Blueprints and ship designer

CalenLoki

Master endo
Joined
Aug 9, 2019
Messages
741
#1
It's a hot topic recently. Between those who want ship design to be long and thus creating sense of accomplishment, and those who prefer to do it fast and efficiently.
I won't hide that I belong to the other group, but I'll try to come up with idea that at least address some other valid concerns.

I'll start with blueprint system:
1. Blueprints are physical items persistent in the game world. In a form of memory cards. There is no way to export them out of game or back.
2. They consist information of placements of all the parts. Can be either displayed as holograph (for manual building) or be read by Yolol (for automation).
3. They can be created only at Designer Hangar (DH). That is to prevent (easy) reverse - engineering or stealing designs.
4. Ship blueprint is centred
5. There are several version of BC (blueprint cards):
a. Master copy: allow opening blueprint in DH, thus modifying it and copying.
b. Permanent copy: allow projecting/reading it as many times as you like.
c. Limited copy: allow filling projected blocks/reading lines limited amount of times. I.e. ship with 1000 parts and 1500 limit can be build, then repair up to 500 parts.
d. Preview copy: can be loaded into DH without the ability to modify or copy it. But you can look at it and fly around or smash/shoot it inside BH. Can't be used for building.

And designer hangar:
DesignerDesign.jpg

1. It's a physical building in the game world, station only.
2. Inside DH you have access to streamlined design tools, like symetry mode, copy/paste/cut/delete, free moving of big segments, clear all, ect. That are unavailable elsewhere.
3. You are limited by how you build your designer parts:
a. Main hangar (black) limits how big you can build, and what you can test. i.e. for speed testing it needs to be quite long. You can also build things inside it, for testing obstacles
b. Storage room (grey) limits what parts you can use. i.e. you can't design railgun battery if you don't have enough of them in the storage. Those parts are never actually used up, it's just to prevent experimenting with something you don't have access to yet. All the tools and asteroids you want to use need to be there as well. Placement is important, as that's how it appears once you log into designer.
c. Yolol rack (brown) works similar to storage room, just for yolol cards. All the code you write inside the designer is also written on the cards outside.
d. Login point is terminal where you go to enter the designer. It's also place where your simulated body appears on the other side while your physical body stay unprotected.. You can build more of them for multiplayer sessions.
e. Blueprint rack (red) allows you to save/load blueprints. As with yolol cards, each corresponds to one inside the designer. Here you can also take those cards out to trade/move/steal them.
4. Whole design session is permanent. If you log out, it stays in the designer.
5. Normal laws of the game apply inside the designer. So you can test if it works, if it's big enough.
6. Designer walls are transparent. So unless you build walls around, you can look through it. Maybe option for turning it off (for yourself), for better performance inside big crowded stations.
7. If any segment got damaged, whole session get cleared.
8. DH inside initial (permanent/absolute) safezone would be severely limited, to force people to do high-end development in the dangerous wild space.
a. all DHs would be placed on common plots, where everyone can see what you're designing
b. small size limit 10x10x30m.
c. pre-set, low part limit (only few basic guns, thrusters, ect.)
d. you pay fee for using them, proportional to how many are occupied (to prevent people from occupying all of them)

The idea is meant to address those issues:
-sucking players out of the main world
-letting people spoil their game by testing tools they don't acquired in game yet
-stealing designs by capturing physical ships
-transporting or storing designs without exposing them to risk of being stolen.
-forcing people to waste their time by repeating the same things over and over (grind to get resources/repair after tests; dismantle abandoned projects, ect.)

And it helps players save time on tedious activities:
-streamlining automation of universal shipyards (you need to program it to read blueprint files, not to place each and every piece)
-helps repairing ship if BC remains on board.
-let people test ships before buying them (preview copy).
-make design process fast and efficient, so designers can spend more time actually using their creations in game world.
-allow testing ships without wasting resources (time).

I'm open for constructive criticism.
 
Last edited:

Metal

Active endo
Joined
Aug 9, 2019
Messages
33
#2
Imo this should only be implemented when we get player made stations because it would promote the puppy guarding of game stations, and you should have to build the ship by hand inside the DH to balance effort between small and large ship so you can't just make a yolol factory that you dump resources into to make giant ships. Also, DHs should be some what expensive (which would promote a more in depth player economy).

