[alphabet]

I have a couple of suggestions and I really want some good input on it, because I can only see the benefits of them and cant think of any cons.

I always thought it was kinda gamey to run around at 100% power everywhere and not have to worry not only about engine temperatures, but also fuel use.

Limited Fuel:
I would really like it if each ship had a fuel tank and each engine drawed a different amount of fuel at different speeds.

With this implemented, pilots would have to monitor their fuel consumption and when they got to a certain fuel level, they would have to egress and return to station to refuel. Maybe even implement a low fuel light/alert.

A pilot would be able to conserve fuel by traveling at lower speeds because his engine would be burning less. Haulers of course would have a bigger fuel tank than the fighters, but their engines would also draw more fuel because of their size/output.

Benefits:

• Pilots would have to plan their trips more carefully, considering their equipment, speeds and how long they want to stay in a given area.
• Pilots would be forced to dock when low on fuel, getting rid of the gamey traveling all over the universe and never having to dock.
• In pvp defending factions would have an advantage over their attackers, because their stations are closer.
• Strikes would have to be better coordinated.
• Cap ship carriers could serve as a mobile gas can for their fighters.
• If pilots run out of fuel they become sitting ducks, they should be able to call an NPC or some other PC type support ship to come to their aid. They will of course be charged extra for the services.
• Noob ships hardly burn any fuel because of the size of their tanks and engines, so they have to worry much less about this issue and grow into their understanding of ship managment as they mature.

Engine Heat:
Along with fuel management, I think it would be a really great idea to implement Engine Heat. Traveling at 100% everywhere generates a lot of heat internal to the engine. I would like heat to be a factor in ship management, if my engine heat gets to a high level, i have to slow down to dissipate or I risk damaging my engine. We could have a temp guage/slider that shows my current engine temp and adjust accordingly. Each engine generates different heat output characteristics. Usually the more power the more heat generated.

Benefits:

• Pilots would have to understand that 100% power, not to mention AB generates a lot of heat and plan accordingly.
• Noob ships generate very little heat based on their engine size, they would again, progress into ship management as they mature.

I really think these suggestions would add a whole new dimension into Jumpgate Evolution on how we, as pilots, control our ships. It adds a new set of skills besides just being able to aim and circle fly. You have to actually manage your ship, however its not overly complex.

Thoughts?

[Nanaki]

Limited fuel could only work with Carriers to replenish fighter fuel. Other than that, I dont really see why not.

Engine heat? Not too sure on that.

[Karash]

I like both ideas actually. If I may add:

1. On Fuel...in a gameplay sense you never want someone to run 'out of gas' and be stuck in space. Therefore I propose (on top of your suggestions) that when a pilot runs out of 'fuel' they get only a maximum of 20% of their top speed. Think of the original Homeworld game when your strike craft ran out of fuel...took them forever to get back to refuel and they were very vulnerable. But the point is they could still get back. *Edit: They could still be refueled in mid-space...but you should never just shut down totally a players ship from movement imo.

2. Heat. I really like this idea....but lets extend it to weapons and other modules as well. Ships could fit equipment to deal with heat better, or some ship designs could be naturally better heat resistant. Think of Battletech/Mechwarrior in this regards (if you have played it). Weapons, Engines, ECM equipment could all produce 'heat'. Heat would degrade performance of the Capacitor, Thrust from Engines, and maybe even targeting computers (reduced locking range?)

Great ideas.

[TexMurphy]

I reallly like the heat idea but I would expand on it and add heat for everything... weapons, ecms, ect...

Then combine that with weather... extra heat from certain nebulas and extra cooling from some...

Tex

[Karash]

As long as players have the CHOICE to equip their bird with anti-heat measures, I think its a great idea. Of course those measures should effect how many weapons or other types of equipment he can choose....

