Module Slots
Every ship has a number of slots to fit modules. There are Targeted, Active and Passive slot types, the number a ship has of each varies.
Targeted Modules: Requires a selected target. Examples: Weapons, Electronic Warfare, Mining, Salvager, Remote Repair and Fleet Support/Logistics
Active Modules: Costs energy while active and just affects own ship. Examples: Afterburner, Shield Booster, Hull Repair, Shield/Hull Reinforcing, ECCM, Cloaking and Weapon Upgrades
Passive Modules: Doesnt have an energy cost and are always active. Examples: Energy Recharger, Energy Battery, Armor Plating, Reactor and Cargo/Mobility Upgrades
This module system should seem familiar if you have ever played EVE Online before as its quite similar.
I have only included a small selection of module types so far, but there will be a lot more when the game is finished. If you have any suggestions let me know and I might be able to add them!
Fitting Window
In the screenshot below you can see the fitting window is split into 3 sections. On the left is the ship and module browser, the ship fitting slots are in the center and the ship stats are to the right.
(Click image for fullsize)
You use the browser to drag modules into an available slot in the main fitting area. The fitting area will display the maximum range (for targeted modules), energy usage when active (per/second) and power requirements for each fitted module.
Hovering over any module will show its complete stats and build cost/time. Hovering over the stats on the right will also display a tooltip explaining each value.
Power
Different ship hulls have varying amounts of power which is used by the fitted modules. This limits which modules can be fitted but some module types can increase the available power.
The more advanced and powerful modules will have higher power demands. This is so the basic modules will remain useful (and not become obsolete) when creating setups on a tight power budget.
(Click image for fullsize)
Miscellaneous
In the screenshot above you can see the new ice asteroid graphics in the planetary ring. They are less rounded than the metal ore asteroids. I still dont have a use for them yet but dont really want them to become some kind of fuel resource that you require a constant supply of.
The module buttons along the bottom of the screen now have some finished icons. Decided on using simple colored shapes rather than more detailed icons as I think they fit the abstract visual style quite well.
Development Blog: www.galaxial.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Galaxial
Twitter: @stuart_morgan
Sounds completely awesome. Keep up the good work, Ill be buying your game as soon as it comes out
Ice could be used for water, a trade resource, or processed into hydrogen and oxygen, which would be even more valuable (though not very valuable) trade resources.
Or you could use harvested ice from ice asteroids to permanently improve worlds that have a natural lack of water resources, like volcanic or desert worlds in some way.
Edit: Btw, are the availabel slots limited by the power only, or by seperate numbers? If the different slots have different limits to how many items can be places it would be nice to have the available/used numbers in the title of the corresponding slots (like: passive - 3/5). Unless this is already in, I that case I didn't missed it on the screenshot.
Sorry for the grammer, damn edit timer is to short :p.
Each ship has a different number of slots. It doesn't show in the screenshots, but for empty available slots it will display the text "- Unused Passive Module" etc. so you can see how many there are right away.