Giving purpose to the Antenna - SE2 concept
The following is a proposed idea on how to give the Antennas a larger mechanical purpose in-game.
Signal Identification:
All players/grids can see “Unknown Signals” without an antenna block, but at a lower range.
Antenna: Small 20k dist.
Antenna: Large 100k dist.
Reveals Signal Name & relation to player.
ex1: “MULE Light Freighter” - Neutral
ex2: “Centerline-H2” - Friendly
ex3: “Surveyor C-Drone” - Hostile
This additional feature allows the Antenna block act as a basic introduction to exploring, tracking, and signal identification. It also helps players realize who to avoid or approach.
Antenna Range can be extended via control panel at cost of power consumption.
Note: All antenna would have a delay on signal position. Say: 5 second delay.
This makes tracking fast moving targets difficult without visually seeing the grid.
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So.... this naturally opens the door to a radar/ targeting system.
Targeting Computer block
This block allows the grid to accurately track targets positions that are in the antenna/ signal range.
Paired together with an Antenna array, you can now accurately track and identify targets.
Great on Warships, Bases, and an important block in combat - disabling the enemies targeting computer and antenna allows you to essentially hide your signature during combat.
This block could go great with the addition of an Surveying Computer Block - I saw this idea suggested in one of the Ore forum posts!
To finalize, these are small additions to the game that can bring massive positive change to the gameplay experience!
Additional Notes:
Am I mistaken or is there currently not a way to hide signals in SE2? It existed in SE1 but have I been missing the hotkey for that? Please let me know in comments :)
I'd also love to have it so ship antenna names don't show up on screen by default. As little on screen pop-ups as possible! :)
I like this feedback
I would like to see the comms system expanded, I hope VS4 will do this.
I would like to see the comms system expanded, I hope VS4 will do this.
Without working antenna player and grid should not be able to receive any signals.
Antennas had clear purposes in SE1 which was receive and send data.
That was used for:
- connect to terminal of remote grid,
- watch stream from camera of remote grid,
- control remote grid with Remote Control block,
- send and receive data by scripts (IGC)
I hope all of this will be possible in SE2 too.
Player suit has antenna built in but it was option to disable it.
Additionally grid's antenna had "disable broadcast" setting which put it in passive mode - it could only receive signals without sending anything to reveal own position, which was widely used in PVP and by NPCs from MES mod.
Basically antenna should show only information which was broadcasted, nothing else. It should not identify grid type or name.
Grid identification was already implemented in SE1 by a targeting system.
Once target was locked the faction and grid name was presented on LCD displays (App / Targeting Info) and it was available for scripts to use or display.
Additionally AI Defensive block was specialized in detecting neutral/enemy grids, it could execute actions and also displayed the name of the grid.
Entire comms system of SE1 was well thought over in my opinion and I would just like to see it implemented in SE2 as well without any changes to the concept and mechanics.
Without working antenna player and grid should not be able to receive any signals.
Antennas had clear purposes in SE1 which was receive and send data.
That was used for:
- connect to terminal of remote grid,
- watch stream from camera of remote grid,
- control remote grid with Remote Control block,
- send and receive data by scripts (IGC)
I hope all of this will be possible in SE2 too.
Player suit has antenna built in but it was option to disable it.
Additionally grid's antenna had "disable broadcast" setting which put it in passive mode - it could only receive signals without sending anything to reveal own position, which was widely used in PVP and by NPCs from MES mod.
Basically antenna should show only information which was broadcasted, nothing else. It should not identify grid type or name.
Grid identification was already implemented in SE1 by a targeting system.
Once target was locked the faction and grid name was presented on LCD displays (App / Targeting Info) and it was available for scripts to use or display.
Additionally AI Defensive block was specialized in detecting neutral/enemy grids, it could execute actions and also displayed the name of the grid.
Entire comms system of SE1 was well thought over in my opinion and I would just like to see it implemented in SE2 as well without any changes to the concept and mechanics.
add in the ability to 'interrogate' a target, with an ability for it to be 'cooperative' or 'non-cooperative'.
