Motherships

pra

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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.
 

conkleon

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That would be the best idea ever they should add this. the bad thing is that they (the developers) go more with the way of tiers of rockets and generally more rocket based vehicles. I thing that is the best idea in the forum but I doubt it will happen. if it happens they shoyld make it like in the mothership dimension when you travel to an other planet the only thing that should change is the icon of the planet below and the landing zone of the shuttle so as it would not be as heavy for not as good computers. it would be so cool of they add this and I totally aree with you I hope the developers see this
 
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pra

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Hm yes, I was thinking that this would make rockets kinda obsolete, too. On the other hand, each rocket makes the previous one obsolete, and the mothership is supposed to be something like the ultimative highend rocket. Also, you would still need rockets/shuttle to get off a mothership. That's also why I suggested the Startrek transporter thingy to be super expensive (if implemented at all): rockets should remain
 
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conkleon

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Hm yes, I was thinking that this would make rockets kinda obsolete, too. On the other hand, each rocket makes the previous one obsolete, and the mothership is supposed to be something like the ultimative highend rocket. Also, you would still need rockets/shuttle to get off a mothership. That's also why I suggested the Startrek transporter thingy to be super expensive (if implemented at all): rockets should remain
Yes now that I think about it you are right. Also adding only stages of rockets could get boring so your suggestion is the solution to this problem. It is the most reasonable suggestion (and the one that is possible and could be really fun). Also you said rockets should remain... Well either way the one rocket makes the other useless so that wouldn't make big difference at all.
 
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cricket354

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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.

I like the idea, but here's my two cents.

What if the mothership is a spaceship that can do what you said, and has the warp drive so if this mod ever goes beyond our solar system then it will be the ship we use to get to Alpha, Beta, and Proxima Centauri, and we use higher tiered thrusters and warp drives to go to farther solar systems?
 

pra

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I like the idea, but here's my two cents.

What if the mothership is a spaceship that can do what you said, and has the warp drive so if this mod ever goes beyond our solar system then it will be the ship we use to get to Alpha, Beta, and Proxima Centauri, and we use higher tiered thrusters and warp drives to go to farther solar systems?
Yeah, why not. I actually don't care about details like that, I just want motherships to happen in any form^^

if I may, There should be a certain type of shuttle (if implemented) could be used to make a starter base like in Sid Meyers beyond Earth for easy setup on new planets upon landing. Which can easily be salvaged for parts
Hmmm, similar/derived idea: from your mothership, you can drop certain modules onto the surface, which upon landing unfold into a base. Maybe you have to compile some special drop pod first. The pods are basically containers with a certain amount of slots, which come in tiers, like, Tier 1 only has 4, Tier 2 has 6, and Tier 3 has 9 slots. You fill these slots with certain modules, which then create some structures on the surface

Ideas for modules:

- Living area: creates a tubular or dome-shaped room with one oxygen distributor in the middle.
- Oxygen farm: creates a dome with a wheat field and an oxygen collector
- Solar farm: creates a flat area, and places as many solar panels on it as possible
- Launching area: a flat area to put your launch pad, maybe with an integrated fuel loader

The modules should all have the same size, and be created on the surface in the same pattern as the modules were placed into the drop pod. They should also have cables, oxygen pipes and possibly fuel lines under/in the floor, which come out of each side in such a way that adjacent structures can connect to each other (like, the power cables are making a cross through the center of the structure, and the oxygen pipe is on the east and west sides one block south of it, and on the north and south sides one block east, with some crossing over in the center)
 
Yeah, why not. I actually don't care about details like that, I just want motherships to happen in any form^^


Hmmm, similar/derived idea: from your mothership, you can drop certain modules onto the surface, which upon landing unfold into a base. Maybe you have to compile some special drop pod first. The pods are basically containers with a certain amount of slots, which come in tiers, like, Tier 1 only has 4, Tier 2 has 6, and Tier 3 has 9 slots. You fill these slots with certain modules, which then create some structures on the surface

Ideas for modules:

- Living area: creates a tubular or dome-shaped room with one oxygen distributor in the middle.
- Oxygen farm: creates a dome with a wheat field and an oxygen collector
- Solar farm: creates a flat area, and places as many solar panels on it as possible
- Launching area: a flat area to put your launch pad, maybe with an integrated fuel loader

The modules should all have the same size, and be created on the surface in the same pattern as the modules were placed into the drop pod. They should also have cables, oxygen pipes and possibly fuel lines under/in the floor, which come out of each side in such a way that adjacent structures can connect to each other (like, the power cables are making a cross through the center of the structure, and the oxygen pipe is on the east and west sides one block south of it, and on the north and south sides one block east, with some crossing over in the center)
Your missing 1 module to complete It: DISCO MODULE
 

dj3520

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So you're looking for a sort of archimedes spaceship mod? That's a ton of work to do and I highly doubt it would happen. Sure it would be cool, but making it happen is a huge endeavor. The only thing I can see having a possibility would be the artificial gravity generator.
 

pra

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No, not archimedes ship style. When you build your ship, you get a new dimension, where you build it. It does not actually move, it's just considered "currently orbiting planet x" regarding rockets
 

dj3520

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Hmm that's true. I figure simply converting a space station into a ship type satellite would be the best option. I thought for a moment that this might have problems if certain blocks are needed and/or need to be in specific areas, but there could be an on-placement check for those criteria. As for movement, it could come down to a moving skybox and even a bit of a knockback if in free fall. Sure instant would be easier and quicker, but it's not enough fun.

