Post 2.4 Core Gameplay Improvements : Planets (non atmospheric)

[ChrisT]

As we are all discussing what might happen post 2.4, in what we might call for now "Season 3", though I understand the season model may be replaced with another. But still, it will be a tranche of work that will probably last for say a year. And so within that period, lets discuss a single topic within this thread.

Just some points

• Please keep your comments here on topic, so no drifting off onto Exploration, or Quality of Life enhancements.
• Please be as verbose as you can, fully explain what you would like to see Added, Remove or Tweaked,and WHY, benefits?
• Please be civil and positive, you may not agree with ideas, but lets discuss it, not devolve into an A vs B slanging match...

Planets (non atmospheric)

 

[ChrisT]

I love planets, dont we all? But right now, they are just so bare. So I would like...


A joined together world(s). Right now, our planets do have locations on them. They tend to be monolithic, such as large bases, and cities, but they can be totally bare, and only show small random locations.

I'de love to see the permanent locations on planets go up in number with MANY more smaller / mid sized locations. These locations should be dispersed in logical clusters, that mimic what would happen here on Earth. For instance, if we have a high metal content world, lets see some mines on it, actually mining that metal. If we have mines, then you'd expect them, for cost reasons to be within a reasonably short distance to a Town/City. That settlement acts as a hub for multiple mines in the area.

We need roads to connect these locations.

For Larger settlements and industry we could have rail systems carrying passengers and industrial goods / ores

We need vehicles travelling along roads, carrying goods / equipment / ores back and forth.

We nee to see a variety of vehicles supporting these industries. Diggers at mines, ore trucks and so on.

Id be happy over a year, to see discrete releases that focus on industry, transport, locations.

So to kick things off, lets have a Indutsry / Mining expansion for planets, with Mining locations, deep cast, and tunnel mining locations. One or two new vehicles to key in with these locations, and this release would introduce road networks, connecting groups of mines together, and together with local settlements / space ports. If we expand this to industry, we can have smelting locations for ores. Or chemical processing plants. With tankers taking their goods to ports, or other facilities for further processing.

Lets start make worlds feel more alive. The main reason for colonising an airless planet seems to me to be for industry. So lets get some industries out there on planets.

 

[dogsolitude_uk]

Roads linking settlements would be awesome... We could race each other in SRVs!

Settlement lights should be slightly visible on the dark sides of planets I think, or at least visible from further away when approaching them. Admittedly they'd be pretty faint (the average settlement being about the same size as an out-of-town industrial park), but being able to view them as tiny faint lights from a distance would, I think, add to the sense of scale.

 

[dogsolitude_uk]

Also, how about greenhouses on planets around suitable stars?

 

[Hydrino]

I don't think adding roads and traffic is what is meant by Core Gameplay.

That might be QoL or enhanced graphics. Unless you can propose what I am supposed to do with that stuff as a pirate, explorer, salvager, mercenary, or trader?

 

[dogsolitude_uk]

Good point, well made

 

[Retrograde]

I don't think adding roads and traffic is what is meant by Core Gameplay.

That might be QoL or enhanced graphics. Unless you can propose what I am supposed to do with that stuff as a pirate, explorer, salvager, mercenary, or trader?

I agree some gameplay would be needed. How about railroads featuring futuristic behemoth trains, heavily armoured, with turret rockets? They would provide dynamic mobile targets with cargo cannisters spilling out after taking them out. There could be missions to either protect them or take them out. They would also just look cool, hurtling through the landscape.

And perhaps not quite on topic, but I really hope SRV combat gets a bit more interesting. We need something like secondary fire - grenade launcher - or something to add a bit more depth to it.

 

[NW3]

How about automated mining robots (AMRs)? I know there are serious limitations as to persistent game elements, so I'll present something I think is possible with the game's current limitations in mind.

