Ship building - a newbie's insight

Bob_Kimmel

Hi this is just a quick one because I was recommended to post some feedback on my experience exploring ship building as a new player.

My character was enquiring about the price of a new ship - in this case a heavy freighter - and the first striking thing that was mentioned was 'there is no real point to flying a heavy freighter' due to the advantages vs the disadvantages being so small. I found this a little sad.

But then when I was pricing up a ship - heavy freighter hull - and the most expensive parts I could fit in that hull. I was then advised that the most expensive parts are not necessarily the best parts!

This I found confusing as well. So before I go exploring the in's and out's of shipbuilding and ship design I just wanted to post this and say I find that maybe the ships could be more specialist for their different uses and if the price of parts doesn't scale with the value of them, could this be made a little bit clearer or is it intended to be obscure?

I think one idea I have for the first issue I came across is that Light - Standard - Heavy variations could have specific things they're good for. I can't offer examples as I don't want to look silly but thought maybe it could spark a conversation and I'll come back with some more ideas once I've delved into a bit more.

Ikchor

There's no such thing as a silly idea.*


Well, to start: If I remember right, this getting looked at, and is on the to do list. Somewhere between playable Bushraki and a profession to rival Metal Gear, maybe. (I kid)

Expense not matching the performance of the parts:

I've always viewed this as a kind of "I/My character knows parts well, and isn't going to throw money away" versus "Shut up and take my money. It's expensive, and I want it because of that price tag alone."
Probably not everyone is going to play that way cause it's a surefire way to wind up flying a Faberge egg that has all the acceleration of a glacier moving uphill. There is a min-maxer in all of us.

Segwaying cleanly into my next early-morning stream-of-consciousness thought: ship weight class meaning something. My pipe dream idea?

Power to weight ratios for each class, dictated by the power of your engine versus the combined weight of everything else, plus a few additional tweaks (shield strength versus hull strength, for example).

Light - Fast in every sense. Fast acceleration, fast turning, fast stopping, fast target acquisition, fast shield recharge. What it lacks in however is hull strength, drone response/repair effectiveness, weapon power.

Standard - Vanilla, and the base of what every ship class is built around. The 'family friendly' build.

Heavy - The Chungus of the ship types. Slow acceleration, slow turning, slow stopping. Normal target acquisition. Slow shield recharge. Upside: A hull that could block a supernova, massive drone response/repair effectiveness, and weapons powerful enough to blast craters into planets (not Death Star powerful, but capable of bombardment from low orbit).

So my silly pipe dream for ships a light interceptor would be the fastest acceleration and a bitch to actually hit for anyone above maybe Corvette class, but one solid hit to your hull and you're space dust (as it should be), and a heavy battleship would be capable of swimming on the surface of stars for fun and enjoyment (extreme case, do not attempt without a lifeguard present).

Shipmodding, that subject of rampant speculation on the Discord when someone brings it up in monthly discussions would be part method by which to tweak your ships shortcomings slightly back to standard OR to supercharge certain aspects of your structure.

Or add even more rooms cause apparently some people want to fly hotels around.

Bob_Kimmel

I have gone the route of 'buy everything that costs the most' to explore that route and I can't say I'm too upset with the outcome so far. Bearing in mind I haven't tried PVP and one of the two ships I've created aren't a PVP-able ship. Both are heavy and cost a sweet motherload to construct, though.

I think as I have more funds in-game I might experiment a bit more