Shield Effects, Damage Modeling, and subsystem targeting

[luistigerfox]

I'm not sure where to post suggestions. Anyway.


I believe that it would be an excellent choice in design for space combat if the game engine is to include the titular elements of this thread. I have a feeling that there may already be plans to add reacting shield bubbles to the ship art. After all, what's star trek without it? (aside from enterprise).

I think a less common, but still somewhat star trek element would be hull damage modeling. Perhaps making hard-points on ships that can be destroyed as the player takes damage, perhaps even to the point where repairing them would take either outside assistance or a short amount of out of combat time, as they may be linked to the third suggestion in the thread title. A prime example of this would be in the old single player game. Klingon academy.

Now what is star trek without the ability to pick and choose the subsystems of your target. Often they aim to disrupt power or shield grids, and engine or weapon systems. I know the game isn't done yet, and I haven't read enough on the forum to see if these suggestions have been done yet.

Just a shame that we can't get the official star-trek federation computer voice-over clips that are so well known to the property. I'd love to hear that give damage warnings, but she's not around anymore, is she?

I apologize for the random rambling.

[luistigerfox]

Nevermind. I see these have all been brought up earlier.

[ETSstarfleetromulan]

The computer voice idea is pretty good but as usual some folks on this forum would think of it as a "nuisance". Not me though, I like to be immersed into the Star Trek realm.

[rporter]

I remember a thread a while back that addressed most of your concerns here.

The devs have confirmed there will be subsystem targeting, but those systems will not degrade in effectiveness as they are damaged. They will just stop working entirely once enough damage has been dealt.

I know they're working on the shield effects. They just didn't have them implemented yet when the demo video was made.

Graphical representation of hull damage is out for now.


The last part was an idea I hadn't heard before, but I think an AI voiceover is an interesting idea. As long as you had the option to toggle it on or off.
Wouldn't also mind being able to toggle red/yellow alert and hear the classic alert siren sound effects.

[whatinblueblazes]

I think this is as good a venue for suggestions as any. With regards to your ideas, the developers have stated or suggested that all of these elements will be in the game at some point.

Recently, Rekhan responded to a request for screenshots displaying some of the battle damage artwork that we can expect to see in the game by saying "Not in the game yet, or I'd be happy to." While this doesn't confirm that we'll see battle damage at launch, it certainly suggests that we'll see it eventually (and hopefully at launch). Ship models break apart when the ships are destroyed, so it would make sense that we'll see some damage effects.

Shield impact effects can be seen in the recent PAX videos and screenshots that various members have posted, including Hailing Frequency's excellent gameplay demo video featuring Tamgros' battle savvy. They're probably not final yet, but I think that they're very impressive. Very flashy. Very awesome. Note that I'm not referring to the HUD shield ring display, which can apparently be toggled on or off as of right now.

Subsystem targeting has been mentioned by the developers, including Zinc, as a gameplay mechanic that is slated but has not yet been finalized. I'm not sure what depth we can expect to see in the system targeting, but I doubt we'll be able to target specific power couplings or crew quarters. More likely, we'll be able to target narrow categories (a la Klingon Academy -- primary weapons, secondary weapons, impulse engines, etc.) or broad categories (a la Judgment Rites and 25th Anniversary and Legacy -- weapons, sensors, etc.). I would prefer to see narrow categories for the sake of flavor.

Hope this helps!