Transportation Cables

[Wilkes]

I watched the mining video and thought I'd love to be able to attach a cable from the ship to the surface of the asteroid. That way it could make the return and other trips faster and safe.

[Aesras]

I don't think we will be able to make large space elevators but I am sure if you can bring the ship near to the surface of the asteroid then you can make a temporary or even permanent sort of lift that will be able to transport players and materials directly from ship to the asteroid base if the ship is close to the surface of the asteroid. I don't see any reason as to why this may not be possible.
You could even make a docking platform with a lift going down to the base.

[DarkTemplar]

I think Wilkes means some sort of tether cable you attach to the ship to reel yourself in quickly. And I can see the usefullness for it as well.

 

Out mining on an asteroid. You scanners pick up some hostile IFF while you are out of your ship scanning something. The tether allows you to get back to your ship quickly.

 

It could also be helpful for mid-combat repairs on the exterior armour.

[Anaximander]

Tractoring Tethers yes, they could be also used for boarding parties on ships.

I mean, jetpacks could possibly end up not being available for every sort of armor in the game, so Tractoring Tethers could work by mass differentials, either pulling you to a heavier object (a construct or an asteroid) or "webbing" someone reducing their speed by making them "Heavier" as they are tethered to your mass, so , when tethering a person, you have to walk AWAY from them to slow them even more if yo uare heavier.

So, such a tether, could also work as a weapon of law enforcement or station security, by webbing someone who tries to fleet, especially if the people using these tethers are on a heavy armor and the person fleeing is on a light armor.

Also, good for dragging loot towards you.

I mean, for mining it would be as simple as "lock, fire tether, pull your way towards it" and for going back to your ship, "lock, fire tether, tractor yourself towards the ship".

Or conversely, three players mining and loading a lot of ore into a cargo container, then the ship fires a tractoring beam to draw the container towards it.

And yes,  a ship COULD slow another ship if the tether was to launch successfully, which means the tether pretty much works like a grappling hook and it can miss on a very fast target, so it's balanced.

P.S. : Yes, it's an EVE thing, using webifiers to reduce a person's speed in order to reduce their transversal and being easier to hit them, as, tracking speed > transversal speed == critical strike chance, and if your tracking speed is twice the transversal you end up with "Perfect Shots", aka, critical strikes, as the hits connect at 90 degrees in the game's formula. (The actual formula is way way more complicated, but this is the run down).

So you see, such a tool has more uses than just mining and it's a good tool to have in the game, as the game follows a modular design philosophy, meaning something for miners, may be useful to PvPers.

And, because Webifiers in EVE are nothing different than tractoring beams, it's just the game's Devs putting artificial restrictions in place, because EVE is a fantasy MMO with a sci-fi skin, as I keep saying. DU doesn't have to be like that.

[Lethys]

It's scifi - jetpack anyone? And if a jetpack is not viable I'd rather go with some sort of tractor beam to pull/push loot/ships/whatever around. Cables are old school

 

EDIT: damn you twerk, you were faster

[Aesras]

Ah, I think I misunderstood the post then, but if it is about tethering cables then I can definitely see their uses and how advantageous it can be to have them, though I do not know if they will be available in game on release but let us all hope we will have.
 

It has nothing to do with me flying around like in just cause....nothing at all.

[Anaximander]

Ah, I think I misunderstood the post then, but if it is about tethering cables then I can definitely see their uses and how advantageous it can be to have them, though I do not know if they will be available in game on release but let us all hope we will have.

 

It has nothing to do with me flying around like in just cause....nothing at all.

Well, here's the fact, tractor beams are gravitational focal beams.

 

On a planet, you would have much less efficiency on them when going vertically, due to the constant gravitational attraction of a planet, the same way those hover enginers work less efficiently with altitude. 

 

So, rappeling across buildings? Yeah, could work if you are on a light armor. But on a heavy armor? Not gonna work as well, as mass == intertia and the tractors will just swing you into a wall and take - possibly - fall damage and die.

 

Also, this guarantees that boarding parties with heavy armors, are risking being shot to death while tractoring themselves towards the ship by people on board the ship, while light armors guarantee a blitz of a trip, but, you know, less armor kinda is a risk.

 

All in all? Depth and realism to it.

 

Just Cause had none of those It's an adrenaline fuelled Michael Bay video game series

 

 

[Anaximander]

It's scifi - jetpack anyone? And if a jetpack is not viable I'd rather go with some sort of tractor beam to pull/push loot/ships/whatever around. Cables are old school

 

EDIT: damn you twerk, you were faster

I type and the speed of darkness. I R l33t ninja.

[Lord_Void]

It would definitely be useful for working in and around ships in space.