Sidewinder / support ship in Fighter Bay

[Ruff Leif]

The in-game description of the fighter bay reads: "can take up to sidewinder size". It's a great disappointment, then, that I can't place my sidey in the fighter bay.

This would make for some seriously enhanced game-play for several reasons:

1. you could use your sidey / suppport ship to dock at outposts while your big ship is waiting outside. Then you could:
1a. take and deliver missions
1b. transfer cargo to and from your big ship
2. you could travel towards any planet regardless of gravity level and mountains, and easily find a landing spot with your sidey
3. the sidey (or perhaps Eagle which is even smaller?) can be be custom fitted and engineered, making fighters more relevant also for pvp (this is of course available to all, so it's fair)
4. In multicrew, a crew member could use the sidey to do things on behalf of the ship-owner, accept/deliver missions, transfer cargo, deploy SRV and gather materials. That way two buddies can go exploring together from one main big ship, and split up on occasion. This is a big buff to multi-crew.
5. There would be no restriction on distance from main ship or such, but obviously, leaving your big ship floating is at a risk. A co-pilot in the main ship would defend it, in case of an attack. Turning wing beacon on from either ships, would do so for both ships, so you can easily get back to it, even from supercruise.

I'm imagining some possible downsides and restricions for the player using this:
The sidey/support ship does not have holo-controll (or whatever it's called), so if you're killed in the sidey, you go to rebuy. If you have a co-pilot in the big ship, the game has to play while the co-pilot fights/escapes in accordance with defend/aggressive orders given prior to being killed, and then tries to dock at the station/detention centre you'll get your sidey-rebuy from. You get to watch this from an external camera ;-) The same goes for the co-pilot. If he/she dies in the sidey/support-ship, you have to find a new pilot. A multicrew member would go back to their ship and would have to be re-invited.

-There's an alternative here that might be really cool, gamewise. In the above scenario, the co-pilot can pick you up from an escape pod, given that they've survived the battle. And you could pick up your pilot from the escape pod, if you survive in the big ship. This is by far my favorite alternative, but it might be asking too much.

Given that fleet carriers were taken out of chapter 4, I think we deserve this ;-)

 

[KilyanAustin]

Would be awesome for certain things like mining or whatever, not having to change your main ship its modules all the time

 

[tolm]

All of that sounds good!

I’d additionally like to have the option for a bigger bay that could take a Vulture but that might just be too much ...

 

[Coldshot]

I was just recently thinking very similarly, how nice it'd be to have a small shuttle docked aboard larger ships. Although a bit simpler (more limited) approach, in my mind. I was only thinking of a dedicated shuttle bay and ship, who's function didn't overlap with the fighters or any other gameplay. But I do kind of like these ideas too.

 

[SV_KithFaithMatar]

That is the dream.

And a big way to give reason to small ships to play for vet players and increase gameplay options. But beyond using Figther bays... Actual ship bays too;

Having Huge Class Ships able to fit Small Ships inside; maybe the ocasional Large ship able to do it too as exception; So you can go exploring in a big actual multipurpose ship (not a mobile station like the carrier but something currently you can drive) that can also be fitted for any thing that may come (Like docking at a station... there is no need for trade in 2sized cargo slots... with Space Legs we now have reasons to go to Space Stations in the flesh.

Example, you can go with a Cutter-sized or bigger ship for exploration, and deploy a diamond back explorer able to land in a small spot on some guardian ruins)... Instead of having to go with a ship that doesn't can carry a toothpick, or can carry a lot but can't land.

I'm not sure about this but a theoretical class 9 slot (cargo rack, ship bay) should mean enough cubic space for the biggest small ships. And a 8 slot can fit a sidewinder (sorta?)
So yeah... Totally up for at least being able to fit a Sidewinder in the bigger Fighter Bay Sizes, for reasons explained. (Space Legs, Exploration, tricky landings)

Of course this is no easy change on the game but we're getting FPS mode... FPS mode! this is way easier xD
I just hope those npcs are well coded, I've seen those Ancient Technology advanced guardian sentinels killing themselves with missiles against a roof....

Anyway, we can dream, maybe in some years...

 

[wize5]

This is an interesting idea, close to something I'd been brainstorming lately. I've been having some some X3 nostalgia and was thinking about how that game handled ship carriers (apples to oranges comparison I know). Here's what I was thinking. have a personal frigate, or micro carrier if you prefer. This frigate can be piloted by you after you dock with it via a button on the menu labeled "transferred control" or something like it. You can have friends (max 2) in MC fly the ship or ships you land in the frigate, meaning these are your ships your lending to them to fly which means if they go boom you have to rebuy them from the next station you go to at a discount from the full rebuy. The only ships that can land on this frigate idea of mine are small ships. Again I've been brainstorming this idea and spitballing ideas and seeing how it could or couldn't work. Such as a frigate class FSD specifically for this ship giving it a range of half that of a fleet carrier but still uses tritium, or the original idea of this being a hypership that could be summoned in normal space, not in SC, that uses tritium but can jump 1k lightyears at a time. As well as the frigate being non-presistant to avoid the system clogging that come with fleet carriers.

 

[Tifu]

Doesn't have to be a sidey - could be a shuttle craft instead. Then more ships could have it.

Great ideas OP

 

[gorankar]

Just make it begave like an ordinary SLF would be easiest. It can be outfitted and engineered same as any sidewinder but, well, essentially, a custom sidewinder with it's FSD removed.

