Velenka

If we want survival mechanics I'd much rather they went the space engineers route, with oxygen and energy. If you are in a oxygenated and warm environment you don't have to worry but out in space... lets just say things are different.

Or, you know...mines. lots and lots of mines.

Saying you don't care what anyone says is not a good way to have a conversation. Having said that, all of your concerns are valid ones. It's just that most are not completely relevant because they are already being addressed separately.
 
PvE'ers being constantly attacked is not something anyone wants to see. What we do want see is a balance between risk and reward and co-dependency between PvEers and PvPers. All kinds of players should be banding to gather to create a territory which has both military and geopolitical safety factors. Safe, not invulnerable. Venturing into untamed wilderness for may hold greater riches but will be riskier. This is the kind of vision for their game that NQ have spoken about on many occasions.
 
Your concern about losing designs that take endless hours to create and refine is also valid, but again, not relevant to this conversation. NQ plan to ensure that this kind of intellectual or creative property cannot be lost. They have talked about construct snapshots, blueprints and a virtual building simulator. Losing a building is not add big a problem losing the design for the building, especially when a blueprint coupled with time and resources in some kind of automated manufacturing unit can rebuild it for you. You lose time, money, status, but you don't lose your designs.
 
Finally, what you say about one giant organisation essentially winning the game is a valid concern that I have too, though I don't see how it is relevant to this conversation. A game that is richly filled with a variety of organisations of all sizes and that no one organisation ever "wins" is what I would like to see. In fact I think this is the single most important factor that NQ should be aware of when making gameplay decisions.

I too would opt for a better physics system than detailed characters. I am not a game designer so I don't know, but wouldn't it be possible to have detailed characters merely as "skins" but then allow for the server to treat everyone as identical physics objects? Sure you may have some clipping, but you would have the best of both worlds this way.
 
Or does it not work like that at all?

I like Archer's idea. It works pretty well for Space Engineers. As for clankiness, SE's default conveyor system sometimes doesn't load your rocket launchers fast enough, but it's easy enough to write a script to load it. This is one possible way to balance things.
 
Reloading probably isn't an issue for energy based weapons, but cooling probably is. Faster "reload" times could be accomplished via more radiators/cooling device.

I would use a hybrid system for ship weapons.  Basically each weapon may or may not have a magazine depending on the nature of the weapon; a giant cannon might only load a single round at a time but a point defense gun might load a drum holding 1,000 rounds.  On top of that you can build a conveyor system which will automatically pull ammo from a storage unit and load it into the gun as needed or you can omit the conveyor system and have players load it manually.  In the case of the big gun this would mean either the conveyor or the players have to be active full time while the gun is firing and the limiting factor on rate of fire is how long it takes to load each round.  In the case of the point defense gun the entire magazine is swapped out to reload in blocks of 1,000, though whether this is done by a player or a machine this takes time and forces a pause to reload.  The choice between a conveyor and player is the classic auto-loader dilemma.  If you spend the mass to have a conveyor system then you can generally reload more quickly but that mass is good for reloading and nothing else.  If you spend the mass on another player (including the character's mass plus whatever additional life support or interior space might be required) then your load times might be slower and less consistent but that player can also fend off boarders, repair battle damage and serve as an extra set of eyes when they're not loading the gun.  If you use neither then you can use that gun on a smaller ship but your gunner will have to leave the gun controls to reload the weapon.  It should make an interesting design tradeoff.

Here's what I think:
 
To create a zone outside of the arkship's protection area that would make it impossible to kill any within, or damage their creations, would ruin the entire concept of "war". Supply lines are a vital part to the war effort, and they are one of the reasons a small kingdom could possibly take out a vast empire. The outcome of a war can be determined by many things, yes, but tell me: what war in history was won without bullets? Or without swords or spears? The supply line becomes the backbone of the entire armed force; if it fails, your army will have a significantly harder time winning the war, no matter who you're fighting. This provides a balance in the world, giving even the most powerful Empires an Achilles Heel. Make their source nigh invulnerable, however, and then war simply becomes a game of "who can muster the most fighters at any given moment". It ruins the concept of "strategic targets". The largest group would almost  be guaranteed victory, unless enough people banded together to match their numbers, or skill. There would be no need for complex strategy and tactics, or careful planning around which targets to attack, because numbers would define victory, in most cases.
 
