The Future Of Transponders

[STEALTH]

Hopefully in the future we'll be able to use the transponder for an actual ship name versus "player's name ship". BUT with that I hope that there's a game mechanism where the company the ship belongs to is automatically assigned. This would make it so whatever company a player is in is automatically put in the front of the ship's name and cannot be altered. This would then be followed by whatever ship name the player creates.

So if a player belongs to company TWS then the first part of the name will automatically be (TWS | Player Created Name). This would prevent the cheesy tactic used in DU where people easily give their ships false company names to throw off everybody. They also use it to easily have others blaming another company for piracy, combat, etc. all day long. This would make it to where transponder trickery can only come via stealing a transponder off of another ship and using it.

If a player is not in a company at the time of ship creation then that will remain blank. As soon as the player joins a company the initials will then automatically be put in at that point. Just an idea I thought of, not saying it's perfect but I'd hate to see the cheesy nonsense from DU in this game in regards to transponders. Also would like to see something more than "Player Name's Ship" though; I understand that this is merely the first implementation of the deal.

 

[CalenLoki]

To ad onto that, transponders could use some simple IFF colouring.
Green-group
Blue-company
Pink-devs

Just like player characters

 

[XenoCow]

To ad onto that, transponders could use some simple IFF colouring.
Green-group
Blue-company
Pink-devs

Just like player characters

Potentially an enemy status could be given to other companies so that that their transponders show up as a different color. More generally maybe companies could select what color other companies appear to them as.

 

[StarStoks]

Do you have to have a transponder? Is there any down side to not going in with a transponder? other than people won't immediately know it's you?

 

[XenoCow]

Do you have to have a transponder? Is there any down side to not going in with a transponder? other than people won't immediately know it's you?

Nope, you can (for the time being) fly without one, or with it off. I don't know that there is a down-side yet. Eventually it might look suspicious if you're flying around in someone's territory without one.

 

[CalenLoki]

Do you have to have a transponder? Is there any down side to not going in with a transponder? other than people won't immediately know it's you?

No, it's completely optional (at least for now).
And even if you have it, you can just turn it off.

There were some hints that they may be connected to ship ownership in the future. But nothing certain

 

[StarStoks]

Hmm okay. With this new system that STEALTH is talking about would you all want it to be mandatory or for it to just be something that is natural and telling if someone doesn't have it? like how Xeno cow suggested.

 

[XenoCow]

Hmm okay. With this new system that STEALTH is talking about would you all want it to be mandatory or for it to just be something that is natural and telling if someone doesn't have it? like how Xeno cow suggested.

For me, I like the idea of being able to steal transponders to infiltrate into enemy territory. I don't think that they should be mandatory, but instead just a tool for organizing, rescue, navigation, and security.

Calenloki has talked about other ways of identifying ships that cannot be so easily turned off (if you're trying to avoid detection). So, there can be some balancing that goes on between visibility and stealth and between mandatory and optional.

 

[STEALTH]

Just to clarify; I was not suggesting that transponders be mandatory or that they have to be on at all times. I would hate if transponders were mandatory; I like the idea of folks "flying dirty". The only thing I wanted mandatory was that the Company Name be locked in so it can't be altered.

This prevents the cheesy tactic in DU where everyone pretends to be everyone else. This also adds value to transponders since a stolen one can be very valuable. A stolen transponder would no doubt be seen as gold to an opposing faction so selling it can be profitable or keeping it for trickery purposes later. As far as what's the downside to not having yours on while flying around....

The downside would be you getting KOS'd instantly or demanded to immediately turn it on if you find yourself accidentally or intentionally getting too close to a Faction's territory. Depending on that Faction they may choose to just take you out first, ask questions later or give you a very short amount of time to ID yourself by turning it on. This also applies to a situation where maybe you just run into another player while out n' about. They may take no identification as a instant threat.

Of course the downside to having it on is that others can see you. The pros of course is readily having IFF around traffic or especially in battle!

 

[five]

Just to clarify; I was not suggesting that transponders be mandatory or that they have to be on at all times. I would hate if transponders were mandatory; I like the idea of folks "flying dirty". The only thing I wanted mandatory was that the Company Name be locked in so it can't be altered.

This prevents the cheesy tactic in DU where everyone pretends to be everyone else. This also adds value to transponders since a stolen one can be very valuable. A stolen transponder would no doubt be seen as gold to an opposing faction so selling it can be profitable or keeping it for trickery purposes later. As far as what's the downside to not having yours on while flying around....

The downside would be you getting KOS'd instantly or demanded to immediately turn it on if you find yourself accidentally or intentionally getting too close to a Faction's territory. Depending on that Faction they may choose to just take you out first, ask questions later or give you a very short amount of time to ID yourself by turning it on. This also applies to a situation where maybe you just run into another player while out n' about. They may take no identification as a instant threat.

Of course the downside to having it on is that others can see you. The pros of course is readily having IFF around traffic or especially in battle!

I see blackmarket opportunities

 

[CalenLoki]

Calenloki has talked about other ways of identifying ships that cannot be so easily turned off (if you're trying to avoid detection). So, there can be some balancing that goes on between visibility and stealth and between mandatory and optional.

Yes. Kind of sensor that tells whom you're looking at. But just for identyfikator, rather than detection, as you need to point a beam at the ship.

But! It would still work with transponders, even when they're turned off. If there is no transponder at all, your incognito (and probably considered shoot on sight). If you have more than one, it would show the last one that was turned on.

