Item Sets

[OddBob]

This thread is about item sets - we have been discussing them on IRC a lot lately (they are a solution to so many things )

They were talked about a little here: http://neurohack.com/transcendence/foru ... php?t=1211

A set consists of any number of items (installed or otherwise), and possibly a ship or system. There is no limit to the number of sets an item can be in or the number of sets bonuses are received from at a time. A set may contain another set.

Sets are HUGE contributors to experimentation especially if you hint at but don't say what is in what set.

Betel, Dorne and I came up with a bunch of things that a set could modify:

(partially sorted)

weaponSuppress, weaponBonusAdj, absorbAdj

WEAPONS
lifetime, damage, firerate, configuration, chance of item damage, efficiency, WMD
different sets for fragments
failsafes
speed and maneuverability
recoil
repeating
passthrough
temperature
fire arc
effects like emp and blinding
momentum, disintegration, radiation (for weapons), shield ignoring

SHIELDS
hp, regen, regen speed, efficiency, reflect, resistances

ARMORS
hp, regen, resistances, reflect

stealth
max power
thrust, max speed, turnrate, cargospace

soverign relations

OTHER

cyberdefense,
what you get charged in shops
2 for 1 ammo/item use
stargates take you to different locations
depletionDelay
ance of illegal item detection,
the fuels your reactor can use
decay rate
a set that gives/takes credits or rins
disintegration immunity
failure chance
sets that modify the bonuses of other sets
device slots
number of enemies that spawn
targeting ability (can grant or take away)
the range and functionality of your LRS, jumpdrives and the CPU
the ability to see in nebulae
a set that acts as an ID or nullifies an ID
a set which modifies your rank or provided an exp multiplier
map functionality
weapon item identification (a set that makes you have rowena's installed while you have the set)
sets that affect eligibility for arena fights or military/korolev membership
sets that affect domina powers
a set that makes you radioactive unless oyu are immune
a set that kills you
a set that slows time
a set that disables autopilot
a set than makes zoanthropes less/more likely to follow you
or one that disables or enhances luminous' ability to adapt
sets that depend on a certain station being in system or being in a certain level system

[Betelgeuse]

this list can also be used for ideas for new enhancements too.

Just a couple of clarifications. Items can be specific or just an item that matches a given criteria. Ships are part of sets so you can say a certain ship weapons fire a little faster than normal (as an example). The reason why a set can be in a different set is so you can override smaller sets with larger sets. Like having a certain thing can get rid of the bonuses of a set even if that item wasn't part of the original set. This would also allow for items that enhance sets like doubling the effects.

A interesting thing could be a set that has a system level as part of its requirements. Like you can have a beginners set that would help you early game (like bonus to speed) but later game it stops working.

[OddBob]

Here are some things we think sets will fix, improve or otherwise do:

Exploration: Since not all sets are known trying out new items and finding new sets will always be a goal since there are more combinations than you could ever try.

Will cause the player to use different items than they normally would; you are more likely to use something in a set because of bonuses.

Cash sink: you might not sell some items so that you can try them in a set later on.

Ship differences: since a ship can be part of a set there is a good motive to switch ships.

Balance: a really weak item can become strong in the right set or a strong item can be weak in certain sets.

They also help the economy and make armor a potentially more interesting decision.

There can also be many items that are otherwise similar but are in different sets without being boring. Different manufacturers can make basically identical items, thus increasing the item pool and lowering the chance of the one you want.