I was a bit disappointed in the initial release of Horizons and decided it was time for a break. I came back to look at the new changes and after two weeks of playing I am finding that some things simply aren't making any sense:
Horizons and Multi-Crew
Honestly, being as Multi-Crew is a horizon's exclusive, I thought it would have been totally focused on planetary exploration and burning down bases with a support ship to watch over you like big brother. I mean, you can still do this without Multi-Crew but it is in-efficient. Honestly, this feels unfinished and I really hope it is, because I'd love to hear some word that "this is coming".
Limitation of Player Multi-Crew Roles
I was a little disappointed to see that a friend couldn't take my helm or that I couldn't jump out in a fighter. Is there some technical limitation that prevents this?
NPC Multi-Crew Roles
So far, NPC Crewmen are way too volatile and expensive for simply just being fighter pilots. An elite NPC doesn't feel "elite" by any stretch and still "bites the big one" by effortlessly ramming your ship every hour or so. Also, if you die, you permanently lose that NPC and the invested credits to get them to their rank. But I'm OK with that, if the NPC's could do a little more than ram your ship, such as taking on a mechanical role in the ship to give a small, yet passive hull heal, or passive shield regen/resistance, etc once they reach the rank of Elite. I mean, if the NPC's are going to take their cut of the profits whether they are on active or inactive duty, we might as well put their butts to work.
Some "buffs" the elite crewmen can add:
* The Apprentice Engineer: Enhanced module performance (ie, AFM uses 0.50 the charges per repair)
- Years spent with a random engineer has rubbed off on this crewman
* The Refugee: Shields have 5% more hp
- Years spent embattled with tyranny has taught this crewman to further enhance defensive systems
* The Nerd: Shields regenerate 10% faster
- As a hobby, this crewman likes making things go faster, such as shields recharging faster by overclocking the shielding core and rigging up and maintaining hydro-cooling solutions
* The Mechanic: Hull passively heals 2hp/s
- After years of fixing your ship when you dock, this crewman has found the perfect spot to affix a permanent repair limpet.
* Rocket Scientist: Ship maneuverability 5% better
- A propulsion expert that was on the team that developed one of the first cool ion engines. While they haven't made your engines perform better, they know just where to place your cargo and fuel on your ship for optimal performance.
Just a few but there is more
The Holographic Universe
I can understand the telepresence of fighters being as they're "supposed to die", but the holographic presence of another player? That is disappointing. It does seem like semantics, I'll admit, but I believe that two players should be on the same station for multi-crewing and as advertised, they share the same risk as the helmsman -- including losing their life in the event of a death. My dream, while I realize may not be the dream of FDev, is to one day realize that I'm on a ship with 2 real crew mates, land on a lush planet, walk off the ship with guns in hand and have to deal with some of the local wild-life or players to truly allow for an immersive and diverse gaming experience.
I know quite a few folks that play other space-games like Empyrion and Space Engineers that DO NOT like the space arena and having a full, unbound, spherical camera. My wife, for instance, gets disoriented very quick and others just can't seem to grasp the flight mechanics of Newtonian physics. However, these folks play both Empyrion and Space Engineers quite often and contribute to our community quite well by staying on planets and relying on space pilots to ferry them from one planet to the other. Let's face it, in a few years (or ten or twenty) FDev will be facing a very harsh competitor with a director that has a proven track record of "showmanship" that will have this feature and I would hate to see this community evaporate because of it. So, it is my hope that one day this mechanic is realized, but a "holographic presence" just seems to be eliminating that possibility.
Other Stuff
I'm hoping that sometime in the near future the ability to trade credits with other players and station inventories are added. With the new module storage in stations I'm not sure why cargo, data, and material storage wasn't also added, if even without the ability to transfer those items. But again, I hope to hear "this is coming".
Horizons and Multi-Crew
Honestly, being as Multi-Crew is a horizon's exclusive, I thought it would have been totally focused on planetary exploration and burning down bases with a support ship to watch over you like big brother. I mean, you can still do this without Multi-Crew but it is in-efficient. Honestly, this feels unfinished and I really hope it is, because I'd love to hear some word that "this is coming".
Limitation of Player Multi-Crew Roles
I was a little disappointed to see that a friend couldn't take my helm or that I couldn't jump out in a fighter. Is there some technical limitation that prevents this?
NPC Multi-Crew Roles
So far, NPC Crewmen are way too volatile and expensive for simply just being fighter pilots. An elite NPC doesn't feel "elite" by any stretch and still "bites the big one" by effortlessly ramming your ship every hour or so. Also, if you die, you permanently lose that NPC and the invested credits to get them to their rank. But I'm OK with that, if the NPC's could do a little more than ram your ship, such as taking on a mechanical role in the ship to give a small, yet passive hull heal, or passive shield regen/resistance, etc once they reach the rank of Elite. I mean, if the NPC's are going to take their cut of the profits whether they are on active or inactive duty, we might as well put their butts to work.
Some "buffs" the elite crewmen can add:
* The Apprentice Engineer: Enhanced module performance (ie, AFM uses 0.50 the charges per repair)
- Years spent with a random engineer has rubbed off on this crewman
* The Refugee: Shields have 5% more hp
- Years spent embattled with tyranny has taught this crewman to further enhance defensive systems
* The Nerd: Shields regenerate 10% faster
- As a hobby, this crewman likes making things go faster, such as shields recharging faster by overclocking the shielding core and rigging up and maintaining hydro-cooling solutions
* The Mechanic: Hull passively heals 2hp/s
- After years of fixing your ship when you dock, this crewman has found the perfect spot to affix a permanent repair limpet.
* Rocket Scientist: Ship maneuverability 5% better
- A propulsion expert that was on the team that developed one of the first cool ion engines. While they haven't made your engines perform better, they know just where to place your cargo and fuel on your ship for optimal performance.
Just a few but there is more
The Holographic Universe
I can understand the telepresence of fighters being as they're "supposed to die", but the holographic presence of another player? That is disappointing. It does seem like semantics, I'll admit, but I believe that two players should be on the same station for multi-crewing and as advertised, they share the same risk as the helmsman -- including losing their life in the event of a death. My dream, while I realize may not be the dream of FDev, is to one day realize that I'm on a ship with 2 real crew mates, land on a lush planet, walk off the ship with guns in hand and have to deal with some of the local wild-life or players to truly allow for an immersive and diverse gaming experience.
I know quite a few folks that play other space-games like Empyrion and Space Engineers that DO NOT like the space arena and having a full, unbound, spherical camera. My wife, for instance, gets disoriented very quick and others just can't seem to grasp the flight mechanics of Newtonian physics. However, these folks play both Empyrion and Space Engineers quite often and contribute to our community quite well by staying on planets and relying on space pilots to ferry them from one planet to the other. Let's face it, in a few years (or ten or twenty) FDev will be facing a very harsh competitor with a director that has a proven track record of "showmanship" that will have this feature and I would hate to see this community evaporate because of it. So, it is my hope that one day this mechanic is realized, but a "holographic presence" just seems to be eliminating that possibility.
Other Stuff
I'm hoping that sometime in the near future the ability to trade credits with other players and station inventories are added. With the new module storage in stations I'm not sure why cargo, data, and material storage wasn't also added, if even without the ability to transfer those items. But again, I hope to hear "this is coming".
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