Ship names and origins

[Yah-Ta-Hey]

Thargoid and wildeblood: I remember the ship introducing itself but if it gave a name,,, I sure don't remember it. Where would I find this name? should be in the plist?.... I only found 1 thing in there and it was "ship name: VORTEX".
Thanks for bringing this up.

[Wildeblood]

Thargoid and wildeblood: I remember the ship introducing itself but if it gave a name,,, I sure don't remember it. Where would I find this name? should be in the plist?

No, in the scripts. There is a random name generator...

Code: Select all

	this.name1 = ["Heart", "Soul", "Mind", "Keeper", "Seeker", "Bringer", "Master", "Spirit", "Power", "Shadow", "Reflection", "Glory"];
	this.name2 = ["Darkness", "Light", "Fire", "Joy", "War", "Fortune", "Ice", "Life", "Battle", "Midnight"];
...	
	this.shipTitle = "Vortex - " + this.name1[this.random1] + " of " + this.name2[this.random2];

Check it out! Some possibilities are really cool, like "Spirit of Midnight" or "Heart of Fire", and some are less cool, like "Keeper of Darkness" or "Soul of Ice". I don't think you ever see this name again after you acquire the ship. It's not stuffed into a mission variable is it, Thargoid?

(If I had written that namegen I would have put Glory in the second list and Fire in the first list.)

[RyanHoots]

The Lynx of Destruction just got a new paint job- I thought the old baby blue one was bad. Thanks to Smivs' Texture Tutorial on the Wiki, I was able to make a better texture.
Old:

New:

[RyanHoots]

Thargoid and wildeblood: I remember the ship introducing itself but if it gave a name,,, I sure don't remember it. Where would I find this name? should be in the plist?

No, in the scripts. There is a random name generator...

Code: Select all

	this.name1 = ["Heart", "Soul", "Mind", "Keeper", "Seeker", "Bringer", "Master", "Spirit", "Power", "Shadow", "Reflection", "Glory"];
	this.name2 = ["Darkness", "Light", "Fire", "Joy", "War", "Fortune", "Ice", "Life", "Battle", "Midnight"];
...	
	this.shipTitle = "Vortex - " + this.name1[this.random1] + " of " + this.name2[this.random2];

Check it out! Some possibilities are really cool, like "Spirit of Midnight" or "Heart of Fire", and some are less cool, like "Keeper of Darkness" or "Soul of Ice". I don't think you ever see this name again after you acquire the ship. It's not stuffed into a mission variable is it, Thargoid?

(If I had written that namegen I would have put Glory in the second list and Fire in the first list.)

What about "Shadow of Light"? It is a possibility, according to the above code.

[CommonSenseOTB]

The Vortex should have introduced itself when you first teamed up with it. They all have individual names.

Some even have genuine people personalities, as Wildeblood found

Marvin...got this pain in the diodes down one side and god I'm so depressed. Here's another one of those god awful doors.

[Wildeblood]

I have a huge soft spot for random text-gens, because the only javascript I ever successfully made was a story-telling text-gen. Let me try:

Code: Select all

this.name1 = ["Frightener", "Scarer", "Teaser", "Tripper", "Terrorizer", "Terror", "Horrifier", "Horror", "Avenger", "Solace", "Demoralizer"];
this.name2 = ["Children", "Girls", "the Elderly", "Pussycats", "Little Girls", "Little Boys", "Civilians", "Thargoids", "the Space Lanes", "the Night", "Scaredy Cats"];

There you go: 121 (11 * 11) possibilities and not a single turkey among them.

[Smivs]

I have a huge soft spot for random text-gens, because the only javascript I ever successfully made was a story-telling text-gen. Let me try:

Code: Select all

this.name1 = ["Frightener", "Scarer", "Teaser", "Tripper", "Terrorizer", "Terror", "Horrifier", "Horror", "Avenger", "Solace", "Demoralizer"];
this.name2 = ["Children", "Girls", "the Elderly", "Pussycats", "Little Girls", "Little Boys", "Civilians", "Thargoids", "the Space Lanes", "the Night", "Scaredy Cats"];

There you go: 121 (11 * 11) possibilities and not a single turkey among them.

I don't know, would you really want to be a "Demoralizer of Little Girls" ?

[Wildeblood]

I don't know, would you really want to be a "Demoralizer of Little Girls" ?

