Recently I was retooling my Krait Mk II and realized that I have 6 options for SLFs, but only one for SRVs. (I mean, I knew this, but it hadn't really hit me that this was odd before.) Given that the vast majority of humans are still planetbound in the Elite galaxy, and we must have Skimmers and Turrets for more than just shooting approaching SRVs, I was wondering if there are any plans to add additional Planetary Vehicle types, and if so, when?
Along those lines, I have two suggestions: Hovertanks and Stealth SRVs.
1) Hovertanks - These vehicles will accelerate slower than SRVs but have a higher top speed. In addition, they'll have much better armor (around 65 hardness like a Python or such) but also extremely weak shields, and take less fall damage on shorter falls but more on longer falls. Most importantly, they'll have no cargo or cargo scoop, but in exchange, they mount Class 1 Railguns as weapons. They are purpose-built for assaulting planetary bases.
2) Stealth SRVs - These are the other end of the spectrum from Hovertanks. They are slower all-around than either the tanks or the normal SRVs and lack any vertical boosters or any weapons. They have stronger shields than normal SRVs and the same hull, but most importantly they also have a low enough heat signature than, if they deactivate their shields and stay below 20% throttle, they become completely undetectable to base turrets. In this "stealth mode" they will only be seen by Skimmers if the scanning beam the Skimmers have scans them directly. They also have 4 cargo instead of just 2. These are purpose-built for illegal hacking/infiltration missions (if you don't want to rack up fines by using a Hovertank and just blasting your way in) but the extra cargo space would also make them a little better for recovering life pods.
So...comments? Thoughts? I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like their planetary excursions need a little more variety.
Along those lines, I have two suggestions: Hovertanks and Stealth SRVs.
1) Hovertanks - These vehicles will accelerate slower than SRVs but have a higher top speed. In addition, they'll have much better armor (around 65 hardness like a Python or such) but also extremely weak shields, and take less fall damage on shorter falls but more on longer falls. Most importantly, they'll have no cargo or cargo scoop, but in exchange, they mount Class 1 Railguns as weapons. They are purpose-built for assaulting planetary bases.
2) Stealth SRVs - These are the other end of the spectrum from Hovertanks. They are slower all-around than either the tanks or the normal SRVs and lack any vertical boosters or any weapons. They have stronger shields than normal SRVs and the same hull, but most importantly they also have a low enough heat signature than, if they deactivate their shields and stay below 20% throttle, they become completely undetectable to base turrets. In this "stealth mode" they will only be seen by Skimmers if the scanning beam the Skimmers have scans them directly. They also have 4 cargo instead of just 2. These are purpose-built for illegal hacking/infiltration missions (if you don't want to rack up fines by using a Hovertank and just blasting your way in) but the extra cargo space would also make them a little better for recovering life pods.
So...comments? Thoughts? I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like their planetary excursions need a little more variety.