Many people have rightly complained that, aside from the odd Interdiction Attempt, travelling in Super-Cruise is quite uneventful....even boring.
So I thought that one way around this might be to give aspiring Smugglers, Pirates & Bounty Hunters.....in particular....more ways to interact whilst in Super-Cruise.
For starters, Manifest & Kill-Warrant Scanners should have *limited* functionality whilst in Super-Cruise. Assuming you can get within a certain range, & do a successful active scan, then a Manifest Scanner should be able to tell a pilot if the target is carrying Cargo, Passengers & Both.....as well as if its Wanted/Illegal. Likewise, a properly used KW-Scanner will be able to tell a pilot if the target is Wanted ("in a Hot Ship" as of Beyond) in any systems-but not the extent to which they are wanted. Scans done in N-Space will always yield much more definitive info, obviously, but these Super-Cruise Scan can actually "get the ball rolling", & justify any follow-up interdiction. As a trade off, passive scans of a ship-in Super Cruise-would no longer reveal the ship's Wanted Status, only the type of ship, name of ship & name of pilot.
Obviously, other game-play elements would need to be changed/improved to allow for these scanner improvements. the pilots of ships that are being scanned should be warned that a scan is in process.....thus allowing the pilot a chance to get out of range of said scanners.
Another improvement would be better warnings as to whether a ship is inside or outside of a Shipping Lane (at least until we get an Orerry Map). Ships that do not wish to be scanned by law abiding pilots could reduce the chance by staying outside shipping lanes.....but with a greater risk of being hit by pirates instead.
Certain Hulls & Power Plants could decrease the range at which a ship is visible to a potential "hunter", & reducing power output can reduce ship visibility too.
Another measure would be to use Silent Running in Super-Cruise Configuration. This could lead to a significant build up of heat, especially with all systems running.....& at full speed.....but a good pilot would be able to manage heat build up to maintain silent running for several minutes.....especially, if they go slowly.
In essence, I feel that these changes could have a number of benefits. Making the trip from system entry to final destination much more engaging, whilst reducing the amount of frivolous interdictions you suffer.....thus perhaps allowing interdiction difficulty to have a slight ramp up.
So I thought that one way around this might be to give aspiring Smugglers, Pirates & Bounty Hunters.....in particular....more ways to interact whilst in Super-Cruise.
For starters, Manifest & Kill-Warrant Scanners should have *limited* functionality whilst in Super-Cruise. Assuming you can get within a certain range, & do a successful active scan, then a Manifest Scanner should be able to tell a pilot if the target is carrying Cargo, Passengers & Both.....as well as if its Wanted/Illegal. Likewise, a properly used KW-Scanner will be able to tell a pilot if the target is Wanted ("in a Hot Ship" as of Beyond) in any systems-but not the extent to which they are wanted. Scans done in N-Space will always yield much more definitive info, obviously, but these Super-Cruise Scan can actually "get the ball rolling", & justify any follow-up interdiction. As a trade off, passive scans of a ship-in Super Cruise-would no longer reveal the ship's Wanted Status, only the type of ship, name of ship & name of pilot.
Obviously, other game-play elements would need to be changed/improved to allow for these scanner improvements. the pilots of ships that are being scanned should be warned that a scan is in process.....thus allowing the pilot a chance to get out of range of said scanners.
Another improvement would be better warnings as to whether a ship is inside or outside of a Shipping Lane (at least until we get an Orerry Map). Ships that do not wish to be scanned by law abiding pilots could reduce the chance by staying outside shipping lanes.....but with a greater risk of being hit by pirates instead.
Certain Hulls & Power Plants could decrease the range at which a ship is visible to a potential "hunter", & reducing power output can reduce ship visibility too.
Another measure would be to use Silent Running in Super-Cruise Configuration. This could lead to a significant build up of heat, especially with all systems running.....& at full speed.....but a good pilot would be able to manage heat build up to maintain silent running for several minutes.....especially, if they go slowly.
In essence, I feel that these changes could have a number of benefits. Making the trip from system entry to final destination much more engaging, whilst reducing the amount of frivolous interdictions you suffer.....thus perhaps allowing interdiction difficulty to have a slight ramp up.