(11-14-2014, 12:56 AM)Void_Nemesis_GOF2 Wrote: It's a nice idea, however the main problem is that compared to the upcoming cloak buff, it's going to be next to completely useless, except if you were to run out of cloak fuel, for example. Furthermore, it would allow players to afk or autopilot off the plane and be completely invisible to scanners no matter how hard you tried, making finding them a little harder. So as long as it can be used to afk off the plane or do completely silent trade runs outside of visual range from normal players, then no.
Well, you can't really trade much in the freighter (max about 540 cargo bay compared to the 3600 and more), that's the main point of that thing - to make freighters used as well again. Those things would not be available on the other vessels but only bombers, fighters and freighters. Preferably freighters. About avoiding interactions, well, you can still see the engine flare from like 5-7K.
My idea is simply useless, but possible, for transports and bigger, because they are visible from the 16-25K per bare eye. I need players with freighters and fighters to test the idea though (I would do snapshots with and without hud).
(11-14-2014, 12:56 AM)Void_Nemesis_GOF2 Wrote: It's a nice idea, however the main problem is that compared to the upcoming cloak buff, it's going to be next to completely useless, except if you were to run out of cloak fuel, for example. Furthermore, it would allow players to afk or autopilot off the plane and be completely invisible to scanners no matter how hard you tried, making finding them a little harder. So as long as it can be used to afk off the plane or do completely silent trade runs outside of visual range from normal players, then no.
Well, you can't really trade much in the freighter (max about 540 cargo bay compared to the 3600 and more), that's the main point of that thing - to make freighters used as well again. Those things would not be available on the other vessels but only bombers, fighters and freighters. Preferably freighters. About avoiding interactions, well, you can still see the engine flare from like 5-7K.
My idea is simply useless, but possible, for transports and bigger, because they are visible from the 16-25K per bare eye. I need players with freighters and fighters to test the idea though (I would do snapshots with and without hud).
freighters already are capable combat craft with high cruise speed, TS/TZ, and in some cases dual CMs and other traits.
(11-14-2014, 12:56 AM)Void_Nemesis_GOF2 Wrote: It's a nice idea, however the main problem is that compared to the upcoming cloak buff, it's going to be next to completely useless, except if you were to run out of cloak fuel, for example. Furthermore, it would allow players to afk or autopilot off the plane and be completely invisible to scanners no matter how hard you tried, making finding them a little harder. So as long as it can be used to afk off the plane or do completely silent trade runs outside of visual range from normal players, then no.
Well, you can't really trade much in the freighter (max about 540 cargo bay compared to the 3600 and more), that's the main point of that thing - to make freighters used as well again. Those things would not be available on the other vessels but only bombers, fighters and freighters. Preferably freighters. About avoiding interactions, well, you can still see the engine flare from like 5-7K.
My idea is simply useless, but possible, for transports and bigger, because they are visible from the 16-25K per bare eye. I need players with freighters and fighters to test the idea though (I would do snapshots with and without hud).
freighters already are capable combat craft with high cruise speed, TS/TZ, and in some cases dual CMs and other traits.
I'm not speaking about combat here. I am speaking about... well... usefulness of the freighters for smuggling with that tech included. Fighters with that ability also would give some new tactics. We should at least test that idea though and see how it would work. If it would be bad, well, we'll remove it.
(11-14-2014, 01:07 AM)Haste Wrote: It's practically impossible to track let alone hit and destroy something the size of a fighter, bomber or freighter without being able to target it.
So for all intents and purposes, it's pretty much cloaking.
But you are still visible and they will know you are there. They will pursuit you... at least to the nebulae or bigger asteroid field, where you would eventually shake them and ran away.
Also, note it is a way cheaper than cloaking, also, no shield and no weaponry for 10-20 seconds. That is a lot of time.
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If people can mount this stuff on a 5ker, they will. And it'll work. Honestly, nobody is going to notice the 5ker sliding by along the tradelanes without a targeting HUD element.
I think you overestimate how alert people are about their surroundings. Players are spotted by their presence on the list in the bottom-left of your screen, not because they're somewhere on your screen.
(11-14-2014, 01:12 AM)Haste Wrote: If people can mount this stuff on a 5ker, they will. And it'll work. Honestly, nobody is going to notice the 5ker sliding by along the tradelanes without a targeting HUD element.
I think you overestimate how alert people are about their surroundings. Players are spotted by their presence on the list in the bottom-left of your screen, not because they're somewhere on your screen.
Well, they will still search. This is why I pointed out the smaller vessels only, though (to not to eff up the balance). As I said - with that, you are defenceless like a target practice, with no shield and weps for 20 seconds, if you are found.
Smugglers should be more accustomed to travelling off the beaten trail, making use of all the space available in a system to travel. I think this would be particularly abused by snubs, and its true, it would make a ship basically CD cloaked while travelling, without paying the typical price for a cloak. However, I wouldn't be absolutely opposed to a version of this that could be done while a craft was remaining still. If ships wanted to park and kill their power, meaning no shields, weapons or engines, which would make them only unselectable or viewable on scanner, that wouldn't too bad. Groups could wait in ambush or sit and linger, chat, while remaining off scanner. But you'd want a decent charge time, else all a snub would have to do to escape would be to stop dead and 'kill power' taking it off scanner.
But you know, as balance, CM's and Mines could still have a counter effect. CM to jolt your power back on, and a mine could do significant damage. Sort of like 'depth charges' to force subs to the surface in naval warfare. That way you couldn't park 2 k from an enemy in a nebula and taunt, they have to be able to force you into a contactable state, since there wouldn't really be a time limit in the same way the need for fuel limits time you can cloak.
If it can cruise, it can be targeted. Ship's sensors for sure spot working engine, by heat, EMF disturbance, because ship's using plasma engines, oh and ofcourse, by VISIBLE exaust, comming from nozzles.
And ofcourse, if combat computer system has completely seperate life away from a ship's flight managment system, you indeed won't be able to find target.
It's just logical, that vessel, with working cruise engines will be spoted and going to be completely tractable by exacly this working cruise or impulse engine. Even after engines burn, the heat will uncover your presence.
(11-13-2014, 10:06 PM)Toji-Haku Wrote: bring again some roleplay activity to the smuggling with freighters
75th roleplayed smuggling with freighters for about 8-9 months (might even been a year) very successfully without any gimmicky tech doohickeys.
to want to use and enforce the use of freighters within your faction, you simply have to role play poorer people in the grand scheme of the universe.
but everyone wants to be rich, and come from a rich background, and have 5k transports up the wazzoo, and be the captain of a battleship, and a bomber, and a VHF with codes. (etc)
when we ran around sirius smuggling cardamine with our scimitars and dromedarys we VERY RAREY got caught, and even more rarely lost a ship. it was great fun and everyone enjoyed it.
though for most people flying light fighters or freighters is against their religion.