I haven't seen this anywhere but is it possible to adjust build grid size based on control room size? I think this makes it realistic based on how much ship a certain control room could actually control.
For example a fighter cockpit might have the ships it's attached to with a 20x20 build grid but a battleship with a full bridge might have 150x150.
Control rooms affect build grid?
I would like to have different sizes of control rooms ("cockpit", "control room", "bridge", "command center"), but of course there needs to be some reason to build a larger control room. I have a few ideas for ways in which size of control room could limit your ship:
- Build grid
- Number of crew
- Number of ship parts
- "Command points" (different parts use different command points)
But then the question becomes, what happens when you lose a control room? For example, what happens if your ship has both a "large" control room and a "small" control room but the small control room wouldn't by itself be big enough for your ship. Then your big control room gets destroyed and all you have is the small control room, which isn't big enough to command your ship. What happens? Does your ship just not have control? Do sections of your ship go offline?
Walt
personally, I think if control rooms had a range of control like ftl drives would be cool. mostly because it would mean larger ships would have sectors of command that can go offline without enough power or if it's destroyed.
this could be good because it would mean you'd need to plan your ships well in order for them to work well.
TheSillyFox And if instead of the whole section going offline, what if only the weapons that are not handled by people (If Walt decides to add any) and the PD are turned off, since it does not have a command center where operate them?
- Edited
Agree with previous suggestions 
the PD is a prime candidate for going offline with no control rooms of any size.
I like the build grid size idea, but lends itself to upgrade costs, progression, and 'tech level' prereq's for more parts. eg., could you build a "large" CR w/o a "small" one present first? Require use of all size types, by linking to 'command points' or abilities.
Perhaps a 'small' room is necessary to command small weapons. A 'large' room specializes in large weapons. (And perhaps advanced gear like shields.) So you would need both on a ship to use both types. But additionally the large room enables larger grid sizes and crews.
Related, I like the idea of control rooms unlocking the use of certain parts anywhere, such as shields, but not requiring the shield be in range of a CR. Weapons yes, but perhaps not defensive parts.
You will want to rebuild CR's asap to regain use of the weapon types in their range that they can control. A 'large' should be expensive, and may lead to cost-control tradeoffs if a player has built it too early.
I don't think the CR needs to limit part count, that's also limited by grid size, needing more CR's, which themselves take up space. A 'large' should enable more grid space and crews than a 'small' version, therefore be a more efficient choice than having a bunch of small CR's.
Making the control room the lynch pin to knocking sections of the ship offline, might become an alternate primary target compared to Reactors, which cause massive collateral damage.
Trying to surgically knock out an enemy ship, ties into the resources and salvage plan. Quite a few stock ships have reactor weak spots that vaporize most of the ship when they explode. I hadn't even considered control rooms: destroying or disabling (unpowered or uncrewed) all CR's on a ship, would be a good method to add as a new win condition for bounty hunter mode.
Eventied Perhaps a 'small' room is necessary to command small weapons. A 'large' room specializes in large weapons. (And perhaps advanced gear like shields.) So you would need both on a ship to use both types. But additionally the large room enables larger grid sizes and crews.
Cosmoteer Plus goes down this route. It only works because all vanilla components are left outside the tech progression. If vanilla components had a tech progression there'd be no variety in small ships and probably less in large ships as well.
I think I've suggested that control should travel down paths and uncontrolled crew should be unable to take on new tasks (only repeat the tasks they're currently doing or make a one way transition to firefighting). This makes multiple control rooms allow ships to function if the corridors between sections are severed. A single control room ship would work just fine but be more vulnerable to battle damage.
- Edited
Different control room for different grid size make sense, bigger ship with bigger crew has comon need for one main spot for leading ship.
But, battleship build in 1900 had one bridge, when bridge was destroyed it has other places capable to still coordinate ship, and even in case all main coordinate places were destroyed, each part like engines, each turret had capability to work and fight on itself.
How you can explain that in future, with advanced minituarization are ingeneers incapable to make enough places for running ship without main control room?
Lets say, its captain who comand ship, and till he had conection to all other parts of ships, it does not matte where he is, he still comanding.
TO PDs, from my point of view, they are automated defensive system, each unit with targeting system, so PD depends only on energy delivery, they do not need any comanding.
So, it makes almost sense that loosing you control rooms you loose ability to control ship movement(no driving wheel/buttons/whatever),
(maybe in future comanding by voice will be not posible)
What makes sense is that ship without sensors cannot targed enemy ship with missiles, and fire get less acuracy,
sensors size really matters, so sensors inside each weapon, does not substitute big sensor aray.
Mc2 fire get less acuracy, sensors size really matters, so sensors inside each weapon, does not substitute big sensor aray.
This seems reasonable. Crewed and crew-serviced parts depending on a control room that is disabled or destroyed, could still do something, but perform 50-75% "worse" depending on the part. Its very rewarding to win against impossible odds.