So I rather enjoy landing on planets, mostly for exploration with my SRV, but I've noticed there isn't a whole lot of content on planets. These are just some ideas for land-able planets. They are divided between colonized, not colonized, and not current land-able.
COLONIZED PLANETS & MOONS
1) Systems that are suffering from various effects, such as famine, should have missions from surface bases that reflect this. These missions would be to deliver goods or execute tasks (on the same planet) to help offset the negative effect. An example would be "Deliver 6 Food Cartridges to Such and Such Camp". The mission would give a rough marker of the camp and delivery would actually be conducted through the SRV (as the camp lacks a landing pad).
2) Search & Rescue: mission states a large vessel has crash landed on the surface and scattered X number of escape pods. Crash site would be marked as central point with escape pods being distributed as much as 1km from the crash site. Use of radar would be necessary to locate the pods. Similarly, black boxes could be legally or illegally salvaged but would first need to be found among the wreckage, spread some 1km or so out.
3) Establish surveying beacons and locate ideal site for new camp or rogue colonists. Travel to three pre-determined points, deploy beacons at each, then travel to final triangulated position to either complete the task by delivering goods (1 Camp Module or some such) or eliminate the target threat(s) at that location. Triangulation points would be 20 or so km apart so as to make finding the ideal site mostly impossible.
4) Defend the Colonists! An established base has reported a hostile threat and requested assistance. Arrival at site triggers spawn of enemy ship(s) as well as ground enemies. Player must eliminate all threats with assistance of the base...or use the threats as a means to attack the base and steal? Options are always nice.
NOT COLONIZED PLANETS & MOONS
1) Prospecting Missions for materials - essentially mining on the surface where you trade in materials such as zinc or the like for rewards, just like in space.
2) Investigate mysterious signal: similar to the existing planetary scan missions, but with multiple steps. Scanning beacons triggers new locations to scan ending in the discovery of mission-specific cargo, data beacon, enemy target, or rescue target. Covers a total SRV distance of probably 4km or so, enough to be meaningful but low enough to not warrant use of ship.
3) Illegal Mining Operation - Hidden and heavily defended installation that needs to have internal reactor destroyed. Facility is enclosed, requiring use of SRV to 'enter' the facility and deal with skimmers and turrets while seeking out reactor. Basically a miniature 'dungeon' of maybe three or four rooms.
PLANETS & MOONS NOT CURRENTLY LAND-ABLE (Obviously these are much more experimental / development intensive)
1) Water Worlds: Salvage Missions that require limpets to gather cargo 'floating' on the surface. Just a fetch quest with neat scenery.
2) Water Worlds: Illegal Operation - Floating version of illegal mining operation, external turrets must be dealt with before ship can land on 'surface' of the platform. Deploy SRV and go inside to destroy reactor. Would make for way cool art assets...
3) Gas Giants: Hazardous Salvage - A Gas Giant's atmosphere is stable enough for ship entry but will slowly damage shields, then hull. Typical salvage mission but in atmosphere where cargo is 'floating' about. Limpets not necessary, but probably a good idea.
4) Gas Giants: Hazardous Mining - Unique asteroids have become trapped in the atmosphere and infused with the gases, creating amazing compounds needing to be studied. Mining laser necessary while exposed to the hazardous environment of the gas giant.
5) Icy Planets: Dangerous Rescue - Escape pods have landed in the midst of frozen lake whose surface cannot support the weight of a starship but can that of an SRV. Salvage mission that just forces you to land further away. Slippery surface will require care when scooping mission cargo. Could have holes in ice that result in rapid destruction of SRV if it does not escape / falls in.
6) Icy Planets: Mountain Salvage - Salvage mission that generates atop icy mountains with multiple paths for SRV to ascend and descend. Nature of terrain forces ship to land at base of mountain, making for a long trek in SRV. Mostly just a 'driving' mission type.
7) Icy Planets: Illegal Ice Harvesting - Enemies have erected a large ice-drilling platform you are tasked with disabling. Where the mining operation is underground and the water world underwater, the ice platform is exposed to the air but heavily defended against aerial assault. SRV will ascend the drilling platform (complete with a few slippery spots that may result in a high fall into the icy depths below) and destroy the enclosed reactor as normal
Just some ideas for new planetary content - most of it is SRV focused, but I like surface flight too if it isn't forever long (like when searching for coordinate of alien wreckage...) I'd also like to see options opened up for SRV loadouts in the future where certain SRV modules would be beneficial dependent upon these missions.
