Anyone else notice a subtle problem with the ships?

Tue Mar 11, 2003 4:25 pm by Ether Dragon

You've all heard it, "space is big." What that means is, when you're hauling freight across the galaxy, you have a lot of time on your hands. When I'm not shooing off pirates, I'm panning around the exterior of my ship. As I do so, I've taken to wondering about the little things, like "how do I get in and out of my ship?" Has anyone noticed a complete absence of access hatches on these ships? Not only are the crew hatches non-existent, but there's no indication for cargo access, either. That's hard to overlook.

Since these ships all lack any type of landing gear, they seem very limited as to where the pilot would enter the ship. It seems that you would have to enter from the bottom of the ship for almost any of them. There is no indication of a ladder, ramp, or extended walk-way leading directly to any portion of the ship.

That's not all. I've also spent some time wondering about the scale and internal layout of the various ships - at least the one's I've flown. When it comes to their layout, some are easy to figure out; like the "Drone" or the "Clydsedale." But how do you get from the cockpit to the cargo bay on a Rhino? If you scale the pilot in the cockpit to the rest of the ship, you notice one, it's not very big; and two, any passage to the cargo area from the cockpit is very cramped - heck, the whole ship looks very cramped. When you add in the room likely to be taken up by the machinery needed to run one of these starships, there doesn't seem to be a lot of reasonable space left over. How on earth does a Barracuda have 45 cargo? How does the Hammerhead have 70? I haven't been able to park the two side by side, but they look nearly identical in size and layout to me.

Now, I realize this is all nit-picky. I'm not suggesting we burn our game CD's in protest or anything. I'm simply surprised that, given the amount of work that went into these ship designs, they seemed to have dropped the ball when it came to making them look functional.

Tue Mar 11, 2003 4:35 pm by winterblink

Maybe the cockpits open?

I agree there's a lot to nitpick about. Scale of cap ships is one of them. I mean if Freespace can create utterly GIGANTIC capital ships for large scale battles, I'm sure Freelancer could have. I guess the problem with that is, how would they fit through the trade lane gates.

Tue Mar 11, 2003 4:55 pm by Ether Dragon

I thought about the cockpit opening idea. I assume you mean the glass canopy opens somehow. Scaling off the pilots, the ships range between two and three stories high. That's just the hull, and doesn't include extra height for things like that huge lower wing on the Bounty Hunter ships. Given that kind of height, the pilots aren't exactly "hopping" out. I have a hard time imagining hidden hand and toe holds, either. That would make getting into and out of your ship akin to scaling a rock wall every time you wanted in or out. If they're not climbing their own ship, then there should be a ladder, stair, or extended walk-way out to the cockpit. None of that is shown in the game, and while it's a small detail, it has impact.

If they're accessing the ship from some hatch somewhere, and then getting into the cockpit from an internal hatch, we again hit a bump. Many of the cockpits are too small to maneuver in. I love the big freighters because it's easy to accept that the pilot simply steps around his chair and goes through a back door. For others, like the Barracuda, I've gotten into some pretty imaginative means of cockpit access. They include things like hydraulic lifts and ladders. Of course, every added bit of machinery and ladder space steals from the plausable storage area.

Anyone getting the sense that I have too much time on my hands? Maybe it's time I got out of a freighter and focused my attention on combat.

Edited by - Ether Dragon on 11-03-2003 16:56:42

Tue Mar 11, 2003 5:06 pm by guptasa1

Remember, Starlancer was the first game in the trilogy. Freelancer's the second. The third you ask? Get-in-Your-Ship-Lancer. Over 50 ships, each with its own unique way to get into it, and YOU have to discover how from the countless tools and methods available to you. A completely free-roaming FPS perspective puts you in control, as you use scripted curses after each failed attempt to get into your ship. Multiplayer support, currently still in development, will let up to two players try to get into the same ship, adding to the difficulty immensely and creating a truly original and believable concept.

Just teasing you. Actually, I think about stuff like this all the time too. I'm pretty darn good at making up things to solve any consistencies I find in games or movies as well. LOL.

