Ship Repair and Recharge in Ship Storage Menu

[MoonSet416]

Not sure if this is a thing or not, but I thought I'd just throw this out there.

I would be really nice if ships can be repaired, recharged and rearmed when despawned in the Ship Storage Menu. (I don't actually know the name of that menu. I remember seeing it in a dev blog where the player summoned a mining ship from that menu and later despawned it with the same menu.) Of course this service should come at a cost, both in terms of in-game money and time to stop ppl from abusing it.

 

[XenoCow]

That cost (money and/or time) should also be high enough that repair shops are still viable options for players to open. There was also a mention of refueling at stations in the stations video. I don't know if that is at some sort of pump, or when storing your ship.

 

[MoonSet416]

Yes, this system should be paid in credits, similar to how ready built ships are more expensive than their raw material costs. Or if a player happens to have some material in the station inventory, this system should use those materials as well.

 

[FranklinZ]

Yeah that is necessary. Tearing half the ship down to get to a broken wire/filling every small hole on the armor/manually changing every clip on every autocannon is not what we play the game for. It will also greatly discourage combat.

 

[XenoCow]

Tearing half the ship down to get to a broken wire/filling every small hole on the armor/manually changing every clip on every autocannon is not what we play the game for. It will also greatly discourage combat.

I think good engineering forethought will make repairs less bothersom since there should be hatches and maintenance walkways. Also, I think many players will find repairs an enjoyable part of the game.

Maybe combat should be a special event. There are other games if you want to just fight over and over.

I think that combat will likely be rare, but when it does happen, it'll be spectacular. The most common fights will probably be little skermishes between privateers and cargo ships, and random rogue encounters.

Part of the appeal of Starbase, at least for me, is how dangerous combat will be. It will make the victories that much better, and the defeats that much more humbling. The repair will give you something to do between fights. If you choose to repair your own ships, I think you will be able to learn a lot about how to fine tune them for better performance in the next fight.

Lastly, I like the idea of seeing ships that have been through a few battles looking like they have. Patchwork armor, bullet holes through non-essential parts, exposed wires for easy fixes, etc..

 

[FranklinZ]

I think good engineering forethought will make repairs less bothersom since there should be hatches and maintenance walkways. Also, I think many players will find repairs an enjoyable part of the game.

Maybe combat should be a special event. There are other games if you want to just fight over and over.

I think that combat will likely be rare, but when it does happen, it'll be spectacular. The most common fights will probably be little skermishes between privateers and cargo ships, and random rogue encounters.

Part of the appeal of Starbase, at least for me, is how dangerous combat will be. It will make the victories that much better, and the defeats that much more humbling. The repair will give you something to do between fights. If you choose to repair your own ships, I think you will be able to learn a lot about how to fine tune them for better performance in the next fight.

Lastly, I like the idea of seeing ships that have been through a few battles looking like they have. Patchwork armor, bullet holes through non-essential parts, exposed wires for easy fixes, etc..

Agreeing on maintenance being fun in some ways, but having to patch every hole manually was too much repetitive labor. Maybe make the repair shop can only repair low tech parts, or charge more for more complex repairs.
However, combat is the core of the game. Everything from mining to building ultimately comes back to making you a better warship to fight other players. The only other ultimate goal I can think of except fighting is building replicas of ships in other franchises. If you have to spent a lot of effort repairing your ship after each battle, most people will choose not to have fights, and that means the entire game is only mining and building a bigger miner and mining again. Regular fighting is kind of needed.

 

[XenoCow]

but having to patch every hole manually was too much repetitive labor.

I can see that (personally I enjoy that kind of work). That's where I think repair shops, or for bigger companies, a team of engineers. I think you could hire people to fix up your ships for you. Once you have more than one ship, it shouldn't be too troublesom to have one in the shop being repaired while you fly around in the other.

However, combat is the core of the game.

While I think at this point you are right fo the most part. From looking around at the various companies that are forming, many of them are not going to be combat focused at all. There are people going to be researchin YOLOL, people transporting players around, many traders, a few banks doing finance work. Although combat is currently the main starting place for players to do anything, the game will be about mostly doing things other than fighting.

 

[Brushes]

Combat may not be the core of the game...

 

[FranklinZ]

I can see that (personally I enjoy that kind of work). That's where I think repair shops, or for bigger companies, a team of engineers. I think you could hire people to fix up your ships for you. Once you have more than one ship, it shouldn't be too troublesom to have one in the shop being repaired while you fly around in the other.

While I think at this point you are right fo the most part. From looking around at the various companies that are forming, many of them are not going to be combat focused at all. There are people going to be researchin YOLOL, people transporting players around, many traders, a few banks doing finance work. Although combat is currently the main starting place for players to do anything, the game will be about mostly doing things other than fighting.

Okay maybe combat is not necessarily the "core" of the game play, but its the big consumer. Without fighting and the consume of resources, deflation will soon take place and everyone will be playing in creative mode in less than a year. I personally like designing and building ships more than fighting, but I still want to see those ships in action. If the mining only adds to an already oversized stockpile of materials, people won't be mining anymore as well. You can mine and trade very efficiently and become the richest faction in the entire game, but so what. Since you can not use the money to improve quality of life in a game, and you can't spend on technological research aside of making minor engineer adjustments, so the only thing to use those money on is A man made wonders and B war. Although I am interested in A myself, I don't think it will be enough to propel the game.

 

[MoonSet416]

I do agree with the fact that easy access to some internal components (like the generator fuel rod) is necessary. However, things like fuel tanks are gonna get refuel ports anyways according to the devs. Also manual repairing will just be reprinting parts of the ship with the building tool and I honestly don't see the fun in that.

 

[XenoCow]

Without fighting and the consume of resources, deflation will soon take place and everyone will be playing in creative mode in less than a year.

I think we agree on this point. I just suggest that repairs are done manually for cheap, and through stations at a greater cost. I think fighting will be important and fun, but if everyone can too easily repair their ships, then the economy would once again be in peril.

 

[XenoCow]

Also manual repairing will just be reprinting parts of the ship with the building tool and I honestly don't see the fun in that.

That's a reasonable standpoint. There should be a way for you to repair your ships without hassle, ie. a station repair mechanic. I also think if you are willing to wait a bit longer, pay less, and support fellow players that repair businesses should be viable too.

 

[MoonSet416]

That's a reasonable standpoint. There should be a way for you to repair your ships without hassle, ie. a station repair mechanic. I also think if you are willing to wait a bit longer, pay less, and support fellow players that repair businesses should be viable too.

Yep, gotta balance the two playstyles.