Spaceships - More than what you might think!

Discussion in 'Other' started by Pandalf, Jun 13, 2013.

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  1. Pandalf

    Pandalf Twenty-three is number one

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    download the banner: http://i.imgur.com/dtjWJwh.png
    As you all know, Starbound is a game in wich you explore different planets and jump from stars to stars. The gameplay seems really nice, but let's be honest: have you seen the spaceships? They are kinda lame... I mean, they are little and the Developing team said that they were probably going to be safe havens. From our point of view, space is NOT a safe haven, but a dangerous place where anything can happen so you need a better spaceship and not only that, but a crew.​
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    These are not my idea, these are the original ships.
    Adventure Crew NPCs
    Your crew consist of many different NPCs that will be useful if not necessary throughout the game. Each and every NPC with a different look and different abilities divided in three categories or modes: Space, Fighting andPlanetary. Space mode is when they are in the spaceship and nothing is happening. Fighting mode is when a battle is engaged with pirates. Planetary mode is when the NPCs decide to get off the ship and explore the lands underneath the ship. You can hire every single one of them (except the co-captain) in a NPC village found on any planet. Depending on their level, they will have a different cost and sub-abilities.

    - Co-captain -
    This NPC spawns directly in your spaceship the first time you use it. Whatever he looks like, he will always wear a co-captain hat.

    Space mode: The co-captain is your guide to the world of starbound. He will most likely stand around, giving you advices on the game.​

    Fighting mode: The co-captain has no real fighting mode. If he faints, you crash-land.​

    Planetary mode: The co-captain has no planetary mode as his purpose is to fly the ship when you are not around.​

    - Engineer -
    This NPC is the most useful member of your crew if you want to progress in the game. Whatever he looks like, he will always have a wrench in his hand (with a 1% chance of having a sonic screwdriver).

    Space mode: The engineer can modify your ship by adding weapons and tools to it. Depending on his level, the engineer will be able to install more weapons/tools and bigger ones too.​

    Fighting mode: The engineer will run around the ship fixing what's broken.​

    Planetary mode: The engineer has no real planetary mode, but he will repair the damages on your ship if there are some while you are gone.​


    - Architect -
    This NPC can be as useful as the engineer if you use it well. Whatever he looks like, he will always have a scarf.

    Space mode: The architect can modify your ship by adding rooms to your ship. Adding rooms is necessary to get some particular NPCs, but it is also useful to make more space for weapons and tools all around your spaceship. Though there is a restriction of one room by NPC in your crew, your ship can become a real mess, so be organized while customizing your spacecraft. Depending on the level he is, he will be able to add more room per people and bigger ones too.​

    Fighting mode: The architect has no fighting mode... really... he just hides in a room and wait for the battle to be over.​

    Planetary mode: The architect will build you a little shed made with the materials of the planet. He will not furnish the result, but you will maybe.​


    - Doctor -
    Thanks to Pseudoboss for the idea!
    This NPC will be necessary faster than you might think. You need to have a medical room to have him on board. Whatever he looks like, he will always wear a bow tie, cause bow ties are cool (with a 1% chance of wearing a Fez).

    Space mode: The Doctor can heal you some HP any time you want for a very little cost on your spaceship. Depending on his level, he will be able to heal you more with less money.​

    Fighting mode: The Doctor will run around and heal your crew.​

    Planetary mode: The Doctor can get down the ship, but he will just stand around and wait for you to get him back on board.​


    - Researcher -
    Thanks to Pseudoboss for the idea!
    This NPC is more of a bonus member of you crew, but he can get really useful if you give him some time. You need a laboratory room to have him on board. Whatever he looks like, he will always wear a lab coat.

    Space mode: The researcher will obtain information on the planets around you so you can prepare yourself properly. Depending on his level, he will be able to get more information.​

    Fighting mode: The researcher will obtain information on the spaceship you are fighting from the number of rooms to a possible weak spot.​

    Planetary mode: The researcher will follow you around if you tell him to and he will store information on everything you see from the vegetation to the surrounding wildlife or civilization.​


    - Cook -
    Thanks to Draconano for the idea!
    This NPC is also more of an extra member of the crew, but the one that will save you so much time! You need a kitchen room to have him on board. Whatever he looks like, he will always wear a chef hat.

    Space mode: The cook will make you food with the resources you give him and feed you when you need to eat if you are in your ship. Depending on his level, he will be able to cook more difficult food.​

    Fighting mode: The cook will do his best to fight the deckers with his deadly kitchen knife.​

    Planetary mode: The cook will hunt down all walking ebible animal.​


    - Mates -
    These NPCs are really not that useful by themselves. You need a Dormitory room with enough bed for each and every mate you get or one room for each one to have them on board. They all look different.

