What new abilities would you like to see?

[dogscoff]

Most "new features" threads soon degenerate into convoluted lists of peoples' pet ideas, so here's one with a more specific agenda:

What new abilities would you like to see patched into SE4 (or introdced in SE5) for modders to tinker with? I'll kick off:

- Can warp: This ability would be required for a ship to warp, enabling modders to deny warp travel to certain hulls or tech levels by witholding the ability.

-Inflicts X damage on own ship when destroyed: Would enable us to create "volatile" components. (ie one lucky hit to the warp core takes out half the ship)

- X percent chance of being damaged in ground combat: This ability could be given to units and facilities, allowing us to control their chances of surviving ground combat.

- modify ground combat defence by X percent for rock races.
- modify ground combat defence by X percent for ice races.
- modify ground combat defence by X percent for gas races.

The above 3 could be given to planets to give native combatants an advantage. Equally, all three could be given to a single facility to fortify a planet against invasion.

Come on then ppl, let's have your ideas...

[DirectorTsaarx]

I'd add

1. Can tow/carry/etc. other ships/bases
2. Can tow/carry/etc. other ships/bases through a warp point (assuming the "can warp" ability dogscoff mentioned is added)

The ability should have options for being either hull-based or component-based; and should provide a settable limit on number of ships/bases (and/or amount of kT). Or maybe the kT should cause movement penalties (i.e., each 100 kT towed reduces movement by one); this Last bit may require the ability to have "extra" engines - that is, max movement limited to some number, but extra engines can be added that allow the towing ship to compensate for tonnage being towed.

[Andr�s]

At least fix the "Planet - Change Ground Defense" ability that does not work.
Splitting it for rock/ice/gas makes sense but that does not only involve combat.
How can my rock planet native poulation live on a gas giant with no solid ground under their feet? wouldn't all those floating platforms for them count as domes? and how is it that no dome is needed in an ice planet that would freeze them to death in seconds?

Components that can generate Research and Intel points

Split the "component can only be repaired by SY" as a separate ability from the "Emergency Resupply" and "Emergency Energy".

A controlled way of the "Ship - Moved" event type would be the best way to simulate starwars-like hyperspace jumps.

I was thinking that the "can warp" and "can be stored as cargo" could be fields on every vehiclesize instead of abilities.

A damage type that deplets supplies from the target.
The ability to define weapon damage types!!

Increase max number of standard movements allowed from 255 to 65k.

[Desdinova]

i like the idea of adding the ability of can warp to a component. you can have a jumpdrive engine that is required to travel btwn systems. this way you could create system defense ships that are not warp capable and would have more room for other components.
i would like to see a feature added to the fleet screen where you can select ships and give them mass orders at once. sort of a calling all cars type command.
also on the construction que be able to multi add build ques other than ships or units. once the game gets going i tend to mass colonize and it is annoying to have to select a planet then add to its que. even using the fill que command it is tedious.

[couslee]

hmm, A racial ability, or advanced ability that gives terraforming to the race type, so no special facilities are needed to improve conditions or change the atmosphere. Could even be staged tech for each planet type provided you had the special ability. Maybe be attached to each of the colonization techs.
1= rock colonization
2= rock planet conditions
3= rock planet atmosphere
or even
3a= rock planet atmosphere hydrogen to home world type
3b= ect..

would be a whole new tech tree for that paticular special ability.

you could even give them a "genesis weapon" for that aspect of a special trait

[ February 12, 2003, 19:40: Message edited by: couslee ]

[Taz-in-Space]

1) The ability for a COMPONENT to store Minerals, etc.

This, along with a component that can generate research, would allow TRUE Nomad races!

2) Ability to have self -destructing weapons.

At present, even if you put component destroyed upon use, the combat engine still will NOT destroy the component!

[Baron Munchausen]

Things that modders can use?

***
1) Research and Intelligence points generation for components. This and resource storage makes true nomadic races possible. Just do it, MM!
***

2) Increase population storage. Why is there a facility cargo ability but not a facility population ability? It should be simple to add.

3) Restore the requirement for special population quarters to move population. (At least as an option.) It seems a bit silly to pack 'people' into empty cargo holds like packing crates. Don't they need heat and air, furniture, cooking facilities, etc?

4) Exploding component -- MM told someone or other he was going to implement the component that did extra damage when it was destroyed, but he hasn't done it yet. Someone remind him.

5) Restore the Chlorine atmosphere type. It would enhance the 'atmosphere' of the game to have more variety! We can think of plenty of races to use this atmosphere type.

6) Restore the ability to colonize asteroids. This would be another good thing with the 'nomadic' races. You could have a space-living race that can't live on planets but requires asteroids.

In fact, change the way colonization works so that any colony on your 'non-native' planet type is always domed just like 'non-native' atmosphere colonies are domed. With no way to change planet types you'd have a reasonable penalty for the rather strange act of colonize gas giants with ground (rock) dwelling races, or vice-versa.

7) Ability to tow/move another ship or base with a tractor beam.

8) A 'units only' space yard type.

9) Warp gates (artificial warp points)

10) Yes, the 'requires ability' ability for warp points needs to be enabled so you can have a 'warp component' to eat up space in star ships and give an advantage to system ships.

11) And of course, all those nifty things listed in the config files but since forgotten... planetary cloak, planetary engines, all those nifty restrictions for ship designs, etc...

[ February 13, 2003, 17:39: Message edited by: Baron Munchausen ]

[capnq]

A "System - Damage" ability. Like "Sector - Damage" but for the whole system.

[Nodachi]

Here's some of my ideas:

1) Not Mountable
2) Reflect Damage
3) User defined "dummy" abilities
4) Area Effect
5) Add a Range field to Boarding Attack
6) Move Planet
7) Disable Target (ion cannon style)
8) Teleportation - Sector
9) Teleportation - System
10) Secondary Damage (definible type and amount)

[AJC]

facilities abilities available for components.
Cloaking planets/stellar objects
Build more than one star in a system
Quadrant maps with warp lines that cross the map.