(This first part is a case for the ship, for its actual description see below.)
Were getting fleet carriers soon, a mechanic that I am increasingly excited for. However I've had this idea kicking around for a while that has taken on suggestions and concepts from other forum posts and other CMDRS I have spoken to. I personally enjoy playing the support role in most games I own, in battlefield I played the medic, in the old battlefront games I played the mechanic who dutifully and continuously repaired the carrier shield generators. I enjoy facilitating other player's fun in game and clearing the board for the "maximum sweat zero remorse" players to do their thing. The problem I have had in elite is that, aside from regenerative lasers there is not much you can do in combat to help support combat.
Repair, decontamination, and fuel transfer limpets make for a useful mechanic post combat but none of these tings help repair damaged internal modules. Meaning that eventually, unless you have an AFMU you have to depart a combat zone and find a station to get you topped up. This is fine when the station is a short flight, though it still breaks up one of Elite's core game play loops and at times its made my simply log out and come back later to handle the maintenance portion of game-play.
When playing with a wing, especially in remote locations and CG's have to break off and visit the nearest station is a chore that inevitably leaves one or two friends combat ineffective and gone while the other two try to hold the instance open. There is a huge hole in game play around support and no ship that has been explicitly designed to fill it. We have several ships designed for combat, thargoid hunting, more for exploration, more for trading, and even a few tailored specifically for passenger transport. However there are no ships set up specifically for support, that are no ships in the game set up with the express intention of keeping other ships in the fight.
Vessel Description:
The Field Support Ship is a large class vessel with a footprint comparable to the Beluga Liner. Designed by Lakon the vessel sports the same raw practicality in its design profile. Its core hull pulls inspiration from the type 7, being long and rectangular with a large glass canopy and support for two or more extra crew. This core hull will be longer than the type 7, with large engines, 4 large hard-points, and 2 medium hard-points. Its optional internals include one size 8, three size 7, two size five, two size three, and two size one. Its core internals will be comparable to the Imperial Cutter except that it will possess the largest power distributor available in game, and it will support eight utility slots.
The long rectangular hull will feature four large scaffold arms which fold inward against the hull while the hard-points are retracted. These scaffolds act as docking arms which can grapple small and medium ships, holding them externally and binding them to the support ship. While docked; attached vessels have no control of their ships, cannot fire weapons, and cannot charge their FSD but can be damaged by other hostile ships while docked. Docked vessels are dependent on the carrier for protection while receiving repairs, but are protected by the carrier's shield in addition to their own while docked.
Player ships will dock using the same interface as a ship launched fighters, except that you must be in a wing with the carrier instead of being part of its crew. Holographic docking brackets will appear once a docking request is granted, and player ships need only fly through the rings to complete a docking sequence. When docked player ships un-dock using the same interface as they would at a station.
Hull repairs begin automatically at the rate of the maximum sized repair limpet controller, but cost systems power while doing so. Additional power is drained from the carriers systems capacitor to charge docked vessels shields at a rate of 25% greater than normal, broken shields also regenerate 25% faster than normal. Module repairs of docked ships are performed using the resources of the carrier's on board AMFU, and will no longer be possible once the AFMU is drained of ammo.
The carrier's combat capacity would be limited, especially when carrying other vessels. The mass of docked ships is added to the mass of the carrier the same way cargo is treated, and will affect tis carriers maneuverability. It should be slow, comparable to the type 10 with worsening maneuverability as more ships are attached. The carrier will be highly dependent on turreted hard points in order to maintain harassing fire, but will offer the capability to support a large shield as an offset though its hull and armor will be weak forcing pilots to keep to the edge of engagements and encouraging enemy players to attack and drive them away.
Would be cool if eventually the small carrier can transport ships in super-cruse and hyperspace, but I'll leave that in the pipe dream bin for now.
Were getting fleet carriers soon, a mechanic that I am increasingly excited for. However I've had this idea kicking around for a while that has taken on suggestions and concepts from other forum posts and other CMDRS I have spoken to. I personally enjoy playing the support role in most games I own, in battlefield I played the medic, in the old battlefront games I played the mechanic who dutifully and continuously repaired the carrier shield generators. I enjoy facilitating other player's fun in game and clearing the board for the "maximum sweat zero remorse" players to do their thing. The problem I have had in elite is that, aside from regenerative lasers there is not much you can do in combat to help support combat.
Repair, decontamination, and fuel transfer limpets make for a useful mechanic post combat but none of these tings help repair damaged internal modules. Meaning that eventually, unless you have an AFMU you have to depart a combat zone and find a station to get you topped up. This is fine when the station is a short flight, though it still breaks up one of Elite's core game play loops and at times its made my simply log out and come back later to handle the maintenance portion of game-play.
When playing with a wing, especially in remote locations and CG's have to break off and visit the nearest station is a chore that inevitably leaves one or two friends combat ineffective and gone while the other two try to hold the instance open. There is a huge hole in game play around support and no ship that has been explicitly designed to fill it. We have several ships designed for combat, thargoid hunting, more for exploration, more for trading, and even a few tailored specifically for passenger transport. However there are no ships set up specifically for support, that are no ships in the game set up with the express intention of keeping other ships in the fight.
Vessel Description:
The Field Support Ship is a large class vessel with a footprint comparable to the Beluga Liner. Designed by Lakon the vessel sports the same raw practicality in its design profile. Its core hull pulls inspiration from the type 7, being long and rectangular with a large glass canopy and support for two or more extra crew. This core hull will be longer than the type 7, with large engines, 4 large hard-points, and 2 medium hard-points. Its optional internals include one size 8, three size 7, two size five, two size three, and two size one. Its core internals will be comparable to the Imperial Cutter except that it will possess the largest power distributor available in game, and it will support eight utility slots.
The long rectangular hull will feature four large scaffold arms which fold inward against the hull while the hard-points are retracted. These scaffolds act as docking arms which can grapple small and medium ships, holding them externally and binding them to the support ship. While docked; attached vessels have no control of their ships, cannot fire weapons, and cannot charge their FSD but can be damaged by other hostile ships while docked. Docked vessels are dependent on the carrier for protection while receiving repairs, but are protected by the carrier's shield in addition to their own while docked.
Player ships will dock using the same interface as a ship launched fighters, except that you must be in a wing with the carrier instead of being part of its crew. Holographic docking brackets will appear once a docking request is granted, and player ships need only fly through the rings to complete a docking sequence. When docked player ships un-dock using the same interface as they would at a station.
Hull repairs begin automatically at the rate of the maximum sized repair limpet controller, but cost systems power while doing so. Additional power is drained from the carriers systems capacitor to charge docked vessels shields at a rate of 25% greater than normal, broken shields also regenerate 25% faster than normal. Module repairs of docked ships are performed using the resources of the carrier's on board AMFU, and will no longer be possible once the AFMU is drained of ammo.
The carrier's combat capacity would be limited, especially when carrying other vessels. The mass of docked ships is added to the mass of the carrier the same way cargo is treated, and will affect tis carriers maneuverability. It should be slow, comparable to the type 10 with worsening maneuverability as more ships are attached. The carrier will be highly dependent on turreted hard points in order to maintain harassing fire, but will offer the capability to support a large shield as an offset though its hull and armor will be weak forcing pilots to keep to the edge of engagements and encouraging enemy players to attack and drive them away.
Would be cool if eventually the small carrier can transport ships in super-cruse and hyperspace, but I'll leave that in the pipe dream bin for now.
