(relatively) Cheap improvement: Hardpoint Jammer / Anti-Instakill Grief Machine

[spatula]

For someone in a relatively defenseless Asp, I've been blown up quite a lot lately while checking out Barnacles, or other hot spots of activity. A lot of times, a heavily engineered ship will take me out so quickly that I didn't even have time for any counter. In most cases, if I had had just a few seconds more notice before the rain of fire, I might have had time to move out of the way.

Now what if...

Cheap Version:
- You buy a module called "Hardpoint Jammer"
- Whenever anyone is attacking you "the first time", when the first shot connects and the switch to hostile occurs, the Hardpoint Jammer springs into action.
- It sends a signal to the enemy ship, closing their hardpoints and disabling either all/some of their weapons for "x seconds, based on module grade/class/size and number of hardpoints" - but let's say 5-10 seconds for the average.
- This gives all players who carry one a chance to avoid being insta-killed, giving them time to plan an escape, land a few punches back, or plea for mercy... if they have the module, of course.
- NEW players with low ranks get a free bonus hardpoint jammer always equipped, with a buff on top for more time, that goes away once they hit a certain rank.

Advanced Version:
- The first shot (ie. the change into a hostile) is free, but then what if this device was re-usable, like a shield cell?
- It reloads itself and can be manually activated in a fire group like a shield booster for a SHORTER time than at the dawn of combat, and with DIMINISHING RETURNS on the same target
- You can therefore also use in combat to strategically disable your opponent's fire power for a moment (ie. when they are strafing) and the initiation of combat might involve a plan for popping the weapons lock, which gives the attacked a small buffer to prepare for combat.

Super-Advanced Version:
- In multicrew, give the option to be able to counter the combat effects of the device by having the crew member re-arm the weapons. Now, right before you go in to attack, do you want your crew in the gunner seat, or ready to counter a weapons jam?


Anyway, that's the basic idea - a new module can't be too hard to do... maybe just a power-down of the enemy weapons shouldn't be too hard... hell, maybe even offer a Thargoid-tech version which EMPs a ship for a short burst... I guess it all gets tough to balance these things out, eh? But I think some kind of "delay to instant killing via a reactive disabling of the enemy weapons for a short time" would be the basic logline here.


Whaddaya think?

 

[Konnivar]

You can gain those extra few seconds by having stronger shields and a hull that isn't made of gasoline soaked paper. I know that doesn't exactly line up with the exploration concept of lightweight everything, but if you decide to go to a high traffic area you need to assume there will be Gankers.

Also, the Code behind the weapon you are proposing would be anything but simple.

 

[[VR] Marrs]

How about a module that gives a 10% chance of sending a feedback pulse that disables the attackers shields and FSD if you are clean when attacked? That might make them think twice

 

[spatula]

You can gain those extra few seconds by having stronger shields and a hull that isn't made of gasoline soaked paper. I know that doesn't exactly line up with the exploration concept of lightweight everything, but if you decide to go to a high traffic area you need to assume there will be Gankers.
Also, the Code behind the weapon you are proposing would be anything but simple.

Well that almost means that there's no point in ever really NOT having the strongest shields and hull... In an Asp, my 6C engineered shields go down in about 3 seconds and my hull in less than 10 versus a medium combat ship like an FDL or Python... even if pushed more upgrades up to A class, I might only gain an additional 5-8 seconds, while increasing my rebuy cost (why I've got the C in the first place, just to reduce rebuy since A's weren't so much better that I wasn't getting killed)... so the point of this is more about creating a "delay" before "all out combat" begins where I can make the critical run/hide/flight decision and just enough time to let me do something.

Considering that there are already weapons which can be engineered to knock out a player's FSD, and thargoids have a ship-disabling radius, I can't imagine the code would be too much of a stretch to simply apply a disabling effect to weapons, and put the trigger at the moment where a player turns hostile for X seconds, or within Y radius. Even if was a player-triggered function, It would still work. Anything that can give combat a 10 second window before starting proper would be welcome from me!

