Redesign of Launching and Recovering

[scienceguy8]

The idea is to replace the current fighter/interceptor/bomber craft deployment and recovery system with one or both of the following ideas in order to simplify the whole process, to add possible new features, and to avoid ejecting important cargo into the void of space.

1. Bay Space
A new weapon mount is introduced known as bay space. Bay space is an empty void found in capital ships used most often for storing cargo. However, it is also the mount point for a couple new weapons, one of which is the Fighter Staging Area, or FSA. Buying an FSA kit equips a bay space with the necessary tools and equipment needed to store, maintain, refuel, arm, launch, and recover fighter/interceptor/bomber craft. An FSA is not ship specific. You can store any craft or crafts in the bay so long as their combined volume does not exceed the bay space. The vessels are launched in a similar way to missiles in that a vessel is selected and the appropriate launch button is pushed. Pressing the button again calls the ship back, which will automatically enter and land in the bay. Bay space can also be equipped with heavy missile or torpedo launching systems instead, allowing a ship captain to choose whether his/her capital ship is a carrier, missile frigate, or cargo hauler. The most bay space positions I would expect a capital ship to have is 4.

2. Docking Clamp
Similar to bay space except less flexible. Each clamp can only hold one ship. Launch and recover are done in the same way. Only ships can be placed in these positions.

[loki1950]

Welcome scienceguy8 good idea might not happen for a while lots of things on the to-do's and roadmap that have priority but it would definitely rationalize ships launching from cap vessels.

Enjoy the Choice

[chuck_starchaser]

AMEN

The problem is not so much coming up with launch/recovery bay. The engine features hierarchical sub-units, which can be made purchaseable. I could donate models for bays. The problem is the AI: Making ships use appropriate bays. Heck; currently NPC's go through the walls of stations, like ghosts. I'm facing that problem in PU with the new mining base. It will have 3 docking areas: Two of them built into small craters, for small ships; and one large dock with clamps and tubes and whatnot, for capital ships to dock at. But as someone in our team already pointed out, there's no way to tell small craft to use one type of bays, and Draymans to use another. And the big problem with AI is that it's a massive, undocumented piece of code; --or so I've heard (never actually looked at it).