Occupied escape pod - some ideas to make them useful than just a commodity

Hello CMDRs!

TL;DR Making occupied escape pods an integral part of the game.

I believe that occupied escape pods are more than just a special commodity - they contain a person (CMDR or NPC) in them! Due to that, since our CMDR probably flies out of his exploding ship on one, i'm surprised this part of the game is so shallow - it's only a commodity right now!

This is why, we should be able to scan them just like any other ship, and do more scenarios with them, which will differ between NPCs and players.

NPCs:
  • We will be able to cargo scoop clean NPCs, and upon scooping, the NPC will either offer us credits to transport him home ("Transport me to [STARPORT NAME] in[SYSTEM NAME], I will give you X credits. I need to get home!") or even offer to join your crew ("Thank you for saving my life! In return, I agree to join your crew as a fighter."). You can refuse to any of these offers. If you refuse to the transport back home offer, the pod will turn into illicit/stolen cargo (They will want you to jettison them anyway), and if you refuse to the crew offer, it will turn into a transport offer ("Okay then, transport me home then, but as I'm grateful for saving my life, you will get paid. [DATA GOES HERE]").
  • If the NPC is wanted, and you scoop him and bring his pod to a starport/outpost in the system, then you may go to the contacts tab for the bounty on the NPC's head, plus a bonus (You brought him alive anyway).
  • You can shoot the NPC pods, except if the NPC is clean you will get a bounty on assaulting, and if the NPC is wanted, you just won't get the bounty.

Players:
  • If a player dies, he/she will be ejected in an escape pod. Other CMDRs that scan the pod will see the CMDR's name, and if permission is granted from the pod CMDR, will be able to be scooped.
  • The rebuy screen will be normal, except there's a button - "Wait for help" - which will make you see an escape pod's HUD, like in a ship, but with some functions (such as movement or jumping) disabled. There's life support that's always active. From here, one can open the rebuy screen freely, or call for help - either a friend, or a fuel rat that is generous enough to come and rescue you (a literal rescue!). You can rebuy your ship as normal, or get the insurance sidey.
  • Upon scooping, and upon scooper's agreement, the CMDR in the pod will be able to join his crew (a permanent spot, at least till the CMDR has enough for rebuy in case he/she doesn't have the rebuy cost), or just to be transported to a starport where the CMDR will be able to rebuy his ship (using normal rebuy) (instead of the last visited starport!).

This would add depth to the game, and give multicrew another way of joining. Plus, it will decrease the amount of "Oh no, I flew without rebuy! I lost my ship!" cases. As much as losing a ship due to lack of rebuy is an important lesson, some people prefer the sidey over waiting some time to someone.

Plus, it adds lots of roleplaying to the game! And when spacelegs go live, 2 players on 1 ship is going to be more of a thing thanks to this.


Thanks for reading the suggestion!
CMDR Adingo
 
Back
Top Bottom