 

[Clagnut81]

If a fighter bay can hold a fighter, plus several spare fighters it should easily accommodate a sidewinder. The simplest way to make this possible would be when upgrading the FSD to have the option to replace it with docking cradle support along with a warning that this action cannot be undone similar to when you remove the planetary approach unit.

 

[CMDR Deano The Imperial]

The in-game description of the fighter bay reads: "can take up to sidewinder size". It's a great disappointment, then, that I can't place my sidey in the fighter bay.

This would make for some seriously enhanced game-play for several reasons:

1. you could use your sidey / suppport ship to dock at outposts while your big ship is waiting outside. Then you could:
1a. take and deliver missions
1b. transfer cargo to and from your big ship
2. you could travel towards any planet regardless of gravity level and mountains, and easily find a landing spot with your sidey
3. the sidey (or perhaps Eagle which is even smaller?) can be be custom fitted and engineered, making fighters more relevant also for pvp (this is of course available to all, so it's fair)
4. In multicrew, a crew member could use the sidey to do things on behalf of the ship-owner, accept/deliver missions, transfer cargo, deploy SRV and gather materials. That way two buddies can go exploring together from one main big ship, and split up on occasion. This is a big buff to multi-crew.
5. There would be no restriction on distance from main ship or such, but obviously, leaving your big ship floating is at a risk. A co-pilot in the main ship would defend it, in case of an attack. Turning wing beacon on from either ships, would do so for both ships, so you can easily get back to it, even from supercruise.

I'm imagining some possible downsides and restricions for the player using this:
The sidey/support ship does not have holo-controll (or whatever it's called), so if you're killed in the sidey, you go to rebuy. If you have a co-pilot in the big ship, the game has to play while the co-pilot fights/escapes in accordance with defend/aggressive orders given prior to being killed, and then tries to dock at the station/detention centre you'll get your sidey-rebuy from. You get to watch this from an external camera ;-) The same goes for the co-pilot. If he/she dies in the sidey/support-ship, you have to find a new pilot. A multicrew member would go back to their ship and would have to be re-invited.

-There's an alternative here that might be really cool, gamewise. In the above scenario, the co-pilot can pick you up from an escape pod, given that they've survived the battle. And you could pick up your pilot from the escape pod, if you survive in the big ship. This is by far my favorite alternative, but it might be asking too much.

Given that fleet carriers were taken out of chapter 4, I think we deserve this ;-)

I like this idea, I gave this some thought awhile ago whilst Exploring in my Beluga. Good job OP.

But wouldn't it be a better idea to make the SLFs that we already have engineer-able. Like fit small cargo racks, upgrade weapons etc. etc.

 

[Craith]

I was saving up for an anaconda since it stated that it could launch "sidewinder sized" ships in its original ingame text. (Long before SLFs were added). Unfortunately that never happened, and if apart from the anaconda none of the other ships has an opening big enough for even a sidewinder to fit (anaconda is debateable).

Just fitting into the space is not enough, it also needs an opening big enough to exit and enter the ship, so this is something for a hypotetical new ship, lets call it, idk, Panther Clipper?

 

[Clagnut81]

I was saving up for an anaconda since it stated that it could launch "sidewinder sized" ships in its original ingame text. (Long before SLFs were added). Unfortunately that never happened, and if apart from the anaconda none of the other ships has an opening big enough for even a sidewinder to fit (anaconda is debateable).

Just fitting into the space is not enough, it also needs an opening big enough to exit and enter the ship, so this is something for a hypotetical new ship, lets call it, idk, Panther Clipper?

The in game description said it was possible to fit sidewinder size ship’s, so the size of the opening is a graphic’s issue. But by converting your Sidewinder to a SLF it would no longer be insured. If you lose it, you get kicked back to your mothership. Any investment in modules or engineering is also lost and would have to be replaced. Marking use of a ship launched Sidewinder a case of risk Vs reward.

 

[CMDR Deano The Imperial]

I was saving up for an anaconda since it stated that it could launch "sidewinder sized" ships in its original ingame text. (Long before SLFs were added). Unfortunately that never happened, and if apart from the anaconda none of the other ships has an opening big enough for even a sidewinder to fit (anaconda is debateable).

Just fitting into the space is not enough, it also needs an opening big enough to exit and enter the ship, so this is something for a hypotetical new ship, lets call it, idk, Panther Clipper?

Behave, @TheSisko will be having wet dreams at the mere mention of the fabled "Panther Clipper"

 

[CMDR Deano The Imperial]

Just fitting into the space is not enough, it also needs an opening big enough to exit and enter the ship, so this is something for a hypotetical new ship, lets call it, idk, Panther Clipper?

I thought all SLF hangar bays and their openings/doors where the same size. Aren't they all the same size elevators that lower from the bottom of a ship?

 

[Craith]

I thought all SLF hangar bays and their openings/doors where the same size. Aren't they all the same size elevators that lower from the bottom of a ship?

true, all SLF-hangars are the same size, but the anaconda has a hangar door above it, that does not have any funktion atm

 

[CMDR Deano The Imperial]

true, all SLF-hangars are the same size, but the anaconda has a hangar door above it, that does not have any funktion atm
View attachment 197163

I'm not too sure of this but I think the T9 does as well.