Good afternoon.
Decided to make some suggesions for current (mostly) and new ships that both developers and players might like, but that doesn't consist of a simple "add interior". So what do I mean? Despite the fact that players are asking to add an interior in spite of everything, I see that there are some things that can be done before that, things that will satisfy both players and make life easier for the developers. I will offer them separately, and at the end I will combine everything into one short sentence and answer some questions, so that it is easier to understand what I mean and so that I dont get lost in a heap of text.- Work on current ships. To begin with, I love the updated graphics in the Odyssey, the ships look much better and the details on them too. However, there is always one BUT, the fact is that some models have problems, for example: Adder - if you look at the staircase, you can see that it dont have door anywhere, but instead there is just a black texture.This can be corrected simply by modifying the model, maybe slightly altering the ladder itself.Or Imperial cutter, it has a large ladder and does not look very comfortable. This can also be solved by remodeling or adding animation to them (maybe the stairs go down a little).
I think it is worth starting to process such errors in models, as well as where parts need to be resized. This will help fix problems that may arise later. For example: you decide to make an interior (let's say a simple cabin to begin with) and as a result, the ship will not meet the required criteria.You don't need a lot of resources for this. Ships that dont have problems can be skipped.For clarity, it is possible to give work to designers, so that they, according to the available information about the ship, create its concept with the interior (in this case, many basic modules can not be modeled, except for the engines, and then only in cases where the engine compartment is supposed to be on the ship). And according to this concept, you can change the size of the ship for future work. - Work on ship mechanics. It's obvious here, just come up with possible mechanics for the current ships. For example: ships that are thought of as research ships can have some kind of bonus to their characteristics, sell scan data remotely (for example, to a selected station or a giant ship at a distance of 20-50 ly), and in Odessa, these ships can have additional equipment (storage of organic material and additional containers for data). and etc.
- Future ships. And for this you can use the two previous points. When creating a new ship, make it ready for future improvements. For example: there is a lot of information and concept art of the elite ships on the net, and one of them is the panther clipper, let's imagine that you decide to make this particular ship. You can also take a ready-made concept art and tell the designers to come up with an interior for it (again, with places for modules that will be visible to players). And after they finish, you can release the ship in compliance with the required metrics. This will remove the problem of creating desired interiors for players.
Now I will summarize all of the above in a short form and tell where you should start
But you know what? Well, you have already made one such ship, BUT unfortunately you forgot to finish it. Anaconda - the only ship with a damage model , the only large ship perfectly suited (apart from size) for exploitation. And it was supposed to be the first ship to have a docking bay for a second ship the size of a sidewinder (the only thing that fits the description and can be used as dock bay is a large gate that is used in the odyssey to enter the ship), but which was not implemented, although you can read about this feature in game.
So where and form what you should start? I can't be responsible for everyone, but unlike the Down to Earth Astronomy proposal. I propose to start by working on the models problem for current ships and the mechanics for them, AND also instead of adding interiors step by step, take the anaconda and, after fixing problems, adding mechanics that are in the description of the ship, use the ship as an experimental platform. What I mean is. use Anaconda as platfrom for first interior implementation. And as soon as you make all the rooms, the hangar for the second ship, the models of the modules that will be visible (some modules can be locked in a certain place, for example, the module for processing, storage, srv and dock of fighters will always be in one place wherever you put them, if possible). Once you're happy, just update the game and ask the players for their opinion on the work, and then fix the bugs received and so on.
Answers to possible questions:
- Where to begin? - it is better to start by solving model problems and adding mechanics to ships, add a door to the ladder in addery. Come up with a solution to the problem for the imperial cutter, or create a new model of the ladder, or change the dimensions of the steps, or add animation to them (they go down closer to the ground or lower the edges to form a kind of slide)
- Why anaconda? (why use a big ship to start?) - Despite the fact that large ships will take more time for both art designers and 3D designers. This will be more beneficial than if you started with small ships.Reason 1. Anaconda is the only ship that already has a well-known feature (hangar for small ships), and therefore if you first simulate an internal hangar where you can put your small ship, and then go out and go to the door that teleports you to the seat, it will bring more than a ready-made interior for small ship. Reason 2. After all, you will already have ready-made models of modules and they can be reused for smaller ships, just by taking model of big module and adjusting it to smaller varian by removing unnecessary details, it's easier than taking a small model and thinking how it should look in large size so as not to be a copy of the small version.
- Why do concept art with interiors for each ship and not add it right away? - Everything is quite simple, despite the fact that you started working on the elite again and the interior of the ships is the necessary content for the game. In the current reality, some of the ships that I have brought have problems with the model, and there may be more of these ships, there may also be problems with metrics. Therefore, it will be better if, during the correction of the models, concepts of ships with interiors and metrics are made, so that the models can be immediately changed so that they are suitable for the subsequent addition of interiors. Therefore, I propose to start correcting models with Anaconda and use it as a platform for experimenting and testing the interior.
Add different exit points in and out the ship.
The fact is, some ships, both small (adder) and larger, have several exits in addition to ladders. It would not be bad if, when disembarking, you could choose where you want to exit from, and when boarding the ship there were several blue circles that stand under the doors. For example: you could go to the back or the side door of the anaconda, confirm the entrance to the ship, and while the screen fades, a ladder would come down to you. Or ships will already had a staircase in places where you can climb to the door to the ship.
The adder just has a door between the engines, it would not be bad if a staircase would go down there either automatically or upon request. Just to be honest, running from the very rear of the ship to the stairs in front when the ship has a rear or side door is strange
It didn't work out shortly, but I hope everything will be clear. Also, if after the 9-10 update, performance situation improves and you decide to work on the ship models, I will hope that you liked something from my suggestions