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Player character being "on" a station

#1
If I land my ship on a station (or carrier) I would like to be able to exit the ship.

I'm not talking about modeled station interiors but... the player "persona" would then reside on the station or carrier.

If that's one of my assets, I am then in control of it just as if I had switched to that.

When "flying" a station I would be in an outside view, able to rotate and look around it... and fire it's weapons.

If it's an NPC station I would just be able to look around... but I could send "my" ship to run errands elsewhere under AI control while I do some empire management from my office on the station.


Empire builders always end up wanting ginormous flagships... but what if they could "live" on a station of truly epic proportions?
Living on a ship always feels a bit gypsy-like.
Living in my very own palace? Win.
There is no "I" in Tea. That would be gross.
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Re: Player character being "on" a station

#2
Interesting concept. Also begs the question: what about a planet? Same deal, or...?

I'm not really sure how I feel about assuming control of the station. Sometimes in Freelancer getting onto a station would be a nice way to relax after a pretty intense fight, and restock/repair. I guess it could be that there's an "assume command" button somewhere if you own the station; or perhaps this is just better done through the strategic view?
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Re: Player character being "on" a station

#5
Doesn't even need a background picture. The player's avatar in the world could simply be the station. Outside view, rotating around it... just like a ship.
The "cockpit" view of a station would be in the hangar so you could switch between those, maybe see your own ship parked there...


You may not be able to do any more than in your ship - other than trade with passing AI using the station's inventory space - but the concept of being in a place rather than in a ship is appealing. Especially if you built it yourself. =)
There is no "I" in Tea. That would be gross.
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Re: Player character being "on" a station

#7
Gazz wrote:Doesn't even need a background picture. The player's avatar in the world could simply be the station. Outside view, rotating around it... just like a ship.
The "cockpit" view of a station would be in the hangar so you could switch between those, maybe see your own ship parked there...


You may not be able to do any more than in your ship - other than trade with passing AI using the station's inventory space - but the concept of being in a place rather than in a ship is appealing. Especially if you built it yourself. =)
But if my avatar is the station, then how can I get in a ship? I'm imaging a space station piloting a fighter ship. :lol:
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Early Spring - 1055: Well, I made it to Boatmurdered, and my initial impressions can be set forth in three words: What. The. F*ck.
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Re: Player character being "on" a station

#10
Gazz wrote:You "board" a ship that's in the station's hangar. One of yours, naturally.

If you're in an AI station you could also buy one... then you have a ship docked there again. =)
Or create a ferry quest and let an NPC drive you around? :D
Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.
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Re: Player character being "on" a station

#11
I'm "on board" with it! ;)

The interesting thing about this idea is that it's just a logical extension of what already exists. And I mean really logical! Think about it: in the footage you've seen so far, the camera follows your own ship because you're inside it, why else! When you dock at a station, you see the interior, because the camera is still following your ship, because you're still inside it. When you step out of your ship, it is again natural that you see the exterior of the context in which you're located, e.g., the exterior of the station. Same thing goes when you're docked in a larger ship and you step outside. And of course, if you control the asset in which you're currently located, you have some controls from that view (in the case of your ship, obviously you can maneuver and shoot, etc. in the case of a station, as you say, it makes total sense to be able to control the hardpoints in the same manner).

Logical win.

:)

EDIT : I notice that you're also flirting with the possibility of a player without any ship whatsoever, just residing in another entity. It's a very interesting possibility and I'd like to explore it further. I've been trying to loosen the coupling between player and ship for some time now. The only issue is that every time I do so it leads me closer to a full 'crew' mechanic. In the end I'm not sure if we'll be able to make do without crew gameplay...but I guess I'll face that when the time comes :think:
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” ~ Henry Ford
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Re: Player character being "on" a station

#12
Since you need a "leave ship" button for when the player lands a fighter on one of his carriers, it's near zero extra work.
You can already switch between docked ships so basically you only need to add all directly connected ships to the list.
The player persona could be on a fighter docked with a carrier docked with a station so more than one level of mobility would be required.

The only difference is that when being on board an AI ship, you don't control it's steering or hardpoints.
That would make the "jump drive ferries" a possibility. Huge ships that work like the boats in Everquest or Zeppelins in WOW.

No new interface or artwork required. I figured you'd like that. =)

JoshParnell wrote:The only issue is that every time I do so it leads me closer to a full 'crew' mechanic. In the end I'm not sure if we'll be able to make do without crew gameplay...but I guess I'll face that when the time comes :think:
I didn't want to open that can of worms.

I'm not totally against it but it needs to work in an abstract way that scales easily.
That's difficult because when talking about it, lots of folks jump down the rabbit hole and go all out RPG on it. =)

This would be an approach that works all the way up to the "strategy game" level of gameplay.
But that's an entirely different topic.
There is no "I" in Tea. That would be gross.
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Re: Player character being "on" a station

#13
This is something that would be great to include in an expanded form through later DLC or version of Limit Theory. Both the idea of being able to 'hop on' a station or another ship, and then be able to access systems that are otherwise blocked can add interesting dynamics such as hostage scenarios.

Though what Gazz has been stating is much more simple than my grand idea and probably more achievable in your busy schedule, most space sim games generally have bits where you hop on stations and usually it is just text/menu based. For example you must transfer across to a station, so that you can make major changes to your current ship.

In terms of crew, I would assume that it should be a simple matter to have crew members randomly generate with slightly different stat's at planets and stations. This would be a very interesting area to lay groundwork for an expansion after release.
Limit Theory - The most beast looking Space Sim.
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Re: Player character being "on" a station

#14
Masterofjumping wrote:In terms of crew, I would assume that it should be a simple matter to have crew members randomly generate with slightly different stat's at planets and stations. This would be a very interesting area to lay groundwork for an expansion after release.
This is the rabbit hole I was talking about. =P

Suggest you take it to one of those threads instead.

This topic isn't about crew at all.

It's about a change of view or scope very closely within the current game mechanics.
"Crew stuff" is massively more complex and we have several threads about that already.
There is no "I" in Tea. That would be gross.
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Re: Player character being "on" a station

#15
Is it possible to have it where if you leave the game long enough unattended a small rotation is applied to the camera?

I'm imagining as you're the station, you see the background of ships leaving and arriving and a slow rotation in all cinematic style to show you the world around.

Hell, maybe even apply it while you're in menus and outside of menus you can control it manually.

Simple eyecandy really. :P
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Early Spring - 1055: Well, I made it to Boatmurdered, and my initial impressions can be set forth in three words: What. The. F*ck.

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