Author Topic: Ship-specific subsystems  (Read 8248 times)

Offline Arthem White

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Ship-specific subsystems
« on: May 16, 2013, 11:43:53 am »
One of the minor complaints I have so far about this awesome, awesome game, is that the crew dynamics are somewhat similar through the ship roster.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the subtle (and not so subtle) differences between staffing a Galleon and a Spire, and I know things must be done very differently. However, the actions themselves are the same. You either pilot, fix stuff, or fire. Despite the many shades of these three actions, I am sometimes left wishing there was a bit more.

So I was thinking about other airship games and the old Skies of Arcadia came to mind. In it, ships were somewhat similar, but each had a "special" ability of some sort. The first ship you got could fire a massive harpoon cannon, for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwihuf51Gvo&feature=player_detailpage#t=148s It required a lot of resources and had a long cooldown, but you can see how cool that was.

Of course, that's too anime-y and over the top, but I was wondering how/if it could be translated to GOIO.

So, I thought it would be cool if every ship had a subsystem exclusive to itself. Another position that can be manned, destroyed and repaired, which gives said ship a tactical advantage related to its role. Maybe this is redundant with player skills, but let me put some examples for fun:

Pyramidon: Steam boiler: There is an open steam boiler near the engines that can be manned by anyone. When manning it you can feed more coal to it in the form of a minigame. If you do it right the engines get much faster, but if you overshoot you end up damaging them. Goes well with the ramming theme.

Spire: Balloon Decoys: By heavily damaging your balloon (you're extracting gas), and a limited number of times per game, you can inflate decoy balloons and release them around you (similar to the training dummies) to act as cover and distraction.

Galleon: Lower Deck Shield: You can man a rotating crank which, when activated, lowers wooden planks that cover your side guns. This way guns will not be damaged and damage to the lower deck is reduced (of course you can't fire). Since Galleon guns usually have a long cooldown, I think it fits the theme.


What would you think of systems like these? (not particularly the ones proposed, but the core mechanic in itself).

If this sounds too extreme, maybe I would just be happy with more things in the ships to interact with. Little touches like levers that change the position of a ladder, a sliding panel here and there to offer more or less protection to a particular system, and so on.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2013, 11:58:30 am by Arthem White »

Offline HamsterIV

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Re: Ship-specific subsystems
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2013, 12:02:18 pm »
Those are interesting suggestions, the PvP game is so finely balanced right now that adding a new major mechanic might throw the whole thing out of whack. The way I fly every crew member has something to do, and I can't spare anyone to go work a minigame to boost performance. Perhaps adventure mode will be a bit more open to these sorts of ideas. Muse has already confirmed that the guns and ships for Adventure and Skirmish mode will be balanced separately.

Offline Sgt. Spoon

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Re: Ship-specific subsystems
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2013, 12:24:25 pm »
Well I like the ideas, even if they probably would take a bit more work than, for example, a new gun. But if things like these were implemented I'd honestly be more interested to see them available for choosing on all ships.

Offline Captain Smollett

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Re: Ship-specific subsystems
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2013, 12:36:17 pm »
Although really difficult to implement I think these are some really awesome and creative ideas and I'd be curious to see what the game was like with them.


Offline GrimWinter

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Re: Ship-specific subsystems
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2013, 01:00:09 pm »
I could see some repercussions in terms of balance but in general I think this is a pretty neat idea. Like Hamster said I think it would be a cool thing to consider for Adventure mode.

Offline Mattilald Anguisad

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Re: Ship-specific subsystems
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2013, 04:00:08 pm »
One of the minor complaints I have so far about this awesome, awesome game, is that the crew dynamics are somewhat similar through the ship roster.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the subtle (and not so subtle) differences between staffing a Galleon and a Spire, and I know things must be done very differently. However, the actions themselves are the same. You either pilot, fix stuff, or fire. Despite the many shades of these three actions, I am sometimes left wishing there was a bit more.

So I was thinking about other airship games and the old Skies of Arcadia came to mind. In it, ships were somewhat similar, but each had a "special" ability of some sort. The first ship you got could fire a massive harpoon cannon, for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwihuf51Gvo&feature=player_detailpage#t=148s It required a lot of resources and had a long cooldown, but you can see how cool that was.

Of course, that's too anime-y and over the top, but I was wondering how/if it could be translated to GOIO.

So, I thought it would be cool if every ship had a subsystem exclusive to itself. Another position that can be manned, destroyed and repaired, which gives said ship a tactical advantage related to its role. Maybe this is redundant with player skills, but let me put some examples for fun:

Pyramidon: Steam boiler: There is an open steam boiler near the engines that can be manned by anyone. When manning it you can feed more coal to it in the form of a minigame. If you do it right the engines get much faster, but if you overshoot you end up damaging them. Goes well with the ramming theme.

Spire: Balloon Decoys: By heavily damaging your balloon (you're extracting gas), and a limited number of times per game, you can inflate decoy balloons and release them around you (similar to the training dummies) to act as cover and distraction.

Galleon: Lower Deck Shield: You can man a rotating crank which, when activated, lowers wooden planks that cover your side guns. This way guns will not be damaged and damage to the lower deck is reduced (of course you can't fire). Since Galleon guns usually have a long cooldown, I think it fits the theme.


What would you think of systems like these? (not particularly the ones proposed, but the core mechanic in itself).

If this sounds too extreme, maybe I would just be happy with more things in the ships to interact with. Little touches like levers that change the position of a ladder, a sliding panel here and there to offer more or less protection to a particular system, and so on.

This kind of stuff will be added to adventure mode only.

Offline -Muse- Cullen

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Re: Ship-specific subsystems
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2013, 04:32:22 pm »
Looks like it could be really fun- especially if each ship had a choice between a few special subsystems during customization. A special weapon, extra speed, more cargo space, oil slick, ejector seats, etc.

Offline The Churrosaur

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Re: Ship-specific subsystems
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2013, 04:52:12 pm »
 ejector seats, etc.


NO! GOOSE! NOOOOO!!!

Offline TheSovietKlondikeBar

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Re: Ship-specific subsystems
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2013, 05:05:28 pm »
ejector seats, etc.


NO! GOOSE! NOOOOO!!!

It's for dem crew members that you NEED ejected off of your ship ASAP, because they're using a Rubber Mallet to repair your downed hull. Or the pilot that runs into oil slicks. Or for the gunners that miss with the chaingun...

Eh? Ejector seats? Eh??

Offline Veyka

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Re: Ship-specific subsystems
« Reply #9 on: May 17, 2013, 03:52:35 pm »
I loved  Skies of Arcadia so so much <3<3

Also cool ideas, would be better suited for AM though imo

Offline Mattilald Anguisad

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Re: Ship-specific subsystems
« Reply #10 on: May 19, 2013, 01:58:00 pm »
I'm 100% sure it was said in one of the AM update vieos that they'll be adding some of the systems they "had" to drop from Skirmish Mode to there. Like for example wight management with various components (heavier the ship is the slower it will be) and adding the boliter room - whereas you can manage how much steam goes to witch sytem - more steam to the gatling and it fires faster, or makes manticore reload faster - or more steam to engines making your ship faster and more maneuverable.