Ideas for a Next-Generation Privateer/Elite/Freelancer Game

[Bob McDob]

Besides the ubiqitous "3d bases", is there anything you want to see in a future game like this?

[Utsanomiko]

I've got a design for an online space adventure/simulation I've had in the works for a few years. I'll post it tomorrow, If I can.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

The ability to upgrade from your dinky fighter/freighter/whatever to a capital ship.

[weemadando]

I'd like to be able to serve on a larger ship, but not neccessarily as the captain. Maybe be low ranking engineer or gunnery officer, maybe stage your fighter off it for a while.

Imagine though, walking along a corridor onboard ship and looking out a port-hole to see the enemy approaching.

How about slowly subverting the crew, then staging a mutiny and taking one of the navies finest and becoming a pirate vessel?

How about some really whacked missions that resemble something more suited to "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".

How about being able to come to prominance within whatever faction you want?

How about RPG-esque progression for your character, as well as economic progression for your ship?

How about a greater conflict? Like in Privateer with the Kilrathi war still ongoing and having to make dangerous runs to the front (or even beyond it).

How about having to choose a side in that conflict?

And the biggie - how about having a bit of free-form play?

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

*snip*

Morrowind in space!

[Vympel]

1: You can own multiple ships

2: The sense of scale must be there. Capital ships hundreds of metres long must be hundreds of metres long in comparsion to your fighter, period. Too many games have the idiocy of being able to see your pilot in the cockpit- and it's clear that if that pilot figure was standing up, he'd be half the height of a capital ship.

3: Independence War had it right. You have a corvette style, small crew (like 4 or something) ship that's perfect for pirate work. Independence War 2 was good, but what annoyed me was the single cockpit contrivance, even though you did have the fighter turrets.

Erm ... more to come later.

[Companion Cube]

I like Ando's idea about staging off a larger capital ship.

Additionally, how about having some free-form play on a galaxy-wide scale? (ie killing an ambassadorial ship could lead to a war between two species) It would be pure hell to implement though...

[Slartibartfast]

I've got a design for an online space adventure/simulation I've had in the works for a few years. I'll post it tomorrow, If I can.

Me too
I have a quite nice system for research and development of your own spaceship, and patenting it so anyone can use it (for a price), and making sure that a single ship can't simply use any given device (compatibility number) or something. It's neat but I'm still working on it

[Alyeska]

Besides the ubiqitous "3d bases", is there anything you want to see in a future game like this?

How dare you insult Privateer by lumping it with something as pathetic as Freelancer.

[Bob McDob]

*snicker*

Morrowind in space!

Elaborate?

[Slartibartfast]

*snip*

Morrowind in space!

In Morrowind you can't see outside of windows.
[nelson]HA HA![/nelson]

[The Dark]

Have multiple players able to be on one ship. To use an example from Freelancer, have a second character on heavy fighters or freighters to control the turrets.

And joystick compatibility is a GOOD thing. That's my only real problem with Freelancer is that it's not joystick compatible.

[Slartibartfast]

Using the joystick *instead* of the mouse would waste the off-axis firing in Freelancer... but they could have used both, one for steering and other for aiming.