Ranger Archive
Thread: High Tech Field Base Shuttleport Idea v1.0
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Cyphaze
Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:04 pm
#1
High Tech Field Base Shuttleport Idea v1.0
The following is a plan to add a working mini-Shuttleport to the Ranger's High Tech Field Base (HTFB) in order to enhance the Ranger's group-friendly abilities. (more on how it helps Rangers near the bottom of this post)
There are two ways to go about this: either to add the Shuttleport to the existing HTFB obtained from Frontiering IV or to create a new camp that requires Master Ranger to craft and use. Either one will work, whichever you think is better. IMO a possible name for the Master Ranger camp idea could be "Reconnaissance Field Base."
I know this post is kinda long, so if you're going to read anything just read this list of points:
1. The Shuttleport is NOT the size of the full-fledged versions you find in cities! That would just look strange. It consists of four beams on the ground in the shape of a rectangle that's slightly bigger than the size of the shuttle. The art for this is already in, you can see it in Mos Eisley (click for screenshot).
2. It can be placed either a few feet outside the laser fence (probably easier to do) or the fence can be extended into a small area that holds the shuttleport.
3. A usable Travel Terminal and Ticket Collector stand nearby, facing the main camp.
4. Tickets are free. (The resource cost to craft the camp outweigh this)
5. The shuttle is on a 5-minute timer (like regular shuttles).
6. When the Ranger first places the camp the shuttle is NOT landed in the port. The 5-minute timer starts once the camp is placed, so five minutes after the camp is placed the shuttle will land.
7. You can't shuttle into the camp from another shuttleport or starport, only out of it. It won't show up on the planetary map if you use a travel terminal in a city.
8. HOWEVER if you check the "Roundtrip" box you receive two tickets, one to your destination and one back into the camp. This is to let people run errands in town and still join the group back in the wild.
9. The Travel Terminal and Ticket Collector can only be accessed by members in the same group as the camp owner. Any non-grouped person trying to access either the terminal or the droid will get a "You do not have permission to access this container" error.
10. If the camp is Abandoned while the shuttle is landed (due to combat or whatever) the shuttle immediately takes off. If the camp is Abandoned while the shuttle is in the process of landing, it lands and then immediately takes off.
11. If the camp is disbanded by the owner while the shuttle is landed or in the process of landing, the shuttle disappears with the camp.
12. Even if you have a roundtrip ticket, you can't shuttle into an Abandoned camp.
13. A Ranger can use his own shuttleport but he'll have to hurry (if he wants to get back to where the camp was) and finish up what he needs to do in town before the camp is Abandoned.
How will this help Rangers?
- If this camp idea is only allowed to Master Rangers it'll encourage going all the way with Ranger
- It encourages sitting down and talking (while waiting for the shuttle)
- It gives Rangers a better group purpose; groups will search out Rangers more
- You think the look on their faces when you popped a cyber cafe out of nowhere was priceless, just wait until the shuttle lands in front of them
Common Concerns
But then a Ranger can just set up a camp, shuttle out, and save himself the long drive back to town! No, the Ranger will have to wait 5 minutes after setting up the camp before the shuttle lands and he can shuttle out. Even if the drive is longer than 5 minutes, the tiny time advantage he gets is balanced by the resources he used to create the camp.
But then nobody will need bikes anymore! Hardly. Groups with Rangers will still have to drive out there in the first place and still have to drive from mission to mission once they get out there. Camps are stationary things.
But what's the point if your group has to wait 5 minutes before they can shuttle out? Those 5 minutes will probably be spent healing, chatting, socializing, trading, and the like. It gives a purpose to camps besides just healing wounds and crafting stims. Groups will be more likely to want to camp, and more often. Not every second you spend out in the wild has to be rushing from Rancor lair to Rancor lair, you know.
