Ship IDs

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

I have another question: How will ship ID codes work? In X3AP, it started with the race, ship class, then a hyphen followed by a random letter and numbers. That would help us better identify the ship without diving into menus. The ones I have seen in X4 seem to not make much sense.

Here's an example, from the Drill. It starts off with an A for Argon, but then takes a trans-orbital accelerator ride to places unknown, and I'm confused. How can I tell the class from the new ID code format?

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[CBJ]

The letters and numbers in the ID codes in X4 have no particular meaning. We did consider the X3 system of a prefix and/or letter codes having meanings, but for a variety of reasons that turned out to be problematic.

[Crimsonraziel]

Is there an option to hide these IDs? Since the IDs carry no useful information, once I own a couple of ships they just turn to clutter. I might remember what AAJ-477 was and what it's task was for the first couple of ships, but this wont work for 100+ ships. At least not for me.

[CBJ]

No, there isn't an option to turn them off. Remember that they also apply to NPC ships, so if there are 4 ships of the same type flying around and you're trying to find one of them for a mission, it's quite important to be able to know you have the right one. They are sufficiently varied that you shouldn't need to remember the whole code to identify a ship you're looking for; just part of it should normally be enough.

[Crimsonraziel]

Maybe I'm the oddball in that case. But I didn't use the IDs in previous X games for anything. Mission targets were marked anyway. My own assets had their own ID system which not only helped to identify them but also (just as an example) told me how to set up the replacement when the "ship destroyed" message arrived.

I guess I just have to live with it.

[Blower68]

As far as I remember, those IDs are now shown correctly on the ships hull (not static paints but real ID number). That lead me to the question: Are we able to change those IDs on our own ships?

[Crimsonraziel]

I asked that a while ago and (unless my memory tricks me) the answer was no.

Edit: It tricked me indeed. The thread derailed quickly and there was no definitive answer at the end.

[spacecoyote99]

No, there isn't an option to turn them off. Remember that they also apply to NPC ships, so if there are 4 ships of the same type flying around and you're trying to find one of them for a mission, it's quite important to be able to know you have the right one. They are sufficiently varied that you shouldn't need to remember the whole code to identify a ship you're looking for; just part of it should normally be enough.

I was thinking about that, is there an option like in the older games to label/name our ships? Might get a little problematic to remember IDs when you end up with a few hundred of em.

[PabloRSA]

i would assume you can rename them
Use the old method of assigning letters and numbers to the ship type and job.

so example, Drill (M-X1-O)
Miner - Sector X1 - Gathering Ore

[DaMuncha]

In X3 I didnt allways know the names of each ship to say was in what class. There were far too many ships to remember and I'd only seen half of them in my game. So I would know to stay away from a bunch of M3 ships when I was in my M4 becuase they had they were labled as such so I could pick my fights. And I knew what they were armed with comparing a TS to a TM to a M6. Yes I know that the M designation system got messed up when they added M6,7,8 classes of ships to the game but they should at label Trade ships and TS and Scouters as S, rather than all ships, trade, combat, and scout to be listed as S if they are just smaller in size.

[Crimsonraziel]

i would assume you can rename them
Use the old method of assigning letters and numbers to the ship type and job.

so example, Drill (M-X1-O)
Miner - Sector X1 - Gathering Ore

I'm pretty sure the part in brackets is not part of the ship name itself for a couple of reasons. Also if you could edit that part you could also just remove it from the ship name and I believe CBJ would have pointed that out in his answer to my question.

[ZaphodBeeblebrox]

Looks to me like the ship name is Drill and the ID in brackets is separate. I would assume that you can change the name part but not the ID.

[jamesdehunter]

I'm happy with that, I always name my ships with certain tags to help me see at a glance who what and where.

[PabloRSA]

i would assume you can rename them
Use the old method of assigning letters and numbers to the ship type and job.

so example, Drill (M-X1-O)
Miner - Sector X1 - Gathering Ore

I'm pretty sure the part in brackets is not part of the ship name itself for a couple of reasons. Also if you could edit that part you could also just remove it from the ship name and I believe CBJ would have pointed that out in his answer to my question.

CBJ Pointed out that this if for race ships, did not mention player ships.. Indeed race ships need it for missions to identify them if there is no target triangle or arrows pointing to the mission ship and there is more than 1 on the map how would you know which ship without an ID.
But as player ships wont be part of the missions and may have unique names, this should be free for the player to change at will.

edit:
Then again, after thinking about it, if you get your ship is under attack and have drill and same id then it will be hard to tell so maybe the ship ID wont be able to change for user which is a shame, unless they make it changable but must be unique
Maybe M-X1-O-001 , M-X1-O-002

[Crimsonraziel]

i would assume you can rename them
Use the old method of assigning letters and numbers to the ship type and job.

so example, Drill (M-X1-O)
Miner - Sector X1 - Gathering Ore

I'm pretty sure the part in brackets is not part of the ship name itself for a couple of reasons. Also if you could edit that part you could also just remove it from the ship name and I believe CBJ would have pointed that out in his answer to my question.

CBJ Pointed out that this if for race ships, did not mention player ships.. Indeed race ships need it for missions to identify them if there is no target triangle or arrows pointing to the mission ship and there is more than 1 on the map how would you know which ship without an ID.
But as player ships wont be part of the missions and may have unique names, this should be free for the player to change at will.

edit:
Then again, after thinking about it, if you get your ship is under attack and have drill and same id then it will be hard to tell so maybe the ship ID wont be able to change for user which is a shame, unless they make it changable but must be unique
Maybe M-X1-O-001 , M-X1-O-002

First of all if any of my ships was under attack it used to blink red in every interface. I didn't even have to look for its name to find the right one.
Second, you couldn't change the IDs in previous X games and CBJ didn't say anything about it being possible this time. What is your reason to believe otherwise?

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

Ok, so it's pretty much like a license plate. Bummer. While I did like the X3 system (as it allowed me, playing an X game for the first time), to learn the ship classes, it wouldn't make much sense in the new system. While you may not be able to tell an M4 from an M3 at a distance, the difference between an M and L ship are quite apparent.

[BlackDog]

Is there anyway to change your ship ID? So say instead of saying AG098B on the side of the ship, you have it say "The Saucy Mare" or perhaps "The Manatee"

[Drewgamer]

Is there anyway to change your ship ID? So say instead of saying AG098B on the side of the ship, you have it say "The Saucy Mare" or perhaps "The Manatee"

So far there doesn't seem to be any definitive answer on that. We do know for sure (CBJ mentioned earlier in this thread) that you can NOT turn them off though.
My only guess is that you can change the NAME of your ships but not that unique, licence plate-like number.

[BlackDog]

Awww, well if its not in vanilla, we can all be sure that someone will eventualy mod it in

Id much rather my ship have this on the side of the hull



Than 2JZ-GTE.

Space cookie for anyone who can spot the ship reference above.

[atavistuk]

A EvE Online Machinema

Incidently...
"HOW MUCH?!?"