It all begins with the starbase planner. From the planning window, the starbase can be designed for its intended role and have its services configured for their intended use. The full scope of this feature goes well beyond the scope of just the module positioning planner, so for now we’ll be focusing on just this feature. Once a player has fired up the starbase module planner, they can begin by choosing the size of the starbase they want to create. For today’s use case, the starbase in question is a medium sized installation.
The purpose of this new installation is to provide refining capacity for their corporation in a system with no refinery. To get the ball rolling, storage capacity will be added with storage silos. To do this, the desired module can be dragged from the module selection menu into its desired location on the module placement grid. This task can also be performed by click selection and placement.
Once placed, the relevant statistics of the starbase, as well as its capabilities, are updated to accommodate the changes made by placing the new equipment.
Since 50,000 cubic meters wouldn’t provide very much net storage space to the players who would be making use of this starbase, lets add in a few more storage silos. 100,000 Cubic Meters is a much better amount of space to work with!
This drag and drop (or click and place) process is repeated as needed to provide the capabilities desired by the starbase’s users. For this user, several refinery modules, and a few module connectors to fill the empty space, are the next items to be installed.
We’re obviously running out of room here, so it’s time to take advantage of the camera controls. The camera menu provides zoom, pan, and rotation in increments of 90 degrees. In the event the user gets lost, the panning icon can be double-clicked to re-center the starbase planner on the control tower. A home button might be a good addition to provide this functionality. Let’s zoom out to a more appropriate size for the installation being made.
Perfect! With the screen zoomed out to an appropriate level, the rest of the modules are an easy addition. With one last turret hardpoint module, the refinery starbase’s components will be fully in place.
And there you have it; a fully assembled starbase. While this refinery would not be ready to go right out the gate, as none of the available services have been configured yet, that is outside the scope of this mockup. Please comment and tell me what you think!
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This is very exciting, I have lots of scrambled thoughts, questions and suggestions, so what follows may be a bit of a stream of consciousness, sorry.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I love this concept. It brings a "Lego in space" vibe that we've only really got a hint of with T3 ships. If something along these lines were introduced in line with CCP Soundwave's vision of "affordable player housing", it would be a fantastic new gameplay element.
Have you completely re-imagined the whole underpinning mechanisms for POSs or are we still looking at a construction that appears inside a POS shield "bubble"? I note that you are still adhering to CPU/PG (have you rebalanced the values?)How is starbase size determined? Surely as a modular concept, pre-defining it as a 'medium' is counter to the concept. Should there be preset size categories?
The presence of weapon hardpoints on rigid platforms connected to the main body suggests you're proposing to do away with the free-floating POS bubble concept. I really like this idea as it's more in keeping with existing stations and man-made structures. However wouldn't this give rise to the gameplay problem of losing that strategically valuable safe zone inside the POS shield.
I note that all the modules are of roughly the same dimensions. Would creating structures of significantly different sizes cause a problem? From an aesthetic point of view, having vast storage structures and hangar bays dwarfing command structures and conduits would have a less "boxy" appearance. Of course, this is something that the art teams could play with according to race, but perhaps some modules could fill a 2x2x2 cube or even larger.
With the (granted very alpha) avatar gameplay concepts that have surfaced, POS interiors and layout could end up having internal defensive considerations too. Have you factored any of that in? (although on reflection, the structures would be so vast that it's not really practical to worry about a tiny area for avatar interaction at this stage - sorry, stream of consciousness).
I think that's enough waffle for now. Thanks for sharing this though. It looks great. :)
I love the idea. It always bothered me that NPCs got nicely connected complexes and players got random floating things in space in a bubble.
ReplyDeleteAs a long-time Wormhole denizen, I have to say this would be a very exciting idea. I share many of Seismic Stan's questions but I would very enthusiastically endorse this idea.
ReplyDeleteI share the same excitement and sentiment as everyone else that has commented on this. As an Enabler in the sandbox of EVE this is the kind of thing and with the proper tools to do it in the game itself that I can get truly excited about. It gives me a reason to spend my ISK, even if it end up getting blown up at some point by and instigator, but it be fun while it lasted. What player out there that has started EVE hasn't at several points in their career first gazed upon a NPC station no matter their career haven't thought of owning a Space Station of some kind whether small or large or for some nefarious reason. Space is vast enough you can build any kind of structure you want to your delight if you had a variety of component to create something unique and not the same as everyone else but your own design creation. People want something they can create and own in space.
ReplyDeleteA modular mockup designed like this can likely be configured by CCP to likely be of various designs for the empire races or even of of a Pirate Faction inspired design version. Allot of designed POS Art are actually in the game if you've ever looked at the Pics on EVE Travel Blog (http://evetravel.wordpress.com/) cataloging structures around the Universe of New Eden. CCP has allot of existing art they aren't even using for inspiration to likely do something like this.
But what your showing to me is easy way to take the Art and design it or mock it up, however a player wants to design their station for maybe just a Refinery, Drug & Methlab (Boosters), Space Station & Lounge, Hidden Base for nefarious use and so on. Tools like this help to design something a well anchor it all and see what's possible. Given a tool like this that can design a Starbase with the component assets in game build to accommodate it, players can come up with their own creativity as to what they want to build in space where ever they want to build it. It also gives more instigators something in the sandbox as well to blow up for those that can't or don't defend it. And i'd get excited about something like that or being able to help fund it creation.
Assuming CCP can retool and re-create something like this in the POS revamp, it would affect vast amount of players in what they can do left to themselves to mock up a design and then go out to get the component assembly structures to create it or from redesigned existing structures. It would give people a reason to possibly move out of Highsec Stations. With internal spaces in these structures for defense and all that you now have a reason for what Incarna should or could of been. It now gives a reason for Avartar game play and that again can affect everyone in game.
I've always wondered like Kirith above how NPC's can have such good looking configured stations and Player POS can look so horrible in design or vision of design. I actually like your concept mockup and that can be refined to accommodate all kind of structures of various sizes and design. I would certainly endorse something like this and something like this would get me excited as it can be improved over time by CCP revamping other areas of the game.
I'd also likely post a link to this post on m blog as well given the current discussions with CCP and POS work likely or unlikely.
What about the third dimension?
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