Having dead bodies in the game might shift the game from a "Teen" to a "Mature" rating.

The enemy (and friendly) ships really do follow patrol routes. There's an option to display them on your map. I've gone to deserted portions of systems, and there really wasn't anything going on out there. Also, when you're on a mission, it seems to "whack" all the enemy ships and turn them neutral, so they don't harass you while you're on the mission. (this wears off if you dawdle for a long time)

ER

People are always wanting more eh? At first you want debris instead of everything vapourized, then you want stuff you can salvage from the debris; and now you want body parts floating off the remains... What's next? Blood droplets splattering on your windshield? How about a shock wave that sends all nearby interstellar dust flying through space, mixing with the droplets and leaving residues on your space craft?

Seriously you can't expect a game to have everything...

Oh and the bandits don't just "spawn out of thin gas" as you so succinctly put it as there is no "gas" in outer space... In fact it's near vaccum hence any "body parts" would just explode due to low pressure; and even if they survive it is highly unlikely you can spot something that small flying at the high velocity conduced by the explosion.

Edited by - Zamboni on 15-03-2003 09:42:38

Bodies? Floating dead rotting carcasses that have flammable properties? .....
I know I have a morbid sense of humour, and while some sick part of me would be enthralled by watching pieces of flesh smack against my cockpit viewport, I don't know if it would be all it's cracked up to be..But if that's your bag, go for it I say! . Personally, the sadist inside of me will always be euphoricaly charged everytime I get that special death_audio to play (death_audio == the track that plays when you blow some sorry SOB into smithereens.)

"My Favourite Death_Audio"
Female Voice: I don't want to die! Aiieee! *Kablamo!*

END
-------
BEGIN

Your other ideas are cool.
The dynamic missions idea is always going to be built upon, hopefully!
The idea of having the world seem like there a more fleelancers than you out there would help in that 'immersion' feeling (kill the competition! yummy! )
Bases don't really need scrambles right now, since they are invulnerable , for the moment!
There are patrols like Easy Rhino said, just open you nav map up and click the third option from the left of the six that are in the center at the top of the window from there you can view neutral, friendly, and hostile patrol routes.
About the Hitmen and Bounty Hunters, I wouldn't know anything about that, personally I think the Bounty Hunters Guild killed all the Hitmen 'cause their crazy like that (You did know they are from Texas, right?! ) And all the politcal figures are nice and cozy planetside, 'cause if they venture anywhere else they get blowed up, like Admiral Schulzky did, remember?

END
-------
BEGIN

And on an end note, ranting is good especially when it gets creative ideas flowing! Just don't let it overtake your main brain functions..

Yeah man, patrol routes actually do exist. Every ship in the system is not accounted for at once, but each has specific orders, and even though they may be spawned mid-patrol route, lets say, they will still complete their patrol, and head back to base where they will land. Then you can find another patrol to chill with and they will go out and return when they are done. They do get specific orders but, logically, they are only spawned... what 2.5K (whatever K is 1000 of) away from you. Then again, that's not to say that the AI can not be tracked when more than 2.5 K away, as I've kept tabs on a police patrol 7.6K away and then clicked formation and met up with them (as formation makes you go faster than 300... even though it doesn't say that).

Secondly, if you ever are in space and you don't have a pressurized full body suit one of two things will happen. 1) you will freeze instantly and die, due to the absolute zero temperature of space, which only really happens if it is a non-violent release (ie not an explosion) or 2) your body would explode, as that was already said. And it wouldn't be some Hollywood action explosion either, as the blood would be thinned out almost instantly.

There are so many things that video games lack probably due to less than perfect technology, but why don't we try to be satisfied with technology for once... i mean this game is great, it incorporates a lot of "realism" in space (who can really say). I dunno, yes it could be better, but we all know that, we dont' need to hear it more.

Easy Rhino, yes you might be right about the Mature rating creeping up. Things are much different now then they were during the Privateer/Wing Commander days. And while I agree that many of the patrols follow routes like you Easymac, and Ziekfried have mentioned they don't make it obvious that these patrols came from a battleship, starbase, or planet.

I don't mind spawning yet but at least have the entity spawn near those locations to give the impression that this is where they emerged from and not just out of nowhere.

As for the mission waypoint the reason I said it should be dynamic in conjunction with the job board is because then it doesn't look like they just popped up out of nowhere and you wouldn't need to make everyone outside of the mission neutral as you pointed out.

