Yes, it's another one of these useless threads, so hold tight while I pointlessly outline what changes I'd make if I were in charge of the game (which of course, I'm not).
Powerplay: I'd make it about system conquest. Say a power wants to take over a system. It changes to a "powerplay" state and anyone entering it jumps in to the nav beacon by default (this funnels everyone to one place when they enter the system). Ships try to defeat all the system faction ships and put the system in a surrender state, at which point it "flips" and becomes aligned with the new power. Players could also fight the change by destroying the aggressive power's ships, or delivering goods through the blockade. If a system tries to take over a system belonging to another of the big three, a capital ships appear at the nav beacons, making it even more difficult to "flip" the system. Oh, and only open contributions count.
Multicrew: I'd trash the current srv (yes, I know, FD loves it) and replace it with a simpler 4 wheeled dune buggy style srv, designed for multicrew with the same turret we currently have, that could be manned by another crew member, or the driver as current. Since it would be simpler, hopefully, it would also allow more than one srv to be operated, one by the pilot, and one by the crew member. I would also add a tracked and hover version of the same srv, simply replacing the wheels with tracks or thrusters. I would also just smack the same srv turret on top of multicrew ships, where it would take the place of one of the hardpoints (you could choose which one). 3rd person gunning sucks. I'd also lose the dumb exra pip. Also add, npc multicrew, seriously, why not?
Engineers: I'd trash the current system and make engineer modules PART BASED. Meaning, you equip modules with an assortment of various parts, each with fixed pro/con stats (ie, extended barrel adds damage & accuracy, adds weight, loses integrity). These parts could be made by an engineer, found in game, or traded or purchased at tech brokers. This would alleviate the grind and even out ship builds.
Mining: I'd add a mining multicrew dedicated scout fighter that could quickly scan and tag asteroids of interest to the mother ship. It would be lightly armed and could help defend the mother ship. it could also fly around and hoover up fragments with a fuel scoop that "sucks" fragments toward it (instead of painful manual scooping) and deliver them to the mother ship.
CQC: I'd make it into a proper arena system, with player configurable bots. You'd also be able to to set up a variety of matches, using ALL the ships from the game, and have settings like "disable engineer mods", or "all sidewinders", etc. Seriously, why is this not a thing?
C&P: I'd keep most of the current system but move the crime back to the Cmdr and have a degrading escalation factor that increases the more murders are committed. I'd also add a degrading faction wide way of tracking the most wanted Cmdrs (crime by Cmdro Whoseit commited in lt-339, etc.).
Exploration: I'd get rid of the surface scanner and have the discovery scanner discover everything. I'd also have it flag any planets with "mysterious things". There'd be an in game atlas/map where you could see ALL discovered systems, their stats, and the things on them. I'd also buff payouts for undiscovered things and nerf payouts for previously discovered things.
Customization: I'd lose the silly microtransactions (who are we kidding here?) and allow players to buy a customization add-on that allows them to fully customize their ships. There would be a delay while user made bitmaps were sent to and vetted by FD, and offensive mods could be reported though the interface.
Space legs: I'd add space legs! Adding a station lounge where pilots could chat, open mike, and a mission area where pilots could go and each faction would have a counter where they give missions from a real 3d person (sort of like Fallout 3-where a list of missions appears in front of the person). Plus, I'd lose the doofy 2d avatars. All other station services would also be a counter with a person. Also add space legs missions (say, plant explosives on a generator, etc).
I don't feel that any of these things would be that impossible to do and would make the game much more fun.
Discuss.
Powerplay: I'd make it about system conquest. Say a power wants to take over a system. It changes to a "powerplay" state and anyone entering it jumps in to the nav beacon by default (this funnels everyone to one place when they enter the system). Ships try to defeat all the system faction ships and put the system in a surrender state, at which point it "flips" and becomes aligned with the new power. Players could also fight the change by destroying the aggressive power's ships, or delivering goods through the blockade. If a system tries to take over a system belonging to another of the big three, a capital ships appear at the nav beacons, making it even more difficult to "flip" the system. Oh, and only open contributions count.
Multicrew: I'd trash the current srv (yes, I know, FD loves it) and replace it with a simpler 4 wheeled dune buggy style srv, designed for multicrew with the same turret we currently have, that could be manned by another crew member, or the driver as current. Since it would be simpler, hopefully, it would also allow more than one srv to be operated, one by the pilot, and one by the crew member. I would also add a tracked and hover version of the same srv, simply replacing the wheels with tracks or thrusters. I would also just smack the same srv turret on top of multicrew ships, where it would take the place of one of the hardpoints (you could choose which one). 3rd person gunning sucks. I'd also lose the dumb exra pip. Also add, npc multicrew, seriously, why not?
Engineers: I'd trash the current system and make engineer modules PART BASED. Meaning, you equip modules with an assortment of various parts, each with fixed pro/con stats (ie, extended barrel adds damage & accuracy, adds weight, loses integrity). These parts could be made by an engineer, found in game, or traded or purchased at tech brokers. This would alleviate the grind and even out ship builds.
Mining: I'd add a mining multicrew dedicated scout fighter that could quickly scan and tag asteroids of interest to the mother ship. It would be lightly armed and could help defend the mother ship. it could also fly around and hoover up fragments with a fuel scoop that "sucks" fragments toward it (instead of painful manual scooping) and deliver them to the mother ship.
CQC: I'd make it into a proper arena system, with player configurable bots. You'd also be able to to set up a variety of matches, using ALL the ships from the game, and have settings like "disable engineer mods", or "all sidewinders", etc. Seriously, why is this not a thing?
C&P: I'd keep most of the current system but move the crime back to the Cmdr and have a degrading escalation factor that increases the more murders are committed. I'd also add a degrading faction wide way of tracking the most wanted Cmdrs (crime by Cmdro Whoseit commited in lt-339, etc.).
Exploration: I'd get rid of the surface scanner and have the discovery scanner discover everything. I'd also have it flag any planets with "mysterious things". There'd be an in game atlas/map where you could see ALL discovered systems, their stats, and the things on them. I'd also buff payouts for undiscovered things and nerf payouts for previously discovered things.
Customization: I'd lose the silly microtransactions (who are we kidding here?) and allow players to buy a customization add-on that allows them to fully customize their ships. There would be a delay while user made bitmaps were sent to and vetted by FD, and offensive mods could be reported though the interface.
Space legs: I'd add space legs! Adding a station lounge where pilots could chat, open mike, and a mission area where pilots could go and each faction would have a counter where they give missions from a real 3d person (sort of like Fallout 3-where a list of missions appears in front of the person). Plus, I'd lose the doofy 2d avatars. All other station services would also be a counter with a person. Also add space legs missions (say, plant explosives on a generator, etc).
I don't feel that any of these things would be that impossible to do and would make the game much more fun.
Discuss.
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