I think it would be really cool to be able to craft/find devices that would allow you to hack electronics, whether that be opening varying degrees of locked doors or chests, or hacking in to rival vehicles/mechs to either sabotage, or, with an advanced enough hacking tool (more difficult to obtain through either resource refining/collection to random loot in harder areas) even seize control of said vehicles/mechs for a time for whatever reason you see fit. It seems like this would be most effective if you weren't able to access more advanced features right away, like you could only open level 1 locks with your basic hacking tool, but gather some more advanced alloys and craft yourself and intermediate hacking tool to open level 2 locks, which gains you access to dungeon areas containing loot appropriate to player status after putting in enough time to be able to obtain that level of hacking tool. Make it hard enough to upgrade your handy hacking tool, and all of a sudden only some players will bother with investing the time to get advanced hacking tools, creating a user-dictated subclass of "hackers". Found a planet with high level locks you can't open because you're not a hacker? Go befriend one, bring them to said planet, and you both can share the loot that resides beyond. I know I, personally, would have a whole lot of fun with a mechanic like this, and it would allow, as I said earlier, for some class differentiation. Similar to how healers function in other games, hackers could go out and find players that focus more on weaponry and resilience to venture into areas that they aren't tanky enough to adventure in themselves, but said tanky individuals don't have the tools required to gain access to.
I like the idea, though it seems like it would be of limited usefulness. I mean a lot of the planets probably won't even have the appropriate level of tech (are you going to hack a wooden door?) and it sounds like the kind of thing that after a while everyone would invest the time/resources into having. It's not like it requires skill to use, just that you put resources into crafting this device. That said, I think the mechanic would still be fun though. I like your idea of the co-operative aspect.
The cooperative example was a multi-player example, and I did mean to specify that my suggestion was intended to be an occasional event, not a core gameplay mechanc. At this point in development, I doubt they'll be implementing anything that has a major effect on gameplay, just little tweaks here and there so people will have a little more fun with the game, and expand playtime by giving players more options for how to invest their time. As for single player, you could still craft one of these as a warrior to loot locked doors, chests, etc, perhaps you just don't want to spend the time it takes to get the more advanced iterations of the device, and just choose to ignore the more advanced route you could take, but I'm sure you wouldn't turn a device like this down if you found one in a chest, free of charge, eh? Most of the ideas that I, personally, like in games like these are ways to invest your time in the game that reward you with ways to make playing the game a little more convenient or rewarding, but don't have a large effect on the experience if you don't choose to pursue that route. That's what I was intending to suggest with this. I certainly don't want to dictate how the core mechanics of starbound should operate, rather, I want to kinda point to things and say "hey, there might be some fun over there".
Fair enough, it just came across as more of a core gameplay mechanic suggestion rather than an optional side thingy. I think your idea of implementing is quite reasonable (eg. finding them in a chest, only occasional locked doors to optional areas etc.).
And also, make that if you can't open a high level lock , you can solve the problem with Dynamite or C4.
I think this could be an interesting item to have if they implement things like locks and the ability to interact with certain computers and devices, rather than them just being decoration. I like the concept! 8 D
Totally, like the Elder Scrolls or Fallout games! Probably more futuristic than shoving a bobby pin in a door lock, though.
Yeah, something similar could appear at the corner of the screen, so you could see if enemies were approaching while you hack. Good stuff.
I don't think it needs a mini game. A mini game would mess with your ability to hack things like robots.
I think these electronic doors that you hack should all have keys that can be found elsewhere, making the hacking tool a tool of convenience or an offensive weapon in battle. Also, in a game where you can dig around anything on a 2d plane, how would you stop people from bypassing the door through other means? I can only think to make the blocks making up the room inside indestructible or close to it, in order to make this necessary. Also explosives seem like a good idea and is pretty realistic i guess... but the more ways you add to the game to get through these doors the less meaningful any single option is. most people would just pick one route of entry and stick to it., probably nominating the easiest alternative.
