Ships Integrity and damage visualization.

[Boff'in]

Ship modules can get banged up, as can the hull, and the ships integrity(?)

The gossip on the streets was ship repairs was really expensive, because of the hidden Ships integrity stat.
which was then early on, was made visible and separated to keep the costs down for the big ships, so they could get patched up and get out into the field, without the full repair cost.

One thing we love is seeing the damage on the ships, which like the worn off paint, would be a badge of honour, but the damage decals fade away.

So what if we used the graphical damage to represent, actual damage?
It's a crazy Idea, I know.

So the battle scars remain, and cool, can be filled in/patched up but remain until the Ships Integrity and/or Hull is repaired to 100%.
not forgetting the external broken canopy model either.

 

[Sylow]

Yea. It's a bit strange, after a tough fight your ship has battle scars all over. But the moment you leave the instance, all of that is fixed. It's not a big deal, but keeping those dents and bruises visible till you repair the ship would be really nice. If i remember correctly, at some time this even already worked. Unfortunately at some time it broke and FD never bothered to fix it.

 

[Riverside]

If I buy a new item chances are it's indistinguishable from all the other ones on the shelf. But once I start using it unique wear patterns accumulate based on usage, and what was once just a toothbrush or a Hutton mug becomes my toothbrush, my mug; unique from all others.

I'd like it if this were better represented in-game.

 

[Sylow]

If I buy a new item chances are it's indistinguishable from all the other ones on the shelf. But once I start using it unique wear patterns accumulate based on usage, and what was once just a toothbrush or a Hutton mug becomes my toothbrush, my mug; unique from all others.

I'd like it if this were better represented in-game.

Permanent damage markings, while they would be nice, would be a nightmare for FD. Keeping all of that stored and consistent, based on how they at some time described how they store data, might be quite complicated already.

I'd be happy already if damage persists till you repair your ship. It doesn't seem that unlogical that complete armour plates and any other component with visible damage is replaced by an original part when you go repair all. But the mystical "loose all visible damage after escaping an AX CZ" is a bit sad. I just sometimes would like to admire in which shape my ship escaped from danger. Amidst Thargoids, i can't afford to stop and admire my ship for a while, but when i escape the damage decals are gone.

It sure is not a gamebreaker. But it's a missed chance for a cool little feature. I still fondly remeber old Wing Commander times, where you saw the state of your ship after a mission. There more than once was the "wow, i made it home in THAT state" effect. It was fun and i think ED should also have this.