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oznogon edited this page Apr 9, 2020 · 20 revisions

Advanced sensors

  • Additional sensors as a powered ship system
    • Does not replace existing sensor functionality; most existing ships should not have this
  • High power draw forces Engineering decisions
    • Extend long-range scan range with additional power; degrade on underpowered/damage state
    • Reduce scan difficulty/autoscan speed with additional power; flicker objects on scanners on underpowered/damage state
    • Draw additional power during active scan; encourage more efficient player input
  • Detailed signal sensors
    • Detect ships not only by visibility/reflectivity but also by emissions (heat, electrical, gravitational)
    • Reveal ship energy consumption and system activity
    • Warp/jump signatures, track origin and destination of recent non-impulse movement

Enables:

  • Stealth gameplay
    • Visual cloaking/visible by signal only with significant energy draw
    • Signal cloaking/impervious to homing trackers only with significant energy draw
    • Silent running; intentionally underpowering to reduce signal footprint
  • Electronic warfare options
    • Flares/signal decoys
    • Missile hacking (maybe worth pursuing regardless)
    • IFF spoofing
    • Beam/missile lock avoidance
    • Nebula and planets as natural homing/beam lock avoidance
    • Signal jammers that mask radar/signals within range (portable nebula)
  • EWACS ships
    • Ship types with many advanced sensors and extra-long sensor range to rapidly scan/hack many targets at once, but few/no weapons and shields; powerful tactically but high-value target and vulnerable in combat (Hawkeyes/Sentries/Sentinels)
    • Scanning screen, can be used to offload multiple simultaneous scans so Science can focus on tracking/painting targets

Multiple probe types

  • Probes with non-scanning functions
    • Short-range warp/jump/sensor jammers
    • Decoy probes (same radar trace and signal profile as the parent ship)
    • Detonator probes (modify mine behavior so that these are the only probe type that will set off mines)
    • Beacons (position appears on all same-faction Relay, like broadcasting a waypoint)
    • Camera probe (linkable to main screen)
  • More restrictive lifetime rules (noted in new probes tab of ship database)
  • Engineering? Relay? Science? reconfigures the next probe to be launched into a non-scan type
  • Try to avoid enabling imbalancing probe spamming
    • Heavy time cost, similar to recalibrating shields
    • Heavy energy cost
    • Consumes a probe to reconfigure, so launching a non-scan probe effectively costs 2 probes
    • Only one probe at a time is reconfigured; reverts back to scan, no launching 2+ at a time (stations can batch convert?)

Enables:

  • More electronic warfare mechanics
    • ... or imbalances the game with spamming overpowered probes?
  • "Fixing" mechanical exploit of setting off mines with scan probes by enabling it at a cost
  • New wacky AI behaviors (CPU ships that can launch decoys, jammers, minebusters)

Configurable ambient sounds

  • SFX on certain actions and states
    • Temperature, power, damage alerts on Eng/DamCon/Power
    • Hull creaking, reactor instability, impulse noise on damage states
    • Failure sounds upon systems hitting negative damage states
    • Tube loading, beam arming sounds
  • UI audible feedback/chirps
    • New unknown sensor contact (how to track?)
    • When heat or damage reaches threshold points (>80% heat, 0 heat; shields/system/hull damaged to <50%)
    • When being scanned, targeted, hailed
  • Must be toggleable on stations, and probably default to off
    • Potentially inappropriate for multi-screen in-person games
    • Potentially disruptive to online games using non-PTT voice chat
    • For accessibility, VISUAL ALTERNATIVES/SUBTITLES ARE A MUST
  • Ideally played local to the station and responsive to local state, without requiring network sync

Enables:

  • Diegetic bridge ambiance without requiring DMX; no contrived, repetitive track required
  • Feedback that aids grokking station function and improving efficiency
    • ... or does it add to what makes a station overwhelming to newcomers?

