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Autopilot Ideas

#1
I have been frequenting the forums for some time now and have been adding my ideas in where it seemed fit. I thought of something the other night, and quickly checked to see if anyone had mentioned it. I didn't notice any obvious forum posts relating to my subject, so forgive me if this has already been discussed. I really wanted to get my own idea out there and see how it fares.

From the title, you may be misinterpreting me, or you may be right on. I have a vision for a type of 'autopilot' in Limit Theory that I think while possibly removing from the idea of having to explore and really get engrossed in the game itself, could (if implemented correctly) really make a great impact in the way the game could be played. My daydream was of me flying around in my simple mining ship, gathering resources and scouting around. I haven't found anything as of yet, but decide to head back to my main 'freighter' ship. (I apologies if this isn't what you would call a large ship that has cargo holds and docking centers for other ships. Please bare with me.) I dock my ship into one of the hangar bays, and switch control (get into the cockpit) of the larger ship. I can then transport faster and longer, since this ship obviously has larger thrusters/engines. Moving this ship to a better mining spot, I then get back into my smaller ship, but leave the larger one in 'autopilot' mode. Therefore I no longer need to be in the larger ship, but it will still move to where I need it to go.

This could either be implemented in the sense that the ship simply moves forward in the direction I designated, almost as if I simply didn't shut down the engines of the ship. I also think this could be extended to more of an on-board autopilot that actually moves the ship towards a destination, or maybe simply to a planet you see in the distance. There could be a tracking device on the ship that activates the thrusters to move towards the destination. However, I do not believe every ship should have these capabilities.

Yes, the simple 'leaving engines on' option seems viable for any situation, but the on-board navigator would be something a bit more complex. I can envision this being something you would have to work towards. Perhaps, to keep it simple, it would be something you can trade for, salvage other ships for, or simply find throughout your travels somehow. My preferred idea would be that these computers could be built using resources and tools that you would posses in a much more 'late-game' type of setting, as well as bought/salvaged/found. In this way, if you decide to make a large empire of mining ships, you can work towards building/designing on-board computers and autopilot systems that move the larger ships for you, while you simply gather the resources. In my opinion, this would be better for the players who wouldn't necessarily want to have NPC's controlling their precious ships.

I could go one step further and say that NPC's should be unreliable, and they run the risk of simply stealing your goods, destroying your ships, and running off with the profit. But I won't go that far...yet. I want to see what people think of my idea, so share your feelings!
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Re: Autopilot Ideas

#2
personally id love to have a whole crew of npc working along side me and have us develop that level of player ai bonding thats getting rareer and rarer these days. that being aid it might also be an option to have ship ai systems like we see in most fantasy movies. 9 out of 10 times that theres a large ship any of the crew can address it by a given name and ask questions give instructions ect and the ship effectively becomes an npc thats very personal to your needs. for me ( someone who plans on spending a long time alone in the outer reaches of civilized space.) it would be nice to still have an npc-ai to converse with and have asist me in my work. figure if others agree with this it might be worth investing in to have different levels of ai available for purchase in game. not everyone needs a top of the line ai mind you but it would be a nice option for those of us who dont exactly like the idas of an npc roaming our ship.

and anyone who mentions the AI program lovingly known to as HAL i will personally hunt down your ship and tow you into the closet star i can find.
If I've rambled and gone off topic im sorry but i tend to be long winded as you might notice if you stumble across my other post XD. thanks for reading.
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Re: Autopilot Ideas

#3
Yes! You have some great points. I will of course love the NPC bonding that Josh wants in LT, but I think there should be some type of AI system for ships, if not just simple autopilot implementation. The different levels of these AI systems would be in increasing price or difficulty to obtain, as well as complexity. I believe Josh already has ideas of making different levels of weaponry, thrusters, and possibly mining lasers, so I believe this would work the same way. That being said, it should be much harder to obtain an on-board AI system than any type of weaponry. It should be one of those things that only powerful, rich, and important people of the universe possess.
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Re: Autopilot Ideas

#4
If there are any NPC ships at all, there will have to be an autopilot that does things like flying from A to B, docking at a station, or fighting.

The only question is one of interface.
Which functions will be available on the player's personal ship and how?
Which functions will be available for other player-owned ships and how?

"Fighting" for instance, is pretty much a requirement if you want fleet control in the game. Without that, your own ship will be a sitting duck while you command your fleet.
There is no "I" in Tea. That would be gross.

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