1. Each player can have a limited number of AMRs, say 10. (All numbers are merely initial suggestions and should be tweaked for gameplay.)
2. They are expensive.
3. They look like a large SRV towing a trailer, but there is no cockpit.
4. One AMR fits in a double-size SRV compartment in a ship.
5. An AMR can only be transported when empty.
6. Only the owning player and his wingmates/multi-crew can see these AMRs (or perhaps everyone in an instance can see them).
7. AMRs can mine either commodities or crafting materials.
8. They also gather their own fuel, similar to an SRV.
9. Each AMR harvests one type of mineral/element, which is selected from the planet's available materials at time of deployment.
10. AMRs work on timers, much like ship transfer.
11. They produce 1 unit/ton of common materials per hour, ranging to 12 hours to produce 1 unit/ton of very rare materials.
12. Materials must be transferred to the ship via SRV. When a player's SRV is nearby, they can scan the AMR, which triggers the ejection of up to 20 units of materials or 2 tons of cargo, which the player collects in the usual way.
13. The 1-second long scan will also report the amount of materials remaining and whether or not the AMR has been pirated.
14. Once an AMR has produced say 100 units of materials or 32 tons of commodities, it stops producing (until a player comes and collects the materials).
15. A player can see the status of each AMR in a UI panel in the ship. The status consists of: system, planet/moon, harvest-type and (calculated) number of units/tons collected. The predicted quantity might not match the actually quantity, due to piracy.
16. Based upon elapsed hours since last visit, system security level, and rareness of the harvest-type, there is a chance that an NPC pirate has stolen some of the collected materials. This is random and is determined when a player first scans an AMR and does not change until the player leaves the instance.
17. Once pirated, an AMR is much more likely to be pirated again, unless moved to a different planet/moon.
18. If a player is in the same system, the owner sees a planetary marker (like a surface station) for each AMR in the system map.
19. If a player is not in the same system and looks at the system map, the last known location is marked.
20. AMRs only change locations when players are not in the same system (so coords don't change).
21. When a player is off-line or not in its instance, the AMRs do not really exist, except as records associated with a player. The fields in each record are as follows:
    • Location: system, planet/moon, and planetary coordinates.
    • Time of initial-deployment/last-visit.
    • Harvest type (commodity/material: gold, arsenic, etc.)
    • Harvest quantity remaining after last visit.
    • Has been pirated at this location.

TL;DR This can be coded much like ship transfer. The elapsed time is used to calculate the current quantity of materials and current coordinates (based on remaining quantity and last known coords).

Ideally, there would be a chance for a player to encounter NPC-owned AMRs (like any other POI) and pirate some loot.

I think it should look something like this E: D concept art:

Spoiler

 

[ChrisT]

I don't think adding roads and traffic is what is meant by Core Gameplay.

That might be QoL or enhanced graphics. Unless you can propose what I am supposed to do with that stuff as a pirate, explorer, salvager, mercenary, or trader?

I took Core Gameplay to mean anything that is in the game right now, and that includes improving variety and quality of environmental assets. Planets are right now, Core Gameplay, they are in the game.

For me, not seeing grouped settlements is a big issue. Same thing for set dressing, to bed existing assets into the landscape. If you think about a settlement, you'd expect to see smaller settlements near it. These can be, for instance, quarantined research bases, mines, power generators, prisons maybe.

What we get, is a base, with NOTHING near it, for (mostly) thousands of miles. You might hit the odd random POI when flying near a base, but the following day, yes, it wont be there. And if a POI where close enough to a base to warrant some kind of land connection to it, it wont have it.

We really should be able to see tracks and roads emanating from bases and leading to associated bases near by. If you think about role-playing games, these roads might then be a focus for random encounters, Im thinking about SRV based pirates, or maybe a broken down vehicle you could help to repair etc.

I just think roads are something we should not have to wait for Planetary Landings for. Airless Planets and Moons should feature them as well, eh...

 

[Snarfbuckle]

How about automated mining robots (AMRs)? I know there are serious limitations as to persistent game elements, so I'll present something I think is possible with the game's current limitations in mind.

Mining robots existed in Elite II Frontier and took 10 tonnes of cargo space and could be dumped on a planet and left to their own devices.

I see no problem with them being implemented in game.

- Add the ability for the surface scanner to detect metals and minerals
- Land in the general area
- Add a mode to the SRV scanner to have the same ability to make more precise readings for minerals
- Stake a claim [Adds a little square area like the NPC areas]
- Dump robots with SRV over area
- Wait for X hours for extraction
- Ferry minerals from robot to SRV to ship
- Pickup robots and move to new area

We could then dump robots all over a planet and work there, moving between extraction sites.

 

[son of khzvoltz]

I agree some gameplay would be needed. How about railroads featuring futuristic behemoth trains, heavily armoured, with turret rockets? They would provide dynamic mobile targets with cargo cannisters spilling out after taking them out. There could be missions to either protect them or take them out. They would also just look cool, hurtling through the landscape.

or hitch a sneaky ride on one XD