 

[XenoCow]

The only thing I wanted mandatory was that the Company Name be locked in so it can't be altered

Perhaps companies could choose which level members could stamp transponders with their company tag. Otherwise, the value of transponders may go down as spies and greedy players might sell off many transponders and dilute the market.

 

[GooseMan-HonkDealer]

Yes. Kind of sensor that tells whom you're looking at. But just for identyfikator, rather than detection, as you need to point a beam at the ship.

But! It would still work with transponders, even when they're turned off. If there is no transponder at all, your incognito (and probably considered shoot on sight). If you have more than one, it would show the last one that was turned on.

Scanner-rays?
I hope im on the same page here, but pointing a device to read information is a generally preferred asset, and for a number of reasons.

We can go all out on this and maybe start a separate thread over "Information tools(?)" , but lets go ahead and list a couple other items we can toss in the mix since its still relevant to transponders.

Trasponders to give us a ship location(already here) its affiliation or group(as suggested) and maybe tell us at a glance its Status? such as if it is operable or not?

YOUR Idea, for a directionally aimed 'scanner' (my name for it, bear with me) can have a number of different routes to follow, even Multiple Variants.

Firstly, lets branch over Ship-mounted and Hand-held. Ship mounted scanners should be able to read *just* the basic glance over a broader area of data stats upon another ship. I'll go by category here, but bear in mind none of these have to be exact or on the point, Hand-helds can give us more specific information.

Movement:
Ship's available top speed/ acceleration/ current speed/ mass/ Bearing and Direction ---- And as a challenge to any Yolol Techie, see if you can find a way to steal someone's intended course or destination coordinates before I suggest that.

Armaments: -This one calls for a lot of heavy data; its a stretch and a daydream
Tell us if the ship we are scouting has mounted or active weapons. Does not need to include whether these weapons are functional or if they have ammunition, just " X number of Auto-cannons/ X Railgun mounted weapons detected/ X torpedo Bays." or even vaguer, and not tell us how many arms are found.

Integrity:
Expand on the Ship's current Mass is in relation to what it's base mass is. Is the Ship Powered/ low on reserves? How much further can it travel (flight-time) ?

* And for anyone that sees opportunity in just this category alone: If a ship is Heavier that its base mass, it has cargo. Lighter means damaged. Go Salvagers and Pirates!

And if we really want to push coding and information retrieval in the game:
Resource Scanners:
To tell us, at a glance, What resources can be expected inside a stowed cargo crate, or loose ammunitions/ fuel rods/ torpedoes.

No numbers or specifics necessary, just tell us if we can see it there or not.

Hand-held scanners can expand on these qualities and show more precise information over different areas, with the trade-off of having to be in close proximity to work. (If we can expect them as a seperate tool alone and not just another tab on the U-Tool, to cut down on universal use.)

Handheld scanners like this can also bring in some certain and underrated opportunities from their use. Especially in the case of Ship-boarding: Hijacking, piracy, blockades, military checkpoints, ship yards, and smugglers.

 

[CalenLoki]

Scanner-rays?
I hope im on the same page here, but pointing a device to read information is a generally preferred asset, and for a number of reasons.

We can go all out on this and maybe start a separate thread over "Information tools(?)" , but lets go ahead and list a couple other items we can toss in the mix since its still relevant to transponders.

Trasponders to give us a ship location(already here) its affiliation or group(as suggested) and maybe tell us at a glance its Status? such as if it is operable or not?

YOUR Idea, for a directionally aimed 'scanner' (my name for it, bear with me) can have a number of different routes to follow, even Multiple Variants.

Firstly, lets branch over Ship-mounted and Hand-held. Ship mounted scanners should be able to read *just* the basic glance over a broader area of data stats upon another ship. I'll go by category here, but bear in mind none of these have to be exact or on the point, Hand-helds can give us more specific information.

Movement:
Ship's available top speed/ acceleration/ current speed/ mass/ Bearing and Direction ---- And as a challenge to any Yolol Techie, see if you can find a way to steal someone's intended course or destination coordinates before I suggest that.

Armaments: -This one calls for a lot of heavy data; its a stretch and a daydream
Tell us if the ship we are scouting has mounted or active weapons. Does not need to include whether these weapons are functional or if they have ammunition, just " X number of Auto-cannons/ X Railgun mounted weapons detected/ X torpedo Bays." or even vaguer, and not tell us how many arms are found.

Integrity:
Expand on the Ship's current Mass is in relation to what it's base mass is. Is the Ship Powered/ low on reserves? How much further can it travel (flight-time) ?

* And for anyone that sees opportunity in just this category alone: If a ship is Heavier that its base mass, it has cargo. Lighter means damaged. Go Salvagers and Pirates!

And if we really want to push coding and information retrieval in the game:
Resource Scanners:
To tell us, at a glance, What resources can be expected inside a stowed cargo crate, or loose ammunitions/ fuel rods/ torpedoes.

No numbers or specifics necessary, just tell us if we can see it there or not.

Hand-held scanners can expand on these qualities and show more precise information over different areas, with the trade-off of having to be in close proximity to work. (If we can expect them as a seperate tool alone and not just another tab on the U-Tool, to cut down on universal use.)

Handheld scanners like this can also bring in some certain and underrated opportunities from their use. Especially in the case of Ship-boarding: Hijacking, piracy, blockades, military checkpoints, ship yards, and smugglers.

I believe we're going quite far from the topic of player identification (transponder/IFF scanner).
May be good idea to move to more relevant thread about scanners.