Spacial scanner buff

Suggestions Balance
#1

Ok guys, a small idea.
Seems like many of us think that Spacial scanner (the premium item to use in invasion) is, well, useless.
For something that can cost 5k GS (More than a t3 ship!) we need something better.

Problem : Many loots have specific position on the map, so once you’ve found one, you know where to find it again.

So I had an idea of improvement.
Don’t touch the method of how informations are displayed around the ship, but had more informations.

So :
    Spacial scanner is still a circle around the ship composed with colored vertical bar of different size.

   

    Bar’s height now vary depending of the loots value. The rarest a loot is, the bigger his bar is.

 

    Each loot : One bar. The bar is positioned around the ship in a way that it show where you can find it

 

    A bar have 3 different look : rounded rectangular = loot in the same level as you. Rounded rectangular with an arrow on the top : Item above you.  Rounded rectangular with arrow on the bottom : Item under you.

 

    The nearest the loot is, the thicker the bar is. Bars have minimal width that allow to detect a loot even at 20k range.

 

    Now the bar’s color can vary depending of the loot. Artifacts are green, credit blue, ressources purple, voucher depending of the faction main color,…

 

    Now there’s also bars for ships (Non players), and for special quest items. Red for pirates,… Items/ships linked with quest have a “!” over like in the HUD.

 

    Spacial scanner is now a toggle button. Automatically refresh each times you move or each 10 seconds until it’s deactivated.

 

something like that :

IyJ2qCZ.jpg

This way, you can use it to either find great loots easily or find where’s your mission target.
Too much? Maybe.

#2

Man, if they add mission objective tracking to the spatial scanner, I’m going to get a T5 one right away. It’s not too much at all, since farming is extremely easy without one. If they’re charging gs for a convenience function, might as well actually make it convenient.

#3

Well, for now, I don’t hope to get that much, but still +1.

 

What I concern most, is that the Spacial Scanner refresh its scan manually (Players have to press the designated button again and again). Probably, make it automatically refresh (10 seconds per cycle) once the button is toggled. Additionally, the signal is most visible at the start of each cycle, and dilute gradually until it is almost invisible at the end of each cycle. Also, if a player press the scanner button again, the scanner will turn off at the end of its current refresh cycle. 

 

The color display of the scanner is not so ideal. A strong color such as red will cover other colors if they overlapped each other (from the same direction). Maybe adding more circles (rings) onto the display of scanner will solve this out. Therefore, colors in the same direction will be shown on different rings instead of overlapping. 

 

And the last problem. When aliens are in a sector, it’s very hard to distinguish the difference among colors (e.g. green and blue \ yellow, orange and red). Modify the background color for alien invasion will probably fix this. 

#4

Well, I didn’t reflect that much on the color code. Maybe beeing able to choose them with options?

And, of course 2 bar in the same direction won’t overlap. Else it would be weird.

PS : added auto refresh idea.

#5

+1. ATM this thing is pretty much useless and a waste of rl money.

#6

I’m doing right now a small sketch to show how it would look like in-game. I know that I was not really clear because of my english.

#7

Added some example (Text as caption).

IyJ2qCZ.jpg

 

#8

Sketch: More rings for the Spacial Scanner. 
 
http://t57-3.yunpan.360.cn/p/800-600.3b30ef50ab09e637161e1d8c1d3379544eb230c6.eb1917.jpg?t=606a7aa0031146ed41af609ea9ea5ca7&d=20140912

#9

Sketch: More rings for the Spacial Scanner. 

 

http://t57-3.yunpan.360.cn/p/800-600.3b30ef50ab09e637161e1d8c1d3379544eb230c6.eb1917.jpg?t=606a7aa0031146ed41af609ea9ea5ca7&d=20140912

I was more thinking about something like that : 

A7CGyuK.png

 

More ring can overload the display. One ring but force elements displayed to not overlap should be enough.

The further loots are, the less they take place on the ring. And if you go in the direction of the further loot, his size will grow and his position displayed will be more accurate.