Scriptable sounds and music

  • Scripting functions to play sounds on:
    • Main screen only (implemented as PlayerSpaceship::playSoundOnMainScreen(), but not exposed to scripting)
    • Specific stations (using CMD_CLIENT_PLAY_SOUND)
    • All stations (using CMD_CLIENT_PLAY_SOUND)
    • GM station (not implemented)
    • Spectator/Top Down stations (not implemented)
  • Disable or control threat estimation
  • Play/stop music tracks
  • Likely requires having sound/music installed locally; bundle with scenarios that require them

Enables:

  • More options for scenario writers to signal plot or ambiance
  • Audio feedback for custom functions
  • Signal scripted or GM-controlled game events

Configurable beams

  • Beams that can do any type of damage
    • EM beams for dropping shields and damaging targeted systems faster
    • Kinetic "beams"/railguns for damaging hulls faster
  • Sustained beams (ie. phasers) vs. discrete beam projectiles (ie. HVLI but energy)
  • Non-damage beams
    • Nanorepair beams (hull repair)
    • Energy transfer/refueling or shield-boost beams
      • Increased regenerative efficiency by synchronizing beam freq with the target's shields
      • Finally, a way ships can help stations after an attack
    • Tractor/repulsor beams (pull/push ships and objects; networking difficulties, physics engine has little concept of relative mass)
    • Scanning beams (alternative to Science for scanning on fighters/single-pilot craft)
  • Beam slots that can be swapped between types, similar to tubes
    • Maybe only swappable when docked?

Enables:

  • Support ships
    • Actual functional tugs
    • Anti-shield and anti-hull specialists that can/must work together
    • Field repair ships
    • Long-range refuelling ships
  • IFF/scanning options for small craft and fighters where the full functionality and cognitive load of Science doesn't make sense
  • New support AI behaviors

Derelict ships

  • Intact ship whose reactor hits -100% and stays there for 30 seconds loses its crew but isn't destroyed
    • When disabled, all systems drop to -100% damage and all energy is dumped
    • Hack the ship to capture it for the player's faction

Enables:

  • Meaningful piracy; capture ships and their cargo
  • Any ship can be a player ship
    • Requires that any ship becomes capable of being a player ship; need default generic ship layouts and attributes for templates without them
  • Emergent skeleton crew escort missions
    • PlayerSpaceship:transferPlayersToShip() allows transferring a player crew to another ship
    • ... or make it an AI ship that follows basic orders and autorepairs itself
  • Escape pods?

Implement boarding parties

  • Would require each ship to have a compliment of marines to use in boarding parties, who could also be lost as a result of damage to the ship (ala losing DamCon teams).

Implement compartment decompression as an element of ship damage

  • Prevents DamCon teams from transiting the space until repaired

Player-controlled Space Stations

  • Stationary dock-target "ship" with: 1
    • One Relay station + inventory/fleet management features
      • Maybe can be done purely through scripting and Relay custom functions?
    • Multiple advanced sensors to aid scanning
    • Ability to broadcast waypoints
    • Ability to resupply, repair, re-energize, re-crew docked ships 1
      • Limited stocks of supplies
      • Stocks are replenished by visiting freighters
      • Can craft new ships from freighter materials
    • Reliance on probes for long-range sensing 1
    • Limited inventory of support ships to dispatch
      • Fighters
      • Supply drops
      • Jumpship carriers
      • Minelayers
  • Can reward Reputation to players
  • Can deploy (and hop into?) new player ships

Enables:

  • More player-to-player comms
  • Command-and-control gameplay
    • Station commander can focus on big picture and suggest/order player ship captains
    • Fleet management of CPU ships
  • Alternative to single-pilot station for single-player/loose-wheel gameplay 1
    • Easier/less overwhelming onboarding role to help orient new players (depending on the scenario) 1

Console dedicated to drone management

  • Launch and command AI ships

Enables:

  • no more "Relay is boring" complaints

Per-ship energy draw settings

  • ShipTemplate and tweakable per-ship settings for how much energy per tick/second/action? is drawn and generated
    • Some ship reactors should be better than others
    • Some ships' systems should be less efficient than others
  • Should be a factor of baseline? Or a raw number?
  • How to deal with action costs? (jumps, missile load/fire, maneuvers; beam firing is already configurable)

Enables:

  • More ship differentiation and customization
  • Efficiency gains via scripting (ie. upgrades at stations)
  • More surface area for scriptable engineer torture

Rethink hacking mini-games and/or network operations console

  • Also provide notification when your ship is being hacked and you get to actively defend against the hack

Main screen camera position/angle

  • Set position and angle of the main screen camera
    • In ship template
    • Via script?
    • Using keyboard shortcuts (already implemented in cinematic view)

Enables:

  • Cosmetic differentiation between ships
  • Main Screen Officer

Zoomable camera

  • Allow main screen to zoom
    • Auto-zoom on target lock view?
  • Probably also reusable on cinematic camera

Enables:

  • "Magnify!"
  • Better view of distant ships
    • Disable callsigns if out of long-range sensor range?

