Rescue/Capture/Salvage Gameplay

[thombruce]

You've just destroyed a ship!

The ship sprite has been replaces with an explosion and pieces of debris. Also adrift in space are...

1. Contents of the ship's cargo (with some chance of having been destroyed by the blast instead)
2. The ship's crew and passengers (quickly losing life in the vacuum of space)

You should be able to salvage whatever cargo has survived by flying over it (perhaps provided your ship has a scoop component). If you're fast enough, you should also be able to scoop up the crew and passengers (capturing or rescuing them).

Is this a risky strategy? Perhaps, just like cargo, there is a chance that crew/passengers will be killed in the blast (or otherwise significantly harmed, reducing their survival time). It is conceivable that there will be safer ways to rescue or capture individuals in the future (e.g. by boarding an enemy ship instead, or by negotiating for their transfer). This might create the opportunity for "Dead or Alive" bounties where the risk is worth it, distinct from "Wanted Alive" or "Wanted for Questioning" or rescue scenarios where the risk could result in mission failure.

In the short term, while we await those advanced mechanics, this still could still provide engaging gameplay with cash payments for cargo and crew/passenger acquisitions.

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The enemy might be trying to do the same to you; if they destroy your ship and you are adrift in space, they might try to take you as a prisoner. This isn't The Escapists though, and sitting in a cell might be boring gameplay, but there's opportunity for future gameplay elements here too.

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If your ship is destroyed... should the probability that the player survives be 100%? This would be a player-favouring bias, but might give the player the opportunity to jet over to a helmet and get it on, extending their survivability and chance of rescue... though this might still be an unlikely outcome in remote regions of space or if the player has a bad reputation with the locals. Speaking of which...

Law enforcement; these in particular might be out to capture, rather than kill, the player. But again, how exciting is it to sit in a cell? Not very. Do we simply do what GTA does and advance time some amount until the player has "served" a virtual sentence period? Perhaps also paid a fine.

[thombruce]

This issue will be blocked by #53 - we need combat before we can have combat results.