Making starship customization easier and more appealing

Ashin Varanin · Sep 3, 2014

Problem: Everyone wants the Falcon. Nobody wants Generic Stock YT-1300 #98786. And starship modification requests can be cumbersome, there's little room for discussion in that thread. And if people get more invested in building ships, they get more invested in using ships. If they get more comfortable with building ships, they get more comfortable using ships.

You might say 'people can just submit their custom ship' - but what if they want to modify it bit by bit, thread by thread?

There's got to be an easier way, a more interesting way, a way that makes people much more interested in creating their Very Own Ship piece by piece. This is a new thought, and so far I've only thought of one way to do it, but I'm sure there are others and I'd like to hear alternate ways of accomplishing that.

New subforum of Starship: Outlaw Tech, or Custom Starships, or Modifications, I don't know, name it whatever. The Garage, the Shadowport, the Chop Shop, The Docking Bay, Docking Bay 1313...
Starship Modification Request thread remains for the bookkeeping, the OOC alterations, the changes to entire lines of starships. This new subforum would be entirely for customizing individual ships. There could be a short new template, largely focused on two elements: What you're gaining, and what you're giving up. Every modification has a cost. This subforum might not even be strictly bound by the Guide, especially because the Guide doesn't nail down freighters (on purpose) and ideally people are using this subforum to make their own Falcons. But also because you put in the work and, yeah, you go from stock patrol ship to Slave One. Heck, we could even do it in character, like the auction house/marketplace.

Can it be done effectively without a list of approved ships? Who knows.

Lief · Sep 3, 2014

Sounds good, obviously in need of more development and refining but the idea/concept is a nice one.

Valik · Sep 3, 2014

One possible option(though I'm not sure how plausible it is) is to make it more like Character Creation rather than a traditional factory entry. You put up a freighter and as time goes along you add in dev threads where you get reasoning for you ship to do this or that(whether through personal modification, getting money to purchase it, researching blueprints, etc. Very organic and varied) and users can modify their ships as they please. Whenever they want to tack something on they just @ a judge and a judge keeps a separate copy/pasted profile in their own post below the initial profile, showing what's approved.

Ashin Varanin · Sep 3, 2014

[member="Valik"]
Maintenance nightmare and time sink, but the principle's worth looking at for sure.

Ashin Varanin · Sep 3, 2014

To quote [member="Aaralyn Rekali"]:

And I'd take a plain jane YT-1300 and build it from scratch, it's so much fun building from the base up. GOOOOOOOOOD I remember those days!

^that right there is the feeling I'm wanting folks to feel. Or this:
http://starwarsrp.net/topic/34818-the-crimson-wraith/

Ashin Varanin · Sep 3, 2014

[11:25:52 PM] Epic Mouse: Her ship breaks down, she can't just go "Lemme hammer out this and BOOM" I got it. Everyone just goes "kark it, 10 posts, I'm done" I got some uber hyperdrive and my ship can zoom from one end to the other.
[11:26:08 PM] Epic Mouse: I like the despair of having some crap break down and having to take a job to get a part fixed or upgraded.
[11:26:15 PM] Jon: *nod*
[11:26:28 PM] Epic Mouse: I like the character development behind having to go "Crap, it's 30 thousand for that part!?"
[11:26:33 PM] Epic Mouse: Everyone is uber karking rich...
[11:26:36 PM] Jon: but those storylines will follow naturally when they care about that ship like a home.
[11:26:46 PM] Jon: and that'll happen once they customize it a bit.

[11:27:11 PM] Epic Mouse: You have a YT series freighter.
[11:27:17 PM] Epic Mouse: Plane jane, out of some Lando Junkyard right.
[11:27:29 PM] Epic Mouse: Needs some fine tuning, missing a radar dish.
[11:27:42 PM] Epic Mouse: Guess what, RP going to Ord Mantell or some junkyard planet
[11:27:45 PM] Epic Mouse: and looking for it.
[11:27:48 PM] Epic Mouse: Find components
[11:27:51 PM] Epic Mouse: scrap em together
[11:28:01 PM] Epic Mouse: crap breaks down, creates more stories.
[11:28:21 PM] Epic Mouse: GOD That is what Star Wars is about, it's not just "Insert Coin, out comes new parts."
[11:28:34 PM] Epic Mouse: What happens to all the old crap? Or what about junk dealers and such?"

Valiens Nantaris · Sep 3, 2014

I like the end goal for this.

So basically you end up with ships which are sort of like the NPC forum, with their own little special tweaks and changes? That's a cool idea.

Ashin Varanin · Sep 3, 2014

[member="Valeria Aetani"] - Good point, and yeah, along those lines.

Lief · Sep 3, 2014

Ashin Varanin said:
[11:27:29 PM] Epic Mouse: Needs some fine tuning, missing a radar dish. [11:27:42 PM] Epic Mouse: Guess what, RP going to Ord Mantell or some junkyard planet [11:27:45 PM] Epic Mouse: and looking for it. [11:27:48 PM] Epic Mouse: Find components [11:27:51 PM] Epic Mouse: scrap em together [11:28:01 PM] Epic Mouse: crap breaks down, creates more stories. [11:28:21 PM] Epic Mouse: GOD That is what Star Wars is about, it's not just "Insert Coin, out comes new parts." [11:28:34 PM] Epic Mouse: What happens to all the old crap? Or what about junk dealers and such?"