Rationale
You may be wondering how constructing a shuttleport fits into the idea of the Woodsman, the lone Ranger. Well, considering the Ranger can already summon a massive laser-fenced area containing floating chairs and tables from thin air, it's not that big a leap. If you want a more story-based reason, here's something random I came up with:
Everyone, or at least everyone with a little influence, has a supporter. Whether it be the Rebellion, the Empire, or the Hutt Crime Lords, everyone with at least a small amount of wordly experience has some sort of backing by a higher power. It seems natural a knowledgeable, resourceful person with a self-built wisdom would have the favor of some high-ranking official. One with enough influence, a Master of his kind, can learn how to construct a crude area capable of harboring a small shuttle. His supporter in turn could pull a few strings and provide the shuttle. It's all politics: you help your servants achieve their means and it'll benefit you in the long run.
Feedback is welcome! I myself am only a Novice Ranger with Tracking III (helps with finding creature babies), but I'd be strongly tempted to drop my combat profession and get more of Ranger if I saw something like this pop into the Ranger's scope.
Message Edited by Cyphaze on 10-11-2004 03:25 PM
Calculus_Entropy
Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:18 pm
#2
Cyphaze wrote:
- It can be placed either a few feet outside the laser fence (probably easier to do) or the fence can be extended into a small area that holds the shuttleport. I am not sure if I am repeating what you are saying, but it would probably be easiest if is had it's own art asset (much like the natural spawns you can find that have a 'fake' shuttle in them.
- A usable Travel Terminal and Ticket Collector stand nearby, facing the main camp. It would make more sense to me if you would simply shuttle to the nearest shuttleport or starport (a la cloning).
- Tickets are free. (The resource cost to craft the camp outweigh this). Makes sense
.
- The shuttle is on a 5-minute timer (like regular shuttles). No need if it meant to be an evac shuttle that goes to the nearest shuttleport of starport.
- When the Ranger first places the camp the shuttle is NOT landed in the port. The 5-minute timer starts once the camp is placed, so five minutes after the camp is placed the shuttle will land.
- You can't shuttle into the camp from another shuttleport or starport, only out of it. It won't show up on the planetary map if you use a travel terminal in a city. This makes perfect sense to me.
- HOWEVER if you check the "Roundtrip" box you receive two tickets, one to your destination and one back into the camp. This is to let people run errands in town and still join the group back in the wild. That may be a little too useful
.
- There is a new option when you open the radial menu on the camp datapad entitled "Shuttleport." When you hover over it, more options open up: "Public" "Group" and (if you're Imperial or Rebel) "Faction." This is the privacy control for the shuttleport, i.e. if you select Public, everybody who walks up to your camp can use the port, but if you select Faction, only Coverts and Overts in your faction can use it. I kind of assumed that only the group would have permission...
- If someone tries to access the shuttleport's travel terminal or ticket collector droid and he DOESN'T have access (i.e. the privacy control is set to Group and he's not in the Ranger's group) he'll get a "You do not have permission to access this container" error.
- If the camp is Abandoned while the shuttle is landed (due to combat or whatever) the shuttle immediately takes off. If the camp is Abandoned while the shuttle is in the process of landing, it lands and then immediately takes off.
- If the camp is disbanded by the owner while the shuttle is landed or in the process of landing, the shuttle disappears with the camp. In addition, the camp should disband upon the owner's shuttling to prevent camp litter.
- Even if you have a roundtrip ticket, you can't shuttle into an Abandoned camp.
- A Ranger can use his own shuttleport but he'll have to hurry (if he wants to get back to where the camp was) and finish up what he needs to do in town before the camp is Abandoned.
My opinions are in green...this is not meant to shoot your idea down, just alternate ideas to consider. This is a still a great idea in my mind, and I hope we get to see it in the Mythical Ranger Revamp . I know it is usually better to shoot for the moon when proposing ideas, but I had an emergency evac camp in my mind, more that a mini city, type camp.
. I know it is usually better to shoot for the moon when proposing ideas, but I had an emergency evac camp in my mind, more that a mini city, type camp.
Edneyvillain
Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:27 pm
#4
very interesting idea but as a master ranger i dont want my camps to expire when in combat or away from the camp.i feel i would like to run into town for veghash and pixies and have more than five min to do so before my camp becomes abandoned. all in all tho good post.
