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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

Author Topic: Distant "Pings"  (Read 2804 times)

SafariJohn

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Distant "Pings"
« on: July 16, 2019, 09:51:48 AM »

It might help systems feel more lively if distant, undetected fleets produce short-lived "pings" near their location. Other objects could also give off these pings to help locate them.
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Re: Distant "Pings"
« Reply #1 on: July 16, 2019, 02:05:47 PM »

Isn't thats what neutrino detector is for?
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SafariJohn

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Re: Distant "Pings"
« Reply #2 on: July 16, 2019, 03:15:15 PM »

Neutrino Detector is around the player's fleet. I mean pings like in strategy games: waves originating at a point on the map.
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xenoargh

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Re: Distant "Pings"
« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2019, 06:24:51 PM »

It'd be cool if:

1.  Entrances from Hyperspace caused these.
2.  Using Active Sensor Burst caused these a lot further away than the effect (active radar is detectable waaaaay further away than it can detect in turn).
3.  Neutrino Detector did not cause this, because it's passive; perhaps it should involve a bit of movement penalty or other things.
4.  The current "ping" graphics move too quickly; when they're actually happening, they zip across the screen almost too fast to observe.
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PyroFuzz

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Re: Distant "Pings"
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2019, 06:46:43 PM »

I would like it if their was a notification on the overworld near me an arrow pointing in that direction would show up, and if i hover over it, it tells me some info.
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SafariJohn

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Re: Distant "Pings"
« Reply #5 on: July 17, 2019, 05:42:13 AM »

Here's what I meant, graphically:

Spoiler
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But animated and not so many at once.
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xenoargh

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Re: Distant "Pings"
« Reply #6 on: July 17, 2019, 09:01:16 AM »

That'd be cool, to have a marker we could see for a little while there, for sure.
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intrinsic_parity

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Re: Distant "Pings"
« Reply #7 on: July 17, 2019, 09:37:38 AM »

I would rather see this replace the active sensor burst. Having it happen every time you jumped in for free would be too easy/low risk IMO.
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SafariJohn

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Re: Distant "Pings"
« Reply #8 on: July 17, 2019, 10:38:01 AM »

Crank down their accuracy and frequency in your head, intrinsic_parity.  :P I'd like it to be more atmospheric than useful.
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intrinsic_parity

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Re: Distant "Pings"
« Reply #9 on: July 17, 2019, 11:18:28 AM »

I mean if objects ping their location on your map with any significant degree of accuracy, that's automatically super useful. I don't see a way around that. You can always pause and screen shot. Any mechanic that pings object locations on the map will replace neutrino detector and active sensor burst for exploration purposes. Objects are almost always in orbit around something or in a belt/ring or something, so even if it the location was not accurate, it would still likely be enough to find whatever was there (and tell you how many things are out there etc).

It also kind of kills some of the stealth mechanics unless it is a player only feature, but then people will complain about consistency etc.

It's a lot of information that the player didn't have before, no matter how you do it, so it will be useful. Making it less accurate/frequent just means the player has to do more work to get the information out.
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xenoargh

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Re: Distant "Pings"
« Reply #10 on: July 17, 2019, 05:58:07 PM »

I don't think it should happen at all, unless:

1.  Fleet emerges from Hyperspace.
2.  Fleet uses Active Sensor Burst.
3.  Maybe for major battles?

It shouldn't tell us about fleets who used Go Dark before exiting Hyperspace, fleets who are just traveling through the System, anything that's not a fleet, etc.

It might be interesting to have some mechanics where we'd get a gradually-improving location on bases, but I don't mind having to explore / use Neutrino Detectors (when I can be bothered to remember to use them and have the resources around, which is rare).
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SafariJohn

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Re: Distant "Pings"
« Reply #11 on: July 17, 2019, 06:08:03 PM »

Yeah, I guess you're right, intrinsic_parity. You're idea of reworking Active Sensor Burst to be like this is interesting, though.

4.  The current "ping" graphics move too quickly; when they're actually happening, they zip across the screen almost too fast to observe.

I think you are implying: random pings like I suggested, but using the existing vague sensor circle graphics instead of the pinpoint-y graphics I was thinking? If so, that's an interesting idea, too.
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