customizable ship

Discussion in 'Mechanics' started by Illmad, Apr 28, 2013.

  1. Illmad

    Illmad Phantasmal Quasar

    How about, instead of a fixed ship design, we instead have 'ship hull' blocks. These are background-exclusive blocks, but they automatically generate physical foreground blocks around their edges. The foreground blocks don't require inventory space. Basically each hull block includes eight physical edge blocks by default.
    When you first gain access to the ship, you start out with the default cockpit, and a pre-generated set of hull blocks placed in the shape of the original design.
    The ship comes with a reset button which automatically transfers most of the hull blocks to your inventory, and you can start building your custom design from the cockpit and outwards.
    The hull blocks have no crafting recipe, and can only be accessed when on board the ship.
    When you upgrade your ship, you gain a certain amount of hull blocks to add to the ship.
    In addition to the hull blocks, there are necessary furniture/background class objects that can only be placed on the ship's exterior, like the thrusters and wings. Others, like lights and radars for instance are not necessities, but can be crafted and placed on the ship as aesthetics.
    Hull blocks come in several forms, like glass, metal plates, etc. There are not a set number of each type. Rather, each hull block can be placed as any of these types.

    [​IMG]

    I think this will be a lot more appealing to players. It'll enable us to make the 'space station' we always wished for, or make creative ship designs.


    EDIT: I made some mockup graphics of how it'd look in the game, using one of Tiy's recent screenshots:

    [​IMG]

    I also have a couple of concept tile sets I threw together:

    [​IMG]

    Now, I know real tile sets require at least 3x versions of the same tile (at least for the broken parts) in order for the pattern not to look repetetive. This is just to make an example of how this builder could look and work. Working on a more in-depth and graphical version of this idea at the moment.

    Other mockup images:
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  2. It's a nice idea for their actuals plans of Expand the Personal Ships! ;)
     
    BoboTheEpic, Illmad and XeToRoG like this.
  3. Gentleraptor

    Gentleraptor Pangalactic Porcupine

    Yes! Building your own ship would be awesome. Especially if there's no size limit (hint hint). I mean, from the look of it, its a seperate instance anyway. So why not?

    In the screenshot with the floran ship, it looked REAL crampy in there. Even if you can't build your own, make them bigger please.
     
  4. Malicious Malachai

    Malicious Malachai Starship Captain

    Love this idea. From what I've heard, the game actually starts out with you on your ship(apparently the only thing you can start out with calling home) with 0 fuel so that you have to beam down planet-side to continue the story. Even after the fact, the ship is your only source of transportation from planet to planet; IE: it's the only "static" part about the "procedurally generated game of the year". Both of these aspects taken into account, it would only make sense that players can customize their ships both interior and exterior. I'm already looking forward to the youtube videos showing off everyone's awesome Flagship they'll use to conquer the galaxy or someone's model of Star Trek's Enterprise they'll use to explore the galaxy. :DD
     
    TatataiaFurcchim and Illmad like this.
  5. Pretty well thought out, maybe a good stretch goal? ;-) I need I need.
     
    Illmad likes this.
  6. Illmad

    Illmad Phantasmal Quasar

    There needs to be a size limit. If it's infinite, then what's to keep people from filling in the entire ship's instance with hull blocks? We need limitations. I can greatly enjoy games that give me the power to do almost whatever I want, but at the same time, I tend to get even more annoyed when I actually do notice the limitations than I do in game where limitations are normal.
    Although, the final size tier of the ship would definitely open for huge designs. If you've seen this, which probably isn't even the highest tier size; imagine what you'd be able to create with all that space customizable.

    Personally I'd first create a really long and thin ship with rooms on the top and bottom only. Or, I'd try recreating the Normandy from Mass Effect.
     
    KuroHinotori likes this.
  7. Sounds like a good idea. It'll allow us to expand upon our ship and make it different from other players', even at the same upgrade level.
    It's a bit questionable, though, how we would get the blocks onto the ship.. maybe we'd have to go outside the ship to build!
     
    Illmad likes this.
  8. Khrono

    Khrono Big Damn Hero

    The picture you've seen of the Floran ship on reddit is a level 1 ship. They get bigger.
     
    KuroHinotori likes this.
  9. ktb537

    ktb537 Space Penguin Leader

    Yeah, it's definitely a good idea. Being able to customize & move thing in you ship is really important to add more depths to the concept of the ship, beside the fact that it will help you to travel through different planets. It has to be more, like a house, where you can put collectibles or other things. Giving a name (I think another thread talked about this) is also important hoping you will be able to show it on the side of your ship.

    In fact, I thing every ships has to be different, you have to be able to chose how to "build" your ship (which rooms/stuffs goes where etc.), making it unique.
     
    Illmad likes this.
  10. Illmad

    Illmad Phantasmal Quasar

    I think we should only be able to build outwards from the inside. I know it sounds dumb or unrealistic, but considering the ship is supposed to be the one safe spot in the game; adding a door that could potentially vent all the air out, thus making the entire ship a death zone, would not be something you'd want to risk. It would be even worse if you respawn in the ship, and had died without a space suit on. The only way I see to avoid this would be to have a safe door connected to the cockpit which had no chance of this happening, but that would require the size of the cockpit to be even larger, something I'd like to avoid if possible.
    I think it'd be a lot simpler if we did everything from the inside.

    PS: I don't know, maybe Chucklefish already intend to add doors that can prevent air from escaping. I saw a video where Tiy (I think it was him) placed a really thick blast door looking object separating the cockpit from the rest of the ship.
    I'm just saying my assumptions could just as well be wrong.
     
  11. I know, I kind of meant the whole "would you have to go outside" as a sort of joke. :giggle:

    Some sort of airlock would be cool, though.
     
  12. BloodyRain2k

    BloodyRain2k Pangalactic Porcupine

    Building your ship yourself would be really awesome, I'd so love to have a trashbin 'room' where I can throw stuff (and people or animals) in and then lock the inner door and open the outer one and whooooo all the stuff flows out :D

    Well maybe we get that level of ship customization post release, maybe the big v1.5 update? hint hint :rofl:
     
    Illmad likes this.
  13. Illmad

    Illmad Phantasmal Quasar

    Bumping this just to notify I've added some more artwork related to this. This time using pixel art, altering one of Tiy's latest screenshots of the ship's cockpit.
     
  14. Mukin

    Mukin Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    good work
     
  15. ktb537

    ktb537 Space Penguin Leader

    Nice work, but it's a little bit too squarish for me; maybe replace some corner blocks with half-blocks?
     
  16. Thoren

    Thoren Master Chief

    I love this idea! I hope that I can make my mansion ship :cool:
     
  17. Illmad

    Illmad Phantasmal Quasar

    I don't think that can be avoided really. Like everything else in the game, it's going to have somewhat of a blocky look.
    If the developers do implement this eventually, then it will be up to them how to deal with it, because I don't know how to fix it.
     
  18. darkrhodes

    darkrhodes Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    OOHHHH ship customization, yes please.
    Also i really hope post release they put in the ability to create space stations/space outposts/satellites and such mmmm creation
     
  19. ktb537

    ktb537 Space Penguin Leader

    [​IMG]

    It doesn't look squarish, does it?
     
  20. Latiz

    Latiz Starship Captain

    It would be cool if the ship color also changes depending on the material used o.o
     

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