An idea I've been working on for a bit. As it stands, Fleet Carriers are nothing but a massive credit dump. I can't even call it an investment because an investment is supposed to pay for itself or at least help get said investment back. No one in their right mind is going to use a Carrier's stores to buy a ship or modules when they can just go to Shinrarta or any LYR system to get them for less and I doubt refueling and restocking is going to pay for the weekly upkeep.
So instead why not make Fleet Carriers actually functional for the game's jobs? I won't go into pricing as I'm not entirely certain how to price tag these:
For Exploration:
So instead why not make Fleet Carriers actually functional for the game's jobs? I won't go into pricing as I'm not entirely certain how to price tag these:
For Exploration:
- Probe Salvo Module: Fires probes at all the bodies in the system, sacrificing the potential efficiency bonus for time and ability to just planetfall and explore while the probing is taken care of. Time taken varies depending on how far away the bodies are and how many a system has (I.E. a system with a single planet 500ls away will be done a lot faster than one with 60 bodies with some over 400kls away). 30 minute cooldown.
- Signal Analyzer: Essentially the same as scanning the Nav Beacon, automatically identify all signal sources in the system. 30 minute cooldown.
- Astral-Class FSS: Performs an automatic general-scan of all bodies in the area, but not signals. Identifies them all but probing will still be required to get detailed information. 30 minute cooldown
- Fighter Support: Call forth a small squadron of fighters from the Carrier. Since, you know. It's a carrier. Cost varies depending on what kind of fighter is implemented. 24 hour cooldown at the very least to prevent spamming. Not sure what else could be done combat-wise without turning these into someone's personal army and ruining combat balance
- GalNet Link: The Carrier can browse through available data to find the best selling price for a certain commodity, adding to the game something that everyone and their mother uses third party tools for.
- Capital-Class Pulse Wave Analyser: Performs a grand scale pulse of the area, marking valuable asteroids for longer, identifying ones with the item you're trying to mine, and highlighting asteroids with Cores differently. Maybe a 5 minute cooldown?
- Cargo Fleet: Allows the commander to buy and sell commodities in their ship without landing in the station as long as the Carrier is near it, with a small fee to pay for the hauling, allowing a Large ship to buy and sell at outposts.
- Mission Board Uplink: Allows the Carrier to connect to the mission boards of local stations. Missions can be accepted this way but must still be turned in at their respective station to obtain rewards.