How to implement ship interiors without breaking the game.

[Gordon Freeman IV]

Ship interiors are a big want for many commanders me included. But it would be a very large dev time feature. Here is a way to release it in "steps" instead of 1 go all the way.
Release 1 (update 13-15?): Black screen teleport to right in front of your cockpit door, walk to chair, sit down, only available when landed on planet or docked at port.
Release 2 (update 18-20): black screen teleport to the start of a corridor running throughout the ship. Where modules/pilots and crew cabins would be. Only available when at port or on planet.
Release 3 (update 24-26, early to mid 2023) cutter stairs changed to ramp with door at end corvette gets ladder deploy from cargo scoop as no external doors, ships with doors get ladders, lifts or stairs depending on the ship, exterior doors lead to airlock. After 3-5 seconds of decontamination and pressurizing airlock opens, leading to rest of ship. Modules are behind "access panels" with screens telling their status and health (reduces modeling) doors are for crew cabins, on corvette, cutter, T9/10, and anaconda a small cafeteria with 4 seats is there. A med bay and science lab on large ships (excluding clipper and Type 7,). Option to teleport remains for "quick access". Only available when landed, or docked.
HOW FRONTIER MAKES MONEY OFF THIS- sell "decorations" (thargoid statue with amount of interceptor kills on a little screen below updating each kill, maybe some posters to put up in your ship, livery for things like seats and benches, little models of ships, planets, starports to put on shelf, maybe some potted plants like in starports to have in your ship, string lights for various areas) your ship is your home, ship interiors would really drive this home. We know people will spend money on paint, lights, and other livery color. Interiors are no different. The fact that standing up is only allowed when docked or landed will save the physics engine a lot of grief as ships cannot move when "secured" a cutter could ram a sidewinder on a planet at 510 m/s and the sidewinder would not move (if it survived) in space ships are constantly physics objects. The game would not like tracking moving commanders in a moving ship.

 

[varonica]

The fact that standing up is only allowed when docked or landed will save the physics engine a lot of grief as ships cannot move when "secured" a cutter could ram a sidewinder on a planet at 510 m/s and the sidewinder would not move (if it survived) in space ships are constantly physics objects. The game would not like tracking moving commanders in a moving ship.

That is in fact something I have considered myself that would indeed make it a lot easier to have space ship interiors without the grief of physics on multiple moving bodies, but I have held off suggesting it as a possible solution to the physics issue because so many of the ship interior threads are focussed on "having something to do in space while traveling in SC," and this would be just not what they want. It is a possibility though and probably why we have moving around in FC's but forced sitting for jumps, it saves a lot of work updating physics for many different physical objects that may have many different update rates due to network latency.

 

[Cmdr Kellett781]

Pretty much had this exact thought. Even if they implemented the ship interiors all at once, I can’t see how one could be able to move around within the ship if it’s not docked or has not landed.

I’m not up on my elite lore but I don’t think there are such things as “inertia dampeners” like they have in Star Trek. When glitching to an EVA, it’s been discovered that players are equipped with mag boots. How they combine this with everything else remains to be seen.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

having something to do in space while traveling in SC

Supercruise would probably also be fine in this sense - yes, your container is changing position, and possibly direction if someone else is steering / autopilot, but it's doing so in a fairly predictable way, interacts minimally with other ships in the process, and the concourses in rotating stations can already cope with a little bit of movement. There'd need to be a fade-to-black jump back to your chair when you exited, of course.

 

[willisit]

I suspect that at a very high level, the general layout of most ships has been given some thought (some!). Because they're configurable, whereas most games with interiors are not (cargo, loadouts, passenger cabins, etc) I suspect only the generic stuff would be implemented at best.
I agree that most stuff would mean being landed, or at a standstill not in SC; the netcode means that at the moment I can collide with a friend, and they not notice (because they aren't quite there yet). Adding in the rest of the ship with movement would still be a pain in the rear (and this is out of SC!).

Although first time I read your post, all I saw was update 26 in mid-2023! Do people really think EDO will be getting updates of that nature in over a year? I hope not; most won't have the patience for it I think....

 

[GroG79]

Plz stay away from Ship interiors

Ship interiors are a big no no for many commanders me included. But it would be a very large dev time investment. We already have ship exteriors which could be much much more immersive.

 

[Gordon Freeman IV]

Supercruise would probably also be fine in this sense - yes, your container is changing position, and possibly direction if someone else is steering / autopilot, but it's doing so in a fairly predictable way, interacts minimally with other ships in the process, and the concourses in rotating stations can already cope with a little bit of movement. There'd need to be a fade-to-black jump back to your chair when you exited, of course.

I was thinking about interdiction though. If u were standing up and got pulled wouod it just TP back to pilot's seat or would it be too late to fight the interdiction.

 

[Gordon Freeman IV]

Plz stay away from Ship interiors

Ship interiors are a big no no for many commanders me included. But it would be a very large dev time investment. We already have ship exteriors which could be much much more immersive.

Well thats crazy. They are a better investment than most things. Its truly insane how people can walk everywhere EXCEPT ships they spend 80%+ of their time in. It would make exploration much more fun (having a in ship social space, manually boarding an SRV, a seamless transition from in ship to on foot not a half baked unimaginative mediocre teleport).

 

[Danny2020]

Here is a way to release it in "steps" instead of 1 go all the way.

"A way" would be the delivery of highly detailed technical design specs, which are actionable by the dev team.

You forgot to add in the attachment for that document.

 

[Danny2020]

a seamless transition from in ship to on foot not a half baked unimaginative mediocre teleport

We can all agree that would be a big improvement. The problem then becomes does the existing framework of the game lend itself to such a design?

