Here's an odd thought (shields/PvP)

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Despite the fact it's actually quite hard to die, and running away is usually easy, we still get a lot of CMDRs attacking weaker ships (shame on you! ) and killing them quickly.

But what if..... Having your weapons retracted increases your shields resistance and/or HP. ..? With a delay to prevent spamming or some other exploit.
<Insert science here>

It'd help the survivability of non combat CMDRs who generally panic when confronted, and give them a bit of time to escape.
It also doesn't effect piracy too much, because limpets still bypass shields (don't they?).

Probably has holes, but I just thought of it... Lol

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

 

[CMDR Redcrest]

I could see how that would work.
Your power out put goes up with hardpoints deployed so a portion of that going to shields when hp's are retracted would make sense.

If cargo ships ever get 'trade ship modules' it could be a module to fit.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

You already get this through the distributor, don't you? With hardpoints retracted, you have 6 pips just for systems and engines. Set 4-2-0 for ~2.5x shields and still plenty of engine power.

Similarly if you're not using that power plant capacity for weapons it can be used for a bigger defensive shield+boosters+SCBs.

 

[Drelthar]

You already get this through the distributor, don't you? With hardpoints retracted, you have 6 pips just for systems and engines. Set 4-2-0 for ~2.5x shields and still plenty of engine power.

Similarly if you're not using that power plant capacity for weapons it can be used for a bigger defensive shield+boosters+SCBs.

What they said.

 

[Crimson Kaim]

Hatch breakers don't bypass shields (hence the cytos) and you want running to be even more beginner friendly than it already is?

There are two reasons why people die in this game even though they don't want to:

1. They are simply not running ANY defenses (shields, bulks, HRPs/MRPs, shielded modules, etc.).
2. They are absolutely stupid/greedy.

With 2. being the most significant problem. They simply don't have the knowledge, skill, common sense to pilot a ship out of danger. Typical ganks have the scenario of people either flying in a *straight* line, having not 4 pips to SYS or not a shield in the first place because shields are expensive. But as Rinzler states in his video "Git gud to trading in Open": The worst thing for your cr/h ... is a rebuy screen.
While I personally don't gank myself (exceptions are 8 booster prismo stacks big ships, especially Cutters), I find ganking boring, I also don't prevent it and watch most of the time for somne poor ASP to explode because it doesn't even mount 100 MJ of shields.

People are simply not willing to invest in proper defenses either via credits, materials or practice as PvE is unchallenging in the first place and since NPCs are unegnineered, there is simply nothing to prepare a non-PvP oriented player from being ganked and escape in Open Play.

Increasing defenses won't help at all. I have seen it, so often. A big ship pilot, 8 boosters. 12k MJ of shields or more. Being bombed and killed in less than 20 seconds with nothing but a hand full of mine launchers, a Grom Bomb and a single C1 LR SP railgun.
Or a Lance being molten despite its super powerful shields in less than 10 seconds by a gimballed frag Clipper because it didn't mount chaff and has no range control even though it has the strongest manouvering thrusters for its mass.

TL;DR: Not weapons kill CMDRs. Neither do CMDRs kill CMDRs. Stupidity and greed is what causes CMDRs to die.
Flying in a hotspot in open without a shield, no armor, no speed and no defenses in the first place? Yep, greedy and stupid.

 

[Bigmaec]

I think hatch breakers bypass shields?

 

[GeneralIdea1964]

You already get this through the distributor, don't you? With hardpoints retracted, you have 6 pips just for systems and engines. Set 4-2-0 for ~2.5x shields and still plenty of engine power.

Similarly if you're not using that power plant capacity for weapons it can be used for a bigger defensive shield+boosters+SCBs.

I still think OP has a point.
Your ship has to lockdown to go into SC, H-jump. Why? ... because it protects the ships hardpoints.
So... therefore your ship should be better defended when everything is tucked in than someone running around with all their bits hanging out. (oh err misses!)

 

[Speedcuffs]

I think hatch breakers bypass shields?

Definately.

 

[Geist]

There are two reasons why people die in this game even though they don't want to:

1. They are simply not running ANY defenses (shields, bulks, HRPs/MRPs, shielded modules, etc.).
2. They are absolutely stupid/greedy.

