Some thing I wanted to try but never got around to or never got to work include a 'HoloEmitter' function for specific ships. Like the one the Romulan Shadow has in the Armada series, or the Defiant offshot in the ST:Away Team game.
Also: There is a mod that lets Borg ships assimilates other ships. (At least i think there is one), I wanted to make that assimilated status not only be a team switch, but add additional 'borgified' hull parts to the assimilated ships. These may include additional weapon hardpoints, such as the launchers Yoyager got in 'Scorpion', or may just be visual borg-stuff added to the hull without functionality.
I could see all these working. Holo Emitter you'd want to change the model and keep your ship's hardpoint; seems simple enough (I'm going to give this a try today). Assimilated ships would be a similar set of code, except you'd also change the hardpoint associated with the new (Borgified) model. This would, however, require a new model and texture for every model you'd want to appear Borgified.. Unless there is a way to attach some kind of universal texture which can then be overlayed onto the existing ships texture via scripting.. or attach models to the hull (which would be beyond my ability at the moment)
Holo-emitter: Rather than trying to project a bunch of models and switching up all the teams (for ease of use and coding as well) I will be attempting a self-projecting holo-emiter (making you appear as a member of the enemy race/fleet). I would like to code in some checks to see what race the attacking ship is, either pTarget or GetRaceFromShipType, so we know from which race we should pick our random ship model. Update the model (if possible) but remain using the original hardpoint (may need to load new hardpoint then reload the old hardpoint to the new model). A switch of your team to FriendlyGroup, with event timer on shield hit to change back to original team (but keeping the emitter active). A timer for how long the effect will last uninterrupted. If I want to get fancy with it, I will code in a chance to appear as Neutral (Marauder, Freighter etc.) And if I wanna get REAL fancy I'll see about adding a modified cloaking effect (or call the cloaking/decloaking code for a split second while the model changes). 12/23/19: Upon examining several files I believe grabbing code from Defiant's Abandon Ship.py will ultimately yield our Holo-emitter. I've got the interface button and some supporting code, just need the beef and potatoes now. The idea that instead of launching a set of escape pods, you instead launch a duplicate of your current target. Although I do have access to Self Manheim mod, perhaps I should have a look there as well for clues
12/24: Once I figure out how to manipulate PodModel feature of AbandonShip I will have a ship with a crude holo-emitter. Worked on it all day until my brain hurt, gonna give it a rest for a few days
an easier way to create and add systems for use and exploration, and a little more diversity in crew species. I have several ideas for bringing in TAS species. also;Kzin
I had this thought just last night, and it's a big reason why I created this topic. As it is now, I believe the console allows you to place ships and planets, suns etc... But it would be nice to have some kind of added menu, perhaps in the main menu, that when clicked on, brings you to a system building menu where you can design your own star system or even set of star systems, ships on the map, planets, and anomalies (black holes, nebulae). Perhaps even go a step further and add planet size, density, etc etc...
Great ideas so far