I thought I was being a "Teaser of Thargoids". I hope he's got a sense of humour.

(My own favourite was "Solace of Scaredy Cats" which I thought could be appropriate for a "personal base".)

[Ganelon]

I think this topic and some of the replies does seem to indicate that a significant number of players think of their ship as having a name, whether they go so far as to edit the files to actually get the name to display or not. Maybe it's something that might be considered as an option in either the base code or OXP developments. Unlike most changes, I doubt there's much cause for concern as to it upsetting game balance. There could maybe be options for putting in a really cool name if you have one in mind, or some sort of random generation if you'd rather or maybe just really aren't good at coming up with names.

There could even maybe be a nominal fee to "re-christen" a ship if you bought one with an unpleasant or ridiculous sounding name from the shipyard.

It's not of huge importance or anything having much to do with gameplay, but I think it could be a desirable item for many players as part of immersion factor. Right now, the only way to get it is to do some minor file hacking.

[DaddyHoggy]

I think this topic and some of the replies does seem to indicate that a significant number of players think of their ship as having a name, whether they go so far as to edit the files to actually get the name to display or not. Maybe it's something that might be considered as an option in either the base code or OXP developments. Unlike most changes, I doubt there's much cause for concern as to it upsetting game balance. There could maybe be options for putting in a really cool name if you have one in mind, or some sort of random generation if you'd rather or maybe just really aren't good at coming up with names.

There could even maybe be a nominal fee to "re-christen" a ship if you bought one with an unpleasant or ridiculous sounding name from the shipyard.

It's not of huge importance or anything having much to do with gameplay, but I think it could be a desirable item for many players as part of immersion factor. Right now, the only way to get it is to do some minor file hacking.

I like the idea of a named ship and the option for named NPCs - as you say - no impact on gameplay - huge impact on immersion!

I love the concept of a re-Christening fee:

Galactic Cooperative ship renaming application

Administration Charge: 4Cr
Repaint (required if ship currently carries visible identification): 2Cr
Docking Bay Renaming Ceremony (optional): 8Cr
Includes - Local Sparkling wine, swing arm hire, ribbon, clean-up of broken glass

Optional Additional Costs for Docking Bay Ceremony:
Hire of local planetary celebrity to perform ceremony: Negotiable (min. 100Cr)
Hire of nearest "Rooters Top 100 Most Influential Celebrities" to attend: Negotiable (min. 1000Cr, transport to location and accommodation extra)
Use of real Old Earth Champagne: min. 10000Cr (does not include shipping or insurance)

Now what would be really cool... ship name generates Decal, decal gets applied to ship (own or NPC).

[Cody]

I like the idea of a named ship and the option for named NPCs - as you say - no impact on gameplay - huge impact on immersion!

Absolutely right!

Now what would be really cool... ship name generates Decal, decal gets applied to ship (own or NPC).

At least I already have my ship's name on one of its decals.

[Wildeblood]

I think NPC traders with escorts would benefit from names, Strelkas and Anacondas particularly. The small ships flitting about - who cares what they're called. But when you see an Anaconda with six Cobras - or a Strelka with four Deltas - flying in formation, that looks like a ship that should have a name.

[RyanHoots]

An OXP to change your ship's name would be great, no more file hacking involved, so even first time players who have no idea what an OXP is can have a custom name. What if when you start a new game, the OXP triggered and you choose a name, for free of course, and go though the ceremony, then start gameplay for the first time. Awesome!

[CommonSenseOTB]

That would be really funny if you were going to buy a ship and the name really sucked but to change it would cost a new registration that was made when the ship originally came from the factory. Probably a lot of money up front and maybe it would cause a mission that simulates all the paperwork and beurocracy and might take a game month or 2 before all the t's are crossed and the i's are dotted. After that you will swear that if you don't like the name you won't buy the ship.

What, too realistic then?

[Cmdr Wyvern]

I think NPC traders with escorts would benefit from names, Strelkas and Anacondas particularly. The small ships flitting about - who cares what they're called. But when you see an Anaconda with six Cobras - or a Strelka with four Deltas - flying in formation, that looks like a ship that should have a name.

Those small ships are usually rigged for hard combat, and used like the warriors of old used swords. The knights of old named their swords, so what's wrong with naming a ship you'd use as a weapon?

Pirates probably don't bother, but they're dishonorable knaves anyway.