Well, I'll say one thing;

If I want to make small, minor changes to my ship (non-hardpoint changes) I don't want to have to commission an entire new ship built just for those little changes.

If I'm playing as a Freelancer (Ha!) I will want to built my ship up little by little as I gain money and make changes for what works for me.

DWMagus wrote:Well, I'll say one thing;

If I want to make small, minor changes to my ship (non-hardpoint changes) I don't want to have to commission an entire new ship built just for those little changes.

If I'm playing as a Freelancer (Ha!) I will want to built my ship up little by little as I gain money and make changes for what works for me.

QFT.

thats what this thread was all about

Cornflakes_91 wrote:

DWMagus wrote:Well, I'll say one thing;

If I want to make small, minor changes to my ship (non-hardpoint changes) I don't want to have to commission an entire new ship built just for those little changes.

If I'm playing as a Freelancer (Ha!) I will want to built my ship up little by little as I gain money and make changes for what works for me.

QFT.

thats what this thread was all about

I can kinda see that mechanic working okay.

My take is this: there should be changeable features and non-changeable features.

In any ship you'd have a sensor suite, engines, hardpoints, power generators and conduits, crew facilities and quarters, and a command deck. All of this would be contained or mounted on a basic chassis. The chassis will define the dimensions and limits of some of those things, and will be what limits the upgradeability of the basic ship itself.

The chassis itself, in my opinion, shouldn't be alterable. There will always be a base to your ship -- the basic under-structure that ties the whole machine together. There might even be a swappable engine section but that still ties to an unalterable chassis.

To change that chassis, you'd have to strip your current ship, and buy a new chassis (or re-build the whole structure, I guess). On-the-fly, easy changes to the under-structure shouldn't be easy, I think that should be the hard upgrade to make. The one that costs you, and makes that bigger, better ship all the harder to get hold of.

But hey, that's just opinion. I think that would make for better gameplay, but it won't kill me if you disagree.

Alcazabedabra wrote:I can kinda see that mechanic working okay.

My take is this: there should be changeable features and non-changeable features.

In any ship you'd have a sensor suite, engines, hardpoints, power generators and conduits, crew facilities and quarters, and a command deck. All of this would be contained or mounted on a basic chassis. The chassis will define the dimensions and limits of some of those things, and will be what limits the upgradeability of the basic ship itself.

The chassis itself, in my opinion, shouldn't be alterable. There will always be a base to your ship -- the basic under-structure that ties the whole machine together. There might even be a swappable engine section but that still ties to an unalterable chassis.

To change that chassis, you'd have to strip your current ship, and buy a new chassis (or re-build the whole structure, I guess). On-the-fly, easy changes to the under-structure shouldn't be easy, I think that should be the hard upgrade to make. The one that costs you, and makes that bigger, better ship all the harder to get hold of.

But hey, that's just opinion. I think that would make for better gameplay, but it won't kill me if you disagree.

I see what you're saying, but something inside me thinks it would just be cool to just keep bolting stuff on until your little scout ship is a supercap with all these nifty things.

"I need more armor!"
"Just staple it on over here!"

DWMagus wrote:

Alcazabedabra wrote:I can kinda see that mechanic working okay.

My take is this: there should be changeable features and non-changeable features.

In any ship you'd have a sensor suite, engines, hardpoints, power generators and conduits, crew facilities and quarters, and a command deck. All of this would be contained or mounted on a basic chassis. The chassis will define the dimensions and limits of some of those things, and will be what limits the upgradeability of the basic ship itself.

The chassis itself, in my opinion, shouldn't be alterable. There will always be a base to your ship -- the basic under-structure that ties the whole machine together. There might even be a swappable engine section but that still ties to an unalterable chassis.

To change that chassis, you'd have to strip your current ship, and buy a new chassis (or re-build the whole structure, I guess). On-the-fly, easy changes to the under-structure shouldn't be easy, I think that should be the hard upgrade to make. The one that costs you, and makes that bigger, better ship all the harder to get hold of.

But hey, that's just opinion. I think that would make for better gameplay, but it won't kill me if you disagree.

I see what you're saying, but something inside me thinks it would just be cool to just keep bolting stuff on until your little scout ship is a supercap with all these nifty things.

