Speed cap based on shields instead of mass

[Taelessael]

TL/DR: Top speed should be based on the size of a ship's shield generator instead of its mass.

 

 

The long version:

NQ currently planning to limit a ship's top speed based on that ship's mass in an attempt to keep engine-heavy pvp ships from easily out-running things they attack (preventing people they attack from finishing them off if they start to lose). I suspect this idea results from all the people that see M and L cores on radar when they get pirated, and fixes based on such limited information will only annoy everyone by slowing them down without actually solving the real problem. 

 

Most pvp ships I've seen were built on an M or L core to get access to the size-capped weapons, but were little more than thruster-packs with guns and an L shield and would have fit in to an S core's build volume. As such, they already weigh (relatively) next to nothing when compared to the stuff they are attacking, and will still be significantly faster than most anything they attack after NQ implements the mass-related speed cap.

 

Because the goal at its most basic is to have the most fragile ships be the fastest, I would instead propose that a ship's top speed be capped by the size of shield generator it has equipped, thus preventing the fastest ships in the game from also fitting what is supposed to be a battleship's defensive hardware. Everyone would still be able to hit 30kkph in a ship with no shields (or possibly with only an xs shield), so people hauling stuff wont be annoyed by having to spend twice as long making their trips if they choose, it wouldn't break immersion quite as hard as capping speed just by weight, and it would help improve the overall balance of pvp by making combat ships choose between speed or defense.

 

On a side note: If a shield-based speed cap is implemented, the act of placing a shield on a moving construct in build mode needs to be disabled to prevent potential exploits. It may also be necessary to cap the speed of ships serving as carriers for a ship with shields to likewise prevent exploits.

 

Any topic-relevant thoughts or criticisms? 

[Walter]

Yes, yes, and yes. But once they have choosen how its going to be, there is little room for negotiate a change in concept