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Comets: Dangerous, and Deadly


Project_Icarus

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Here's just a quick idea, but Comets could be an interesting new type of body that could be added into the game. Especially if comets are implemented as more than just a new type of simple and static body, but something dynamic and dangerous.

 

TLDR Below (Cause I write this all in two ways: A short summary. And a big text dump that's as much an explanation of my idea as it is me figuring it all out as I write).

 

My idea for a comet in DU would be as a transient body that would appear and disappear in game every few weeks or months. Each comet would spawn on the outskirts of the system on a trajectory that will lead them to crash into the sun within a few weeks, give or take. Every comet would be different/procedurally generated, but would basically be like a medium to large asteroid covered in a thick ice and rubble shell. Large boulders, some as big as buildings dot the surface. And caverns up to the size of cities hide within the ice. Beneath which would be a rocky semi-solid core housing deposits of extremely rare and valuable ores. As the comet nears the sun the surface of the comet will begin to slowly vaporize (not physically, so no complex voxel physics) and create two beautiful cometary tails (because that would look incredible in game). Even closer to the sun the comet will begin to 'offgas,' producing a slowly noticeable force on all players and objects on or near it, growing until the force is enough to blow players off the surface as the comet approaches the surface (Basically could function like negative gravity so no complex wind physics. And, is a cheap way to kick people out of and off the comet before it is despawned). Until the comet finally crashes into the sun and those who managed to mine it successfully and survive return to Alioth with their riches.

 

The main purpose of these comets would be to hold some of, if not the rarest ores in the game. Perhaps they could be the only places to find ores necessary for crafting of FTL engines, Warp-gates, or Fusion/Antimatter Reactors to power them. Rather than just hiding them in a few planets or moons, transient comets would create a game-wide gold rush event as players and orgs race to reach and mine them before they disappear. Not to mention the battles if not all out wars that could result as orgs and nations fight for control of a comet. And the ensuing espionage, smuggling, bribery, backstabbing, and other fun stuff that would occur. Plus they would be harder to camp than asteroid or moons, since they don't last too long and once found it is a race for everyone to reach them.

 

As for mining,  beyond ices and basic ores the main attractor would be said rare ore. These would be buried up to several km deep beneath the ice and rubble, in the core of the comet (maybe the ice could mess with Territory Scanners too, forcing players to mine old school?--Unless that's going too far). To make mining more fun and challenging the interiors and surfaces of comets could be made to change as it nears the sun; adding another layer of danger to staying on one for too long. Geysers erupt at random as the heat begins vaporize the surface. Boulders could be thrown about in the low gravity when this happens, along with any unsuspecting ship or mining outpost. Perhaps pockets of pressurized gases appear, awaiting miners to accidentally uncover them and explore. And, pending voxel physics, the surface itself could shift over time. And finally, extremely rarely (like yearly or less), the core of a comet could survive and create a 'gold rush of gold rushes' as players race to mine the now uncovered core.

 

All of this is something that would need DU to implement new physics. Particularly either a switch to systems where planets and bodies have proper orbits (like Kerbal Space Program), or at least something to allow mobile comets and small bodies. And the geysers, vapor wind, and etc. would probably need new physics as well. At the very least basic transient comets could probably be done without needing to change much in game. I just really think implementing something like this would be a very fun and interesting addition to DU that would be much more than just adding another type of static body.

 

Please let me know what you think of my idea, if there's anything I missed, or if you have suggestions for it.

 

TLDR: Add comets that appear every few weeks or months, on slow crash courses with the sun. These comets would hold extremely rare ores deep beneath their ice shells, that players and orgs would need to race to mine before they are destroyed. Not to mention creating a gold rush and focal point in the game that would cause all sorts of battles, wars, smuggling, etc--as orgs fight for dominance and players try to sneak by and mine the comet. All in a race before it is destroyed. And, pending physics/how far the devs are willing to go, comets could be made dangerous themselves with geysers, shifting surface, and exploding pockets of gas/whatever. Having comets as catalysts for game-wide gold rushes is the main idea. That, and comet tails would look amazing in DU.

 

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I love it! I would skip all of the geysers etc, as the comet would be dangerous enough as it is with everyone battling over it. Maybe, once they add reentry heat, they could apply this affect to everything in the tail or on the comet itself as it approaches the sun.