I for one, would praise the lucky sod that destroys my hypothetical superweapon  before it's complete, and say "That guy is a smart man; he launched a preemptive strike on a target he knew he couldn't beat once it was complete, someone give this man a cookie!" or if someone were to destroy my hypothetical space factory that produces ships and ammo in record time, I'd say "That guy is a smart man; he knew he couldn't defeat my army head on, so he went after the resources that fueled it, genius! Give this man a cookie!"
 
Okay, I wouldn't actually praise them, but you get the point. 
 
These are my thoughts. Feel free to tear them apart.

Absolutely. We don't want to turn away either kind of player. What I think most people are worried about is the PvPers taking advantage of the PvEers protection mechanics in some way. I would say that the 20km safe area around the arkship and the VR solution are sufficient to protect everyone's interests. In an emergent society, mutual protection is one of the benefits. There is risk, but it's much less than in an "each man for himself" situation.

Seen in trailer:
Cockpit Thrusters Weapons Implied or mentioned:
Gyroscope Control Unit/DPU Containers Energy shielding FTL like Star Trek or Star Wars Stargates Reactors Probably others... I would like to see: (a lot coming from Space Engineers)
Antenna Wheels & suspension Other kinds of chairs and cockpits with various functionality Ship size nanoformer for building large constructs and mining Ore detector Usable motors, pistons, hinges and sliding surfaces Different kinds of reactors or power sources Different kinds of thrusters Lights of various designs Various decorative objects Sensor devices And as a stretch goal, perhaps an interplexing subspace beacon? Yes? Please?

It certainly would make things interesting if you could sneak onto a capital ship with explosives in your inventory, and in the middle of a major fight you were to plant them around the ship and detonate them to try to gain an advantage for your side.
 
Maybe not so much as destroying an entire ship with one explosive, or detonating a whole building with one explosive, but several explosive charges planted all over in strategic locations could certainly have the same effect. 

Very cool. Excellent work on the acronym! :D

Absolutely. We don't want to turn away either kind of player. What I think most people are worried about is the PvPers taking advantage of the PvEers protection mechanics in some way. I would say that the 20km safe area around the arkship and the VR solution are sufficient to protect everyone's interests. In an emergent society, mutual protection is one of the benefits. There is risk, but it's much less than in an "each man for himself" situation.

Absolutely. We don't want to turn away either kind of player. What I think most people are worried about is the PvPers taking advantage of the PvEers protection mechanics in some way. I would say that the 20km safe area around the arkship and the VR solution are sufficient to protect everyone's interests. In an emergent society, mutual protection is one of the benefits. There is risk, but it's much less than in an "each man for himself" situation.

Very cool. Excellent work on the acronym! :D

This order doesn't sound much like Voth, that theology is a little different. But I do find a kind of religious cult-like organization interesting. Maybe someone will create a faction with opposing viewpoints... Imagine the holy wars!

I'm not saying I'll be that guy, but...
 
*cough* hehehe *cough*

As a disclaimer, I realize the mechanics of what I'm proposing below may not be entirely "realistic," but I think they're plausible enough to pass muster for a sci-fi game like this and provide compelling gameplay implications.  I’m personally okay with the fact that it’s to some degree sci-fi technobabble loosely based on scientific principles.
 
The basis for these ideas is the fact that there are (currently) two primary ways of detecting things in space: visible light and radio waves.  There are other methods based on inference, but to directly detect an object, it must be visible or emitting radio waves.  With that in mind, I think there should be two different categories of sensors that are generally available:
 
1. Optical Sensors
 
Optical sensors would would only be able to detect objects that within direct line of sight.  These sensors would monitor the surrounding visible space within a certain range for anomalies in the visible light spectrum as well as infrared using advanced video analytics.  The advantage of these sensors would be that they are completely passive; they do not emit anything that could be detected by other sensors.  The disadvantage would be limited range (“visual range”).
 
