The Spidertron can be controlled remotely, as if the player were inside it. The Spidertron has a smaller companion that serves as a remote-controlled avatar with hands, allowing it to perform building tasks.
Although I have sworn not to post anything here, with all the news about the space age and the gameplay it will bring, there is one thing that bothers me. How will players be able to move themselves across multiple planets in a timely manner? While I'm sure the devs have already considered this and may have solved it in various ways, such as the improved remote presence with bots. Sometimes it's not enough. So, here is a little idea that you can do with as you wish.
We all know and love the Spidertrons. They are our only companions on Nauvis... well, except for those pesky combat boots that can only play fetch nowadays. Anyway, what if our friend could become even a better friend... dare I say... bestie? Here, I propose giving the player the ability to "sit" remotely inside the Spidertron, meaning they can take direct control of it. Not just "go there and destroy anything in your path… and turn it into smithereens!" And let's go even further, let's give the Spidertron a piece of ourselves... OUR SOUL! Oh, sorry, where was I? Yeah... give the Spidertron the ability to launch a little robot that will embody our presence. This little robot will hover around and have hands, indicating "hey, I can build and move stuff around!" The robot will be tethered to the Spidertron with invisible lead and unable to go beyond a certain distance from it under normal circumstances. This is because the Spidertron is the power source and main signal receiver. But that's okay because the Spidertron will follow the little robot around as far as it can. That's also why the little bot hovers, to match the Spidertron's abilities. As for inventory, the little robot will have direct access to the Spidertron's inventory making their inventories one and the same.
Upsides: Gives players the ability to move between planets instantly.
Downsides: The remote body can hover, which is better overall but can't be upgraded with exoskeletons unless its would be a rule of: spiderton exoskelets x robot worker speed research - slower of these two variables is this duo’s maximum speed. After that i guess its not a downside. But with this speed its would be an incetive to player to use this "body" instead if their regular avatar so thats up to your balance perspective.
Potential problems: One concern that comes to mind is what happens with trains? The little robot could be asked to ride a train. To clear a deadlock. But then what if you go over a body of water where a spidertron can't follow? Will it kill the poor little thing? In my opinion, this is one of the selling points, clearing deadlocks on other planets. Without deconstructing the entiere train. So, the easiest solution would be to give the little robot the ability to drive a train, but the train would also be slowed down to match the Spidertrons speed. If, for whatever reason, the little robot leaves the set range from spidertron, a timer will appear above its head, and when it reaches zero, the little robot dies, and the player is returned to their fleshy self.
So, what do you think? Is this idea worth considering ?
PS: Also, my apologies for any typos. English is not my native language, so I may have overlooked something.