The problem with laypeople is that many dont even understnad that this is a consideration, let alone the fact that it may be a complete dealbreaker.

And please, dont bother with digging up the years old braben videos, they are not relevant. Even if you think they are. Just becuase he said those words way back then, that has no bearing whatsoever on the current framework and the current limitations that brings along with it.

 

[Stumpii]

I think a more feasible baby step is to start with crashed ship(s) for exploration using the existing assets. We sort of have this with the exception that we can't really go inside. So the idea would be some partial portion of a ship that would allow exploration, starting off an minimal as possible. Allow increased access to the ship interior as it is developed. The ship is crashed so the interior can be simplified (burnt grey/black). FDev can pick one ship to focus on getting the game play working before starting the second.

 

[Insanerobert]

I think a more feasible baby step is to start with crashed ship(s) for exploration using the existing assets. We sort of have this with the exception that we can't really go inside. So the idea would be some partial portion of a ship that would allow exploration, starting off an minimal as possible. Allow increased access to the ship interior as it is developed. The ship is crashed so the interior can be simplified (burnt grey/black). FDev can pick one ship to focus on getting the game play working before starting the second.

I would also love to see more materials found in lockers, data points found on the on-board computers - with a possible random story to explain how the ship crashed - and other items to be scrapped from the ship systems on the crash sites. In this way, players will get access to more materials (and make engineering for on-foot items less tedious), will make surface exploration more interesting - especially on crashed sites - and possibly even get additional bonuses for sharing records and findings with Search&Rescue contacts for finding the fate of a missing pilot (although, I would love to see some buff in the rewards for those actions).

 

[Gordon Freeman IV]

I think a more feasible baby step is to start with crashed ship(s) for exploration using the existing assets. We sort of have this with the exception that we can't really go inside. So the idea would be some partial portion of a ship that would allow exploration, starting off an minimal as possible. Allow increased access to the ship interior as it is developed. The ship is crashed so the interior can be simplified (burnt grey/black). FDev can pick one ship to focus on getting the game play working before starting the second.

I have only seen crashed condas. This is a great idea. Make the inside of crashed ship then go to player ships.

 

[Bottom Hat]

I have no issue at all with players wanting interiors.

My personal view though is that unless there is a purpose beyond eye candy, it's a huge waste of dev time, for a few oooh and aaaahs.

Give us interiors with exteriors and purpose to eva, that is totally different. But is that part of the original game style? Sadly it isn't, although I can see both sides of the argument in that case for example.

I dunno, it's a huge thing, that has to take away from other development, such as the next type of planet. I'm firmly against being pigeonholed though, and being spoken for, but we can't have polls, so it's probably best just to say that speaking "for the players" is wrong and incorrect.

 

[Cmdr John Lyn]

This is sort of off topic and a little speculative, but I was in the game listening to galnet and as I listened in the cockpit the audio boomed like the sound was bouncing around an interior space and projected via my ship's intercom. I've never noticed this acoustic resonance before in elite or horizons. This is an indication to me that they are making interiors and are going to release it when Odyssey is console ready. I'm hoping that ship interiors and EVA will be as seamless as possible with no black screens. Here's hoping we will one day land get up from the seat and open an airlock all in the same 3d space.

 

[Gordon Freeman IV]

This is sort of off topic and a little speculative, but I was in the game listening to galnet and as I listened in the cockpit the audio boomed like the sound was bouncing around an interior space and projected via my ship's intercom. I've never noticed this acoustic resonance before in elite or horizons. This is an indication to me that they are making interiors and are going to release it when Odyssey is console ready. I'm hoping that ship interiors and EVA will be as seamless as possible with no black screens. Here's hoping we will one day land get up from the seat and open an airlock all in the same 3d space.

I noticed the same. I logged to horizons, to test. Not happen in horizons. Its neat

 

[Spaceman-FXL5]

I have said this before, what a complete waste for (what I assume is huge) Dev time for some minor eye candy. After walking round inside a ship once, why on earth will you want to keep walking round it? (All available controls are in the one pilots HUD in any case, I don't want to walk to Sensors console, Nav Console, Comms console, AT ALL)

Give us NPC fighter pilot in spare seats in the cabin though, that is a different issue, just by using cabin cameras to see my companion (it already works for wing mates isn't it?)
(I would also keep the cabin at a very warm 26C, to ensure we all don't need thermal/padded space suits!)

 

[Gordon Freeman IV]

I have said this before, what a complete waste for (what I assume is huge) Dev time for some minor eye candy. After walking round inside a ship once, why on earth will you want to keep walking round it? (All available controls are in the one pilots HUD in any case, I don't want to walk to Sensors console, Nav Console, Comms console, AT ALL)

Give us NPC fighter pilot in spare seats in the cabin though, that is a different issue, just by using cabin cameras to see my companion (it already works for wing mates isn't it?)
(I would also keep the cabin at a very warm 26C, to ensure we all don't need thermal/padded space suits!)

I have said 100 times actual gameplay involving ship interiors is massive. They are not just eye candy. But youre Bent on "ItS JuSt EyE cAnDy"

 

[thistle]

Give us interiors with exteriors and purpose to eva, that is totally different.

 

[Gordon Freeman IV]

I agree with this but insides can have game play meaning especially when it comes to exploration. Like new optional internals for exobiology. (Science lab to do things with your plants and increase their data value) fixing your power plant ( the module that can 1 shot you, unable to be repaired without starport or carrier) a drop bay for on foot CZs, ship tuning (interact with a panel and get a bit more performance from your ship for a short time) walking out of your ship (we have legs why cant we use them?)