I've loved the idea of being a large ship, with tools to support my wing with strike craft, and utilities, as well as support the strike craft. (I'm working on a healer/disabler support platformer with my Cutter now in fact.)
Battlestar Galactica Online had player carriers, which was one of my favorite experiences in games. A Carrier in the space moba "Fractured Space". Carrier ships in Star Trek online."
I understand not giving players capital class size, and the glaring issue with a carrier in Elite Dangerous would be the size of the ship, it's fighters, and where - if not Coriolis stations and such - it could dock in. So I would love feedback working in a practical carrier for the ED model. Here's what I got so far:
Ship Size: Large (Larger than a Cutter?)
Details: a niche ship that might be weak in solo, but add a solid backbone to support a wing. Difficult to maintain, but a specialized class that's equally rewarding and interesting to combat flow to those that want to commit, focused on utilities and support modules (ie: Repair limpets) Could lauch more than 2 fighters (6? 8?), and use multiple hired crew. (Flat top ship, using lifts to launch fighters, for a compressed space efficient system?) Would have a specialized ship UI to support commanding multiple npc fighters.
Hard points/utilities: small to medium. Enough for basic defense, like for flak/chaff/ECM etc.
Cons- Limited locations with docking access. Crew upkeep would make the carrier expensive to maintain, but add use for our molding crew members, maybe more depending on fighter slots.
Having a carrier in Elite Dangerous would really be a dream come true, and while there are some issues with the implications into gameplay (foreseen and unforseen) I wanted to post so the idea could be considered, and refined.
Battlestar Galactica Online had player carriers, which was one of my favorite experiences in games. A Carrier in the space moba "Fractured Space". Carrier ships in Star Trek online."
I understand not giving players capital class size, and the glaring issue with a carrier in Elite Dangerous would be the size of the ship, it's fighters, and where - if not Coriolis stations and such - it could dock in. So I would love feedback working in a practical carrier for the ED model. Here's what I got so far:
Ship Size: Large (Larger than a Cutter?)
Details: a niche ship that might be weak in solo, but add a solid backbone to support a wing. Difficult to maintain, but a specialized class that's equally rewarding and interesting to combat flow to those that want to commit, focused on utilities and support modules (ie: Repair limpets) Could lauch more than 2 fighters (6? 8?), and use multiple hired crew. (Flat top ship, using lifts to launch fighters, for a compressed space efficient system?) Would have a specialized ship UI to support commanding multiple npc fighters.
Hard points/utilities: small to medium. Enough for basic defense, like for flak/chaff/ECM etc.
Cons- Limited locations with docking access. Crew upkeep would make the carrier expensive to maintain, but add use for our molding crew members, maybe more depending on fighter slots.
Having a carrier in Elite Dangerous would really be a dream come true, and while there are some issues with the implications into gameplay (foreseen and unforseen) I wanted to post so the idea could be considered, and refined.