Or

You need to have a DH at station with a dangerous location where you pay <insert number for balancing> (Half?) the material cost of your design and visual notifications for those who might looking to nab that when it is done.
Mechanics for clarification:
-the DH is a terminal with a landing pad (for small ships) in open view and all with in a safe zone
-the blueprints are client side when they are being developed
-the material cost is based on the stations that sell materials
-when a blueprint is finalized a yolol brick is spat out and you have like 10 seconds before other people can pick it up
-both the terminal and brick glow when a blue print is finished
maybe the brick should make the ship it's in glow too?
 

CalenLoki

Master endo
Joined
Aug 9, 2019
Messages
741
#3
Imo this should only be implemented when we get player made stations because it would promote the puppy guarding of game stations,
Good point about megastations. But I still think noobs should have some way to design, even if quite limited. Just to increase their desire to get better version.
Limitations of megastation DHs:
-pre-build (on common plots, rather than private)
-transparent (no secret building at all, everyone can see)
-small (i.e. up to 10x10x30m)
-set, limited amount of available parts (only few simple guns, ect.)

you should have to build the ship by hand inside the DH to balance effort between small and large ship
That defeats the purpose of DH as place with streamlined tools for design purpose. Effort to build small and large ships will always be roughly proportional to their size.

DHs should be some what expensive (which would promote a more in depth player economy).
I'd rather create value of each DH by the smart ideas put into designs stored there, rather than cost of tools to create them. I imagine SB as game where good idea or knowledge about enemy weakness is worth more than hours of grind.
You don't attack military science lab to steal/destroy resource stored there. You do that to steal or delay their inventions.
Thus I disagree on this point.

so you can't just make a yolol factory that you dump resources into to make giant ships.
Automation is one of more desired gameplay element for large part of playerbase. While indeed blueprints make it easier, people will make shipyards even without it. The only difference would be required time spent coding blueprints by hand on memory cards. It's technically quite simple, but extremely tedious.
Not fun IMO. Feels more like work than play.

You need to have a DH at station with a dangerous location where you pay <insert number for balancing> (Half?) the material cost of your design and visual notifications for those who might looking to nab that when it is done.
Mechanics for clarification:
-the DH is a terminal with a landing pad (for small ships) in open view and all with in a safe zone
-the blueprints are client side when they are being developed
-the material cost is based on the stations that sell materials
-when a blueprint is finalized a yolol brick is spat out and you have like 10 seconds before other people can pick it up
-both the terminal and brick glow when a blue print is finished
maybe the brick should make the ship it's in glow too?
That could work. Although I think that nothing should blink, and blueprint should go straight to designer inventory.

Thanks for feedback. I'll update OP.
 

Metal

Active endo
Joined
Aug 9, 2019
Messages
33
#4
Good point about megastations. But I still think noobs should have some way to design, even if quite limited. Just to increase their desire to get better version.
Thats what a single player sandbox would be for.

That defeats the purpose of DH as place with streamlined tools for design purpose. Effort to build small and large ships will always be roughly proportional to their size.
The reason for it was you would already have the ship build so you could take it out and test it or drive back in and change it, and so you could scan it again or go back in and revert your change (probably with a time limit so you can't scan ship you found). Also, you can't make anything that you don't have access to, which was one of your points. (also potentially less exploits you have to deal with)


I'd rather create value of each DH by the smart ideas put into designs stored there, rather than cost of tools to create them. I imagine SB as game where good idea or knowledge about enemy weakness is worth more than hours of grind.
You don't attack military science lab to steal/destroy resource stored there. You do that to steal or delay their inventions.
Thus I disagree on this point.
So 1: if the DHs are cheap there is no incentive to seek out someone else's, meaning less player interactions and makes a multiplayer game kind of bland.
2: a more expensive DH gives the player a reason to keep gathering resources for something useful, because it doesn't make the game fun when you get good stuff for no effort.
3: if you want smart ideas from new player they can go into a single player game and bring their ideas to multiplayer
4: if you want weaknesses about enemy ships PvP is a tool you can use or you can capture a ship or if espionage is more your stride then steal a blueprint, but giving a noob the ability to make blueprints won't make ideas more valuable and will just be harder to find them when there isn't some kind of hub for blueprints

Automation is one of more desired gameplay element for large part of playerbase. While indeed blueprints make it easier, people will make shipyards even without it. The only difference would be required time spent coding blueprints by hand on memory cards. It's technically quite simple, but extremely tedious.
Not fun IMO. Feels more like work than play.
I don't think I made my point very clear, but my point was that you shouldn't spend 30min in a DH as a solo player and pump out any number of large through a factory. you should actually have to spend some effort when making large ships so people group together to make cool things. if you make it too easy to make ships so there is little point help to get help you will just have a bunch of solo player that don't really do anything interesting in the game.
 
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