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Jammi Wrote:Even in the single player campaign, the Nomads deployed a cloak disrupting satellite outside Zone 21 to prevent the Osiris from sneaking in. It'd be really cool if a similar thing could be done with PoB equipment now - the ability to place stationary disruptors that would indiscriminately knock out any cloaks within their active radius.

I'd suggest that the satellites should have an active range of around 15 - 20k and function in much the same way as a cloak disruptor. Anything within that range becomes visible again. To create one, construct it through the cloak disruptor factory - once completed, a "satellite deployment unit" is placed in the station's inventory.

Using the command "/deploy satellite" with the unit in your cargo bay would result in the satellite manifesting in space, using the existing radar satellite model (the spinning dish, as seen in SP, Omicron Delta and Koeln). The satellite would be unarmed and display the name and IFF of its home base. So a satellite deployed from Academia del Perdido would read "Academia del Perdido - Disruptor Satellite" and run a Corsair IFF.

The satellites should be unarmed, and be able to repair themselves steadily. Effectively, they should be able to be just about destroyed by one heavy battleship with maybe 20 minutes or so of effort. Shooting the satellite wouldn't raise their home station's shield (because that'd be weird as hell if the satellite was on the opposite side of the system).

Proposed build commodities are similar to current disruptor devices, with the addition of fusion diodes to represent an internal power source:

- 20,000 units of Iridium
- 20,000 units of Reinforced Alloys
- 10,000 units of Fusion Diodes
- 10,000 units of Energy Field Equipment
- 10,000 units of Super Alloys
- 10,000 units of Tungsten
- 10,000 units of Plasmonic Metamaterials
- 10,000 units of Magnetic Superconductors


Your Pretty Noob Wrote:It's fine and it would be nice to see it in game, BUT:
Quote:Shooting the satellite wouldn't raise their home station's shield (because that'd be weird as hell if the satellite was on the opposite side of the system).
About not raising shields --> OK
However the 2nd part should be changed IMO. Those satellites should be placed not-so-far-from-it's-home-base, lets say something about 20k. Or just it should be placed relatively close to it. Cuz IMO it would be kinda weird if this satellite (which is on the opposite side of the system comparing to its mother base) will work properly and send&receive information through the whole way.

I'm also not sure about it's disrupting range, 10k should be enough if not too much IMO.

But on the other hand, we're now in 822 AS. and almost every technology is now pretty modernized. Cloaks as well, and they should be even invulnerable or quasi resist to this effect.
And well, it was Nomad creation

jammi Wrote:Either of those two concessions would pretty much render the thing useless considering the cost and the fact that they can actually be destroyed, unlike mounted equipment. Also the fact that they can't move to make use of limited range, unlike mounted equipment. They really need to be able to deploy away from their base and have a fairly extensive range.

Originally I was thinking you'd be able to buy the satellites and then deploy them absolutely anywhere - the system limited idea was a game mechanics thought in favour of fairplay. Being able to deploy a satellite anywhere in the game would make them far more useful when it comes to selling them to other groups though. Being able to deploy them anywhere is fairly counterbalanced by the fact that they're destructible in any case - a battleship could go through and wreck the entire network at night.

They also don't need to transmit data back to their home base: they're entirely autonomous constructs designed solely to drop cloak fields. You don't need a communication line to do that.


Your Pretty Noob Wrote:Then maybe this technology should be limited to bigger PoBs? Like at least Core 3 or 4 ones. Due to it's costs and possibilities, as well as functions. It should help to avoid placing it in random locations, as well as will exist as a expensive toy for rich people.

Like building this toy will require something like blueprint from admins to avoid being constructed by smaller bases.

And what about rights to pew it? Feel free to open fire or maybe something based on PoB's sieges?

jammi Wrote:Standard cloak disruptor factory seems to be limited to larger PoBs anyway, so that might take care of itself? Dunno whether Core 2's are able to build them yet.


Rebirth Wrote:I like your idea but I'd like to add the following;

- When someone attacks the satellite, the PoB should turn hostile just as it is when attacking a weapon platform. It's part of the station - when someone tries to cut off your arm doesn't that count as hostility, for example?
- Make them be auto-deployed 2,5 k above the PoB after writing /deploy satelite, so it can't be placed too far away and does serve it's purpose. I honestly don't see a good reason to have a Cloak Disruptor Satellite on the other end of the system hanging around alone
- Make it only able to have one satellite deployed at the same time, this can be used to add on new satellite types later so you have to choose from 2 or 3 different ones.
- Make it easier to build, also when it's destroyed it's gone - because it's no stationary module like weapon platforms. They shouldn't respawn, either this kind of idea or add a new class over the 'Modules' for PoBs called 'External Modules' or 'Deployed' containing stuff like deployed satellites that will respawn over time... though I like the first one, with being gone after destruction better

yeah, keep up the good work. I like your suggestions and ideas

jammi Wrote:You know, one alternative that could be neat is using the small comm buoy model instead of the rotating satellite dish, and then making them unmappable so they don't appear on your HUD. This basically makes them stealthed, so the only way to deal with them is to spot it visually, fly right up to it and shoot it down.

As a trade off, maybe they could be very frail and easily, permanently destroyed. So you could try and hide them behind the structure of a jump gate, or stash one in an asteroid field. If you wanted to get rid of it, you'd have to send scouts out to eyeball it and try and locate them visually.