Optical Countermeasures - Passive
 
One technology for evading optical sensors could be active camouflage.  This could come in the form of an element that bends light around the ship.  It could be counterbalanced by high power consumption and limited in duration by a “heat sink” used to store excess heat to mask the ship’s IR signature.  If the player lets the system run too long, the excess heat could be released in a sort of IR “plume” that would flag the ship over an even longer distance than normal.
 
Optical Countermeasures - Active
 
Another option could be a “dazzler” that blinds targeted optical sensors using a laser, preventing them from pinpointing the construct’s location, but alerting them to its presence.
 
2. Radar
 
What I'm calling radar here could exist as both an active and a passive system.  On the active side, radar would be able to identify objects at long range by bouncing radio waves off of them.  On the passive side, these sensors could also pick up radio waves when emitted by other constructs, either from their own active radar or from communications.  The advantage of these sensors would be their range.  The disadvantage would be the fact that other sensors could detect the radio waves emitted in active mode.
 
Radar Countermeasures - Passive
 
One “stealth” technology for evading radar could be the application of advanced Radar Absorbent Material, or RAM.  Perhaps this could be an actual material that can be added to other voxel materials (depending on how the refining/crafting system works) that would reduce the distance at which they can be detected by radar systems.  This would be expensive initially, but also a permanent solution with no ongoing cost.  
 
Along these lines, some materials without RAM could be inherently more reflective than others, meaning that there could be an inverse relationship between hull strength and radar signature.
 
Perhaps an even more advanced countermeasure could be a shield function that would mitigate incoming radio waves electromagnetically.  This could be even more effective than RAM, at the cost of increased power consumption.
 
Radar Countermeasures - Active
 
A radar “jammer” could be employed, interfering with all radar sensors in a given area (unless the construct has a particular tag).  This would prevent any radar from pinpointing the construct’s location, but would alert them to its presence.
 
Any of these countermeasures could be defeated if a construct broadcasts anything, making “running silent” a legitimate tactic for stealth constructs.
 
However, there could be a third tier of sensor that--while prohibitively expensive and difficult to manufacture--could defeat any of the above countermeasures:
 
3. Quantum Sensors
 
Quantum sensors could detect the gravitational radiation of objects, making it impossible to hide the existence of any mass by masking its electromagnetic signature.  The advantage of these sensors would be their range and resistance to stealth technology.  The disadvantage would be the astronomical initial cost, use of rare materials, and significant power consumption relative to detection range.

You argue with realistic physics, i argue with realistic physics, dont move the goal posts

And its still not gyroscopic but interferometric.

I'd personally scrap all the special case cloaking and stealthing and simplify it to three general characteristics of blocks:

Emissivity:
Every device and block that does /something/ emits radiation over a large spectrum from kilometer wave radio to nanometer gamma-/ x-rays.
including everything inbetween
of course not every device radiates with the same intensity at the same frequencies, but the possible radiation space encompasses pretty much the whole of EM radiation.
with the exact resolution of that emissions being whatever is affordable computing wise.
 
then theres absorption/transmission.
this is again a spectrum graph that defines how much a block absorbs radiation of a given frequency.
some blocks absorb radio waves, some absorb visible light, others absorb IR.
with every block passed the emitted radiation gets dampened more and more.
 
the last factor is reflection
obviously, it defines how much of a given portion of radiation gets (for simplicity i'd say diffusely) reflected from the block.
 
 
then you have one kind of sensor device
passive sensors.
they have certain spectral sensitivities. some sensors are good in RF, some good in UV, others good in X-ray.
some can differentiate single eV differences between gamma rays but can only see gamma rays, others can monitor the whole spectrum at once but cant tell you anything about the kind of radiation they are detecting.
same deal for all of them, just different numbers in their datasheet.
 
you can create an active sensor by combining a passive sensor with some active sender.
you send out radiation which gets reflected and influenced by objects and then received by passive sensor arrays again.
this behaviour creates a lot of support possibilities out of the box, for example target painting and similar methods.
 
 
now we have a few variable sets which are relatively easy to understand but can be used for intricate sensor gameplay.
 
