Unified Limpet Drone Control System and Drone System Revamp.
I would like to propose both a revamp of limpet system and how they behave and function as well as a Unified Controller. I thought on this for a while and I realize there are classes and grades to consider, and multi crew functionality can be expanded into something that creates a new role for a crew member as well as adding a new interface for the pilot.
Before I get into the controller, let me first describe how I’m suggesting limpet drones be changed in terms of behavior and quality.
Up to now Limpets have been thought of purely disposable craft of no importance when in reality they are the workhorse for a lot of different activities in Elite. They like our ships should be thought of as an extension of our main ships much in the same way SLFs are.
My proposal is that limpets be changed from disposable one shot items to reusable spacecraft of various design. A limpet drone will be able to be launched, ordered to do its activities in the role panel much like SLFs can and ordered to return and dock with the ship in the ship’s cargo hold. Drones will have a varying level of health and speed based on manufacturer and the player will choose what drone he wants based off the gameplay they are choosing to do.
To facilitate choice and player flexibility drones shall come in three flavors;
- Manticore GP-11 Drone – Manufactured by Manticore, this general purpose drone is the namesake of the Manticore corporation, it balances speed and durability and is the mainstay drone of choice for Commanders across the galaxy for its reliability and versatility.
- Bimini GX-7 – Manufactured by Falcon DeLacy, this drone prioritizes durability for speed, though slower than the standard drone, the increased resiliency is useful during intense mining operations with seismic charges or the occasional bump against a Commander in distress in need of repair and refuel.
- Finch D-4 – Manufactured by Core Dynamics, The Finch prioritizes speed over durability making it the fastest but least armored drone, useful for operations where high speed and maneuverability are a priority.
Each drone type can be mixed and matched based on the players need, with the player recalling the drone from the previous task and deploying the appropriate one for the next task.
Drones would be stored in their own dedicated bay and the Drone Control Unit would be more thought of like a Planetary Vehicle Hanger or SLF hanger. The total sum unit would consist of the Controller hardware (Which would be explains in the flavor text to contain the Drone Control Antannae, Command and Control System, and support linkages.), Drone Support and Storage (Contais the storage racks and charging/fuel refill system for the drones.) , and Expansion slot bays, to install specific task controllers.
To facilitate these new drones is the a Unified Drone Controller unit.
Currently there are 8 Drone functions
- Collector
- Decontamination
- Fuel Transfer
- Hatchbreaker
- Prospector
- Recon
- Repair
- Research
The controller will have the ability to contain subslots, the same way Planetary vehicle hangers have subslots, the number of which determined by what CLASS of controller you equip, While the Number of drones you can deploy at once and range is determined by the GRADE.
Class 1 = 1 subslot
Class 2 = 2 subslots
…
Class 7 = 7 subslots
-
Grade E = 1 drone (shortest range)
Grade D = 2
…
Grade A = 5 drones (longest range)
Drone control range is governed by GRADE, the higher the grade of controller will give a control better range.
Drone Control Interface and Camera:
If the player wants to take a more direct control of their drones OR, they have a multicrew member with the ‘Drone Controller’ role, they can shift into the DCI or Drone Control Interface. Much like the gunner orbit cam, the Drone controller sees their view outside and above the ship, using a point and click interface to target and order drones, a small floating panel has the different drone commands, and the operator can click the commands with their cursor.
Camera Mode:
This mode allows the drone operator to shift focus of the 3d orbit cam from the ship to the drone’s camera, Unlike an SLF the player cannot fly the drone as they would an slf, but they can use the point and click interface to move the drone around the area, their max play area governed by the max range of the drone controller.
Collector
The Collector function shall be the core functionality of the unified controller, meaning with no other expansion cards installed, the controller possesses the ability to send limpet drones out to collect things and return them to the ship.
Collection has two modes: COLLECT and COLLECT ALL. Collect will simply collect the targeted item and then return to the cargobay. Setting Collect without a target will audibly fail stating “Target Required”. Collect All, will cause the drone to fly around the local area picking up and retrieving anything that is not on the ignore list, drop it into your cargo and repeat until nothing is left to collector your cargohold is full.
The Role panel has a basic filter for what type of cargo the drone will pick up:
All,
Cargo,
Synth Materials,
Asteroid Materials.
This way you can set your material priorities without having to fill up your ignore list.
Fuel Transfer
Since the drones will be reuseable a fuel transfer drone will transfer 1 ton of fuel per trip, you can set the number of tons of fuel on it’s button in the role panel before pressing the transfer button (much like how you can choose to jettison X amounts of a cargo). The drones will transfer the requested number of tons of fuel in whole tons and stop either once the requested number has been reached or the target ship fills up, any fractions of a ton on the last transfer is vented and lost. The drone system will not allow the donor to transfer the last ton of fuel to prevent accidentally draining the donor dry. So you can if you wish transfer all but one ton of fuel in from your main tank. (so be careful you can still stand yourself if you transfer too much fuel.)
Repair, Decontamination
Function much the same as before, it’s button can be set to Repair Target or Repair Self by using the joystick or navigation key. Repair Target will repair the current target (No target throws an error message). Repair Self will order the drone to repair yourself regardless of your active target or lack there of.
Decon works the same way. Button defaults to whatever was selected last.
Prospector
Firing at an asteroid provides real time data on an asteroid’s composition, they are deployed and run to attach to the asteroid, they can be recalled by pressing the recall button or if they are set to “auto-recall” will auto recall back when the ship is close to max drone range.
Research
Works the same as it does now
Recon and Hatchbreaker
Recon drones run to a datapoint and hack it, upon completion of it’s goal it automatically returns to the owner.
Hatchbreaker, works in two modes, which is set in the role panel, Grapple mode and Breech mode.
Grapple mode, flies toward the target and once past the defenses and attaches, hacks into the cargo bay of the target, grabs a random 1 ton of cargo and returns it to the pirate (This could be anything, including limpets, canisters, even material from material storage.) Anything that’s in the cargo bay. There is a cooldown that must complete before the attacking player can do it again.
Breech mode, flies toward the target, grabs on, and the drone detonates, blowing open the cargo hatch, several units of cargo and material spills out into open space. This mode costs the drone, and has a MUCH longer cooldown before it can be used again. (a cool down long enough that most engagements will really only allow it to be used once maybe twice.)
They can be countered by point defenses or the player targeting the drone and try to destroy them, or use electronic counter measures which if successful, will immediately disrupt the command and control signals and change them to an INERT state. Assuming anyone is still around after the battle, they can be picked up by anyone who happens to be around.
Open questions:
- I am not entirely sure what the base range should be and what the maximum range, Grade A should be. (Thoughts?)
- I’m wondering if hacking, either recon or hatchbreaker could have a simple hacking minigame associated with it (I don’t pvp so would like input from PvP players. Is this something you guys would like?)
- Future concepts: With the advent of the camera modes, I’m wondering if the research and/or prospector drone could have its capabilities expanded in the future, with different ‘vision’ modes, allowing the player to investigate things, and look for resources. (Is this something people might like?)
- Advanced Repair mode: A kind of repair minigame allowing for deeper then normal repairs? Modules like the powerplant or a broken cockpit glass? (Is this something people might like?)
- Future drone card concepts: The previous descriptions was to accommodate the legacy functions of the limpets, but what kind of NEW functions would you like to see?
Any additional questions, thoughts or opinions I didn’t express here?
Thank you for your time. Please feel free to discuss.