars, only to remain until we leave the instance.
- Destructible landing pads and control towers that crumble and break when we accidentally hit boost and ram into the floor. No more bouncing off harmlessly - let the control towers and landing pads sustain horrible damage, and let the ATC charge us for repairs to the pad and architecture. Let us still be able to land there, but before we can access starport services, make us pay for the repairs. In this case, the repairs would be instant and we'd get back to normal activity in no time, but I say the possibility would be brilliant (and a real incentive to not ram-land... or to ram-land just for the fun of it). Apply this destruction only to our assigned landing pad, so we can't troll others with it.
- Destructible Proc-Gen settlements and facilities - we already have procedurally generated settlements and facilities that pop up when we need to do a planetary surface mission, but get this - along with the deformable surfaces, make these facilities fully destructible.
- Spawn a new mission type - not just to destroy the generator, but to destroy the facility itself. Let us get in there with our weapons or by ramming - Plasma Accelerators are supposed to be orbital bombardment weapons, no? Let us detect the settlement from orbital cruise height and rain plasma fire down on the facility. Or let us destroy them with closer range bombing runs - dropping mines and firing missiles - or even get up close and personal with our cannons and lasers.
- Spawn a new Wing Mission type where you have heavily fortified proc-gen facilities; one or two CMDRs in your wing need to land and disable the facility's shield generator and weapons platforms, while the other two fight off defense ships and bomb the facility.
- Full ship damage models - Honestly, no one has a clue as to why the Anaconda is the only ship with a damage model, but this needs to be extended to the entire roster. More than that, let ram damage when unshielded be visible too. Have crumple zones on ships that will squish and wrinkle up when rammed with the shields down.
- Planetary Collisions - we already know there are colliding planets out there in the galaxy, thanks to hiccups with the Stellar Forge. Why not keep those instances in, but let them actually collide and destroy each other when a CMDR is in the system? It wouldn't be wholly realistic, but let them pass through one another until a player gets into the system. That way, the CMDR can bare witness to an awesome spectacle, and let the planets reset themselves when the system is left, so that other CMDRs can come along and enjoy the show at other times.
- Denting the sides of Starports and breaking the toast rack. I don't think I need to expand on this.
I don't see why this concept should be insurmountable, after all, Planet Coaster already has a really advanced terrain deformation tool. The Anaconda already has a ship damage model, and destructible assets have been a thing in video games at least since the PS2 era (Red Faction 2, how I fondly remember you). Also, wing missions need to be more than just big versions of single player missions, each CMDR needs to be able to have a role - funnily enough you're already moving in that direction with the suggestion of Wings pirating Megaships - one CMDR takes out the weapons, one defends the Wing from security, and the others loot the cargo - surely that can be linked in with Wing Missions, and extended to settlement missions. I'm not saying it's a "non-trivial" task, hence why I think it would make a good full point update, but it sure as hell would be fun, and would go a little bit further to making the galaxy less of a sterile untouchable beauty and more dynamic.
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