lets say you have an engine core thats emitting a lot of characteristic x-ray radiation.
you dont want to broadcast your drive type, but due to the characteristic radiation spikes its pretty clear to anyone who has a sensor what kind of drive you are using.
so you can encase your drive in a block type that happens to be good at absorbing x-rays.
you now shielded your engine from prying passive sensors, enhancing your stealth capabilities.
 
the same process can be applied to any kind of radiation and block.
if you dont want your enemies analysing your armor plating, place some dampening material over your hull thats tuned to your enemies active scanners so they cant penetrate down to your actual armor layer to tell what kind of armor your ship is using.
 
 
a very stealthy ship would then be one that has very good absorption ratings matched to the equipment it is using and to the sensors which are likely to be encountered.
 
 
counter stealth would then be to find out against which frequencies a given ship is badly shielded and thus can be found with.
say, ship has VHF dampening materials as hull and you use an x-ray scanner instead.
 
 
lots of intelligence and counter intelligence and sensor gameplay without much being hardcoded in by the devs.
encouraging players to design their ships in a smart way.

@Tnecniw


Terraform a planet? Why are you asking for the kitchen sink   ??? And you seem to confuse evolution around an aquatic enviroment with the Little Mermaid. You won't grow tail and swim at mach 5 underwater like Aquaman. It would be an "extra", not a game-breaking bonus buff.

People would change genes for fun? God forbid games are fun man. God forbid. Games should be not for escapism, but actually, they should be water-boarding in digital form. 

Plus, it's an idea I threw in on the top of my hat. It won't be implemented, cause there are people out there that would storm NovaQuark's offices, claiming they are the devil for claiming evolution is real. Evolution, too controversial man, too controversial.


But Cybernetics is a whole other bag of nut ideas. Dibs on the head-drill cybernetic add-on.
 

I don't have any personal issue with side effects, crazy as I am, I'd just as soon as repopulate the species with a bunch of genetically modified people grown in laboratories. forgo the traditional mating process.
 
And I would with the most minimal reassurance that it wouldn't kill me undergo the processes to alter appearance. Being able to create a stand alone species with its own natural reproductive means isnt that important. If you can grow humans in the lab and mutate them, good enough.
 
I played a twi'lek I know what it is to give up stats for appearance. This situation isnt any different, let me be a smol (exceptionally small and adorable) fox girl, ill take the debuffs, -strength, -int, slower learning, +agility, longer range target acquisition (not actual longer fire range though).
But the whole stats thing is relatively unnecessary, I think its commonplace that the pioneers will have the nano former and probably some sort of mind machine interface. Everyone will have the same stats except for what you train into, or select on character creation.
 
Im really just suggesting this as a possible enhancement of the physical avatars down the line, post launch. What does it hurt to pursue it, if you say it isnt realistic, I don't know what you mean. There are already groups of people supporting longevity and genetics research.

I don't know if it could be a good idea, but maybe there could be an intermediate level... The breakthrough could be at two level: corporative and global. In such a way is also possible to create a real specialization between the different corporations...
 
Corporation: a certain skill becames available for the members of a corporation when a certain amount of its members have learned a specific skillset in the game; after that, the threshold needed became lower and for the second corporation is needed a lower effort to unlock the tecnology, for the third i became still more easy and so on...
 
Global: after a certain amount of players have learned the skill from their corporation, then it became a comon knowledge and the new tech is unlocked for everyone.

How about this. Instead of logging out in cryotubes/beds, you set them as your log in point. You may not log into the game inside them, but next to them. That way you can log out where ever. On a ship or planet. You would only need one per ship/base or what have you. I think this would have the most benefit for most situations. You wouldn't have to worry about your ragdoll falling through structures, or have to worry about building around you or digging a hole under you. As well as not allowing travel between them, as you would need for it to scan your "DNA" so to speak, so you can spawn there on log in.
 
BUT, there needs to be things to prevent abuse, like you would need to be logged out for a certain amount of time before it took effect. Also, maybe you can only have a limited number of inventory items on you. Unless its a lost connection type of thing maybe? Also, if you are tagged for combat, maybe you drop most of your inventory if you combat log, or you log into a different, maybe random location. Maybe combat logging is ragdoll?
 
As soon as I got the idea, the ways to abuse immediately came to mind, lol. So, my idea would HAVE to have ways to prevent abuse.