Q&A: Drake Kraken Privateer
Following the launch of the Kraken Privateer from Drake Interplanetary, we took your community-voted questions to our designers to give you more information on the recently unveiled capital retail platform.
Special thanks to John Crewe and Tony Zurovec for answering these questions.
Can the Privateer conversion kit be removed once applied, restoring the Kraken to its original state? Can you swap back and forth? No, the kit is a full conversion from one variant to another. To convert between the two in-game, you will need to take the Kraken to a capable shipyard, pay a significant fee, and wait for the work to be completed. This is the same mechanic we will have in place for other capital-tier ship upgrades and customization.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of the Kraken Privateer over the Banu Merchantman? The Kraken’s major advantage is the landing pad array that allows it to function completely independently. The downside is its size – the Merchantman is approximately 1/3 smaller than the Privateer currently.
Will the shops be visited by NPC customers? Yes. It’s envisaged that NPCs will make up 90% of the universe. They’ll be able to land and traverse locations with various routines and will provide the backbone of the wider economy.
Can you detail how shops will be controlled by the player? The very high-level approach will be: - Chose the shop type (weapons, clothing, etc.) - Hire a shopkeeper - Buy stock - Set a profit margin - Sell to players and NPCs
How will people know that you have shops open on your ship? Will information be available on the mobiGlas or map? Currently, there isn’t a specific mechanic to allow owners to advertise that their ship is open for business. However, there are plenty of ways to get the word out, including in-game chat and Spectrum. Plus, the Kraken Privateer isn’t the most subtle ship, so it should get plenty of passing trade if parked in a high-traffic location.
When owners log off, will the Kraken remain online? How will other people take advantage of purchasing, selling, renting, etc. when owners aren’t online? The ship will follow the same rules as others for remaining online: if players are on or nearby, it won’t be removed from play until various conditions are satisfied.
Do I need the Privateer to sell fuel, ammo, weapons, and gear, or can I do that with my normal Kraken (space permitting of course)? The regular Kraken can only refuel, rearm, and resupply ships landed on its pads or in its hangars. These supplies come from the Kraken’s own stock or cargo grid, so in a very rudimentary sense it can, but it doesn’t have any means of safely charging customers.
How big of a ship can fit in the internal hangar? The internal hangars are designed to take ships that fit on the current XS landing pads, such as the Buccaneer and Herald.
Are the private stores scannable by law enforcement (or other players), or is it shielded to some extent? They are shielded from scanning to make them incredibly hard to detect from the outside.
Am I able to use whatever parts of the kit I want and not use others? For instance, can I keep the cargo bay from the Kraken and put two shops in place of the Dragonfly bay? No. You cannot mix and match each variant’s pieces. It’s one variant or the other as the corridors and paths between the various areas differ.
Will the shops, ship repair, refueling, and respawn service work if the Kraken stands on a landing platform on a planet? Yes. The Kraken and other services work independently of the location they’re in. However, as hangars and landing locations have a physical inventory, doing so won’t create a way to infinitely resupply ships as implied.
Will the Privateer have a medical bay, and can one of the shops be a medical clinic to provide medical services? While not originally specced to have a medbay, we are considering adding a very low-level facility when we start active production of the interior.
Does the conversion add any extra security to the internal and external areas of the Kraken due to the added population on board? Aside from the shielded and security patrolled private market, there are no other security features added to the Privateer.
Will this kit be available to earn in-game? The Privateer isn’t just a kit but an entire hull variant. Like all variants, we plan to make everything obtainable in-game with the exception of a few limited-edition ships and variants.