There is also being interdicted by a wing of ships with engineered weapons that shred your shield and hull before you can high wake. Doesn't happen often but when it does, ouch!

 

[Sylow]

I think hatch breakers bypass shields?

.
They do. It's just that somebody one who always keeps preaching that everybody but him has no idea, is stupid and should educate himself, once again doesn't know.
.
This irony is so beautiful and he can't help to deliver again and again...
.

 

[Crimson Kaim]

There is also being interdicted by a wing of ships with engineered weapons that shred your shield and hull before you can high wake. Doesn't happen often but when it does, ouch!

Well sure, a pack of 4 wolves will likely catch a single deer at some point. But alas, do we want to be able to always be able to escape and never be able to secure a kill every once in a while?
I personally don't mind spending 5% of my ship's value ... already grinded 100% of it ... multiple times.

 

[Achilles7]

....
While I personally don't gank myself ....

Yeah everyone, take a leaf out of Crimson's book & don't gank yourself...that's just stupid!

 

[Crimson Kaim]

Yeah everyone, take a leaf out of Crimson's book & don't gank yourself...that's just stupid!

Touché!

Though I could always fly into my own mines :|

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Hatch breakers don't bypass shields (hence the cytos) and you want running to be even more beginner friendly than it already is?

I can say with certainty they do bypass shields.

 

[Drelthar]

I can say with certainty they do bypass shields.

Well, yeah, this was added... must be well over a year ago? more? it was way before the beyond series.

They didn't at release, I think it was done part way into Horizons season?

 

[Lucius-Darcia]

Despite the fact it's actually quite hard to die, and running away is usually easy, we still get a lot of CMDRs attacking weaker ships (shame on you! ) and killing them quickly.

But what if..... Having your weapons retracted increases your shields resistance and/or HP. ..? With a delay to prevent spamming or some other exploit.
<Insert science here>

It'd help the survivability of non combat CMDRs who generally panic when confronted, and give them a bit of time to escape.
It also doesn't effect piracy too much, because limpets still bypass shields (don't they?).

Probably has holes, but I just thought of it... Lol

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

We have that already....sort of that.
All cmdrs are limited to the output of the powerplant. Where an attacking cmdr needs to reserve energy output for weapons, a pure defending cmdr can use all the energy purely on shields and defense modules up to the powerplant limit. Stacking highly on shields, scb's, boosters and reinforcements up to the limit of energy.

So what you suggest is something, players just need to do. But it is already possible!

You already get this through the distributor, don't you? With hardpoints retracted, you have 6 pips just for systems and engines. Set 4-2-0 for ~2.5x shields and still plenty of engine power.

Similarly if you're not using that power plant capacity for weapons it can be used for a bigger defensive shield+boosters+SCBs.

Basically all what he has said! I forgot to mention the pips in 4-2-0

 

[Redomus]

Snip

Agree but you forgot latency, packetdrops and p2p issues.

Sometimes you can get a lovely run of packetloss to whomever you are connected to - then the damage of 1000 plasmas hits you all at once while you do zero damage (or what feels like zero damage at any rate - worse with rapid weaponry like multicannons) in return. Had that more times than I care to mention.

 

[Crimson Kaim]

I can say with certainty they do bypass shields.

Well, then they have changed that since I last checked (which was around release where I realized piracy and viable are words that simply don't fit into one sentence). I am not updated.

 

[Tiili]

I don't think that someone who is interested in murdering new folks really cares about shield hp, they simply take the whole generator down with torpedoes/mines.

As a pirate who goes after players, I use flechette launchers to cripple modules, keeping the shields intact as it seems to encourage them to stick around a bit longer so I can either disable them completely or have more time to siphon out cargo.

Most traders who I've robbed so far don't carry any point defences, chaff or even module reinforcement packages, as they rely only on having a high amount of shield HP and high cargo cap.

Most log out when they realize that their drives broke with their shields still at 95%

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Never bothered to pirate another player. No real interest there, but I’ve done well pirating NPC’s and have had more than a few good laughs pirating pirates. Had a few good hatchbreaker loops going.