    Space mode: The mates do nothing except give you the opportunity to make your ship bigger with the architect. Depending on their levels, they will do more damage in fighting mode, or shoot more accurately.​

    Fighting mode: The mates will defend your ship from the deckers (see below) or attack the enemy with player handheld weapons or by teleporting to them (see ''hacker'' below).​

    Planetary mode: The mates have no planetary mode.​



    Pirate Crew NPCs
    Brace yourselves because you are not alone in this universe. Some people want your money and they will harm you if they have to. They are pirates and all pirates have different abilities depending on what they are. Pirates only have a fighting mode, since you can only find them in battle. To defeat any pirate, you have two choice: or you blow up their ship, or you defeat them in person by teleporting in their ship (see ''Hacker'' below).

    - Captain -
    This pirate is the master of his spaceship. If and once he is defeated in person, he is teleported in prison, you gain money for that and the battle is over. Whatever he looks like, he will always wear a pirate captain hat. Depending on his level, the captain will be weaker or stronger.

    Fighting mode: The captain will stand in a room and wait for you to enter in this same room to engage a battle with you. If he loses, the pirates are defeated and if you lose, your crew is defeated.​


    - Hacker -
    This pirate can be your doom, but if you are well prepared, you can turn the chance around and make him useful. Whatever he looks like, he will always wear big square glasses. Depending on his level, the hacker will be able to hack slower or faster.

    Fighting mode: The hacker will try to hack your ship teleporter so that the deckers (see below) will be able to attack you. The effect is reversible. If they can teleport to you, you can use your teleporter to get to them.​
    Once your teleporter is hacked, he will get to the ship handheld weapons.​


    - Deckers -
    These pirates are mates who chose the piracy life. Whatever they look like, they will all have a bandana of the same color. Depending on their level, the deckers will be weaker or stronger.

    Fighting mode: The deckers will wait for you on their ship to attack you and if your teleporter is hacked, they will get in your ship.​


    - Crows -
    These pirates are kind of like the Deckers as they act like mates. Whatever they look like, they will all have the same bandana's as the deckers. Depending on their level, they will shoot more or less accurately.

    Fighting mode: The crows will use their ship's player handheld weapons to attack yours.​



    Single NPCs
    Sometimes, when you defeat pirate ships, you will find some NPCs. Those NPCs are not like the others: You can't hire them. You have to defeat the pirate ship to get them and once you have them on board, the same NPC won't show up again for you. They each have 2 modes: Space and Fighting. Planerary is disabled because we don't want them to be killed by a monster or something stupid like that. There are 5 Single NPCs.

    - Damsel -
    This NPC is the only one who is 100% sure to be a female. Whatever she looks like, she will always wear a crown.

    Space mode: The damsel will increase the chances of being attacked by 20% to 30% depending on her level.​

    Fighting mode: The damsel will increase the number of deckers going in your ship by 15%​


    - Cartographer -
    This NPC is a little bit like the researcher. Whatever he looks like, he will always have a map in his hands.

    Space mode: The cartographer, if you talk to him, will show you the map of the universe with all the planets you have visited. On this map, you can see the dangerous zones, the usual path of the pirate ships and other information. Depending on his level, he will be able to give a more or less accurate map.​

    Fighting mode: The cartographer will make a map of the ship in front of you unless if it is a mothership. On this map, you can see the captain.​


    - Statue maker -
    Thanks to Pseudoboss for the idea!
    This NPC is probably the less useful you can find in the game. Whatever he looks like, he will always wear a beret.

    Space mode: The statue maker will create a random statue procedurally generated from every art in the game to the size of the statue if you give him stone. So you could end up a small yellow starbound logo with tentacles statue or a big blue cat with a poptop hat statue. He will also make trophies if you give him gold. Depending on his level, he will be able to make statues more or less accurate

    Fighting mode: The statue maker, just like the architect, will hide in a room.​


    - Crazy Astronaut -
    This NPC is surely the craziest you will ever encounter. To get him, you’ll have not-only to defeat the ship he’s in, but you’ll have to defeat him as he will attack your ship. Whatever he looks like, he’ll….always look the same, because he’s wearing an astronaut spacesuit.

