The existing exhaust-wakes from boost should be an interesting part of the combat's "terrain", not just purely visual.
The eternal problem in 3d dogfighting games is that there is little or no terrain to be tactical with, so combat leans towards shallow.
Elite already lays down these great exhaust trails behind ships when they boost etc, so these wakes should become a form of "temporary terrain" that can be used tactically.
For example, perhaps older wakes act like chaff if you are trying to shoot directly through the wake. Let's say they're too narrow to block targeting while fresh and only become like chaff after a few seconds of expansion, so simply turning tail and boosting away doesn't give a chaff cover, but boosting around (or doubling back) creates cover that can be dueled around?
Or instead, perhaps the boost wakes are hot, so if your ship is inside an old boost wake, it's a bit like using silent running - it requires the other ship to be closer for the sensors to succesfully track it. Actually staying inside a boost wake is pretty difficult and limiting (and raise your temperature?), but players could intentionally fly through wakes to try to get their opponent's ships to drop target, forcing them to have to retarget - a momentary advantage. This would also make sensor upgrades more valuable in combat, encouraging interesting trade-offs in ship loadout.
Or perhaps, like light-cycles or drafting in racing, boosting inside someone else's boost wake gives you a speed advantage. So if you are fleeing, it's wise not to boost in a straight line, lest you create a speed-advantage tunnel for the pursuer. Conversely, when you're trying to bring your nose around in a dogfight, passing through a wake will momentarily alter your turn-to-speed ratio and potentially throw you off your game - or give you the edge you needed?
Or perhaps, like ionised gases lengthing the range of lighting, your laser range isn't decreased when passing through wake, so wake can be used for a long-range shot.
Or some crazy combintion, or...
These are just off-the-cuff ideas - I haven't thought them through; I'm not worried about what the boost wakes might be used for, it just seems like a missed opportunity to use them for nothing
That said, it seems like a kinda obvious idea so I assume it's already been suggested long ago
The eternal problem in 3d dogfighting games is that there is little or no terrain to be tactical with, so combat leans towards shallow.
Elite already lays down these great exhaust trails behind ships when they boost etc, so these wakes should become a form of "temporary terrain" that can be used tactically.
For example, perhaps older wakes act like chaff if you are trying to shoot directly through the wake. Let's say they're too narrow to block targeting while fresh and only become like chaff after a few seconds of expansion, so simply turning tail and boosting away doesn't give a chaff cover, but boosting around (or doubling back) creates cover that can be dueled around?
Or instead, perhaps the boost wakes are hot, so if your ship is inside an old boost wake, it's a bit like using silent running - it requires the other ship to be closer for the sensors to succesfully track it. Actually staying inside a boost wake is pretty difficult and limiting (and raise your temperature?), but players could intentionally fly through wakes to try to get their opponent's ships to drop target, forcing them to have to retarget - a momentary advantage. This would also make sensor upgrades more valuable in combat, encouraging interesting trade-offs in ship loadout.
Or perhaps, like light-cycles or drafting in racing, boosting inside someone else's boost wake gives you a speed advantage. So if you are fleeing, it's wise not to boost in a straight line, lest you create a speed-advantage tunnel for the pursuer. Conversely, when you're trying to bring your nose around in a dogfight, passing through a wake will momentarily alter your turn-to-speed ratio and potentially throw you off your game - or give you the edge you needed?
Or perhaps, like ionised gases lengthing the range of lighting, your laser range isn't decreased when passing through wake, so wake can be used for a long-range shot.
Or some crazy combintion, or...
These are just off-the-cuff ideas - I haven't thought them through; I'm not worried about what the boost wakes might be used for, it just seems like a missed opportunity to use them for nothing
That said, it seems like a kinda obvious idea so I assume it's already been suggested long ago
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