TheUnforgiven Wrote:I like a 'tachyon detection grid' angle better (star trek) which might leave a cloaked ship visible/targetable in a certain radius, but not actually knock out their cloak. They have the option to turn back out of the zone and withdraw before its too late, and I think a cloak CD should be the thing for frying a cloak. Personally I don't think there are any bases that need such a function all that much, most that could have one are already safe enough, spies don't usually hurt bases, caps do. Even to remove stalking traders or suppliers of bases...what more do you want? A POB in a mining field or along a busy trade route, and absolutely no risk? Gotta draw a line somewhere.

However for military zones and bases that are supposed to be 'secret' or highly secured, I wouldn't complain about such a thing being used there. Perhaps it would make more sense as a faction perk than something anyone can build and deploy.

SnakeLancerâ„¢ Wrote:Hey that actually would be realy interesting. Something like that Zoner Satelite in Delta which disrupts Cloaking Devices.

Highland Laddie Wrote:A sattelite 20k away from its PoB would be in-game silly nonsense. No more than 2k away would be fine.

jammi Wrote:The reason I'm not fond of the idea of limiting the range on these things is because they'd be most useful deployed around jump holes/gates and places like that where people are most likely to want to sneak through.

By shackling them to a base, you're directly encouraging people to build bases at those points which is massively detrimental, and something the community has spent years discouraging.

If the base is in a non critical location (like miles from anywhere in open space, or sat by an existing NPC station), the satellite becomes totally redundant - anything cloaking up to the base would have to decloak to shoot it anyway.

You'd also be effectively limiting production to one per PoB, seeing as there's no real use in deploying 5 in a tight radius around your station.

For this concept to work they really need to be freely deployed. Ideally anywhere in the game, but as a compromise, limited to the same system as the mother base.

Alley Wrote:So my initial reaction to this was how the hell could I wrap up something like this, as the cloak system and the pob system are handled separately. I got yet again in touch with FriendlyFire of Tides of War (poor guy I've been harassing with FLHook questions for months) and it turns out the solution might be simpler than I thought, and in fact open up new possibilities for the future.

Thyrzul Wrote:ALL HAIL THE KITTY! LONG LIVE THE KITTY!

Antonio Wrote:It's alright, but should be approached with extreme caution when balancing. Limiting only 1 per system would be okay, so it doesn't get abused completely in systems like New York. Also not making it too easy or too hard to blow up and making the range balanced, 20k seems a bit too much. It should be at most 15k which is the usual scanner range, but 10k sounds even better.

Dr.Linston Wrote:What if you don't necessarily have to destroy the satelite. Like the Weapon platforms it could have a life bar and when it's empty cease to function.

jammi Wrote:
Antonio Wrote:It's alright, but should be approached with extreme caution when balancing. Limiting only 1 per system would be okay, so it doesn't get abused completely in systems like New York. Also not making it too easy or too hard to blow up and making the range balanced, 20k seems a bit too much. It should be at most 15k which is the usual scanner range, but 10k sounds even better.

Well, "abuse" is highly subjective. In my outline, if there's an overproliferation of the things, it's because someone's put in an awful lot of cash and materials to do so. Also, you can blow them up if you can find them.

Based on that, I'm really liking the idea of the unmappable 'stealth satellite', so you have to hunt them down, almost in a game of de-cloaking hide and seek.

Lots of decloakers in an area? Dislike that fact? Round some folks up and hunt them all down.

Zigeris Wrote:I like it les do et!


Hidamari Wrote:this might be pretty cool
Highland Laddie Wrote:A satellite 20k away from its PoB would be in-game silly nonsense. No more than 2k away would be fine.

The problem is, there are enough bases that are next to Jump holes as it is.
La Fortaleza and Puerto del Sol to name a couple.

If Cloak Disrupter satellites are to become a thing, then bases within 15 K of a jump hole shouldn't be allowed them or they must be moved. As Cloaks seem to be the only thing past some bases that guard key systems. Worse when they are set to the guard reputation.
Can they be something using the POB plugin which doesn't involve a bloody modular base? That plugin has so much potential for stuff beyond the already well-developed modular base dynamic. Make them free, independent structures rather than POB defense platforms for the accustomed modular station.
(11-16-2015, 08:44 AM)Dunc- Wrote: [ -> ]Can they be something using the POB plugin which doesn't involve a bloody modular base? That plugin has so much potential for stuff beyond the already well-developed modular base dynamic. Make them free, independent structures rather than POB defense platforms for the accustomed modular station.
Well, also i need to prove myself for the Dev Team, so let me try to create one of these satellites. I try it with a 5k range.

Also I can try to improve the POB Plugin with modular stuff.
Just give me a few days.
(11-19-2015, 08:58 PM)Samuel Samuels Wrote: [ -> ]Well, also i need to prove myself for the Dev Team, so let me try to create one of these satellites. I try it with a 5k range.

Also I can try to improve the POB Plugin with modular stuff.
Just give me a few days.

Don't toy too much with the inner workings of the POB plugin, disco runs on a pretty heavily modified version compared to what is available on the starport. It shouldn't be a problem to create the satellite system though.
(11-19-2015, 08:58 PM)Samuel Samuels Wrote: [ -> ]Well, also i need to prove myself for the Dev Team, so let me try to create one of these satellites. I try it with a 5k range.

Also I can try to improve the POB Plugin with modular stuff.
Just give me a few days.

Document your creation (no need for voice just cam cord) it will allow other people to learn a lot.