Sombrero was having a talk about Planet busters with some of his fellow Cosmoteers, Suggesting after the Planet Exploded, It'd become an Asteroid Field. But hold on... Asteroid fields... Surely, our Solar system isn't the only Star System with one! And, It'd make Bounty Hunter and Regular fights much more interesting. But, Sombrero knew yet another thing... This'd require a huge Rework for the Asteroids...
DISCLAIMER:
I am aware that Asteroid Fields like that of in the movies are 100% Scientifically Impossible, as Each asteroid is more than close enough to another one to smash into one another. But, this is Sci-Fi, So I guess we all gotta just roll with it...
THE ASTEROID REWORK: LET'S ROCK!
So, What'd need to change so that Our ships can escape from the Oncoming fleet of Battleships out for our heads? Well first, asteroids would need to get a little more... Physical, with our ships. For Example:
So what do I mean? We gotta WRECK the City with Rock 'N Roll, That's what! Let's get into COLLISION DAMAGE!
I(t) CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL
To actually cause some beautiful Fireworks, Asteroids need to be more than be casually pushed away upon impact. How do we go about doing this? Well, the Asteroid parts have 1000 HP, Right? So upon touching an asteroid fast enough, It'll Deal 100 Damage to the part of the enemy ship it touches, and in turn lose 100 HP.
Should the Ship continue pushing the asteroid, It'll repeatedly deal 100 Damage again and again, losing health while trading blows. Needless to say, It'll be QUITE Punishing to attempt to push through a thick asteroid field- I hope you have Interceptors, Or else you're not reaching our ship! But, As a change, to be more Devastating, It should do more than a fair trade, Say 200 Damage for every 100 HP of an Asteroid part. Moral of the Story? Don't ram asteroids. Or else.
AI AIN'T DUMB... BUT IT MAY NEED IMPROVEMENT
Now that we have that Clarified, I think we can talk about Field Dens-
(CRASH)
OH COME ON! How'd That happen?
A Demi?! Piloting program! How'd this happen?!
It would appear that I did not recognise this Asteroid 2.0 was infront of me, Captain.
Well, Magikarp. It would appear that we'll Have to make sure the A.I. Recognises the fact that there is a MASSIVE ASTEROID in front of it. Or else you can Defeat a Dreadnought as a fighter just by baiting it into Ceres. Also, PILOTING PROGRAM I JUST PAID THAT THING OFF!
Error 66: Piloting Program destroyed itself.
Alright, Sketch segment aside...
DREADS NEEDS SPACE...
However, asteroid fields present a serious problem. Something like THIS:
Will have a moderately easy time Navigating an asteroid field, whereas something like THIS:
Will get torn apart by any High-Density Asteroid field... Right?
But oneself Must remember not every part of an asteroid field is equal, fore Variety is the spice of life, my pupil... Especially in the case of a Dreadnought like the Despair Class. So, how do we give Dreads their own Playing Field while the Fighters duke it out for a flank? Well, the Asteroid field has some wavy lines of space as well as holes for Bigger ships. But of course, it doesn't mean large ship movement isn't heavily limited in an asteroid field. Can't let the fleet catch up to us, Reader. They have Nuclear Missiles. And Fighters. And Death Star Lasers. And also Eyes of DOOM. Yeah, let's make like a Greling and get outta 'ere!
I CAN HEAR TALIM ALREADY
But wait. Asteroids MOVE. Given, slowly. VERY SLOWLY... Usually. There are different Degrees of orbiting speed for the Asteroid field, Ranging from 1 to 5:
1: No Noticeable Movement. Usual behavior for asteroids further from the Star of which it orbits. Given, Exceptions do exist, and they're quite common.
2: Very Slow Movement. Slightly less common than Speed 1, but still quite prevalent in the Galaxies of Cosmoteer. Usually also on the backside of a System, but not the furthest locale outward. There are slightly less exceptions to this rule.
3: Slow Movement. As Asteroids speed up, It gets harder to maneuver through, requiring very fine planning and control to move through it. Expectable for Asteroids in the middle of a system, Fewer exceptions exist. They are Uncommon, but not rare, per say.
4: Moderate Movement. A Little Closer to the System's Star, these asteroid fields move pretty fast, meaning you'll be forced to use the Dreadnought routes in the field for fighters if you want to relax. These Fields are Rare in nature, Exceptions are much rarer.
5: Fast Movement. Appearing only when an Asteroid field is the closest Locale to a system's Star, No exceptions of this type field exist; But you'll be thankful for that, as the Asteroids go so fast dreadnoughts are shredded in seconds. Only fighters have a Chance of surviving here, let alone Prospering. It becomes impossible to fly through a field without using the Dreadnought path. But, It'll rip apart any ship after you, on the bright side.
A ROCKY START
So, we all know no asteroid field has asteroids that all look the same. That'd be even more Impossible. Given, it is still more than an option if you want some Primium Specimium Space Potatoes. Or... You can have asteroids of all different Sizes and shapes in a Field! So, Maybe we can have RANDOMLY GENERATED asteroids, so that a field is unique every time. You'll never know If you're up against Peas or Dwarf Planets like this, adding some Variety into the asteroid fields... Just having a couple of different Template asteroids would work fine too, I guess. But that leads to one final question...
SOMBRERO WE CAN'T JUST RNG AN ENTIRE MOVING ASTEROID FIELD WITHOUT QUANTUM COMPUTERS EXPLODING AT IT'S MERCY YOU KNOW, RIGHT?!
Um.
Yes... I do... So, In this case...
Asteroids that go out of the map teleport back onto it from the other side it went out from, Keeping your computer... Moderately fine... While also Meaning that Asteroid fields can "Blow" in different directions! For Example, Left to Right, Up to Down, Etc., Creating a unique field every time with these variables.
CONCLUSION
In case all of my Ideas and Suggestions haven't already said it for me, I can't help but wait for something sick and new, Be it fighters or asteroid fields. Along with the Station I think @Namek made that you can interact with, It'd add some new Spice into Cosmoteer. Something to give it some more Identity. Heck, even just FTL-Esque Pre-Battle Text would do fine, I guess. But alas, we all hope toward Cosmoteer's future with excitement.
However, in the meantime, This is Sombreroman, Signing out.