This was pretty much what I did with Kyra, and believe you me it is SO fun getting to scavenge then build things! It feels much more rewarding and fulfilling to know that you've worked for it harder ICly than you ever will OOCly, rather than handwaving credits, resources, companies and shipyards...

Ashin Varanin · Sep 3, 2014

[member="Lady Kyros"] [member="Valeria Aetani"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

Yeah, that's exactly the feel I'm going for. I really think it'd not only get people WAY more invested in their personal ships, in ways that lead to more writing, it'd also be a stepping stone to increase accessibility for the main starship forum.

So, ideas. Hit me. Let's see if this can get into some kind of a functional shape.

Valiens Nantaris · Sep 3, 2014

I reckon your initial idea is good [member="Ashin Varanin"]. Have a 'Custom Ships' area (with a better name) where people submit canon or classes of ships already submitted and customise them.
Think of it like the spacestations work now. They class gets submitted to the starships area, then individuals get uniquely changed in the new area.

Since it's optional we can get fancy with a list of what you can change and remove with + and - values. So increasing the hyperdrive speed is say 25 points, but if you make the sublight speed slower that balances out.

Lief · Sep 3, 2014

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

I do love the idea. Right now I'm too tired to think up any way of making it work without too much hassle and manpower though. I'll take another stab in the morning.

The End Narrator · Sep 3, 2014

Lady Kyros said:
This was pretty much what I did with Kyra, and believe you me it is SO fun getting to scavenge then build things! It feels much more rewarding and fulfilling to know that you've worked for it harder ICly than you ever will OOCly, rather than handwaving credits, resources, companies and shipyards...

Kessendra Sinclair is pretty much running broke. Pay check to pay check.

Her ship is kinda broke down atm. So, it'll be nice to see something like this implemented.

I have components (new) on Incom's market place thread.

I would like to see ships become more strict in the sense of "Yeah, credits approved, have fun!" Kinda deal. People don't lose ships here really, not saying they should but it's like there is no personal attachment or investment at all!

It's like kark it, my ship is gone, lemme go to the marketplace and advertise for another and bam I got one. I think we should kinda pull back some and look at how that is played too because people run around superstar rich and just buy ships like candy.

Yeah, I think custom ships and the ability to "slot" items in some way or fashion would entice people to customize and personalize their ships. Maybe then it would increase the desire to be more intimate with one's vessel?

Ashin Varanin · Sep 3, 2014

Aaralyn Rekali said:
I have components (new) on Incom's market place thread.

[member="Ayden Cater"] and Sasha Santhe and I have all gotten into the components gig -- heck, even Larraq and Ashe. I definitely see more component subs as something that would support this idea.

The End Narrator · Sep 3, 2014

Ashin Varanin said:
[member="Ayden Cater"] and Sasha Santhe and I have all gotten into the components gig -- heck, even Larraq and Ashe. I definitely see more component subs as something that would support this idea.

Well, that's a good thing! We should, as shipwrights, enable the individual to customize the vessel by adding more to the ship template.

I don't care if people groan, whine, piss and moan.

Expand the template to show what can be done to the vessel.

Make a "standard" ship to to speak and allow people to customize it the way they want. Offer components for that vessel to X Peak Performance Level.

Ashin Varanin · Sep 3, 2014

[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

More options is good - I'd just want them in a place other than the already-massive starship template, y'know? That's why my first thought was a subforum with its own little template, and i do mean little.

The End Narrator · Sep 3, 2014

Ashin Varanin said:
[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

More options is good - I'd just want them in a place other than the already-massive starship template, y'know? That's why my first thought was a subforum with its own little template, and i do mean little.

Agreed, but you would need to reference them somewhere and make it understood when people are submitting new Starships, they can submit a more base model for people to customize themselves. This would increase the company tier faster as sales and such would go through the roof? I guess? I am not sure if it works like that but whatever.

Point is, it would also allow people to work for something.

Instead of 'handwavium' I have these parts and this uber-expensive ship. I have a YT-2000 rust bucket that needs alot of work and a partially working hyperdrive...so if we're going to Naboo and end up at Hoth...I'm sorry.

Ashin Varanin · Sep 4, 2014

Ashin Varanin said:
Can it be done effectively without a list of approved ships? Who knows.

I, being a passionate sleep-deprived masochist, have created a list of all approved transports and freighters. Also threw in whatever yachts and such I could find, and anything that looked fun to modify in that size range.

Popo · Sep 4, 2014

I don't have enough likes to give this generalized concept.

The End Narrator · Sep 4, 2014

Popo said:
I don't have enough likes to give this generalized concept.

Hell, give em to me. I could use some in these dark times.

Making starship customization easier and more appealing

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