    Space mode: The crazy astronaut will find himself a room in wich he can run around like if he was on fire.​

    Fighting mode: The crazy astronaut prefers to get outside the ship and attack the weapons directly with any weapon that you give him. Depending on his level, he will be weaker or stronger.​


    - Incognito Alien -
    This NPC is maybe weird, but… well yeah. To get him, you’ll have to battle his very particular spaceship as it is shaped like a saucer and is occupied by an unknown race of aliens. Once you defeat this spaceship, the Incognito Alien will teleport into your ship, implementing in everyone’s head the feeling/idea that he has always been there. Whatever he looks like, even under another NPC’s skin (see space mode), he will wear disguised glasses (the ones with the mustache).

    Space mode: The incognito alien can transform on command in any of the current NPCs in your crew. He will act exactly like him and take his level mechanic.​

    Fighting mode: He will copy the NPC's fighting mode.​



    Ship Modifications
    During the game, you will have the chance to customize your spaceship with weapons, tools and rooms. Here's the mechanic to the ship modifications.

    - Weapons -
    All weapons are procecedurally generated from their look, type, range, utility, efficiency/damage and attribute. They are divided in two sections.

    Ship handheld weapons: Also known as fully automatic weapons, those are the ones controlled by the ship and not your player or your mates. They usually can't turn 360° and need a fuel or bombs to work. Those are put in the ship's inventory and are redistributed equaly in every weapons.​

    Player handheld weapons: Now those ones, you can fully control. They also usually use fuel or bombs to work. Those are directly put in the weapons and are used when you shoot.​


    - Tools -
    The tools are procedurally generated from their look, type, range, utility, efficiency/accuracy and attribute. Tools can be radars like they can be new starship propellers or warp devices.


    - Rooms -
    With an architect in your crew, you can add many different rooms to your ship. Those rooms are defined by the furniture you put in them and you can have several room types, from bedrooms to workshop to laboratory.



    Fighting Mechanic
    If you set your difficulty to Medium or higher,you have a small chance of having a fight when a pirate ship attacks you while you travel from a planet to another. A pirate ship is an aggressive NPC spaceship that will attack you when they see you. Those pirate ships are procedurally generated on how they look, but with some restrictions on what they can have (see below for the types of pirate ships). You have to defend your ship and attack the pirates with the help of your crew. If the ship is damaged or have a breach, the ship has a small automatic repair device so after a while, the breach covers up but while the ship is opened up, all the NPCs in the rooms receive damage. If you win, you continue like if nothing happened while your Engineer repairs the ship and if you lose, you lose some money and crashland on the nearest planet. When you crashland, you can see your ship on the surface of the planet and your crew enters in planetary mode.



    Pirate Ship Types
    All pirate ships are procedurally generated from their look, number of room, crew members, trajectory, weapons, abundance and looting (obviously, the looting is better if the ship is better). Though, they do have some restrictions so they can be classified.

    - Scouts -
    • 1 to 2 rooms,
    • crew composed of crows,
    • trajectory pre-determined (follows a path),
    • Weak but fast weapons,
    • Can be found everywhere in the universe.
    - Battleships -
    • 3 to 6 rooms,
    • crew composed of a captain and crows,
    • Trajectory controlled (random),
    • Medium strenght and speed weapons,
    • Can be found around dangerous planets.
    - Warships -
    • 6 to 10 rooms,
    • Full crew,
    • Trajectory controlled,
    • Strong but slow weapons,
    • Can be found around dangerous planets.
    - Tanks -
    • 1 big room,
    • crew composed of a hacker, deckers and crows,
    • Trajectory pre-determined,
    • Strong and medium speed weapons,
    • Can be found around dangerous planets.
    - Motherships -
    • 20 to 50 rooms (a REAL maze),
    • Full crew,
    • Trajectory controlled,
    • Strong and fast weapons,
    • Everywhere but really really rare (unless if summoned),
    • The ship can repair itself automatically (you have to defeat the captain).
    Vote ''Up''
    You can go here to vote up for this idea.

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    Let me know if you have ideas to enhance this thread in the comments. If you want to destroy me, please do it gently in the Poll. Looking for a pixel artist here. Don't forget to comment and share: don't let the topic die!
     
    Shiho, Gredd18, wow_gerald and 11 others like this.
  2. MEWMEW

    MEWMEW Existential Complex

    Most of these have already been announced except the crash landing and space fights, which I don't really like to be honest
     
  3. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    I like the idea of a crew, but having your ship attacked and then crash landing would be very annoying and not at all fun.
     
    Elate and CalamityQuote like this.
  4. Pandalf

    Pandalf Twenty-three is number one

    Edit: No more crash landing and two more crew members. :)
     
    xLyraHeartstringsx and Jonesy like this.
  5. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    I wish more people would take feedback like you. Most of the time they don't really modify their ideas after posting them, despite the feedback they get. The good ones do that, so keep it up. :up:
     
    Ruban Crusade and Revso like this.
  6. Evangelion

    Evangelion Supernova

    You also need a crew member named Scotty, for obvious reasons.
     