COLONIZED PLANETS & MOONS
1) Systems that are suffering from various effects, such as famine, should have missions from surface bases that reflect this. These missions would be to deliver goods or execute tasks (on the same planet) to help offset the negative effect. An example would be "Deliver 6 Food Cartridges to Such and Such Camp". The mission would give a rough marker of the camp and delivery would actually be conducted through the SRV (as the camp lacks a landing pad).
2) Search & Rescue: mission states a large vessel has crash landed on the surface and scattered X number of escape pods. Crash site would be marked as central point with escape pods being distributed as much as 1km from the crash site. Use of radar would be necessary to locate the pods. Similarly, black boxes could be legally or illegally salvaged but would first need to be found among the wreckage, spread some 1km or so out.
3) Establish surveying beacons and locate ideal site for new camp or rogue colonists. Travel to three pre-determined points, deploy beacons at each, then travel to final triangulated position to either complete the task by delivering goods (1 Camp Module or some such) or eliminate the target threat(s) at that location. Triangulation points would be 20 or so km apart so as to make finding the ideal site mostly impossible.
4) Defend the Colonists! An established base has reported a hostile threat and requested assistance. Arrival at site triggers spawn of enemy ship(s) as well as ground enemies. Player must eliminate all threats with assistance of the base...or use the threats as a means to attack the base and steal? Options are always nice.
NOT COLONIZED PLANETS & MOONS
1) Prospecting Missions for materials - essentially mining on the surface where you trade in materials such as zinc or the like for rewards, just like in space.
2) Investigate mysterious signal: similar to the existing planetary scan missions, but with multiple steps. Scanning beacons triggers new locations to scan ending in the discovery of mission-specific cargo, data beacon, enemy target, or rescue target. Covers a total SRV distance of probably 4km or so, enough to be meaningful but low enough to not warrant use of ship.
3) Illegal Mining Operation - Hidden and heavily defended installation that needs to have internal reactor destroyed. Facility is enclosed, requiring use of SRV to 'enter' the facility and deal with skimmers and turrets while seeking out reactor. Basically a miniature 'dungeon' of maybe three or four rooms.
PLANETS & MOONS NOT CURRENTLY LAND-ABLE (Obviously these are much more experimental / development intensive)
1) Water Worlds: Salvage Missions that require limpets to gather cargo 'floating' on the surface. Just a fetch quest with neat scenery.
2) Water Worlds: Illegal Operation - Floating version of illegal mining operation, external turrets must be dealt with before ship can land on 'surface' of the platform. Deploy SRV and go inside to destroy reactor. Would make for way cool art assets...
3) Gas Giants: Hazardous Salvage - A Gas Giant's atmosphere is stable enough for ship entry but will slowly damage shields, then hull. Typical salvage mission but in atmosphere where cargo is 'floating' about. Limpets not necessary, but probably a good idea.
4) Gas Giants: Hazardous Mining - Unique asteroids have become trapped in the atmosphere and infused with the gases, creating amazing compounds needing to be studied. Mining laser necessary while exposed to the hazardous environment of the gas giant.
5) Icy Planets: Dangerous Rescue - Escape pods have landed in the midst of frozen lake whose surface cannot support the weight of a starship but can that of an SRV. Salvage mission that just forces you to land further away. Slippery surface will require care when scooping mission cargo. Could have holes in ice that result in rapid destruction of SRV if it does not escape / falls in.
6) Icy Planets: Mountain Salvage - Salvage mission that generates atop icy mountains with multiple paths for SRV to ascend and descend. Nature of terrain forces ship to land at base of mountain, making for a long trek in SRV. Mostly just a 'driving' mission type.
7) Icy Planets: Illegal Ice Harvesting - Enemies have erected a large ice-drilling platform you are tasked with disabling. Where the mining operation is underground and the water world underwater, the ice platform is exposed to the air but heavily defended against aerial assault. SRV will ascend the drilling platform (complete with a few slippery spots that may result in a high fall into the icy depths below) and destroy the enclosed reactor as normal
Just some ideas for new planetary content - most of it is SRV focused, but I like surface flight too if it isn't forever long (like when searching for coordinate of alien wreckage...) I'd also like to see options opened up for SRV loadouts in the future where certain SRV modules would be beneficial dependent upon these missions.
