Precise_Calibre

The only interest I have in this is flora and fauna of alien planets.  Just one more aspect to make an environment feel "alive".  Exploring a world devoid of sentient life will not be as gratifying as one that has natural hazards.  However, if such things will sacrifice the core game's stability, I'd just as soon go without.

It'd also add a culinary angle to the game, which is something I'd like.

The only interest I have in this is flora and fauna of alien planets.  Just one more aspect to make an environment feel "alive".  Exploring a world devoid of sentient life will not be as gratifying as one that has natural hazards.  However, if such things will sacrifice the core game's stability, I'd just as soon go without.

It'd also add a culinary angle to the game, which is something I'd like.

It'd also add a culinary angle to the game, which is something I'd like.

Each individual group will most likely have their own classifications for ships, with crossover happening between both groups naming conventions and the criteria used therein.  There might be some that become universal, such a very large ship with heavy armaments being known as "Battleship" for example, but I think it will mostly be an organic phenomenon that develops over time with certain things just sticking while others fall to the wayside. 

Especially Blue Moon Station

I certainly hope that if I'm carrying several hundred tons of resources that they 1) take up a (semi)realistic amount of space and 2) impact the calculations for anything that involves mass.  I don't want (demi) hammer space to just let people spirit around large quantities in a limited space, or there'd be no point to building large cargo haulers, jump-jet transport couriers or anything of the like.  I understand the concept of "condensing" materials, but I don't think it should be unreasonably effective to the point where it invalidates the concept and aesthetics of cargo, storage and transport.

Especially Blue Moon Station

The only interest I have in this is flora and fauna of alien planets.  Just one more aspect to make an environment feel "alive".  Exploring a world devoid of sentient life will not be as gratifying as one that has natural hazards.  However, if such things will sacrifice the core game's stability, I'd just as soon go without.

You could have some sort of system checks going on for an area depending on elements detected. 
 
Examples:
 
If a lot of trees are in an area, an ambient sound of a forest could be played. 
 
If there's a lot of grass but not much else, perhaps things like crickets or some similar (alien?) ambience. 
 
When the game detects a lot of structures, make it play a windy, more spartan ambience. 
 
These are just examples, but you could probably tweak it so the game detects what to play fairly reasonably.
 
 
As far as people go - you could have ambience based on how many people are in a particular area, or several factors.  If a lot of buildings are nearby and the area goes over a certain threshold of people, play an ambient crowd or marketplace sound.  Beats people just standing around silently.  But on the flipside, if a player found themselves in that same space by themselves, like late at night, they'd only hear the wind.  Other factors, such as whether or not combat is taking place nearby could determine which, if any, sounds would be played.
 
Just some ideas.

We just got an official heads-up that built ships cannot be taken back apart, and that purchased ships cannot be modified (but can be repaired).
 
Before people simply assume that the prospect of Salvaging ships is dead, lets consider for a moment the following proposed mechanic.
 
Destroyed Constructs drop some of the materials and items used to build them, plus "scrap" which must be re-refined.
 
For one, this gives players something to do with that cheap jump-ship they used to reach the next planet after it has become totally obsolete. You won't be able to pull apart the jump ship, and unless you built it, you won't be able to upgrade it. Being able to destroy it for some portion of what it took to build (maybe 1/4th of its materials? perhaps a skill could increase your efficiency here) would prevent players from abandoning old ships or cluttering the market with them.
 
Pirates will love this, since killed players drop some of their items, why wouldn't a destroyed ship drop some of its cargo? Why wouldn't a destroyed ship be worth SOMETHING?