Sparked by the discussion about having system-wide emergency calls for out-of-system emergencies, nozmajner suggested implementing beacons as non-buyable ships that can be spawned by a script.
The particular situation where I would use them right now is this: A ship goes missing in system B. The owner (coorporation, research base, etc.) in system A sets up a system-wide emergency call to anyone in system A to go search for the ship, providing last known location. If the player finds the ship first - all is good. If someone else finds it first the player will either see the rendezvous of the other two ships, knowing he is late. Or he will reach the former location of the lost ship (which has since moved on with help from others), where a small beacon has been released letting everyone know that no more help is needed.
Beacons could also be very useful for other scenarios:
- remnants of pirate attack/battle
- following a trail of beacons to a secret meeting place
- etc.
nozmajner and I envision them to be small (~1 m) and causing a comms display if you get close enough.
This would not cause a lot of extra work - except for nozmajner, who would have to model it :).
Thoughts? Objections?
Beacons
Re: Beacons
A quick model to support it. Half meter long box, so it's storable. With two meter antennas and a little bit of solar panels. Navlights will go to the tip of the antennas.
I could make it smaller, but that would be hardly visible from the cockpit.
I could make it smaller, but that would be hardly visible from the cockpit.
Re: Beacons
Hi, some thoughts I had wile seeing this:
- To actually see the rendezvous with the competing ship it would have to last a very long time (until player arrives?) I assume.
- If "competition" is part of the mission, how will the player know this? Will there be some kind of indication of how many ships have responded to the distress call? Do you "accept" the mission, or is it just a piece of news announcement?
- With my comment on #3785 I was more thinking of in-system distress call/mission on all BBS in that system. That feels more natural to me, as why would you have the distress call outside the system, provided it is an inhabited? Or is it more a case of "they should have been back by now", rather than "we have received a distress call", since the former might be good for inter-system rescue while the latter for inter-planetary rescue.
- Also, dropping a beacon when help is no longer required feels a bit like a loose end to me. Are people that kind in 3200? A beacon should more be used when someone really wants something. Setting up a meeting point, or sending distress call, perhaps ending with "attempting to land on closest planet" or something.
- Would you have to dock with the beacon or be very close to it to communicate with it? Or else you end up never actually seeing it, I suspect.
With the New-NewUI (I.e. NuklearUI) hopefully getting into the game, soon we might have ship-to-ship (or ship-to-beacon?) communication, and maybe ship-to-ship transfer screens when pseudo-docked.
- To actually see the rendezvous with the competing ship it would have to last a very long time (until player arrives?) I assume.
- If "competition" is part of the mission, how will the player know this? Will there be some kind of indication of how many ships have responded to the distress call? Do you "accept" the mission, or is it just a piece of news announcement?
- With my comment on #3785 I was more thinking of in-system distress call/mission on all BBS in that system. That feels more natural to me, as why would you have the distress call outside the system, provided it is an inhabited? Or is it more a case of "they should have been back by now", rather than "we have received a distress call", since the former might be good for inter-system rescue while the latter for inter-planetary rescue.
- Also, dropping a beacon when help is no longer required feels a bit like a loose end to me. Are people that kind in 3200? A beacon should more be used when someone really wants something. Setting up a meeting point, or sending distress call, perhaps ending with "attempting to land on closest planet" or something.
- Would you have to dock with the beacon or be very close to it to communicate with it? Or else you end up never actually seeing it, I suspect.
With the New-NewUI (I.e. NuklearUI) hopefully getting into the game, soon we might have ship-to-ship (or ship-to-beacon?) communication, and maybe ship-to-ship transfer screens when pseudo-docked.
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FluffyFreak
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Re: Beacons
Beacon's could have their uses but I'm with impaktor that they wouldn't be left behind when someone has been rescued.
Trails, Distress calls, cargo drops, and I'd like to see escape pod rescues(?).
Nice model.
Trails, Distress calls, cargo drops, and I'd like to see escape pod rescues(?).
Nice model.
Re: Beacons
Yeah, I guess I brought up beacons to provide exlpanation/way for a supposed gameplay. Could be that it's deployed before the rescue and left behind, but nut sure if it's justifiable at all with things like broadcast power or so (how it can be stronger then the ship radio?).
I don't know what could be used instead apart from wreckage or escape capsule, but those are even problematic, if the mission is not about crew rescue, but fuel or pilot delivery.
Maybe some parts of like burnt hyperdrive or engine left behind as trash after they replaced it?
I don't know what could be used instead apart from wreckage or escape capsule, but those are even problematic, if the mission is not about crew rescue, but fuel or pilot delivery.
Maybe some parts of like burnt hyperdrive or engine left behind as trash after they replaced it?
Re: Beacons
Okay - I guess impaktor and FluffyFreak are right. Now thinking about it for two days, it would seem kind of odd to be so kind as to leave a beacon once you are rescued. I'm sorry for the extra work of creating the beacon model, nozmajner. I really like it! I will have to think of another reason to put it in.
Re: Beacons
Secret rendezvous point with smuggler. If you're early, you'll have to sit off time, if too late, then no cocaine for you!I will have to think of another reason to put it in.
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FluffyFreak
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Re: Beacons
Black markets, turn up at beacon, talk to, get list of black market jobs.
Re: Beacons
impaktor, fluffyfreak - both great ideas!!
Re: Beacons
I imagine beacon will be very useful if/when ship-to-ship transfer becomes real. Perhaps the BBS black market moves to deep space? Or you do resupply missions for the black market? "Running low on drugs in system XX, needs urgent resupply". Problem: then the black market should have low quantity of that good, but it's a separate module with local variables. --> requires some thinking.
Regarding what you say in your latest #3789 "searching isn't any fun", I imagine what players want is an excuse/mission to fly over terrain, and see nice planets.
- Mission says "intercepted emergency signal emanating from vicinity of planet X
- Problem: we need some system for how emergency signals are shown to the player? System wide range? Prints SOS-message once(?) in comms? Or some flashing thing? (nozmajner, any ideas?) Comms.SendEmergencySignal(from_ship_id)?
- You go there and find the beacon in orbit,
- Maybe you hail it and it will give a fuller message: the ship has crash landed between x1,y1 and x2,y2. Now you need to fly over that pattern in some fashion. Maybe use pen and paper to draw the two corners and some search pattern?
- Problem: would the ship be visible in orbitview? Or would it be represented as some kind of object? We need some C++ work for this perhaps? Code to place mission stuff (downed ship, military base) on planet surface? Hailing ships is something so fundamental for good game play / interesting missions, that we just have to have it, so that should be done sooner or later.
Regarding what you say in your latest #3789 "searching isn't any fun", I imagine what players want is an excuse/mission to fly over terrain, and see nice planets.
- Mission says "intercepted emergency signal emanating from vicinity of planet X
- Problem: we need some system for how emergency signals are shown to the player? System wide range? Prints SOS-message once(?) in comms? Or some flashing thing? (nozmajner, any ideas?) Comms.SendEmergencySignal(from_ship_id)?
- You go there and find the beacon in orbit,
- Maybe you hail it and it will give a fuller message: the ship has crash landed between x1,y1 and x2,y2. Now you need to fly over that pattern in some fashion. Maybe use pen and paper to draw the two corners and some search pattern?
- Problem: would the ship be visible in orbitview? Or would it be represented as some kind of object? We need some C++ work for this perhaps? Code to place mission stuff (downed ship, military base) on planet surface? Hailing ships is something so fundamental for good game play / interesting missions, that we just have to have it, so that should be done sooner or later.