• Cut scenes showing landings and flights into space from port
• Use Screen wipes between scenes instead of loading screens
• Have one or two smaller docking bays attached to the main port perhaps
• For larger cities have two or three smaller docking bays scattered about with ships taking off and landing in them all the time.
• Can get ship at any of these docking bays.
• Go to terminal, select bay your ship is in. Given a number, can also search by name and see if it’s public or private.
• Docking fees.
• Repair and decorate ship while on the ground.
• Hire services to load your ship with droids or hired help.
• Have encounters where mission NPCs try to chase you off planet or ambush you (shots do half damage in there).
• Can open docking bay to friends so they can reach your ship, must be in the same city. Can give group access.
• Instanced area vanishes, any personnel inside bay are kicked to doors/terminal, bay number becomes free again for next user.
• Possibility of larger, wider bays accommodating more than one ship, probably guild-owned.
• TIE fighters and other craft without gear land on special retractable struts on the ground, with ladder moving up for egress.
• Have customs officers patrol around public spaceport but not private docking bays.

Cutscenes for landing and taking off should be in wide screen so that you can still chat if you need to.

 

Landing events for the public to see should be staged every so often, such as a trio of TIE’s taking off, or an imperial shuttle landing. What I’d most like is for someone’s custom ship to land periodically. If there are more than one landing at a time, then choose one randomly and only show one every landing cycle to keep things consitant. Both ships have landed, but the public outside is only seeing one at a time.

 

Have screens in spaceport of ships already docked in docking bays. If possible have animations playing of ships coming and going (not real, just recorded images).

 

Cutscenes should be toggle-able between 3 rd person and 1 st person with the flick of a switch…or have it randomly go back and forth, or let it be selectable from a menu.

• Landing
• Accept fees, if any, Landing initiated
• Cut to scene of your ship descending on planet
• Wipe to view of ship passing over city (instanced, and not related to real city), docking bay number appearing on screen readout, and landing in docking bay
• Cut to ship thrusters firing and ship landing and boarding ramp or cockpit opening and you getting out.
• You appear in landing area.
• You can then run to terminals in area for services or run out doors, which will spit you out into public spaceport area.
• Taking off
• Run to spaceport
• Pass public doors and go to docking bay doors
• Access terminal, choose ship
• Others joining you not in your group (or maybe you have to group) must look up registry, search for your name or use the bay number you give them to appear in the lobby just outside your ship
• Enter your ship
• Animation of you boarding
• In ship, go to cockpit and select initiate launch
• Cut to scene of ship lifting off and passing over instanced city (no traffic?).
• Wipe to ship rising into orbit
• Control returned to your ship via third or first person
• Initiate jump calculations or use Hyperspace screen manually.

 

Possible to rent private docking bays for a fee like a house? Rather than just temporary storage, this stays on one planet and you can assign regular or automatic services for your ship right when you land. You can also decorate it how you like it. Think of it as a personal housing near your ship, a home port in the city, but expensive. Maybe allow guilds to get this for their player ships, capacity dependent on size and cost of landing area. Used for guild-own ships only, not privately owned. Useful for trade ships, multiplayer ships, and the like.

 

By renting a docking bay (and hiring an NPC co-pilot), you can hire your ship out for passenger or cargo transport when you’re not using it. This would allow players to run up to a docking bay, browse the register (for prices, range, and cargo capacity), book passage, then travel to their destination by clicking on the co-pilot standing by the ship. Regular transport at the city star port won’t allow you to transfer your belongings with you, like your house, but a player’s ship would. It’s all automatic and the money is downloaded into your account. Every ticket accrues maintenance and wear and tear on the ship depending on how often it’s used and how far they’re going. If you’ve bought a ticket, even if the pilot has taken off, you can still fly out with your cargo. Your goods are held in a storage compartment at your last stopover or in the starport. You can retrieve them whenever you have the inventory space to take it to you final surface destination.

 

Docking Bay, Hanger Bay, or Starpad? Byblos should have Imperial-type hanger bays in city starport. Same with other planet metropolises.

 

Travel Rules

NPC Starport

• Commercial Travel to NPC Starport
• Commercial Travel to Extra-planetary Starport
• Commercial Travel to Neutral Station
• Ship Travel to NPC Starport
• Ship Travel to authorized Player Docking Bay
• Ship Travel to authorized Faction Base Docking Bay
• Ship Travel to Extra-planetary Starport
• Ship Launch to Planetary Orbit à Hyperspace
• Ship Launch Planetary Orbit à Neutral Station

Player/Faction Docking Bay

• Ship Travel to NPC Starport
• Ship Travel to authorized Player Docking Bay (also allied city, allied guild, race faction, etc.) – can’t just zip to any strange city’s docking bay
• Ship Travel to authorized Faction Base Docking Bay
• Ship Launch to Planetary Orbit

Neutral Station

• Commercial Travel to Extra-planetary Neutral Station
• Commercial Land at surface NPC Starport
• Ship Land at surface NPC Starport
• Ship Land at authorized Player Docking Bay
• Ship Land at authorized Faction Base Docking Bay

Orbit

• Ship Dock at Neutral Station
• Ship Dock with Capital Ship
• Ship Go to Hyperspace
• Via Station, Ship landing at surface NPC Starport
• Via Station, Ship land at authorized Player Docking Bay
• Via Station, Ship land at authorized Faction Base Docking Bay

For a player ship to travel to other Starports without having to hyperspace, they must use option from NPC Starport

More notes:

• Have Flight charter terminals located in the starport, docking bays, or cantina (perhaps even the bartender imself is a charter terminal to book passage on player ships).
• Perhaps customizing and outfitting your ship takes an NPC city starport’s services. Can’t be done in a player docking bay – too small, not specialized (only for convenience, refueling, cargo, and repairs).
• Renting a hanger (expensive) allows you to store a few items there, such as spare parts and ammo