Hi all.
I really don't like the current design, because it makes no sense for several reasons.
Here is a rough draft idea what would make more sense IMO. As I said it is draft, because I did not think this through, so there will be some unanswered questions. I could answer those questions, however I don't want to provide a full solution as it never will be developed.
I have 2 ideas, here is the easy one:
The base of this is the fact, that in the game we use the same limpets for everything. They are multifunctional little robots, they can do anything we want.
Your built-in computer becomes the limpet controller hardware, you just need software to program the limpets. So you don't buy and fit hardware, you buy software for your limpets. The software appears as a "weapon", which means you can configure your firing groups with the various functions. So if you have the "Fuel transfer" software then you can add that to a firing group as you can do it now.
Some programs are harder to get, maybe illegal. Better versions of the program can use the limpets hardware in a more optimal way (for example lifetime, speed, etc). Better versions of the software can control more limpets at the same time (which is an artificial limitation as an IRL software has no issue to control hundreds (if not thousands) of drones at the same time).
Basically that is the main idea, use software instead of hardware.
The more complicated version:
The base for this is the assumption that drones need to be fitted with various hardware to be able to serve specific functions. For example you need to fit an external fuel tank on it and the hardware connectors, so it can refuel a ship.
- Main computer
The limpet bay holds the limpets, a small hangar for limpets if you like. It has multiple functions:
- Refuel limpet. The limpets use fuel. They return before it is used up. If they can't return, they can be scooped up. The easy version is that the bay has its own fuel reserve which it can use. The complicated possibility is that the limpet bay uses the ship's fuel tank, but that raises a lot of questions.
- Hardware configure limpet, basically fit the limpet with the necessary hardware for the current task. Some configurations are included in all bays by default, others need specialized bays. These can be bought from different manufacturers/factions, or some may be available only by Engineering. A limpet bay which has all the functions is very expensive and may even be illegal at some places. A few examples:
- Add external fuel tank (for SoS events)
- Add repair tools/resources (for self repair and SoS events)
- Add prospector gear
- Etc.
- There are different sizes of the limpet bays as well, larger ones hold more limpets (so they don't take up space from the cargo hold any more).
The hardware configurations appear as weapons, they can be added to fire groups. Each function comes with its default controller program as well, these go into the Main computer. See details in the 1st idea.
That is the draft version again for the 2nd idea.
Other ideas to build upon the above:
Since the limpets are not consumables now, they can be more expensive.
There can be different types of limpets, for example armored ones, which can survive the crash with an asteroid. These of course would be more expensive.
Limpets can be damaged too, the bay have a function to repair them.
The bay can have limited resource to configure the drones. This can be more complex if we want, for example you would need to decide what kind of configurations you want and buy limpet bay resources accordingly. For example if you are a nice guy, you need to have an external fuel tank in the bay, so you can configure the drone for fuel transfer (1 is enough as they can be reused).
Thanks for reading.
Tango
Edit: grammar
I really don't like the current design, because it makes no sense for several reasons.
- Why are limpets consumables? The drones we use today are not consumables, why would be they one use only in the space age?? Also, we shouldn't add more garbage to space by leaving all those limpets there.
- Why do they need several tons of new hardware for each use case?
Here is a rough draft idea what would make more sense IMO. As I said it is draft, because I did not think this through, so there will be some unanswered questions. I could answer those questions, however I don't want to provide a full solution as it never will be developed.
I have 2 ideas, here is the easy one:
The base of this is the fact, that in the game we use the same limpets for everything. They are multifunctional little robots, they can do anything we want.
- Remove all limpet controller hardware from the game.
- Add 1 new hardware: Main computer (always on the ship, always 1 Tons)
Your built-in computer becomes the limpet controller hardware, you just need software to program the limpets. So you don't buy and fit hardware, you buy software for your limpets. The software appears as a "weapon", which means you can configure your firing groups with the various functions. So if you have the "Fuel transfer" software then you can add that to a firing group as you can do it now.
Some programs are harder to get, maybe illegal. Better versions of the program can use the limpets hardware in a more optimal way (for example lifetime, speed, etc). Better versions of the software can control more limpets at the same time (which is an artificial limitation as an IRL software has no issue to control hundreds (if not thousands) of drones at the same time).
Basically that is the main idea, use software instead of hardware.
The more complicated version:
The base for this is the assumption that drones need to be fitted with various hardware to be able to serve specific functions. For example you need to fit an external fuel tank on it and the hardware connectors, so it can refuel a ship.
- Remove all limpet controller hardware from the game.
- Add 2 new hardwares:
- Main computer
The limpet bay holds the limpets, a small hangar for limpets if you like. It has multiple functions:
- Refuel limpet. The limpets use fuel. They return before it is used up. If they can't return, they can be scooped up. The easy version is that the bay has its own fuel reserve which it can use. The complicated possibility is that the limpet bay uses the ship's fuel tank, but that raises a lot of questions.
- Hardware configure limpet, basically fit the limpet with the necessary hardware for the current task. Some configurations are included in all bays by default, others need specialized bays. These can be bought from different manufacturers/factions, or some may be available only by Engineering. A limpet bay which has all the functions is very expensive and may even be illegal at some places. A few examples:
- Add external fuel tank (for SoS events)
- Add repair tools/resources (for self repair and SoS events)
- Add prospector gear
- Etc.
- There are different sizes of the limpet bays as well, larger ones hold more limpets (so they don't take up space from the cargo hold any more).
The hardware configurations appear as weapons, they can be added to fire groups. Each function comes with its default controller program as well, these go into the Main computer. See details in the 1st idea.
That is the draft version again for the 2nd idea.
Other ideas to build upon the above:
Since the limpets are not consumables now, they can be more expensive.
There can be different types of limpets, for example armored ones, which can survive the crash with an asteroid. These of course would be more expensive.
Limpets can be damaged too, the bay have a function to repair them.
The bay can have limited resource to configure the drones. This can be more complex if we want, for example you would need to decide what kind of configurations you want and buy limpet bay resources accordingly. For example if you are a nice guy, you need to have an external fuel tank in the bay, so you can configure the drone for fuel transfer (1 is enough as they can be reused).
Thanks for reading.
Tango
Edit: grammar
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