Calling All Devs - Life Support & Phoenix Update

Okay, so with the life supports, the way that we basically envisage them is being a component on the ship just like every other component. So it will be in a fixed location on the ship itself. But rather than being something that you replace if it gets damaged, it's something that you're actually going to repair. So essentially, it works kind of similar to every other component we have. Rather than taking it out, you'll be able to interact with it directly to do the repairs on it instead. Reason for this is that we basically just don't really think that you need to have 20 different variants of life support machine. They're all essentially going to look fairly bland at the end of the day. And in terms of the way that we power this thing, you're not going to need to carry anything like an oxygen tank. It's actually powered by fuel to keep it running. So if it does get damaged or if you're basically unable to use it and it goes offline, then the way to get around that is basically to put on a spacesuit so you can still breathe.

It's fairly to the point, but it's a fairly straightforward thing that we're looking to go for. We don't want to have anything too complex. It's just it works or it doesn't.

Yes, so we will need to eventually address all ships that have this issue. And I don't believe that an entire rework is required. We will need to specifically address the area that encompasses the airlock itself so that it's a better mechanism, so that we don't have to re-art the entire ship, but just make it so that there is a way to not vent the entire contents of the internal atmosphere into space. So I don't know exactly where it is on the schedule, but it is something that we need to address, that we'll put on the schedule in the backlog, and we'll fix that up.

There's something else that we'll need to address that will be on the ship features team, which is that we'll need to make an item that we have a concept of but haven't implemented yet, which is our life support system. So once we create this life support system that's able to apply atmosphere into a space such as the interiors of spaceships that are connected via our room system. So our room system is connected to the doors. So that's why currently when you open a door, all your atmosphere vents out into space. That's great, but we have no way to repressurize the ships. So once you open a door, especially on one like the Reliant, which is basically nothing but a giant door, once you open it up for cargo, that means that the ship no longer has atmosphere. So we will make this item that will get connected just like any other internal ship item. And we'll have properties in it, things like how fast can it repressurize the ship and provide a safe environment for you to walk around without your helmet. Put that inside ships and then connect that to the room system. And so it's the same exact thing we do for power and connecting all the pipes, so that once you do open a ship in space and you're hosed, you could put it back to a state where it should be, with oxygen.

Okay, so the armor right now is actually being reworked into the Item 2.0 system. So I don't have an answer for that currently. But when that gets implemented, we will...

Armor 2.0 is in the works. It will need to be completed before we know precisely how it will affect the Phoenix. But our intention is that it should have some improved armor. We just can't tell you by how much until the full Armor 2.0 system is done.

Yeah, so armor is currently in the works being converted to Item 2.0. And the system isn't completely fleshed out, or at least I don't have the information.

I think we covered the armor stuff. It's a big TBD, but our intention is still that it should have some more. Talk to us about the power plant.

So when we spec'd out the Phoenix, originally it had a size seven power plant and the other ones had a size six power plant. That size doesn't exist anymore. Currently, the Andromeda has two size two power plants, which are civilian power plants, I believe. And the Phoenix isn't going to get a size upgrade, but it's going to get a grade upgrade, and it's going to be changed to a competition class power plant.

So instead of two civilian grade C power plants like there are in the Andromeda, it's going to have one or two competition grade?

Two, yeah.

Two competition grade, and you said better, so B?

Yeah, I believe so, B, yeah.

And finally, what about the formerly known as point defense turrets, now known just as unmanned turrets?

So the point defense turrets, we don't currently have the tech for that, so when the Phoenix goes out in 3.3 we won't have those as a part of it, but when the tech gets implemented in the future we will be adding them.