Sensor platforms ideas

posted on February 3rd, 2011, 5:25 am

Not sure if it'd work in game, but from what I've seen in the shows, TOS and TNG respectively, the Feds had a network string around the neutral zone.  So I'm suggesting that these would work similar in concept to the episode of where TNG crew faced off against the Romulans in an attempt to end their aid to the House of Duras in the Klingon Civil War.  Which if I recall correctly, was a straight line to each ship emitting a techeyon (beam?).

Now I'm not proposing to change what they currently do, simply modify them to connect a line to every other platform you build (&perhaps your allies).  Problem is, this could easily get OP'd.  So how do we compensate?  Perhaps limit the range of where platforms can connect to other platforms.  On a small map though, it'd make for an easy way to detect any enemy ships.  Maybe reduce its effectiveness by only giving a chance ping or blip on the minimap.  Clearly the larger the ship or the number crossing will increase the chance of detection.  Though I think it'll have to be set fairly high to be effective for balance purposes.

To be honest, I like some of Myles ideas better.  One and four are both really good ideas for slightly different reasons, and clearly better than my suggestion.  But I figured I'd throw something out there, maybe it'll inspire someone else who's thinking along the same lines.

posted on February 3rd, 2011, 12:36 pm

everyone is welcome to throw out ideas in my thread.

I never liked the idea of beams between ships because space is so 3d. Maybe in this roughly 2d game it could work.

posted on February 3rd, 2011, 3:24 pm

I don't think that's necessary any longer. The technology has improved so one vessel s able to emit tachyons or antiprotons to find cloaked vessels. In Redemption the cloak detection abilities were quite limited so they had to make a network of ships. In DS9 we could see that at least the Dominion was able to detect cloaked ships withouth a complicated arrangement of ships. We don't want to make step back, right?
Additionally you are right about beams in space, Myles. But I don't think that it was meant as lines, I think they rather made a tachyon field between them. Neverthless it shouldn't be that hard to fly around it in space  .

posted on February 3rd, 2011, 5:25 pm

They were lines in TNG, but the fleet was able to detect the cloaked Romulans without using the net.

The way I understood it was that the net was just a precise way to find vessels. Picard knew there were cloaked ships out there because the combined fleet's sensors could detect them, but he could not pinpoint their location with normal sensors. And if you can't determine exact locations, it does you little good in space normally (space is big, weapons will miss.)
So, once normal sensors detect a nearby cloaked ship, the net is moved towards the area where it is. If the ship tries to go above or around the net, then the net can be moved to match (and the Feds have faster warp than Romulans.)
This way the Romulans were forced to either risk running the blockade and prove their involvement, or be forced to retreat and thus be unable to get the supplies to the Klingons.

As for the Fed sensor net, I'm pretty sure they used gravity to detect ships (can't remember exactly), beams would only serve as a supplement if they were ever even put on the sensor net.


Gameplay ideas: Maybe a support ship could get the ability to turn a normal fleet into a cloak detect fleet with tachyon beams and focusing sensors on distortions caused by cloak vessels (only shows large spheres of where a cloaked ship is, has artillery range of detect.)

Maybe also the Canaveral's station sensor special could cause detection of approximate areas of cloaked ships at long rage, but only if enuff stations and/or vessels are in range (more than at a normal expansion.)

Also, torp neb with decloaking torps. Needs research, disables the other torps for 30 seconds afterwards (including the main damage dealing ones), and the targets must have been decloaked within the last ten minutes.



About Myles' ideas:

Idea 1: Nice, but I think a mass of small ships should be detectable, as they collectively put out a lot of energy. Also, the whole "cannot detect stationary ships" seems to me to not be enuff, as it will just give blips when they move. Maybe the ships could move somewhat without being detected, but more ships means less movement needed for detection.
I also think it should give large blips for more/larger ships. It might be a battleship, it might be a few dozen Bugs, but you'll know it's big and dangerous.

Idea 2: I like the increased range, but not faster pinging. Maybe they could ping faster if a Norway or something came and sent them some energy...

Idea 3: I love idea 3, but I fear we might make sensors a bit too powerful with all of these, more sensor jamming would be interesting (not just ECM to give sensor ghosts, but actual jamming, maybe even a ship that could temporarily disable a tachyon pinging stationn (those sneaky Roms), and others that could reduce or even negate things like sensor range boosts from multiple platforms in range.)

Idea 4: And give a different alert for scouts, since they are quite often in range.

posted on February 3rd, 2011, 6:45 pm

maybe sensor jammer could disable pings lol. that would be an interesting use of sensor jammer.