[IDEA] Long Range Scanning System

Long range radar system for detecting grids:

Whats the goal: to have an interesting way to find encounters and players (maybe also ores?) at long distances (up to 1,000,000 km ), using our engineering skills.

There are 4 types of signatures and sensors

- RADAR

- LADAR

- Gravimetric

- Magnetometric

Each block could be assigned certain signature radius (any one or a mix of the above) with different values depending on "on / off" status, that are then added up to a total signature radius for the ship.

Likewise, scanners would have a scan resolution value for each signature type that are then again added up to a ship total.

Scanners could be either directional, long range antennas that scan in a cone, or spherical ones that scan around the ship. Scanners would also have a scan range that adds up to a ship total.

When doing a scan, the ship checks grids within its scan radius and compares their signature radius against against its scan resolution, if the signature radius is bigger than the scan resolution, the grid is added to a list of targets that can then be used with other ship systems.

Scan resolution could have a distance falloff so it becomes harder to detect things the further they are away.

So basically, more antennas = more scan distance and resolution; more blocks = bigger signature radius

Things like gravity or shield generators could have a much larger signature and therefore much easier to detect by scanners.

The specific signature values of a ship can give a player hints at what kind of ship it is (high gravimetric signature means there are many gravity generators on the ship etc.) and also help to identify individual ships at range.

This system would also allow for a degree of "stealth" gameplay, by turning off some ship systems, you can reduce your signature radius and possibly evade detection, there will be many strategical options for players here.

On the technical side, this could be implemented in a very lightweight way as we dont need to check for individual ship blocks but only a proxy actor that tells us the position and signature radius. It also does not need a high update frequency or high accuracy, so it can be handled fully server-side to avoid cheating.