For reaching past the asteroids an electric warp drive made out of orion drives would make sense. And if electricity is used, only a massive drain would make sense. Nothing within 5 or so batteries worth, more like 20 or more. Maybe even an Energy Storage Module worth of energy. Imagine awaiting for your custom made ship to charge up before zipping off somewhere else. I would love this as I could put all of my processing machines on board and not have to make a base several times over. Run down, set up a few mining operations, set up tier 0 cargo rockets to transfer the items back automatically, and there's a great operation. The equivalent of strip mining planets. And if I run out? Go back and turn it back on (after inspecting for asteroid damage of course.)

The shuttle/lander should use less fuel and therefore look like an attractive option, possibly being able to switch out thrusters for orion drives. Viva solar and such. Either way it should have enough for one round trip in it's internal tank.

Perhaps friendly ships (team based) show up on the celestial map?

EDIT: Not too crazy about the weapons, but not very against them either. LRTs sound cool but isn't a spaceship all one piece? Advanced teleporters should require a 3x3 pad on the ground.
 
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Xenolith166

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Nov 3, 2015
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I like dis. I like dis a lot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Orbital strike FTW! My 2 cents:
I like the 'Convert from Space Station' idea better, but if that's gong to be the case, the icon for that space station should change. The location of the ship should change too, to whatever planet it's currently orbiting.
On to the weapons, brace yourself:
You should build the weapons system somewhere on your ship, then right-click with a remote or something to link it. You can link multiple weapons to a single remote, to select the one you want to use, you right-click, it opens a GUI. Select the weapons system, click a button that says 'Launch', and get very far away. There should be several different types of orbital strike weapons. I'll give some ideas:

#1: High-Energy Plasma Beam (Laser). Takes lots of power, but you have a solar panel farm the size of New York City, so it's OK.

#2: Kinetic Bombardment System (KBS). (Think "Meteor that killed the Dinosaurs', but on a smaller scale.) Have a bunch of useless stuff lying around? Currently waging war with another player? Load it into a tungsten rod, drop from orbit, light 'em up! Yes, tungsten rods, at least for planets earth-sized or larger. Otherwise, it'll burn up on reentry. For mars, though, steel should be fine. (Takes more stuff to fill rod shell if stuff is not very dense. Would fill up quickly with lead, tungsten or gold, but you'll need quite the sheep farm if you want to blow stuff up with wool.)

#3: Orbital Strike Missile (OSM). Basically an upgrade to #2. Requires a small amount of fuel to get it going faster, needs to be filled with an explosive payload. Maybe has a config file to say what counts as explosive, and how much you need of it to launch. If you launch it empty, it'd be just a less effective High Impact Orbital Strike.

Remember the remote I was talking about earlier? I was thinking more like a radar gun thing, something you aim at wherever you want to blow stuff up. Once you have the location set, the GUI would display the coordinates and ask you to confirm orbital strike. Then you pick which one you want to use out of the list of linked weapons systems. You should probably be able to name the weapons system after you finish building it, so as to avoid confusion between ones you've already fired and ones that are primed for launch. Anyway, you see the list of weapons, their names, what type they are, and whether they're ready to be fired or not. Select the one you want to fire, push fire, and watch as death rains from above. There should be a max of 4-8 orbital weapons systems per remote. For the KBS and OSM you should have 4 bays, enabling you to use that weapon 4 times before it has to reload, as well as a cooldown time, say 15-30 seconds. For the Space Laser, you would have a longer cooldown time (45-60 sec), because otherwise it'd overheat, melt and explode, and then your ship would be REKT. I myself try to avoid getting REKT. I suggest you do too.

Full support, because explosions.

~X
 
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pra

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Not sure if it would. Well, the orbital weapons most certainly will, but I suspect that moving a space station to another planet would be rather easy. I think the biggest problem in regard of that would be the sky provider^^
 

Xenolith166

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There was an orbital weapons mod a while back, but it was abandoned. Maybe programming would go faster if they took a look at that mod's code?
I just really want to blow stuff up. Don't you?
 
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Xenolith166

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I tried looking it up on the minecraft forums and curseforge, but it came up empty. I found this two part mod review by ThnxCya, though.
Pretty sweet, right? I think this would be a good way to put in the lasers, but should they be more like the photon strike or more like the bunker buster? Maybe they should carve a long furrow into the ground on a north/south direction?

EDIT: I found this page: http://openeye.openmods.info/mod/ob
Idk where the original post is, or if it even exists anymore, but this page seems to have all the files.
 
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Emberion

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It seems like what you are wanting to do is similar to the mod WarpDrive (http://minecraft.curseforge.com/projects/warpdrive) mixed with a bit of good ol' ICBM(http://mods.curse.com/mc-mods/minecraft/225502-icbm) and I think that some thought regarding these mods could be useful, at least balancing in regards to them(via config options or whatever). For example, this mothership idea kinda infringes on the orbiting planet idea that warp drive adds, so maybe add a config file to disable the mothership thing? or maybe if you have weapons systems, somehow allow it to be used by warp drive? I don't know, not trying to discourage you from making your own system( it sounds awesome, btw.), just putting my two cents in as I use your mod in my modpack and want it to remain balanced as it currently is.

Thanks!
 
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.
I love your idea
 

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