| Author |
Some ideas about new player goals that do not involve prestige or medals, but gameplay. |
Malorn
1st Rear Admiral
Joined: December 11, 2003
Posts: 42
From: USA Eastern Time
|  Posted: 2010-10-18 22:02
I was originally writing this for a post in:
http://darkspace.net/index.htm?module=forums.php&page=/viewtopic.php?topic=49601&forum=13&start=0
However it got to long and offtopic, so now it came here.
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Speaking as someone who stopped and started playing Darkspace seventeen times over the last nine years, I completely agree that we need goals that aren't pres gain. Some easy goals to implement are possible, though I would prefer the harder, better goals.
First easy way to create a goal is to record metaverse 'wins'. If players manage to capture the entire metaverse it should be recorded somewhere that such and such a side captured the entire metaverse on such and such a date. Sure, we don't get anything, but those of us who choose sides permanently (myself being ICC) would be happy.
Second easy goal to create is toughened planets, slower building, and harder capping. Someone mentioned that capping a planet doesn't mean anything because it will be retaken later. I agree in large part. Also planets are incredibly easy to capture, and always have been, honestly. I say change that. I should have to bomb a planet for an hour before I could even manage to land troops. Fleets might be able to take a planet in 15 minutes of heavy bombing followed by mass infantry drops. Bombs shouldn't really affect troops that much, since honestly troops are far more durable than building, people can hide in caves, live in bunkers, and generally aren't easy to hit from orbit. You expect me to believe we are using nukes on planets that we then can colonize easily without cleanup?
PD shouldn't be able to block bombs completely as it now can, instead it should be more capable of blocking troop landings, which it now cannot at all. Basically, we should bomb planets in order to be able to land troops on them, not as an alternative. Increased bombing and capping time also means that the enemy would have more time to respond, and bombers would need protection and supply.
(side note: we all remember when bombing was insanely overpowered, it sucked, not saying we should bring that back, just saying that PD should destroy a percentage of bombs launched, not a total number, and that it should take a lot more bombs to damage planets.)
Now, since we have AI builders and since planets cannot automatically build buildings anymore (I think), planets should take more time to build. How to implement that would be an entirely different discussion, but if it takes more time to take and build a planet, planets would be more valuable, and thus players would see them as more important. Builder 'fleets' would be used in cases where a planet was intended to be a frontline base or shipyard planet, whereas backwater planets could be built by AI builders or newbies who needed prestige and practice.
Third and last easy goal creation method: make resources matter more, and on the whole rarer. Repairing a ship from 1% hull with all systems damaged should require at least half as many resources as spawning the ship from scratch. To avoid over-resourcing in backwaters, the AI transports should be allowed to transport resources between systems and even clusters (something which might actually already be happening). Supply drone limits should only be limited by the amount of resources the supply ship carries, and equally planetary depots should deplete resources when used to repair hull and system damage.
Limited resources makes destroying and defending cargo transports far more worth-while for the war effort and the ability of the faction to build more powerful ships like stations or dreadnoughts, something of which I see far to many in the MV. (Some ship caps based on current server population might be a good idea as well, at least for anything larger than a cruiser.) All of this gives players things to do other than engage in large fleet battles. Owning planets matters more if resources are harder to come by. And losing, or having heavily damaged, ships is more costly if repair actually requires resources. Mining ships also become much more important targets, especially if we make it so inhabited planets cannot be mined, but only asteroids(which don't exist) or gas giants. I can see players actually using mining ships under those circumstances, or attacking AI mining ships and defending their own.
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Anyway, I just realized I should make a new topic for this, rather than post in 'Bombs, Beacons and . . .' These are just thoughts, and as such are there only in the hopes that the seeds of the idea are useful to the game designers in some way. If anyone sees something they like about one of these ideas and would like to see what players think, by all means create a topic with a poll for the actual idea, I won't act like they are that important until other players weigh in.
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Malorn
1st Rear Admiral
Joined: December 11, 2003
Posts: 42
From: USA Eastern Time
| Posted: 2010-10-19 11:39
Well now, I just made an idiot of myself. Seems like the devs already are reworking planets along the lines of the middle idea about bombs and captures. Sounds like it will be a great system, I'll just go back to laughing at myself a bit.
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*FTL*Soulless
Marshal
Joined: June 25, 2010
Posts: 787
From: Dres-Kona
| Posted: 2010-10-19 22:25
well expect for what ideas are in game its some great ideas.
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JBud
Marshal
Joined: February 26, 2008
Posts: 1900
From: Behind you.
| Posted: 2010-10-20 00:33
Quote:
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On 2010-10-19 11:39, Malorn wrote:
Well now, I just made an idiot of myself. Seems like the devs already are reworking planets along the lines of the middle idea about bombs and captures. Sounds like it will be a great system, I'll just go back to laughing at myself a bit.
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Don't beat yourself up, some player input on the situation will make the reworking better.
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Eledore Massis [R33]
Grand Admiral
Templar Knights
Joined: May 26, 2002
Posts: 2695
From: tsohlacoLocalhost
| Posted: 2010-10-20 08:21
Adding Topic to my "Interesting Suggestions" List
But yes unfortunately we are planning to re-work the entire planet system, from building to bombing to capture.
Still nice to see we aren't the only ones thinking like this..
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