Spinning when thrusters are destroyed

[Battleship Kickass]

Can we have ships stabilize and slow when thrusters are destroyed? Currently for pirating if you destroy thrusters they are sent into a constant spin and at a constant speed. The way the hatch breaker limpit is coded, that makes it impossible for it to latch on. I've tried even stopping the spin with my own ship, by bumping their wing, it doesn't work. Bumping doesn't stop their spin and the limpit will just continuously spin around with their ship.

For pirating that would now make it viable to target and destroy drives, be able to fly up next to them and send a limpit in for cargo, take it and leave them be. If they are smart enough to be carrying an AFM to repair thrusters they can soon be on their way. With the ability to repair thrusters it would be the new module for traders to carry if they plan on trying to escape pirates. If the pirate wants cargo and not blood then this would be the new style of player pirating.

Besides just limpiting them you could fly up next to them and negotiate for them to abandon cargo instead so it isn't stolen if they want to live, or a trader can use this time to repair thrusters, stall, get shields up, and get ready for a last ditch boost and FSD attempt if they wish. I believe this could add many new aspects to player piracy (which are THE most dynamic player interactions in the game currently) that fit in well with the AFM fixing what used to be a death sentence. Once / if jury rigging is put in, it'd only further enhance the concept even if not carrying an AFM.

This will give pirates a way to get cargo from non compliant traders instead of just popping them and sending them to the insurance man if they refuse to drop cargo. If they are one of those traders that would rather lose everything than give one ton after their thrusters are out then there is always self destruct which would be no different than what you have to do currently.

You would imo see a lot less trader's being killed by pirates if this were the case. You certainly wouldn't see anymore as killing drives is a death sentence already, and after the patch even if they have an AFM to repair thrusters, but won't drop cargo, the pirate will still kill them if limpits continue to not work because the dead drive ship continues to drift and spin and a limpit cannot hook on. Most player pirates I see only want cargo and always let players go after they drop cargo or they limpit some off.

Again this would change nothing for the stubborn trader who refuses to give one ton. They can STILL self destruct if their drives are dead and they see a limpit coming if they would rather die than give cargo up. But the fighter trader could fight his heart out and lose, but still have his life spared if the pirate gets his booty and isn't just out for blood.

 

[Tryst]

If SD was the only option, I would like to see the explosion do some damage to the pirate as well. If they're coming to limpet the hatch, you could wait until the pirate is close and SD your ship and possibly even take them with you. Piracy using limpets should be risky as well and using them should mean getting in really close and taking the risk that they are going to SD and take you with them or, at the very least, do significant damage to you, they should not be an easy option once you've taken out the traders engines.

I hope fixing the engines becomes possible soon since, destroying a players engines is an immediate death sentence and you KNOW they'll SD rather than let you take the cargo that they are going to lose anyway. Having the possibility to repair the engines, and continue on their way makes it more likely players will opt not to SD.

Pity Type 6's etc don't have cargo scoops or they could scoop up what you left behind and get a small amount of cargo back for their pain. That would make it even less likely for them to SD. As it stands now without a scoop, I would SD every time. I've lost all my cargo even if I repair the engines and the insurance is minimal. Chances are, my repair bill is going to be almost as costly as the insurance anyway. I may as well pay the bill and deny you any cargo and see if I can take you out at the same time. If I had scoops, I would try to recover as much of the remaining cargo as I could after the engine repair to limit my losses as much as possible. For that reason, it may not be wise for a pirate to destroy what they can't scoop, once they get that reputation, people will SD every time. Destroying the cargo is as good as killing the trader after they've let you take what you can carry if it were possible for them to scoop the rest up again.