"I need more armor!"
"Just staple it on over here!"

That would be epic.

DWMagus wrote:something inside me thinks it would just be cool to just keep bolting stuff on until your little scout ship is a supercap with all these nifty things.

"I need more armor!"
"Just staple it on over here!"

Gorram Reavers.

Well, DWMagnus, that's kinda the thing.

See, the chassis wouldn't be very modifiable, but just about anything else on the ship would be.

I mean, what's to stop you putting more armor on the thing? That's fine, makes total sense.

I'm just saying it'd be a little tacky to be able to change the whole shape and configuration of the ship without swapping out the underlying frame of the thing.

You wouldn't take a little corvette chassis and add crap on until it's the size of a dreadnought -- but you might supe the thing up until it's armored like an armadillo and sporting gigantic aftermarket thrusters and has a sensor suite that can sniff a rat out at seventy light-years. It's still a corvette chassis, though.

So, what if you want a bigger ship, but want to keep the upgrades? Well, you spend a little money at a machine shop to strip down your rig, then you build all your old parts onto the new chassis. Now you're a frigate-sized armored speed-demon with an impossible sensor array.

Alcazabedabra wrote:Well, DWMagnus, that's kinda the thing.

See, the chassis wouldn't be very modifiable, but just about anything else on the ship would be.

I mean, what's to stop you putting more armor on the thing? That's fine, makes total sense.

I'm just saying it'd be a little tacky to be able to change the whole shape and configuration of the ship without swapping out the underlying frame of the thing.

You wouldn't take a little corvette chassis and add crap on until it's the size of a dreadnought -- but you might supe the thing up until it's armored like an armadillo and sporting gigantic aftermarket thrusters and has a sensor suite that can sniff a rat out at seventy light-years. It's still a corvette chassis, though.

So, what if you want a bigger ship, but want to keep the upgrades? Well, you spend a little money at a machine shop to strip down your rig, then you build all your old parts onto the new chassis. Now you're a frigate-sized armored speed-demon with an impossible sensor array.

That is plain terrifying. Now imagine you could dish out dreadnought class fire power from your dinky little corvette.

Idunno wrote:

Alcazabedabra wrote:Well, DWMagnus, that's kinda the thing.

See, the chassis wouldn't be very modifiable, but just about anything else on the ship would be.

I mean, what's to stop you putting more armor on the thing? That's fine, makes total sense.

I'm just saying it'd be a little tacky to be able to change the whole shape and configuration of the ship without swapping out the underlying frame of the thing.

You wouldn't take a little corvette chassis and add crap on until it's the size of a dreadnought -- but you might supe the thing up until it's armored like an armadillo and sporting gigantic aftermarket thrusters and has a sensor suite that can sniff a rat out at seventy light-years. It's still a corvette chassis, though.

So, what if you want a bigger ship, but want to keep the upgrades? Well, you spend a little money at a machine shop to strip down your rig, then you build all your old parts onto the new chassis. Now you're a frigate-sized armored speed-demon with an impossible sensor array.

That is plain terrifying. Now imagine you could dish out dreadnought class fire power from your dinky little corvette.

Naw, see, that's what hardpoint limitations are for.

You can't put a battleship-sized engine rig or a dreadnought-sized cannon on a fighter the size of a Ford truck. How would you power the thing? You need a big enough chassis to support a big enough power rig to support an engine rig that big.

Maybe a battleship-sized engine on a frigate, though... I mean, if the ship-building in LT is flexible enough, the possibilities will be amazing.

Alcazabedabra wrote:You wouldn't take a little corvette chassis and add crap on until it's the size of a dreadnought...

Yes I would.

Just sayin'.

But seriously, I see the ship as not having a specific 'frame'. Eventually you keep replacing parts until you've basically replaced it with the guts of a dreadnaught.

I see it happening more like this (to use your analogy of a corvette);

You have your 'vette, and when you want a bigger engine than what the thing can handle, you saw off the front and put in a bigger engine compartment. It'll look unsightly, but you have more horsepower. You then put on monster-truck size tires and raise the car to accomodate. Bigger fuel tank and add some more sheet metal for covering it so that it's not exposed to the elements. Maybe tack on some more metal so you can expand the cabin. Extend the back half to be more limo-esque and add more tires. Maybe upgrade the engine some more and add width to the vehicle.

