4Game

Sometimes I think "Wouldn't it be great if we could use a larger ship to carry a single smaller ship with us?" Not to use it as a dropship or as a fighter, but just to carry to a station. The ship would need to use its largest internal compartment.

So you could use your mining Cutter to carry a Clipper or something like that, or you could use a Keelback to carry a Dolphin to a new system, for example.

Of course, if you're destroyed en route, both ships are destroyed.

Personally, I like the dynamic more than transferring ships between stations. So if I'm making 20 jumps with my Keelback, and on the 12th jump, there's a station with a nice passenger mission where I can use my Dolphin, I don't have to wait half an hour for the Dolphin to arrive. [Edit: don't get hung up on the examples — pick two ships that fit, and go with it]

There would be an interesting strategy element regarding which two ships you'd fly together.

From a programming standpoint, it's not too difficult. Modify the shipyard interface so the option 'Store <2nd ship name> on your current ship' appears for each available stored ship. When the ship is selected, check the cargo capacity of the carrying ship, and add appropriate cargo weight. When you arrive at a station, the shipyard option adds 'Store carried ship' if you want to drop it off.

The toughest piece is if the carrying ship is destroyed. There might be more rebuy options, but that's not horribly complex.

What do you think?