...I think people might be seeing a pattern to my suggestions here

[Injustice]

Why not expand the heat idea to include the flashfire debate? Say a ship could cruise at 100% power continuously, with short bursts of overdrive available that would give a big speed boost for a short duration before you had to throttle back. Hitting the temperature redline would cause your engine to power down until the temp dropped back down to a certain level.

[Karash]

yea, thats a good line to follow Injustice...we could really put some meat on this idea and turn it into a great gameplay design. If it forces the pilot to manage his ship instead of just pointing it from Gate to Gate moving around, that would be a good change...and not overly hard for new players to understand. New players want to be challenged...and Jumpgate always rewards those that put the actual time in to becoming skilled.

[alphabet]

In regards to my heat idea:

I wouldnt want the engine to initially power down from heat. I would want it start producing less power (forward velocity). If I still dont throttle down it will start to make popping noises and speed will decrease (smoke starts coming from the nozzel my engine). If I still dont throttle down, it will start to make a noise like a spoon in a disposal and continue to slow down (heavy smoke and fire from my engine). If I still dont power down, theres a loud pop and I just lost my main engine and can only go forward on thrusters.. 10-15v.

An NPC or PC should be able to be called in with a repair beam to fix the damage.

The point is that there is a ramp up to the damage. A player can see the signs and back off the throttle to dissapate the heat. At the point where there is fire coming from the engine and its making a serious grinding noise, the player can still cool it, however it will probably have suffered sever internal damage and will not have the max output speed of a non-damaged engine.

[Chicod]

I would be against limiting fuel.
- Limiting AB fuel... yes, that's a good idea.

Engine Heat... would this extra heat be generated by going to AB? If so, would returning to normal thrust start reducing the heat?

Also, keep in mind that I haven't ever seen a "sun" anywhere in the game, so I am pretty sure that the ambient temp of space is pretty low.

[Injustice]

Originally Posted by Chicod

I would be against limiting fuel.
- Limiting AB fuel... yes, that's a good idea.

Engine Heat... would this extra heat be generated by going to AB? If so, would returning to normal thrust start reducing the heat?

Also, keep in mind that I haven't ever seen a "sun" anywhere in the game, so I am pretty sure that the ambient temp of space is pretty low.

My vote would be for the engines to naturally settle back to nominal operating temperature after you throttle out of AB. If both ideas were combined you'd already have your fuel tank (for the record, I would expect a large enough fuel load to travel from Aman to, say, SC and back without refueling) as a limiting factor. I mean, my understanding of heat management stems from how it worked in Mechwarrior (which would make a kick ass MMO, btw).

[alphabet]

Originally Posted by Chicod

I would be against limiting fuel.
- Limiting AB fuel... yes, that's a good idea.

This is already implemented. What Im talking about is fuel for your engines.

Engine Heat... would this extra heat be generated by going to AB? If so, would returning to normal thrust start reducing the heat?

No engine in the world is designed to operate at 100% power, 100% of the time. This would be heat generated by keeping your throttle at 100% for extended periods of time. AB would be a heat multiplier, because basically you are engaging afterburner on a mil powered engine.

Also, keep in mind that I haven't ever seen a "sun" anywhere in the game, so I am pretty sure that the ambient temp of space is pretty low.

This is true. However, lets consider that our engines produce a heck of a lot of heat. You dont have to be near the sun to burn your hand on a cars supercharger.

As Tex suggested, Nebulas, stars, quasars, storms, etc. could also act as heat multipliers or reducers depending on their physical characteristics.

[EDIT] Reducing your throttle to say 75% power would have a cooling effect on an overheated engine. However it would not drop the temp to zero (that would only happen at 0 power over an extended period of time), but it would reduce the temperature to a lower safer number that is within operating specs for the engine.

[Injustice]

Meh, not allowing players to cruise at 100% power is overdoing it IMO. You gotta figure having your engine overheating would involve some kind of audio warning, which would get really annoying when you're hauling cargo or doing some other kind of long distance flying, like arty hunting, for example.