By now it looks nothing like a 'vette, you've modified what you're calling the chassis/frame, and while it may not be as sturdy as something that came from the factory like that, it still gets the job done.

I'm also going off the assumption that the ship editor doesn't exactly differentiate between what is a chassis or not and that it's just a matter of changing up the way things look. Eventually you've replaced enough parts that you've essentially thrown out the original corvette (piece by piece except for maybe the nifty gearshift handle) and so forth.

Alcazabedabra wrote:

Idunno wrote:

Alcazabedabra wrote:Well, DWMagnus, that's kinda the thing.

See, the chassis wouldn't be very modifiable, but just about anything else on the ship would be.

I mean, what's to stop you putting more armor on the thing? That's fine, makes total sense.

I'm just saying it'd be a little tacky to be able to change the whole shape and configuration of the ship without swapping out the underlying frame of the thing.

You wouldn't take a little corvette chassis and add crap on until it's the size of a dreadnought -- but you might supe the thing up until it's armored like an armadillo and sporting gigantic aftermarket thrusters and has a sensor suite that can sniff a rat out at seventy light-years. It's still a corvette chassis, though.

So, what if you want a bigger ship, but want to keep the upgrades? Well, you spend a little money at a machine shop to strip down your rig, then you build all your old parts onto the new chassis. Now you're a frigate-sized armored speed-demon with an impossible sensor array.

That is plain terrifying. Now imagine you could dish out dreadnought class fire power from your dinky little corvette.

Naw, see, that's what hardpoint limitations are for.

You can't put a battleship-sized engine rig or a dreadnought-sized cannon on a fighter the size of a Ford truck. How would you power the thing? You need a big enough chassis to support a big enough power rig to support an engine rig that big.

Maybe a battleship-sized engine on a frigate, though... I mean, if the ship-building in LT is flexible enough, the possibilities will be amazing.

I suppose that's where the modification module comes in. You tweak your engine till it produces the power you need. Of course, you now move slower then a cargo freighter but hey, you've got dreadnought class firepower on your corvette.

Idunno wrote: I suppose that's where the modification module comes in. You tweak your engine till it produces the power you need. Of course, you now move slower then a cargo freighter but hey, you've got dreadnought class firepower on your corvette.

Thats where the modification module becomes superfluos.
because why should i buy an completely unrelated module that costs weight and hardpoints instead of simply buying a new engine?
Same effect and i still have the hardpoint free where dhe modification module would be.

You dont need special equipment to pimp your ride in RL.
You just need a garage and a few tools.
Or an hangar and an production module.

Flatfingers wrote:

DWMagus wrote:something inside me thinks it would just be cool to just keep bolting stuff on until your little scout ship is a supercap with all these nifty things.

"I need more armor!"
"Just staple it on over here!"

reaver_hunt.png

Gorram Reavers.

Just saw this. YES!

[quote="Cornflakes_91"]You just need a garage and a few tools.[\quote]
Which is what you use to modify your ship. The modification module is more of a really light, high tech, short ranged, omnidirectional scanner. It sits in your cargo hold, taking advantage of Josh's mass-based system, and scans your hard points and records everything that it finds. You make the modifications, it just tells you where it will be easiest. You still need to be docked with something in order to make the modifications and you still need the raw materials. Docking in a hanger is best for quick modification, but you can do it on an asteroid in the middle of nowhere as well. It will just take a lot longer.

Idunno wrote:

Cornflakes_91 wrote:You just need a garage and a few tools.

Which is what you use to modify your ship. The modification module is more of a really light, high tech, short ranged, omnidirectional scanner. It sits in your cargo hold, taking advantage of Josh's mass-based system, and scans your hard points and records everything that it finds. You make the modifications, it just tells you where it will be easiest. You still need to be docked with something in order to make the modifications and you still need the raw materials. Docking in a hanger is best for quick modification, but you can do it on an asteroid in the middle of nowhere as well. It will just take a lot longer.

As long as it doesnt take an hardpoint and is reuseable im fine.