Gives players the ability to edit their transponder's information displayed, and to decide on what gets sent based on:
1. open broadcast (broadcasting so everyone can see, what we have now)
2. closed broadcast (certain information is only broadcasted to a player when it is interrogated. Still available to anyone)
3. Encrypted (certain information is only broadcasted to a player(s) who has the password)
All three can be set up to run at the same time.
- I made a post on antenna's comms, transponders, and radar scanning being combined. Although there really should be a separate active radar scanner.
add in the ability to 'interrogate' a target, with an ability for it to be 'cooperative' or 'non-cooperative'.
Gives players the ability to edit their transponder's information displayed, and to decide on what gets sent based on:
1. open broadcast (broadcasting so everyone can see, what we have now)
2. closed broadcast (certain information is only broadcasted to a player when it is interrogated. Still available to anyone)
3. Encrypted (certain information is only broadcasted to a player(s) who has the password)
All three can be set up to run at the same time.
- I made a post on antenna's comms, transponders, and radar scanning being combined. Although there really should be a separate active radar scanner.
i think we can safely assume that most if not all comm devices from SE1 will be implemented on SE2, so should only put forward NEW/DIFFERENT things for consideration.
i think we can safely assume that most if not all comm devices from SE1 will be implemented on SE2, so should only put forward NEW/DIFFERENT things for consideration.
Yes. Radars please. been saying this for awhile
Yes. Radars please. been saying this for awhile
I'm not sure we CAN safely assume that most things from SE1 will be carried over to SE2, which is why we should absolutely continue to provide feedback along the way to reinforce the dev's choices while they're actively developing.
I might like to suggest as part of this, some sort of electronic warfare, including hacking and signal jamming.
I'm not sure we CAN safely assume that most things from SE1 will be carried over to SE2, which is why we should absolutely continue to provide feedback along the way to reinforce the dev's choices while they're actively developing.
I might like to suggest as part of this, some sort of electronic warfare, including hacking and signal jamming.
I don't see it as a problem that, at this stage of the game's development, the antennas are merely decorative elements rather than functional modules or devices.
I don't see it as a problem that, at this stage of the game's development, the antennas are merely decorative elements rather than functional modules or devices.
Thanks for the detailed suggestion this is in progress.
We’re seeing a lot of discussion around antennas and signal handling in SE2, especially around the desire to move beyond simple “show everything in range” behaviour and toward more meaningful information layers (identification, classification, and tracking).
The idea of expanding antennas from a pure range-reveal tool into a system that supports identification, delayed tracking, and potential counterplay (such as disruption or concealment) aligns well with broader conversations around making exploration and combat information more interactive rather than purely automatic.
That said, anything involving radar-like systems, target tracking, or expanded sensor logic is still under consideration and not currently locked in. These kinds of systems have to be carefully balanced against performance, readability, and the sandbox-first nature of SE2, so we’re still exploring what form (if any) they take.
We also note the feedback regarding UI clutter and signal visibility reducing unnecessary on-screen information while keeping essential gameplay clarity is something the team is actively iterating on.
Appreciate you putting the concept together in a structured way it helps clarify how players expect antennas to evolve beyond their SE1 role.
Arron, Community Manager
Thanks for the detailed suggestion this is in progress.
We’re seeing a lot of discussion around antennas and signal handling in SE2, especially around the desire to move beyond simple “show everything in range” behaviour and toward more meaningful information layers (identification, classification, and tracking).
The idea of expanding antennas from a pure range-reveal tool into a system that supports identification, delayed tracking, and potential counterplay (such as disruption or concealment) aligns well with broader conversations around making exploration and combat information more interactive rather than purely automatic.
That said, anything involving radar-like systems, target tracking, or expanded sensor logic is still under consideration and not currently locked in. These kinds of systems have to be carefully balanced against performance, readability, and the sandbox-first nature of SE2, so we’re still exploring what form (if any) they take.
We also note the feedback regarding UI clutter and signal visibility reducing unnecessary on-screen information while keeping essential gameplay clarity is something the team is actively iterating on.
Appreciate you putting the concept together in a structured way it helps clarify how players expect antennas to evolve beyond their SE1 role.
Arron, Community Manager
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