So, I think it might be time to rethink how limpets work in the game. Currently (and in the beta) there are

Prospector limpet
Collector limpet
Hatchbreaker limpet
Repair limpet
Recon limpet
Fuel transfer limpet
Decontamination limpet
Research limpet

It's starting to get a bit out of control, especially with the addition of three new limpet types in quick succession. When there was no reason for most players to have more than one or two limpet controllers on a ship everything was fine. The problem, as I see it, is that anyone wanting to take advantage of multiple limpets for research or combat really can't unless they have a ship with tons of internal modules. Now, maybe this is an intentional way to limit the number of limpet types one ships can have for gameplay reasons. But, from my perspective it seems like they're being added this way because it was an easy way to add an interaction and it was easier to just add a new module type than rework how limpets work. However, I think it might be time to re-evaluate that position. Here's my suggestion: make one new module called "limpet controller". Much like fighter bays or SRV bays it will have multiple sub-slots. Each slot can have a separate limpet modifier. Each modifier will be of one of the types listed above. The larger sized the module, the more limpet modifiers it can hold. So a size 7 limpet controller might be able to hold 7 limpet modifiers. Instead of using fire groups you would select which type of limpet you want to fire next. Pulling the trigger or appropriate key fires that type until you change what type of limpet is "loaded". I realize the dev team is working hard on much bigger and more important stuff right now, but I think it would be a nice quality of life improvement and allow them to continue offloading new gameplay onto limpets without it being too much of a burden on players.
 
+ 1 For wing play I can understand, maybe, the multiple controller types but for those that play [in] solo forcing many controllers + the cargo to store them cripples other fitting options.
 
I posted this on our discord earlier:

image.jpg

Class1 means its accessible to small ships as well...only limited by cargo (limpets) size.
 
Last edited:
That's basically what I was thinking, but the reason I thought of a size restriction was for future functionality if they decide to add more and more limpets. Each limpet controller should take up some physical space, since it would also have the job of modifying the physical makeup of the limpet itself. (For some reason I keep thinking of the Centurions toys). So, it would seem a bit silly if you could put 27 limpet controllers in a sidewinder (to use an absurd example). But hey, one size 1 controller is better than eight of them.
 
That's basically what I was thinking, but the reason I thought of a size restriction was for future functionality if they decide to add more and more limpets. Each limpet controller should take up some physical space, since it would also have the job of modifying the physical makeup of the limpet itself. (For some reason I keep thinking of the Centurions toys). So, it would seem a bit silly if you could put 27 limpet controllers in a sidewinder (to use an absurd example). But hey, one size 1 controller is better than eight of them.

I like your proposal, but consider this.

Leaving aside gameplay restrictions and playing with in-game reasoning, the ship computer says "Programming Limpet Drone". This seems to suggest that it's just a matter of software. If the Limpet Controller is, essentially, a computer specialized in programming and controlling "universal" limpets, why would different programs take physical space? It would be enough to have one Limpet Controller and a number of universal limpets.

This might seem too "easy" tho. So I think it would make more sense to make a universal Limpet Controller, and then give us the chance to synthetize 8 different kinds of limpets.
 
Why so hard? Universal module+universal ammo is the right way. What we need is just ability to choose mode in wich those module will work.
 
I can see the problems from a balancing perspective. I was thinking it'd make sense to keep the ranges and number of active limpets the same, but have each controller able to only program a certain number of limpet types. And maybe even have it so you need to select them in outfitting at a station. So say a C1 controller can program 2 types of limpets, C3 3 types, C5 4 types and C7 5 types. That way there's still some balance and trade offs that need to be made in outfitting ships.

I agree that program storage shouldn't take tonnes of mass for programming, but it is a game afterall and there should be some decisions that need to be made and not a single Controller to *Control Them All*
 
I can see how rolling all limpet controllers into one might make things a bit too easy outfitting wise, although I wouldn't be against it. Alternatively, to ease the pressure on module slots for larger ships that want to bring limpets, you could have limpet controllers be universal, but have a limited number of Program slots, similar to how you can equip multiple flighters or SRVs in Fighter Bays or Planetary Vehicle Hangars.

An example (numbers of course subject to change by Frontier):

Limpet Controller 1C: 1 Program Slot [Prospector Limpet Program]
Limpet Controller 3C: 2 Program Slots [Repair Limpet Program, Collector Limpet Program]
Limpet Controller 5C: 4 Program Slots [Fuel Transfer Program, Research Program, etc...]
 
Last edited:
One controller, one universal limpet would be fine.

The current system is just overly complex and unweildy.
 
I can see how rolling all limpet controllers into one might make things a bit too easy outfitting wise, although I wouldn't be against it. Alternatively, to ease the pressure on module slots for larger ships that want to bring limpets, you could have limpet controllers be universal, but have a limited number of Program slots, similar to how you can equip multiple flighters or SRVs in Fighter Bays or Planetary Vehicle Hangars.

An example (numbers of course subject to change by Frontier):

Limpet Controller 1C: 1 Program Slot [Prospector Limpet Program]
Limpet Controller 3C: 2 Program Slots [Repair Limpet Program, Collector Limpet Program]
Limpet Controller 5C: 4 Program Slots [Fuel Transfer Program, Research Program, etc...]

That's basically what I was proposing, though I probably didn't explain it very well.
 
Top Bottom