I mentioned this already in the Space Station thread, but now I think this should be a distinct thing.
So, basically, the idea is: you can build a mothership in orbit, like you would build a space station right now. Each ship has it's own dimension and can't land, only switch orbits.
You either fly up and select "build mothership", like with space stations, or convert a space station by placing specific blocks there, like
- Navigation console: Main block, checks if the current configuration is valid, and if yes, shows the planet selection screen.
- Acceleration thrusters: required to actually move, need rocket fuel and/or energy, probably you need more of those the more blocks your ship contains. Should all point in the same direction. Probably tiered, like rockets. Maybe also consume different fuels, like, regular thrusters that use rocket fuel, or ion thrusters running on energy and liquid xenon (no idea where to get the stuff, though).
- Spin thrusters: shouldn't actually make it spin, but should be required for realism, as a ship has to maneuver somehow. You would need at least 6, two for each axis
- Warp drive: maybe? Especially if there are other solar systems later. Maybe a multiblock structure, built around a "warp core" block. Should use a lot of energy.
- Artificial gravity generator: no idea if that's even possible, but if yes, it should have a gui for adjusting the gravity on the ship, and consume more power the more it increases gravity
- Shuttle bay: allows for shuttles to dock (more later). Should be placed in a wall, on the inner side the player can enter it, on the outer side a shuttle can be docked. Should also be possible to take the currently docked shuttle as an item or to dock one from your inventory. A fuel loader is either integrated or can be placed next to it.
- Long-range telepad: Can connect to other LRTs on the planet the ship is currently orbiting or ships in the same orbit. Should probably work on a per-trip basis, aka, you stand on the thing, rightclick, and the gui shows you possible destinations, you select one and go there. The gui should also have an option to make the telepad private, meaning only you can teleport to it
- Advanced telepad: Couldn't think of a better name... basically, the star trek transporter. Should be super high end, with at least one nether star in it's recipe, and an absurd energy consumption. Teleports you onto the surface of the current planet, and back, if you have the remote with you and are close enough to your landing zone.
- Fusion reactor: ring-like multi block structure, generates a large-ish amount of energy from hydrogen or a sh*tload from helium-3 (extracted from moon turf)
Maybe even weapons:
- Ion cannon: a target beacon has to be placed on a planet's surface, then, either after a countdown or after being triggered with a remote, the ship consumes a certain amount of energy and xenon, and hits the target area with a beam, dealing massive damage.
- Orbital drop: Like above, but uses metal blocks as ammunition, probably at least 9 of them for one shot. The denser the metal is (like lead), the more damage
Other things:
- Homing beacon: can be placed on a planet. If a ship is in it's orbit, it can move it's landing zone to the beacon. It would be unrealistic if a spaceship in orbit couldn't just move to above somewhere else, but allowing movement to arbitrary positions would be imba
- Target beacon: allows the ship of the player who placed it to use it's orbital weapon on that location. The possible area shouldn't be too far from the ship's landing zone.
Both beacons should only work if they can see the sky, in order to prevent people from digging below your base, bring their ship in and nuke you from orbit without you noticing. Maybe also add a signal scrambler, which prevents other people's beacons and transporters to function within a certain radius.
Shuttles:
- The shuttle should be a special Tier 0 rocket. If started from a planet, it can only land on motherships or space stations. If started from a station or a ship, it can only move to other stations/ships or land on the current planet.
- If a shuttle tries to land on a mothership with at least one unoccupied shuttle bay, it will dock, appearing on the bay's outer side, the player spawning on the inner.
- On a planet, the shuttle lands as itself, either parachuting or with thrusters (like the moon lander) and can be started immediately, without needing a landing pad or a fuel loader. If it still has fuel, of course.
So, basically, the idea is: you can build a mothership in orbit, like you would build a space station right now. Each ship has it's own dimension and can't land, only switch orbits.
You either fly up and select "build mothership", like with space stations, or convert a space station by placing specific blocks there, like
- Navigation console: Main block, checks if the current configuration is valid, and if yes, shows the planet selection screen.
- Acceleration thrusters: required to actually move, need rocket fuel and/or energy, probably you need more of those the more blocks your ship contains. Should all point in the same direction. Probably tiered, like rockets. Maybe also consume different fuels, like, regular thrusters that use rocket fuel, or ion thrusters running on energy and liquid xenon (no idea where to get the stuff, though).
- Spin thrusters: shouldn't actually make it spin, but should be required for realism, as a ship has to maneuver somehow. You would need at least 6, two for each axis
- Warp drive: maybe? Especially if there are other solar systems later. Maybe a multiblock structure, built around a "warp core" block. Should use a lot of energy.
- Artificial gravity generator: no idea if that's even possible, but if yes, it should have a gui for adjusting the gravity on the ship, and consume more power the more it increases gravity
- Shuttle bay: allows for shuttles to dock (more later). Should be placed in a wall, on the inner side the player can enter it, on the outer side a shuttle can be docked. Should also be possible to take the currently docked shuttle as an item or to dock one from your inventory. A fuel loader is either integrated or can be placed next to it.
- Long-range telepad: Can connect to other LRTs on the planet the ship is currently orbiting or ships in the same orbit. Should probably work on a per-trip basis, aka, you stand on the thing, rightclick, and the gui shows you possible destinations, you select one and go there. The gui should also have an option to make the telepad private, meaning only you can teleport to it
- Advanced telepad: Couldn't think of a better name... basically, the star trek transporter. Should be super high end, with at least one nether star in it's recipe, and an absurd energy consumption. Teleports you onto the surface of the current planet, and back, if you have the remote with you and are close enough to your landing zone.
- Fusion reactor: ring-like multi block structure, generates a large-ish amount of energy from hydrogen or a sh*tload from helium-3 (extracted from moon turf)
Maybe even weapons:
- Ion cannon: a target beacon has to be placed on a planet's surface, then, either after a countdown or after being triggered with a remote, the ship consumes a certain amount of energy and xenon, and hits the target area with a beam, dealing massive damage.
- Orbital drop: Like above, but uses metal blocks as ammunition, probably at least 9 of them for one shot. The denser the metal is (like lead), the more damage
Other things:
- Homing beacon: can be placed on a planet. If a ship is in it's orbit, it can move it's landing zone to the beacon. It would be unrealistic if a spaceship in orbit couldn't just move to above somewhere else, but allowing movement to arbitrary positions would be imba
- Target beacon: allows the ship of the player who placed it to use it's orbital weapon on that location. The possible area shouldn't be too far from the ship's landing zone.
Both beacons should only work if they can see the sky, in order to prevent people from digging below your base, bring their ship in and nuke you from orbit without you noticing. Maybe also add a signal scrambler, which prevents other people's beacons and transporters to function within a certain radius.
Shuttles:
- The shuttle should be a special Tier 0 rocket. If started from a planet, it can only land on motherships or space stations. If started from a station or a ship, it can only move to other stations/ships or land on the current planet.
- If a shuttle tries to land on a mothership with at least one unoccupied shuttle bay, it will dock, appearing on the bay's outer side, the player spawning on the inner.
- On a planet, the shuttle lands as itself, either parachuting or with thrusters (like the moon lander) and can be started immediately, without needing a landing pad or a fuel loader. If it still has fuel, of course.