 

Also, it would be fascinating how long one org, the first to discover it, manages to cover up the fact that a comet has spawned....

 

 

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I mean, the idea itself is not bad, but just one question.....Why the heck would anyone plan and execute a very dangerous maneuver in space which takes hours to plan, hours to execute and is inherently more dangerous than just mining on their land, far away, relatively safe, to get the exact same resources? Why bother with that in the first place and risk millions (or whatever) in assets just to get some hundred k out of it?

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On 8/16/2019 at 4:27 AM, Lethys said:

I mean, the idea itself is not bad, but just one question.....Why the heck would anyone plan and execute a very dangerous maneuver in space which takes hours to plan, hours to execute and is inherently more dangerous than just mining on their land, far away, relatively safe, to get the exact same resources? Why bother with that in the first place and risk millions (or whatever) in assets just to get some hundred k out of it?

Sorry, I meant to say that comets would be more or less the only place for super rare ores (like Tier 6, 7, or higher) when more are added to the game. Perhaps there could be one or two planets or moons with a few locations with some ore deposits (like old craters from ancient comet collisions). But those would be few and far between, and deposits would be incredibly difficult to find.  While you have to wait for comets, they would have larger and more densely packed ore deposits. So aside from waiting, getting there, digging through ice, and dealing with other players, mining a comet for super rare ores would be a lot easier than mining on a moon or planet.

Basically, it's a tradeoff. Instead of taking the already existing mining difficulties (finding ore and digging for it) and just increasing them for another ore tier, comets would be a new type of difficulty. A more interesting and challenging one that would be a lot more interesting. Even for someone who loves mining, high Tier ore difficulty would make mining them cross into tedious territory. If there are people ok with that then they can search for planetary ore deposits. I'd rather trade more mining tedium for something more dangerous and challenging. Something like comets.

I hope that explains it better.

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On 8/16/2019 at 5:29 PM, Aaron Cain said:

Well, even that would be fun, specially when we would be able to stream it

 

Hmm... Well, we could all get out one one side of the comet and push it away from the sun...unless it's fixed to a path. Though I'd love to see an org or alliance of orgs building a fleet of ships just to move a comet. That'd instantly make EVE Online's battles look like small potatoes--we here in DU are moving comets with hand-built ships the size of cities.

 

Also, I don't remember if I said this, but when FTL is a thing maybe some Oort cloud objects like super cold comets could be added. Or give Ion or some other planet a captured comet for a moon? 

 

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On 8/16/2019 at 4:19 AM, __aes__ said:

I love it! I would skip all of the geysers etc, as the comet would be dangerous enough as it is with everyone battling over it. Maybe, once they add reentry heat, they could apply this affect to everything in the tail or on the comet itself as it approaches the sun.

 

Also, it would be fascinating how long one org, the first to discover it, manages to cover up the fact that a comet has spawned....

 

 

I'm not sure how discovering a comet would work--maybe survey telescopes or radar stations. But once it gets close enough to form a tail everyone would be able to see it. Until that, I could see players and orgs that discover a comet auctioning off it's location for ridiculous amounts of money (like, tens or hundreds of millions maybe). Even if it only gets you a few days head start that'd be enough time to at least set up shop and secure a large chunk of comet. Once the word gets out though I can see entire impromptu orgs and alliances forming up whenever a comet appears. Like,  mining orgs, military orgs, freight fleets, and dozens or hundreds of lone players forming a combined fleet just to go and mine a comet. Or just everyone in the area immediately dumping whatever they were doing and heading to the comet.

If comets do get added to the game, I think I'd set up a mining org with preorder funding; you pay me for the ore you want, we head out, mine it, and bring it back to base where you can pick it up. 

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  • 1 year later...

I love this comet idea and would like to suggest the following:

 

  1. Ensure most comets appear outside of the safe zone to serve as PVP focal points.
  2. The layers of ice becomes soft enough to mine after certain periods of time, making the comet an event that can last for as long as necessary to allow for different players to participate in the event.
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+1 very interesting way to have raw ore spawn. 
 

Adding on to the ice idea above maybe give players a way to even trigger the event themselves. such as find a massive asteroid with ice thats to thick to mine through, then they have to strap engines onto it and push it toward the sun to start the process.

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