Improved cinematic camera controller

  • FPS-style controls with faster movement speed and smoother camera movement
  • Touch controls
  • Selectable/movable object on GM or server-side spectator view
    • Only live-updates position if spectator view is on the server; otherwise move the camera only when dropped, not while dragging
  • Multiple, switchable cameras? Multicam view/multiple viewports?
    • Combine Top Down with cinematic? Make Top Down a camera preset in cinematic?
  • Better/fixed target handling
    • Multiple angles that keep both ships in view
    • Auto-switching based on ship state
    • Don't cut away when target explodes, that's the best part

Enables:

  • Better spectator experience

More main screens

  • Master Systems Display
    • Daid: The main screen extremely limited info is very much intentional
    • DamCon (ship schematic, DamCon crews, hull/shield/power)
    • Current velocity and heading
    • System heat/power/damage status bars
    • Missile load/capacity, read-only tube state
    • Beam state (small short-range radar?)
    • Probe count
    • Scriptable custom info? (current mission cargo, current orders)
  • Ships Log on main screen
  • Probe View on main screen
  • Alert state change (flash "RED ALERT")

Enables:

  • Main Screen Officer
  • Less need for going over the shoulder of Science and Relay

Mission data report

  • Post-scenario statistics report
  • Report includes:
    • Elapsed time
    • Energy consumed (total, last 5 min, last 10 min)
    • Total beams fired, missiles fired, ships hacked, hails sent/received, kill count
      • Can clients track how damage specific ships did to enemies? Should the server track/store this?
      • By ship, faction, and total?
      • Kill leaderboard?
    • DamCon crew death count
    • Scriptable custom info?
  • Can also be shown on GM station?
  • Dump content to file?

Enables:

  • Post-scenario high-fiving
  • Easier reporting on scenario results
  • Memento mori
    • Burials for our comrades in DamCon lost to the vacuum
    • Reminder that death can come for us all at any time
    • War is hell on us all and space is unforgiving

Voice-less control

  • Deliver menu-driven commands to stations
  • Captain selects from
    • ( Helm ),
      • ( set a course to )
        • ( heading ) ( 2 ) ( 5 ) ( 0 )
        • ( bearing ) ( 9 ) ( 0 ) degrees ( starboard )
      • ( ahead/reverse )
        • ( full impulse )
        • ( warp factor ) ( 2 )
      • ( full stop )
      • ( engage jump drive ) ( 3 ) ( 0 ) mark ( 5 ) U jump
    • ( Weapons ),
      • ( target ) ( selection from list of named objects within short-range radar range )
      • ( load ) tube ( 1 ) with ( selection from list of valid missiles for the tube )
      • ( fire tube ) ( 1 )
      • ( raise ) shields
      • ( set beam frequency ) to ( 4 ) ( 6 ) ( 0 )
      • ( calibrate shields ) to ( 4 ) ( 6 ) ( 0 )
    • ( Science ),
      • ( scan ) ( ship ) ( selection from list of unscanned objects within long-range etc. )
    • ( Engineering ),
      • ( more power to ) ( selection from list of ship systems )
      • ( more coolant to ) ( selection from list of ship systems )
    • ( Relay ),
      • ( launch probe to sector ) ( A ) ( 5 )
      • ( hail ) ( selection from list of named ships/stations )
      • ( hack ) ( selection from list of hostile ships )
    • ( Main screen ),
      • ( show )
        • ( selection from list of angles )
        • ( selection of radar views )
        • ( communications )
    • ( All hands ),
      • ( good/bad ) job
      • ( brace for impact )
      • ( it has been a pleasure serving as your captain )
  • Orders relayed to the relevant station via text-to-speech (TTS), voiced lines, and/or as a text banner

Enables:

  • Accessibility for language/hearing/sight
    • TTS speaks orders for players with limited vision/literacy
    • TTS can leverage translations to allow captains with no mic or who can't speak the crew's language
  • Potential for AI crew who follow these basic, direct, limited orders
    • Decomposing basic orders to a lexicon means they can be issued, scripted
    • TTS/voiced responses to the captain?
    • No advantage over a human crew — suitable to fill in if a station is unexpectedly vacated due to connection issues, for example

Completed

Mission clock

  • Display on Relay and Main

Enables:

  • Aligning log entries with mission state
  • Tracking mission objectives
  • Replace/enhance scenario-specific timers currently implemented in scripts?