Landable Planets Idea

[Blackstarr]

Ok... Ive had this idea dancing around in my head for about the better half of a year now...... I've molded it.... taken away thinks that arent possible.... and I think I have come up with a PLAUSIBLE theory..... I just dont have the technical knowledge to do such a feat....:(

Ok imagine this...... You near Planet Manhattan (Im going to use Manhattan because EVERYONE knows about manhattan) You near Planet Manhattan and you head towards the docking rings..... but..... when you reach the docking rings..... you orbit the planet until you reach another "Docking ring".... now this doesnt look like an ordinary docking ring...... it is a Jumpgate..... BUT!..... when you hover over it it says that it is a docking ring...... you dock with it..... and it takes you to the surface of Manhattan.

Imagine being able to fly around the city on Manhattan, dogfighting around the buildings using them as cover.... docking with a skyscraper...... Imagine it...


AND DONT TELL ME IT ISNT IMPOSSIBLE!!

for there is a way.....


There are two different servers that I want to refer to.....

I cannot remember if off of the top of my head..... but I have been to a server..... that they made an entire SYSTEM into a maze..... when I asked the admins about it.... they said the maze... was in fact.... a gigantic base.

My other reference is to Freeworlds..... the Yavin system to be precise..... they created the yavin system as such so that planet Yavin is HUGE! and all of the moons are orbiting it.

Why do i reference these two examples?

Ill tell you why.

This is how theorize how a landable planet could be created.

Simply create a new system..... call it "Planet Manhattan". Make it a small system.... we are creating a city here not a system... like you would normally be doing.

Now... on the 0 plane of the system you would place a GIGANTIC plane ...... Basically this plane would be a Flat surface... but modeled into that surface you have the basic city..... all of the buildings that you make on the plane are undockable...... it would be as big as the system you are created..... now on this plane.... you add Model buildings.... now these buildings are not like the buildings I mentioned before. No the buldings I mentioned before.... are infact.... molded into the plane itself... therefore it is one large object.. the plane and the buildings.... no... these new buildings are going to be bases.... you will place them among the buildings that are already there and these will all be dockable.

Now..... i know that it sounds like a crazy idea.... but alot of the "Crazy ideas" of long ago are necessities to you and me today.... cars.... airplanes.... im not going to get into that...

The problem is I dont have the technical knowledge to make this dream a reality.... the only thing I know how to do that can help with this project is model the buildings themselves. I have GMAX.... and I took a class on 3D modeling at school.... so I am very good at that....

But I dont know the rest.... adding the system... adding the bases.... Texturing.... Commodities..... all of the good stuff that makes a system worth while.

I have gotten permission from a freind of mine to let me test this theory on his server..... but I need help..... if you want to take part in this feat of engineering them PM me please........

If not ..... you can discuss the idea below as well :D

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[Dab]

While it would not be possible, the amount of work it would require would delay the next mod version by a term of 2 years. First, you'd have to do it to every planet. Even if you don't, each would have a different 'atmosphere' as in different buildings, no buildings, geographic features, etc. Docking skyscrapers.. Not realistic, even for FL, and would look incredibly wierd. Not to mention having to make skyscrappers into .sur and .cmp files as if they were stations, thereby increasing the mod size by an insane number.

Even those buildings that are undockable would require new models be made for them. Same for the ground. You would have graphical lag most likely, as well as normal lag from the server keeping track of it all. It would take the same amount of time to make a single 'planet system' as ~ 10 solar systems.. There would be so many bugs we'd have to deal with. Putting it together would be an immense pain. In short, unless you can get a team of ~ 10-15 experienced and well-trained modders with nothing better to do, this idea won't get far.

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[kingvaillant]

dito Dab.

But an other question, is it possible to create custom planet/base backgrounds/scenery/rooms? like new bars, decks, planetscapes, etc

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[Blackstarr]

First, you'd have to do it to every planet

I never said EVERY planet.... just a few of the MAJOR ones....

and i dont plan on making it a part of disco.... its just a little project i would like to do on a private server to see if it would work.

and the plane and the buildings would be one giant object..... all of the "Dockable" buildings would be individual models...

Docking skyscrapers.. Not realistic, even for FL, and would look incredibly wierd

Not realistic you say? What about those buildings that have platforms on them that you can land on in star wars.... that is what i was thinking on... basically a skyscraper with a landing platform that the ship would land on.

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[Linkus]

It's easily done, just lots of work to do.
You really did choose the worst timing to post it though, with everyone focusing on their own work to finish before the new mod version.

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[Gabrielle]

Dab said it best there are other things that need fixing first

[Orin]

It ain't FL, but didn't Infinity make it fully possible to fly into the atmosphere and to the scenery?

The trailer for it was amazing.

[Seth Karlo]

I would be willing to help you after 4.85 is realesed.

Even just to see if it could be done.

Seth

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[Capt. Henry Morgan]

Of course it can be done..... the outside of the Dyson Sphere is a good proof-of-concept.

My thought on it would be that, on the major planets, you could have multiple bases on the planet to land at. For example, when you enter the 'atmosphere', you find yourself near Manhattan Spaceport, which would be just like landing at manhattan is now. Then, you might have a couple other places to land for other prominent factions, like a Liberty Navy base or for one of the corporate factions. You could even have a small, semi-hidden landing strip maintained by the Liberty Rogues that you'd move contraband to. After all, in RL, drug runners don't land large amounts of their cargo at Chicago O'Hare airport.....

Even if you only did one for each of the capital planets, there's a lot of potential in this idea, and I'd hate to see it fall by the wayside....

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[Blackstarr]

Thacker.... that is EXACTLY what i was trying to say... lol.... that is EXACTLY what i want to do with this modification

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