Retractable turrets and landing gears. I know, probably been asked for already. Turret wise, it could be implemented by doubling the vertical size of the turret, and just having an open/close type deal happening where it'll raise up or lower. Would open up some fun options for having those sleek and smooth designs, and still have the ability to add weaponry when you find you're more interested in blowing things up right now than you are looking good.
Most things I can think of have already been suggested, but here are a few that I really want, and which should be easy enough to implement: -Cargo boxes and switches with integrated LCDs. -Walls with partial windows. Something like this: -CV cockpit with an integrated raised platform , like the ones we see on Star Trek bridges. -"Piston" deco blocks, both straight and angled, so we can do stuff like this: (The big cylinder thingies under the windows.) A 45 degree cylinder block might work for this, too. (Preferably in two diameters, so we can make our own pistons/shock absorbers/whatever.) I want this so bad. These kinds of hallways are such a quintessential feature of sci-fi ships, and it drives me nuts that we can't make them. I think the best way of doing it would be cubes with a "cut out" section, so we can place them where we'd normally just have flat walls on a corridor and get something much cooler looking. It's probably worth noting that this, in theory, might be doable with parallax textures instead of an actual block. The texture I've used in the attached image has a pretty "deep" 3D look to it, so it should be possible to make something similar but with the typical sci-fi angular look.
My question is about combining large and small blocks... I watched some other game where You can put an invisible 4x4 grid on one side of a large block, and then put small blocks on that grid... Can this be done in Empyrion? (I mean in current state of course, not going back to square 1...) This way we'll be able to put multiple switches, lights, LCDs, etc. on a single large block, and 4 switches won't occupy an entire wall...
I'd guess that the code required for this doesn't exist at present. In order to support this without severely impacting performance, the small blocks would likely have to be merged into one entity and mesh, so that they'd treated like one large block. It'd be wonderful to have, but only the devs know if it's something they have the time or inclination to work on.
So, I was talking to my dad - who happens to be a movie/TV set designer - about the look of sci-fi interiors, and he mentioned that a big part of why "the look" exists is that it's cheap and easy to take a square hallway and add a few decorative "frames," like the ones visible in this picture for example: This made me realize, why not do something similar in Empyrion? Just give us a block or a deco item that can be placed in a square hallway and will be that frame. It'd be a simple model that could just be used like any other block. I drew a crappy MS paint picture to show what the shape would be like: You'll notice that I also drew up a partial version, so you could use them to span wider rooms or hallways. It'd probably make sense to have it match up with an existing block like the Beam or Wall half so that you could connect between the "frame" blocks if making a 3 block wide hall or whatever. On a related note, I'd also love to see some bigger doors. Let's get something like the hangar door but available in sizes from 1x2 up to 2x4 or so! Another option for this could be to make "modular" doors, which would be like the current automatic doors but would be a full block wide with no side frame (or a partial frame on one side), so you could put them side by side seamlessly.
Would love to see a T2 RCS for both SV and HV. So many designs i have had to throw out an start over PVP wise because the size vs how many engines and RCS you hafta throw in. Adding too many engines/rcs creates enormous lag for both the user and victim, visible or not. Having a well designed nice looking pvp ship is near impossible when having to worry about speed and maneuverability. An example of 1 of my designs because of the size and armor requirements needed in pvp, its 36 S jets in each direction +200 rcs. Can we say lag machine? Saem deal with HV's.
So many great block suggestions here, I especially like narrower doors and smaller windows with thin wall parts to connect to the rest of the wall, and hallway deco blocks like Max Archer has provided examples of. I think the thing I most often find myself running into is wanting to paint symbols (not textures, obviously) on one side of windows, even if only on the window shapes which only take up 1 cube of space. Maybe there's a technical reason this would be difficult to do, but it comes up for me a lot, whether it's wanting to draw a decorative line on a ship, or wanting to put a warning symbol next to the door to a glass-walled area. I know we can put the symbol on the floor in front of the door instead, but in a small space with very light colored floors, this means the choice between a near-invisible symbol or painting the block in question another color, which can look a little silly in a small space. Oh yeah, being able to color symbols would be nice, too, especially if window symbols aren't possible. I wouldn't actually mind if symbols were given their own gun with both symbol and symbol color options.
Overlaid blocks would be nice so we can put a block where an existing one already sits if we use a modifier key or toggle while placing it. For example, as @Max Archer said with the corridors, we can place a wall or doors on both sides of the same block position and maybe even a deco plant pot or even a light fitting as well. Other voxel based games do it, Planet Nomads and Medieval Engineers for example. It allows a lot more flexibility when building because you don't have to decide what to put where in a 3x3 block radius in order to get the final design you want. I built a series of tube corridors using concave blocks on a 2x2 tunnel. It looked really nice but I couldn't put a light anywhere since all 4 blocks occupied the entire space. Allowing me to overlay would have given me the opportunity to place an offset light on one of the walls or ceiling to complete the look.
All I really need... is just a "Corner" block that's half height. Is that too much to ask? How can I make a wrap-around ramp if you don't give me the necessary outside corners?
Sweet syrupy giblets this. A billion times this. I have had damn near this exact scenario happen to me too often to count. +1 ham sammich to you sir.. no no, +2 ham sammiches.
A damaged suit or bones would be nice. Nothing to graphic, but something to drop in a destroy Ed poi,s room for atmosphere would be nice, destroyed turrets etc... A corner console, just an L shape that faces two sides. And lastly, I know this will sound nuts but a water generator for an sv. I know there easy to pick up but it would be nice to fly an sv to a lake and not worry about filling the full up or emptying it after. lol yes I'm lazy enough to build a whole ship so I don't have to manually move inventory
For immersion and survival How do I know that an akua berry is edible, or that a small brown mushroom will cure a poisonous bite? Where was that you tube vided on constructing a thruster? As it is now we land in a escape pod as class "A"researcher, engineer, xeno botanist, geologist, architect, Olympic runner and swimmer, and as a Seal Team 6 Commando. Don't forget that we can build houses, bases, and ships, right out of the box. In a way we have finished the game as soon as we step out of the pod. I would love to see a robust and tiered research and crafting systems. If you want to know if an Akua berry is edible, then study it. The same goes with the mushroom mentioned above and all of the other flora and fauna. If I eat meat from a slime cooked or not , will it poison me? You want to make a concrete home? Great do you know how to make concrete using the resources available to you? The same is true for all of the components of ship building. While some build on previous versions, the differences should require some learning, or perhaps captured technology from destroying drones Make leveling more meaningful. While we get unlock points, which mimic the whole research and development process, it can be greatly expanded to allow new research options, or even open captured tech for study as we level up. It would be awesome if construction followed the same path. Once we research for example cobalt, then we can look into the various ways to use it in construction, which opens more research and construction options. I know that some players don't care for immersion. They want to get to the PVP and be done, so it may be beneficial to allow either option as far as immersive or basic research and construction. But for me, the more detailed and immersive the system is, the better. So what if I have to research a bunch of stuff to be able to build a flight or space worthy ship. It is even better if I NEED to attack some POIs to get needed tech to study. And all the while we also have to study how to survive on this strange and exotic planet. Add in a few random events, and you would have an incredibly addictive and enjoyable game.