Tue Mar 11, 2003 5:07 pm by Mephisto

Not too much time on your hands, just a dedication to detail. Or something like that, so I can justify why -I- noticed the same things : P

I was trying to figure out the anti-grav ring things that your ship rests on, and whether or not you just sort of... descend out of them? I suppose that could work, you just drop straight down out of the cockpit on those rings? I'd have to take a look at my ship when it's docked to make sure, but I think they're more or less underneath the cockpits of the ships.

"What is left when honor is lost?"
- Pubilius Syrus

Tue Mar 11, 2003 5:30 pm by winterblink

Maybe they ARE hopping out of their cockpits. Maybe they are indeed plummeting a couple stories to land on their head. Maybe that's why everone can only say three different variations on the same sentences.

Joking aside, the game rocks.

Tue Mar 11, 2003 5:31 pm by Ether Dragon

Haha! I just pictured one player standing on the shoulders of another shouting, "boost me up! Higher!" Then they go tripping off to one side before colliding with the ship dealer.

Tue Mar 11, 2003 5:36 pm by Ether Dragon

The anti-grav ring idea has merit. It's not under the cockpit, though. It's just centered under the ship. Just because the rings are only visible in small ring, what's to say that it's effects don't extend out farther than that?

One question about the anti-grav system that I've been wondering about - is it produced by the ship, or the landing dock? If it's produced by the dock, does that mean that our ships can't land anywhere else?

Tue Mar 11, 2003 5:55 pm by Ugnaught

I've been assuming that the anti-gravity field is coming from the landing pad. If the equipment needed to generate the field were bulky it would make more sense to build it into the pad and thus make all ships lighter. On the other hand, if the anti-grav equipment were light, it would make more sense to build it into the ships. That would make things a lot more flexible.

As far as how people get in and out of the cockpits, who knows? They never really show how it works so I guess we're free to imagine what we want. If the anti-grav field is powerful enough to keep a ship that weighs several tons off the ground it ought to be strong enough to lift a person up to the cockpit. Perhaps the landing pad can extend a ladder or platform that a person can stand on to get in their ship.

Let's get those missiles ready to destroy the universe!!

Tue Mar 11, 2003 6:31 pm by fds

One of these things that got me rather by surprise is that no matter what kind of commodity you have, 1 piece takes 1 slot in your cargo hold.
I imagined oxygen or cardamine would take less space than construction machinery.

Tue Mar 11, 2003 6:38 pm by Kokopelli

Since we're on the topic of "how do you get in/out of the ships." How is it on some missions require you to tractor the life capsule of some dude, yet you can't eject even when flying the same ship...

All this aside, the game still rocks. Just make it more interesting if you could tractor in ejected pilots to sell as slaves. Used to fetch a nice price of the Confed and merchant pilots in Privateer.

Tue Mar 11, 2003 6:44 pm by akito927

Or Maybe the pilots get teleported into their cock pits.. just like how in star trek!
how they get onto the planet, and back onto the ship.. the battleships could also do the same cuz they can just orbit above the planet, and just bean people onto the planet's surface! ahh see that would work!

Admin For Macross Saga Server.

Tue Mar 11, 2003 6:44 pm by NukeIt

If you would look, there are several large panels on the tops of some of the freighters. I believe them to be cargo doors. Plus, try jettisoning something out into space. You will see a hatch open to eject the goods(even on a fighter). So yes, there are hatches.

Reaper: $200,000,000.
Rockets: $100,000
The look on that pilot's face when you launch a full pod of screamers up his tailpipe: priceless

Tue Mar 11, 2003 6:55 pm by Zero_G

Have you guys never heard of Displacers?

One moment you are in your cockpit, and the next, you're in the bar...
It produces a soft 'pop'-noise, like a soft clap from a single pair of hands.

Tue Mar 11, 2003 8:11 pm by winterblink

Or if your nick is Nightcrawler, a distinctive BAMFF noise

Important Message

You are browsing the archived Lancers Reactor forums. You cannot register or login.
The content may be outdated and links may not be functional.

To get the latest in Freelancer news, mods, modding and downloads, go to
The-Starport