I really think there SHOULD be something like Shores Of Hazeron out there with more invention in shipbuilding. I just havn't found it yet...
I want to see things like this:
Empire 1 includes players A, B, C.
Empire 2 includes D, E, F
Empire 3 has H, I, J
Empire 4 has K, L, M.
Player A is an expert in starship powerplants. He enjoys spending time perfecting a design and has them manufactured and sold under the company "X Industries". He invents the X-22 powerplant which puts out a surprising amount of electrical power and hot thruster gas for such a small device.
Empire 2 is on friendly terms with 1, and buy up X-22 engines in bulk because players D and F developed the F-1: a cheap, adaptable spaceframe around it for export and general use.
Members of empire 3 start a business refitting production spacecraft with the latest and greatest technology. They do custom jobs but eventualy develop thier own high-end varient of the F-1 called the F-1x., which they sell for less than a similar custom job.
A person buying a spacecraft now could consivably recive a 3-fitted varient of a 2-designed craft running on an imported empire 1 X Industries engine.
Suppose empire 4 declares war on empire 1, and X Industries stops exporting engines.
Production of the F-1 continues on a smaller scale, but the domestic engines available are weaker, resulting in several different batches of variously underpowered F-1s. The tweakers in empire 3 do not offer the F-1x package on these, but happily upgrade them as custom jobs.
Although the F-1 may still be a baseline craft for new players, credibility of Empire 2's shipworks may slip due to complaints about the new engines in production. Business booms for the tweakers in empire 3, who have trouble meeting the demands of new F-1 owners to soup up thier craft to or past the origenal specs.
Eventualy, a replacement for the X-22 is found, the V-4, and F-1s are made in a standardised fashion again.
The F-1x package is offered again, with a few changes to suit the new engines and the types of fuel, ammunition, etc. popular at the time.
Some time passes...
At this point, an F-1 salvaged from the battlefield, found abandoned, or auctioned off from a previous owner could be one of several types:
-origonal production F-1s with the X-22 engine
-an origonal F-1x
-an early custom job based on the X-22 F-1
-one of the "interim" designs based on various empire 2 power plants
-a custom varient on such
-a new model F-1 with a V-4 core
-a new, V-4 based F-1x
-somone's special, modified late-model F-1
Identifying such a craft may be difficult.
The underlined ones probably bear some special markings or equipment identifying them as an F-1x.
Italicized models are probably easily distinguishable from the bolded ones by serial number.
Struck-through models pose a chalenge however. Serial numbers may leave some "wiggle" room, as a given range may include both one of the "standard" engines and various weak ones. Actual inspection of the machienery may be neccessary to ID them for certain.
Models labled with the red glow may be incredibly obvious to distinguish from thier production counterparts, or may be very similar.
Have I been reading too much on the history of fighter jets and watching too much Sci-fi?
I just think that if you can customise things enough, you will see players creating interesting scenarios like the used-spaceship problem detailed above. Knowing the "base chassis" would give a good idea of the basic capabilities, but if you don't know the varient, you could still be surprised. In a game like that, I could see the market for target-ID computer software upgrades. Telling a high-end varient from the cheap base model may be the difference between blasting a newbie and having your butt kicked by somone powerful simply going incognito.
Just like Gearhead, but player driven. "Hmm. A Buru-Buru. Can't be much of a threat. Then again... I've never seen that type before..."
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Topic: Games with DIY equipment? (Read 6833 times)