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Author Topic: Rename Transponder Ability  (Read 4393 times)

SafariJohn

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Rename Transponder Ability
« on: June 17, 2018, 01:47:51 PM »

I think most people don't know what a transponder is off-hand, and for some reason the name has been rubbing me the wrong way for a while now. When I finally looked up what a transponder is I discovered why: Starsector ships don't use them! What they use is called an Automatic Identification System (AIS), which makes way more sense.

That acronym is rather unfortunate, however, so my suggestion is that the Transponder ability be renamed to "Identification System" (IDS). This name would benefit new players with its obvious meaning, and it would help everyone because we wouldn't have to spell out "transponder" anymore. IDS is so much easier.
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Sarissofoi

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Re: Rename Transponder Ability
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2018, 04:28:06 PM »

I vote for Automatic Identity Detection System with acronim that make perfect sense.
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Inventor Raccoon

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Re: Rename Transponder Ability
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2018, 07:12:44 PM »

I think the Transponder name is fine. It seems consistent with what that Wikipedia article suggests (not that I'm an expert on aircraft). It gives a response when other ships detect you, telling them who you are.

Calling it an Identification System is sort of blunt and the acronym IDS pretty quickly devolves into a meaningless string of letters, especially since it doesn't match up with the actual meaning very well (IDentification System? I know that many acronyms are forced like that but...)
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SafariJohn

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Re: Rename Transponder Ability
« Reply #3 on: June 17, 2018, 07:40:06 PM »

Transponders only blurt out a short code when an outside source pings them. A sneaking fleet can't be pinging, so a fleet with an active transponder would be no more visible to them than one with it off.

An AIS broadcasts at all times and provides way more info. It aligns exactly with how Starsector's Transponder ability functions.
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AxleMC131

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Re: Rename Transponder Ability
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2018, 11:15:09 PM »

One moment.

Spoiler

Gameplay > Realism

[close]

Ahem.

That aside, I think the name "Transponder" makes perfect sense in Starsector. I have no idea what the word actually means in the literal sense, but it's easy enough to get a general idea - it sounds to me like some kind of emitter that produces a signal; in the case of Starsector an identification signal for a fleet.

Also, the argument that "new players won't intuitively know what it does" kinda falls flat when you realise that the whole purpose and function of the Transponder ability is explained, very clearly, in the campaign tutorial. Sure there are players who somehow manage to miss or actively skip the tutorial, but they're a pretty small minority, and on top of that, usually do so deliberately because they enjoy learning a game by trial and error. (Yes I know there are some terrible people who skip tutorials because they're "boring" and then whine to the Devs and the rest of the community because the game is "too hard" - but let's not talk about them here.)

To go back to my opening quip inside the above Spoiler tab, this is a video game. Not real life. Realism and analogies to reality take the backseat in place of making gameplay understandable and enjoyable for a prolonged period of time - sure, you could change the name to something as slap-in-the-face obvious as "Identification System" because it sounds closer to what's used in the real world, but I honestly think the change in intuitiveness of the name is so minute that it isn't worth it.

Finally, those of us who have been with the game even for a little while are very familiar with the infamous Transponder. Changing its name now would probably confuse more people than it does already.
« Last Edit: June 17, 2018, 11:16:49 PM by AxleMC131 »
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fededevi

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Re: Rename Transponder Ability
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2018, 04:25:58 AM »

Isn't it usually called "IFF" transponder (is Friend or Foe) by the military?
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intrinsic_parity

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Re: Rename Transponder Ability
« Reply #6 on: June 21, 2018, 01:42:12 PM »

I believe the criticism is that a transponder responds to incoming pings, so for a conventional transponder, the other fleet would have to be able to detect you in order to interact with your transponder. In other words, the transponder being on/off has no effect on the enemies ability to detect you. In the game, turning your transponder on increases the range you can be detected at, implying that it is actively broadcasting a signal of some sort, rather than a passive response.
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Igncom1

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Re: Rename Transponder Ability
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2018, 11:45:41 AM »

It's basically your licence plates.
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Ranakastrasz

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Re: Rename Transponder Ability
« Reply #8 on: June 24, 2018, 12:35:35 PM »

It's basically your licence plates.

Huh. That makes sense. Best way to think about it given how it behaves.
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Death_Silence_66

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Re: Rename Transponder Ability
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2018, 02:27:23 PM »

It's basically your licence plates.
It's more like if your licence plates had attached spotlights
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Ranakastrasz

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Re: Rename Transponder Ability
« Reply #10 on: June 25, 2018, 03:35:40 PM »

It's basically your licence plates.
It's more like if your licence plates had attached spotlights
Its like a Licence plate, which requires power to maintain it's presence, sends out Radio or similar signals constantly or when pinged, and is basically nothing like a PHYSICAL licence plate.

But, legally, it acts similar. Your ship, or rather fleet (and presumably every ship in the fleet) must have a transponder running at all times in civilized space, because its the law. Same as how you must have a Licence plate on your car, because its the law.
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I think is easy for Simba and Mufasa sing the Circle of Life when they're on the top of the food chain, I bet the zebras hate that song.

Cigarettes are a lot like hamsters. Perfectly harmless, until you put one in your mouth and light it on fire