When in the PU, will player ships be distinguishable from NPC Ships? By not having a unique identifying color or symbol it could make players think twice before engaging a ship unprovoked.asked by Rancid

That's an interesting gameplay question. Right now that has to be playtested to see. I am a really big fan of not really giving you an obvious distinguishing element between the two. Because I do want the world to feel: 1) Extremely cohesive; 2) I want there to be weight behind your decisions.So, if you decide to attack a ship you may not immediately know that its' either an NPC or a PC.Now, the cool thing about not giving you obvious identifiers on a ship is that that then requires you to get a scanner. It adds to the gameplay loop. So, if you get a scanner and scan the ship. Then you might now have the information that you need to make that decision. So, I prefer going that route.Ultimately, it comes down to game design and they'll make the best decision for the game once it's playtested. But my vote is: Don't distinguish.

To add a little extra colour to that as well, I think that the lighting schemes on various style ships will also play a minor part in that. So, when we get down to a lot of the pirate ships, their visible markers at a distance based on the lights and any type of material use will show them as being a potential enemy at a glance.But, to "Daniel's" point, that you may not actually get a sense of friend or foe at a glance. Because... you want that interaction. You want that... little more thrill being able to sit back, watch before you engage. And... if you're engaged or if there is some other marker that comes at you that says... oh okay, they're firing on me... it's probably a bad guy. Then it triggers that engagement.The classic style gaming where it's like... you go to your nav point and all of a sudden there's four or five blips of red. It's a little arcadey and it's something we've been trying to avoid.