JoshParnell wrote:Full Damage -> Big kaboom
Heavy Damage -> You may lose subsystems (turrets, etc) that have to be replaced (i.e., they may be destroyed and not repairable)
Moderate Damage -> Need to repair at a station/planet, will just cost credits, no replacement parts required (again, unless a module gets completely destroyed)
Light Damage -> Presumably this would mean you have a shield and it didn't get penetrated, so of course it regenerates
Now as for all engines getting destroyed...it's still not clear to me how I want to handle it in the case of the player. Indeed, it would seem you would need a tow, but that adds a lot of complexity. I'm not sure how to handle this one elegantly yet...
I personally don't like the idea of self-healing damage like many modern fps games do, regenerating shields are fine but not hardware. An automated repair module would be ok for repairing a set amount of minor damage (maybe make it depend on how much spare parts you have in your cargo hold), but major repairs should require a space station drydock. Carriers of course would be able to mount a fighter repair bay.
As for ships getting disabled i'll add to the possible solutions for this, here's some of my suggestions.
1. Make a distress beacon module available. It should be tied to your life support/ship's black box, so if the life support is destroyed the distress beacon would be moot anyway. In the event of irreparable damage to your engines, the automated beacon will start transmitting. After an amount of time (can be random or depending on whether there's a nearby populated system), AI ships will come to investigate.
If you're lucky they'll be friendly and straight up mount a rescue, towing your ship to a drydock (for a fee of course, depending on your relationship status with that faction). If you're in the middle of pirate/hostile space, you'll be captured and have to pay a ransom (or get your current ship/cargo "repossessed") before you are set free.
2. If your ship is completely destroyed, you are launched from an escape pod/lifeboat (if you installed the appropriate module) which will home in to the nearest populated station/planet, with similar conditions as suggested in the first point. If the player cannot pay a ransom, they will have to run a couple of missions for that faction to clear their debt, or they will be let go on the condition that they owe that faction a favour.
3. Towing can be implemented by having your ship "land" on the rescuer, only you can't control it (and maybe add a tractor beam effect to show who is towing who). As an extension to this mechanic, add a tractor beam module will allow you to tow other ships either as spoils of war, or rescuing NPC/AI ships you come across. Ships that are disabled cannot decide who "rescues" them, so you could turn the tables and ransom captured enemies as well!
4. Adding this mechanic is probably not easy in terms of the amount of coding needed, but the benefit is not just solving the problem of ships getting critically disabled, but also adds another aspect to missions: bounty hunting. Its a perfect mechanic to add more flavour to missions, as it will require you to apply finesse to your combat. Aside from just search-and-destroy, some missions can be "Wanted Dead or Alive", and some higher paying ones require the target to be captured alive.
Just some ideas you might find useful.