  7. Pandalf

    Pandalf Twenty-three is number one


    Hahaha :p ... yeah, but no. Those are roles, classes for the NPCs. Their names would be random. Like... T0by the glitch co-pilote or Ginger the floran Engineer (what!!! not Ironic at all!!! :badpokerface:)
     
  8. Arkax

    Arkax Scruffy Nerf-Herder

    right...now i shall build an enterprise
     
    Ruban Crusade likes this.
  9. Pseudoboss

    Pseudoboss Spaceman Spiff


    Jayne! The man they call Jayne!

    Though you also forgot the Rather Refined Whore, and having a Doctor (Both the medical professional and the time traveler) around might be a good thing. Also, there must be an Insane Chick Who is Able to Sexily Weaponize Anything on Hand.


    I think that there should be randomized roles and a LOT of them. You don't by any means need every role filled, and there's a lot of overlap, and certain NPCs could fill multiple roles, A Theoretical Physicist (A type of lab tech who would do research and collect interesting items for you) would also have training in electrical engineering, and be a passable stand-in if you don't happen to have one. While you could definitely make do with 3-5 allies that generalize into broad categories, and be able to deal with most anything that comes up, especially if there's an NPC-filled space station nearby. If you're DFcurious (Dwarf Fortress), then you can hire on dozens of NPCs, each filling a specialized niche and commanding underlings, dropping to the surface in a massive colonization trip, and quickly, almost militarily setting the place up and doing-whatever-it-is-you-want-to-do, you can do that too.

    I'm thinking that engineering could be divided up into Electrical and Mechanical, if an engineer is good at one, then he'll be acceptable at the other.
    Electrical engineers will help you with power systems and your onboard computer, Mechanical engineers will upgrade your engines, develop new-harder/lighter/better hulls and building materials and whatnot.

    There would also be logistical NPCs, the co-captain being able to manage general ship functions while you're away. Perhaps there are more advanced ones, depending on how far the player wants to take crew managment.

    And lab workers, they perform research, will occasionally dig up interesting factoids about the planet you're on, research better weapons pertaining to their field, and if research is implemented, then they'll of course perform research. They could be infinitely subdivided, but I think there should be at least physicists, who develop new weapons and items primarily; biologists, who'll occasionally discover new poisons/biophages/crazy tentacle grenades/pets; and archaeologists, who will love to come with you into the underground ruins, and they'll go and spit out information about what this civilization was like, their knowledge of the structures might serve well in finding hidden passages/treasure hordes, and will occasionally find a useful item that the player would just pass off as being a dust-coated oblong.
     
    Ruban Crusade and Pandalf like this.
  10. Pandalf

    Pandalf Twenty-three is number one

    Thanks for all those NPCs ideas, I'll make sure to edit my post! :up:

    Edit: 2 more NPCs!
     
  11. Mrjeje

    Mrjeje Industrial Terraformer

    And this is just a great idea! Good job friend, you deserve a cookie: :cookie:

    Nothing else to say! This is very nice.
     
  12. Pandalf

    Pandalf Twenty-three is number one

    EDIT: I revamped my thread a little bit. *Images coming soon*
     
  13. over01

    over01 Big Damn Hero

    sounds epic
     
  14. Pandalf

    Pandalf Twenty-three is number one

    EDIT: Now with images..... but they are pretty lame cause I'm not good at pixel art :p
     
  15. Mrjeje

    Mrjeje Industrial Terraformer

    Cool little images ^^
     
  16. Pandalf

    Pandalf Twenty-three is number one

  17. Mrjeje

    Mrjeje Industrial Terraformer

    And pirate fights by me hell yeah
     
  18. Pandalf

    Pandalf Twenty-three is number one

    Erm, not to poop on your joy, but I was talking about my version :p. You know, procedurally generated pirateships and crew... and stuff :laugh:
     
  19. Pseudoboss

    Pseudoboss Spaceman Spiff

    Space pirates. . . They are awesome. Perhaps the player can take on a life of piracy? That would be awesome!
    Or, if another player's ship breaks down or something, then one could dock and help them sort it out. Though I don't know why someone would do that. . . Unless there's some sort of payment.
    Being a pirate, especially a space pirate would be awesome.
     
  20. Pandalf

    Pandalf Twenty-three is number one

    The life of piracy? That's like...space griefers and I don't want to get into that X3
     
    Pseudoboss likes this.

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