Yes I have heard nurmerous times what the effect space would have on any body and I don't know if I'd be so concerned about the truth of that until they release footage of some cow they took up in space and released just to prove their point. LOL! But still it would make a kewl visual especially after the explosion. You'd get two treats in one. LOL! Oh and no I don't get off on death but until some cyber-religion group pops up starting a campaign that claims game and sim entities are living things and should not be so brutally killed. I say we should have fun with it. I mean the image of a body being ejected from it's ship after an explosion and then a few seconds later exploding itself because it's in space. HELL THAT WOULD BE KEWL AS HELL! Oh and what if the body was maybe cut off from the explosion? Would the gibs explode as well? I mean they shouldn't, should they?

Mr. Zamboni, you are right that we can't expect a game to have everything. But we can expect them to have more than the games of a year ago as well as improving on what is available now. This is called progress. Without it we would all still be playing 'PONG' Do you mean to tell me that you never once played a game that you thought was good in certain areas but lacking in others? Did you really just settle with what was given to you? Have you ever downloaded a realism patch or a mod that helped inprove the game or sim you were playing?

Mr. Zamboni if we as players or developers just settled there would not be new games, improvements to the games nor would there be hard working 'modders' out there helping to make such games so much better then when they were first released.

Also these are not features that were just drempt up out of nowhere. These are features that have been around for awhile and that were highpoint options in previous games. And thus shouldn't be that difficult to create.

And as for my remark about 'spawning out of thing gas'. That remark was made as a joke from the game where they have gas mining facilities and where many of the enemy engagments I've seen tend to come from. So you see it was more of a joke then anything else Zamboni. Frost up and take a joke for what it is, a joke.

Now before you ask and shoot me down on this, no i'm not a game developer and maybe for that very reason I shouldn't say or suggest anything. I'm just a gamer like everyone else here that has ideas and opinions. Just like I'm sure you do. And for the record there are some developers that actually listen to such ideas and try to put them in their games or put back in things that were removed. So if of my suggestions were annoying to you I will be kind and apologize for them. Annoying people is no fun if you're not getting paid for it. LOL! No hard feelings 'kay?



"Paradox"

A body exposed to space wouldn't explode like a TNT explosion; rather it'd look like a puffy body with all the blood and gasses and liquid trying to press out into the vacuum against the skin. Painful either way. Best depiction I ever saw was when the kid was exposed to vacuum in EVENT HORIZON with sensitive areas like the eyes and ears being affected first (though he probably had mighty bad freeze burns from the cold, or the sun).

I remember that scene! Man that dude was in hurting status wasn't he? Well hey better him than me. Better yet better my enemies in the game than me. HA HA HA HA HA!!!



"Paradox"

This may sound off, but anyway...

About the spawning hostiles, when I look at their patrol routes and follow them I notice that most of them either go near a local pirate base or a jump hole, perhaps that explains where they come from and where they go. Just a guess.

For your information: Starlancer had floating bodies after the destruction of capital ships.

-------------

"Sorry for offending your delicate sensibilities. Perhaps my next film will be about a talking dog who braves the harsh realities of the world in a heart warming attempt to find his rightful owners, who mistakenly thought he was dead. That way you could watch it and get a fuzzy feeling inside and when it was over you could all go f*ck yourselves." - Troy Duffy, director of The Boondock Saints

You want a floating body? Here you go...

Lev, So Starlancer had the bodies in eh huh? Hmmmmm. I never played the Starlancer game was it any good?

Zamboni, Wow bud that was really close to being funny. Are you absolutely sure that's the best you could do? I mean c'mon man, thrill me.


"Paradox"

Pretty morbid but I'm a Quake and Unreal fan so I am used to body parts. I've played alot of Privateer and I don't remember body parts. Are you sure about that dude?

I came. I saw. I conquered. And sometimes get conquered.
"I'm Natrunner, I don't really run TLR but I do have an understanding with those that do."

Is it just me or do I see people in this thread who have made zero posts?

Natrunner, Yes the first Privateer did have gibs in it after an explosion. At times if you flew slowly you would see them come towards your cockpit. Mostly it was an arm and leg though. The hand and foot attached were easily distinguished.

Wizard, good eye on the zero posts thing but what I don't understand is how that can be if I'm the one that started this thread? (



"Paradox"