How about a module that gives a 10% chance of sending a feedback pulse that disables the attackers shields and FSD if you are clean when attacked? That might make them think twice

That's maybe a bit much and the % element makes it a bit unreliable. I'd rather have it work like a shield cell bank or chaff with small but effective moments, if used in a combat scenario.. than rely on a random chance to cripple the opponent massively.

 

[Konnivar]

Well that almost means that there's no point in ever really NOT having the strongest shields and hull... In an Asp, my 6C engineered shields go down in about 3 seconds and my hull in less than 10 versus a medium combat ship like an FDL or Python... even if pushed more upgrades up to A class, I might only gain an additional 5-8 seconds, while increasing my rebuy cost (why I've got the C in the first place, just to reduce rebuy since A's weren't so much better that I wasn't getting killed)... so the point of this is more about creating a "delay" before "all out combat" begins where I can make the critical run/hide/flight decision and just enough time to let me do something.

Considering that there are already weapons which can be engineered to knock out a player's FSD, and thargoids have a ship-disabling radius, I can't imagine the code would be too much of a stretch to simply apply a disabling effect to weapons, and put the trigger at the moment where a player turns hostile for X seconds, or within Y radius. Even if was a player-triggered function, It would still work. Anything that can give combat a 10 second window before starting proper would be welcome from me!

Use 5A shields, it's only a bit more power needed, has the same MJ rating, has half the mass of 6C, and only increases the rebuy by 100k. I'm not saying you should always fly around with things like HRP and MRP, but you should have some in storage if you plan on going to places that are high traffic.

Also take a look at this video, it's a T7 which is slower, bigger, and has worse shields than a AspX:

[REDACTED - Swear Filter Evasion]

 

[spatula]

Use 5A shields, it's only a bit more power needed, has the same MJ rating, has half the mass of 6C, and only increases the rebuy by 100k. I'm not saying you should always fly around with things like HRP and MRP, but you should have some in storage if you plan on going to places that are high traffic.

Also take a look at this video, it's a T7 which is slower, bigger, and has worse shields than a AspX:

[REDACTED[]

rvoeoivnev... did you just git gud guide me?..... . yeah i KNEW as soon as I said I had C shields that someone was gonna git gud me, lmao, i just also thought a weapons jammer would be a neat idea on top of that. [big grin]

 

[Konnivar]

rvoeoivnev... did you just git gud guide me?..... . yeah i KNEW as soon as I said I had C shields that someone was gonna git gud me, lmao, i just also thought a weapons jammer would be a neat idea on top of that. [big grin]

I realize the git gud guide is all over, just hard to tell when someone's actually seen it. I'm simply worried that the weapons jammer will end up being used for unintended purposes (which it would), for instance it would become a PvP required module for anything except duels. One person has the module and the other doesn't? Well, thats 15 seconds of free DPS for the person with the module. Maybe if the module was similar to an "ink and run" where you can only use it once or twice before having to reload it, but even then I see it being a module just waiting to be abused.

 

[spatula]

I realize the git gud guide is all over, just hard to tell when someone's actually seen it. I'm simply worried that the weapons jammer will end up being used for unintended purposes (which it would), for instance it would become a PvP required module for anything except duels. One person has the module and the other doesn't? Well, thats 15 seconds of free DPS for the person with the module. Maybe if the module was similar to an "ink and run" where you can only use it once or twice before having to reload it, but even then I see it being a module just waiting to be abused.

Yeah, I actually LIKE the idea of this being used cleverly in combat... like for example, let's say 3 SDC guys want to kill noobs... well, they need to recruit a noob-winder to help them... the noob winder interdicts the victim, then pops the free weapons lock... then the big boys jump in for the gank... it's a way around, but requires tons more planning and coordination...

But also, it might get people to think of other ways that just raw DPS... like ok... my weapons got locked... I can either close the gap to my target and tank, or go for a ram...


It still short be very short bursts, with long reloads, if it's going to be used for anything beyond the "initial combat" phase... but the idea here is that you might have duels, where each player willingly pops their weapons locks at the get-go with a small shot on each other - creating a small period of 10-20 seconds where they can engage in pre-duel communications and banter...

anyway, I'm just throwing out ideas that might hopefully turn the "insta-gank" into something a bit more paced out, so that at least there's a chance for the not-so-gitted-gud to get a response in.