Target lock enhancer/dampener (further combat improvements)
In short, the suggestion is to add a new layer of warfare which is close to how it works with IRL Radar.
Dampener:
Reduces the range enemies can lock on you, depending on the size/ weight of your ship.
This would allow us to build ships that are lightly armored but a bit more stealthy (enemies wont get a huge lock on ring before, lets say 1.6 km and instantly spot you)
Enhancer:
Requires a large amount of power when active, but negates those dampeners or even exceed the 2km max range on the target lock system depending on the size of the target ship.
A huge ship for example can be locked on from let's say 2.4km (even though the weapons aren't in range yet)
This would add some nice depth to the way people build their ships.
Big ships going for the enhancers, while small (large grid) ships could invest into being stealthier ships.
(Yes, i'm thinking of The Expanse stealth ships, especially the Amun Ra class :D but it shouldn't be that extreme)
I like this feedback
I'm a fan of expanding the lock-on feature. It's a great addition to the game, but I think further refinement could make both PvP and PvE (pirates, cargo ships) encounters far more varied.
What Stefan describes as a "Dampener" I envision as two different potential mechanisms.
One would be support of a "low power mode" for ships: ships that operate under a certain threshold of their overall power capability (e.g. 10-15%) would be harder to detect than an identical ship running near maximum capability. In other words, a ship running "hot" would be emitting more detectable energy than one that isn't. Elite Dangerous has this in their concept of "silent running". In Space Engineers, this could translate into a visible line on the HUD that, if it were exceeded due to power usage, any advantage regarding targeting is lost. Obviously, some actions -- regardless of the ship's power usage -- would utterly negate this "silent running" capability, such as beacon or antenna broadcasting.
The second mechanism falls more under ECM: an active device that is designed to thwart enemy lock-ons. This would act as an antenna or beacon in that any ship with one active would appear on the HUD in the same manner. However, depending upon the amount of energy put into the block (which would essentially act as a jammer) the lock-on time could be greatly increased. A ship using an ECM block would absolutely not be stealthy. An interesting side-effect of ECM would be to allow lock-ons to be degraded within a certain radius of the equipped ship: this would support the use of escort ships in PvP or PvE battles.
In regard to what Stefan describes as an "Enhancer", a specialized sensor block could be added or, more simply, additional antennas and camera blocks on a grid could improve targeting range because they could presumably be tied to onboard targeting systems and collecting more data. If a specialized block approach were taken, an upgrade block (similar to the refinery/assembler upgrade blocks) could be attached to the base of the default antenna model to boost detection range and/or lock-on speed.
I'm a fan of expanding the lock-on feature. It's a great addition to the game, but I think further refinement could make both PvP and PvE (pirates, cargo ships) encounters far more varied.
What Stefan describes as a "Dampener" I envision as two different potential mechanisms.
One would be support of a "low power mode" for ships: ships that operate under a certain threshold of their overall power capability (e.g. 10-15%) would be harder to detect than an identical ship running near maximum capability. In other words, a ship running "hot" would be emitting more detectable energy than one that isn't. Elite Dangerous has this in their concept of "silent running". In Space Engineers, this could translate into a visible line on the HUD that, if it were exceeded due to power usage, any advantage regarding targeting is lost. Obviously, some actions -- regardless of the ship's power usage -- would utterly negate this "silent running" capability, such as beacon or antenna broadcasting.
The second mechanism falls more under ECM: an active device that is designed to thwart enemy lock-ons. This would act as an antenna or beacon in that any ship with one active would appear on the HUD in the same manner. However, depending upon the amount of energy put into the block (which would essentially act as a jammer) the lock-on time could be greatly increased. A ship using an ECM block would absolutely not be stealthy. An interesting side-effect of ECM would be to allow lock-ons to be degraded within a certain radius of the equipped ship: this would support the use of escort ships in PvP or PvE battles.
In regard to what Stefan describes as an "Enhancer", a specialized sensor block could be added or, more simply, additional antennas and camera blocks on a grid could improve targeting range because they could presumably be tied to onboard targeting systems and collecting more data. If a specialized block approach were taken, an upgrade block (similar to the refinery/assembler upgrade blocks) could be attached to the base of the default antenna model to boost detection range and/or lock-on speed.
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