---
# System prepended metadata

title: Outposts
tags: [Deprecated, Design]

---

{%hackmd theme-dark %}

# Outposts

###### tags: `Deprecated` `Design`

Outposts are primarily trading stations that act as Shiptest’s replacement for cargo and a reliable source for a variety of essential goods and important equipment. In Shiptest, they serve as respite spots and places to replenish resources and upgrade the ship safely and can serve as congregation spots.

## Goals

- Be a reliable way to obtain supplies necessary for standard operations.
- Provide a replacement method of obtaining R&D nodes, machinery, etc.
- Be a congregation point for Shiptesters to gather at in order to RP, trade, and more.
- ENABLE SPACE TRUCKING GAMEPLAY LOOP

## Non-Goals

- Act as super-stores. Outposts should sell general “essential” equipment and a few categories of specialized stock on top of that and not much more.
- Be unintuitive to interact with and obstructive to the round’s flow. Going to an outpost should not feel like a chore.
- Allow for abundance. Shiptest as-is already has problems with its theoretical enforced resource ghetto. Outposts shouldn’t exacerbate this issue.

---

The current idea of Outposts is that they are a new overmap object that players dock at and do four main things:
1. Purchase supplies. As stated above, outposts should provide essentials and some specialized equipment likely based on the faction of the outpost or a prominent departmental selection. The current idea (which is subject to change) is accessing this stock through a console located on the ship or on the outpost itself. Again, this is a planned replacement of sorts for Cargo. Treat it as such.
2. Act as an alternative method for acquiring R&D content and machinery. R&D wise, Outposts can sell disks that unlock a small node or provide a significant point discount to bigger nodes (Like industrial engineering or experimental surgery). Outposts can have anything from boards for quality of life machines like cell chargers and vending machines, to IV drips, design disks, and the occasional firing pin. All of these can depend on the outposts faction affiliation or its departmental association.
3. Expand and modify the ship. This is self-explanatory, seeing as most planets (excluding jungles, for obvious reasons) are unsafe for expansion due to tricky atmos or fauna. The main benefit to expansion at a outpost over a ruin or in normal space is the ability to buy materials or tools as you expand.
4. Be a congregation point. An outpost should give players the opportunity to RP and trade somewhere that doesn't involve boarding another person’s ship and its associated risks. After all, who doesn't love a good space bar scene?

## Potential Changes

When Ship-to-Ship combat is added, people will inevitably ask for the ability to raid outposts. In the opinion poll for outposts, when asked if outposts should be raidable, a majority of people said yes. If outposts were to be raidable, it would be a monumental task that could not be achieved by a single ship, or even a small group – that is, if raiding is added at all.

A major change that will likely occur is an overhaul (or at least adjustment) of paychecks and how credits work in-game. As it stands, players cannot use credits for anything besides Cargo and Vendors, with the occasional use in RP scenarios. This leads to players not really valuing their money, and simply dumping it into the cargo console or forgetting about it for most of the round. While this change will likely need a design doc of its own, it will likely have to come alongside the implementation of Outposts.