JBMat
Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:29 pm
#5
So how does this differ from the "med-evac" idea?
Altho I really don't see a use for this, other than "oh golly gee, my buff ran out, lemme go get a new one". Lame excuse for a shuttle.
In all actuality, who hunts that far out, and for such a long period of time, that buffs run out? Unless you die, most people tire of hunting first. And if you die, oh well, life sucks, then you clone.
Much ado about nothing useful.
JB
Cyphaze
Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:31 pm
#6
[EDIT] Eliminated privacy option and made it so that only group members could access the shuttle, I agree with you on that Calculus [/EDIT]
The idea I was going for was not an evac camp - IMO that'd eliminate the purpose of the camp in the first place. There would be no healing in the camp at all, the entire group would just shuttle to the nearesttown andget it done there.The idea was to make it easier to get back and forth from the wild, and let Rangers be the ones to promote that, but at the same time to keep the group together and add a facet to hunting that was rarelyused before - socialization.
An evac camp would simply be placed and abandoned5 seconds later. What's the point of a portable cyber cafe if your group doesn't even take the time to look at it? That's why I put the roundtrip option in there.
Also, since camps abandon themselves automatically if the owner isn't present for a period of time, so auto-disbanding wouldn't really be necessary... plus the owner should get the chance to head back to town himself and rejoin the group in the wild, if he hurries.
Cyphaze
Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:36 pm
#7
Doesn't really change much in the case of buffs, people generally stop hunting once they run out anyhow. The shuttle is to add a functionality to the camp. Instead of "hey guys want to camp?" "no, next mission" it'll be "i'm running out of resources, could you open up a camp" and the next five minutes will be spent socializing and healing. There needs to be some new facet to hunting, and camps provide that. This is just one way to get people to actually want to camp, and often.
JBMat wrote:
So how does this differ from the "med-evac" idea?
Altho I really don't see a use for this, other than "oh golly gee, my buff ran out, lemme go get a new one". Lame excuse for a shuttle.
In all actuality, who hunts that far out, and for such a long period of time, that buffs run out? Unless you die, most people tire of hunting first. And if you die, oh well, life sucks, then you clone.
Much ado about nothing useful.
JB
Cyphaze
Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:37 pm
#8
That's the base mechanic of camps, it'd have to be changed elsewhere. I just fit this idea to the existing limitations.
Edneyvillain wrote:
very interesting idea but as a master ranger i dont want my camps to expire when in combat or away from the camp.i feel i would like to run into town for veghash and pixies and have more than five min to do so before my camp becomes abandoned. all in all tho good post.
Cyphaze
Mon Oct 11, 2004 3:40 pm
#9
BlakkStar wrote:
*shamelessly promotes himself*
This is what I get for being a newbie to the Ranger forums 
Sorry, great post on your part. This is just a summary for what my vision of an integrated shuttleport would be.
Toguro
Mon Oct 11, 2004 4:37 pm
#10
i think its a good idea, and would fit in nicely if the moduel camp idea was implimented. adding a shuttle would be awesome
Cyphaze
Mon Oct 11, 2004 6:21 pm
#11
Screenshot of what the actual structure of the shuttleportmight look like:
http://nopassweb.tripod.com/minishuttleport.jpg
Message Edited by Cyphaze on 10-11-2004 06:21 PM
Amida_Enterprises
Tue Oct 12, 2004 3:58 am
#12
If the idea is to get ppl to socialize, it won't work..
The idea might promote it on the outlook, but people would just ask the MR to drop a camp, then spend 4-5 minutes hunting, rush back to the waypoint and hop on the shuttle..
How I know this ?
If people can't bring themselves to socialize in the place that's meant for it, but rather go see a buffbot, they sure as heck won't go sit in a camp 5 minutes with nothing to do but talk..
besides, I like my camp as it is.. what's next? a functional cloning and medical facility and a master doctor built in ?
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