Feature request: Radio Signals and Antennas

Hi,

Would it be possible to add more realistic propagation and absorption of radio signals from antennas and other sources to the game at some point?

For example, let’s imagine we’re searching for something—or someone—in the asteroid belt around a planet’s ring, but the signal is fuzzy and constantly shifting its location. This could be explained by the signal being reflected off asteroids or absorbed by cosmic dust. I think these signals should be emitted in such a way that the higher the energy consumption (by the engines or something else), the stronger the emission. In that case, we would have to monitor the systems more closely and shut down unnecessary ones to “hide".

And what if the signal’s range also decreased the deeper we went into this field? That would be a great mechanic for both quests and PvP chases/pursuits. Players could choose to build a station inside the belt, which would be difficult to locate, but the downside would be that other signals would also reach the station poorly.

This would create a new mechanic where players would have to build additional antennas or repeaters, which would need to be monitored and maintained.

Separately, I’d like the developers to consider the possibility of a SIGINT system, where a special scanner or antenna could be used to more effectively search for signal sources or resources that might emit something—but within a narrow cone—which would consume time and energy.

After all, since the game’s title includes the word “engineers,” I’d like to see a more engineering-oriented approach to the mechanics :)

Thank you.