DLC Content Rewarded from Challenges

Understandably, the DLC helps to support the game, however there is some content such as the industrial cockpit (that is functional) and seating decorations (which are a great alternative to clang infested ships) that are not quite vital but are incredibly useful nevertheless. While this DLC is pretty inexpensive, the costs of multiple DLCs released over time can add up.

I propose a challenge system that randomly gives players "blueprints" of DLC content that allows them to use it freely. Upon completion of a challenge, the random reward is based on the blueprints that the player has. If the player already has a blueprint of the industrial cockpit for example, then they will never randomly receive a blueprint for the industrial cockpit and will instead receive a blueprint for something they don't already have. Blueprints also cannot be traded among players. The challenge system would work similarly to unknown signals in the sense that they spawn randomly in survival worlds, provided the unknown signals option is enabled. This feature can even be included exclusively with the deluxe version of SE.

The challenges take the form of wrecked ships (space, planets, moons) or rovers (planets, moons) that are protected by a safe zone. The generated structure has a locked container that contains a blueprint. Upon entry of the safe zone, Good Ai alerts the player to the challenge and gives them three options. The player can choose to accept the challenge and proceed, ignore the challenge and close the notification until they reenter the safe zone, or remove the challenge if it generates in an area that is inconvenient to the player.

Upon accepting the challenge, the first step allows players to repair and build off of the generated structure. Blocks in the structure that have been generated before the player's arrival are indestructible, preventing the player from simply disassembling the entire structure and building one exactly to their needs. When the player is satisfied with their work and are sitting in a control station or cockpit in the grid, Good Ai will ask the player if they would like to move on to the second step. When a player confirms, the safe zone disappears and the player will not be able to access any other grid than the one that was initially generated in the challenge. Additionally, the player cannot interact or be interacted with by grids or players that are not part of the challenge. The player cannot build any blocks on the grid at this point, but they can repair the grid with handheld tools. The blocks that were part of the original grid and were indestructible can now be destroyed by weapons, collisions, and grinders. The player must move their new creation to a coordinate point that generates at least 1 km away, in an area devoid of grids or asteroid voxels that are not part of the challenge. When the player reaches the point, the second part of the challenge begins.

The second part of the challenge requires the player to use their newly repaired ship to complete it. The challenge is themed after what the challenge grid generated with.

-If it is generated with weapons, the challenge is combat-related and the player will face waves of enemies. The challenge is completed when both the last cockpit and the player survives and defeats all enemies.

-If it is generated with drills, the challenge involves drilling through a freshly generated asteroid in search of 3-5 beacons that are "collected" by moving through them with the challenge grid. Explosive warheads are also embedded within the asteroid, so the player must navigate around them or manually disarm them by accessing their control panels. The challenge is completed when both the last cockpit and player survives and collects all beacons.

-If it is generated with grinders/welders, the challenge involves disassembling a grid and repairing another within a certain time limit. The time limit is based on how many grinders and welders the finished challenge grid has. The more the grid has, the shorter the time limit, the less the grid has, the longer the time limit. The challenge is completed when the player successfully repairs the target grid within the time limit.

Upon completion or failure of a challenge, all objects that were generated by the challenge disappear, except for the original grid. Both the player and the original grid can also interact and be interacted with by other grids and players. When a player successfully completes the challenge, the container on the grid is unlocked and they can access the blueprint inside. When a player fails the challenge, the container breaks and does not leave any blueprints behind.