Ship upgrading idea: Flagships

NaffNaffBobFace

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I was chatting nonsense on Spectrum and came up with a concept that might just work for TEST.

I was thinking about Orgs and how with all the capital ships players are going to have there is going to be a certain degree of inefficiency in upgrading them to their most potent.

Say, for instance, you are in an org with 5 Idris all with LTI do you try to upgrade all of them at one time and it will take X amount of time to get some potent craft, or do you do them one at a time and get a top teir Idris in a 5th of the time with 4 stock loadouts you can use as bruisers while the upgraded one becomes the tip of the spear...

So, a flagship system where the orgs intention is to get every cap ship to max power but in such a way as to minimise the slapdown potential to destruction and insurance claim risk...?

What do we think, could an org the size of TEST benefit from an orderly queue or a free for all?

I don't think anyone is playing the game to wait for their upgrade ticket to be called, but then I don't think having all ships climbing the tech tree at once is going to be very efficient...
 

maynard

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I'm still waiting to find out why we will be having capital ship battles with other orgs

CIG is happy to sell us expensive ships, but so far there are no incentives to use them

what will be the conflict drivers?
 

Aramsolari

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what will be the conflict drivers?
Hopefully scarcity of resources or access to lucrative mission givers. EVE online gets around this by making access to the best territory (rich in mining, missions, etc.) something only top player run Alliances have access to. Wars that raged on for months were fought over tiny but rich areas of player owned space. I don't know how PVP is going to be in SC PU but if they want longevity for this game, they'll need to give players the tools to start shit up.
 

Talonsbane

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The answer is envy. We're the largest org with the most amount of backers & thus ships. Other orgs are going to want to get their cap ships fully upgraded to try to knock us off the mountain of awesomeness. Unfortunately for them, most of us are either passed out drunk or using the restrooms to make more room for more drinks, while the rest of us are making food & beverage runs.

So those other orgs will spend all that time grinding hard to beat us at a race that we're already lined up & partying on the other side of the finish line to see who arrives next. Cheers!
 

stockish

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I'm still waiting to find out why we will be having capital ship battles with other orgs

CIG is happy to sell us expensive ships, but so far there are no incentives to use them

what will be the conflict drivers?
It is simple, you see that other guy over there? Screw that guy and blow his ship up! Given that we can also have land rights, can see that be a way too.
 

maynard

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Hopefully scarcity of resources or access to lucrative mission givers. EVE online gets around this by making access to the best territory (rich in mining, missions, etc.) something only top player run Alliances have access to. Wars that raged on for months were fought over tiny but rich areas of player owned space. I don't know how PVP is going to be in SC PU but if they want longevity for this game, they'll need to give players the tools to start shit up.
exactly

so far we have no game mechanics like Eve Online's and Chris Roberts has said players will not be able to corner the markets to create scarcity
 

maynard

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It is simple, you see that other guy over there? Screw that guy and blow his ship up!
we need to be able to profit from war

no one will risk losing ships for no gain
Given that we can also have land rights, can see that be a way too.
if those land rights meant control of scarce resources, that would work

but 90% of the economy will be NPCs that will prevent player monopolies
 

maynard

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I'm sitting in the back of the room listening to everyone argue about org capital ship battles while watching news about how the vanduul fleet is gearing up to kill us all.
over time even the best AI-driven NPCs will be figured out, and defeating them will become routine

only player vs player provides the opportunity for truly epic combat
 

NaffNaffBobFace

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over time even the best AI-driven NPCs will be figured out, and defeating them will become routine

only player vs player provides the opportunity for truly epic combat
Until CIG has a slow day in the office and 500 devs come out in a Vanduul fleet and slap the grins off some faces ;)

Here's a thought: Server meshing etc doesn't need to show an enemy fleet as what it is to the other side. CIG could send out false reports to a pair of Orgs that a Vanduul fleet is incoming, they both roll out and CIG shows the opposing team as Vanduuls.

Voila, human on human play without either side knowing they are playing against people rather than 'bots.

Also, the Metagame isn't really in yet. We had a taste of it with the upstarting then quietly fading of TQR etc (they said TEST wasn't worth bothering with, we must have intimidated them with out unique command structure) and once those bunch of loons start trying to tip the cart it's only a matter of time before you are rolling your toys out to whatever conflict they have dreamed up to occupy you while they screw the nature of existence over in the background.
 

Mich Angel

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I'm still waiting to find out why we will be having capital ship battles with other orgs

CIG is happy to sell us expensive ships, but so far there are no incentives to use them

what will be the conflict drivers?
Biggest conflict driver will be the Vanduul and pirates... from Lore.
Then there is pirate individuals and orgs.... then add some local here and there and think there be plenty for those who looking for trouble/action.. etc..

CHEERS! 🍻
 

BUTUZ

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what will be the conflict drivers?
Revenge!!!!

When some bully boy decides to destroy my Aurora into smithereens for no reason, I expect you guys to jump in with 5 fully upgraded Idrii to teach the bully boy a lesson!! :D
 

Deroth

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Revenge!!!!

When some bully boy decides to destroy my Aurora into smithereens for no reason, I expect you guys to jump in with 5 fully upgraded Idrii to teach the bully boy a lesson!! :D
Even though that is a more compelling love story than Twilight, it isn't compelling enough for that level of retaliation unless there was beer spilled or destroyed.
 

Thalstan

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Who says it needs to be PC on PC for Capital Ships? (edited to add objectives and context)

Scenario...

Vanduul invasion of a fringe system. UEE has requested all available help to help to beat back the invasion, or to fight a delaying action until the civilian population can be evacuated. This might be a 3 month operation and the ourcome could depend on how many resource points/missions each side has at the end of the event. If the UEE wins, the system stays with the UEE. IF the Vanduul wins, the system moves to a Vanduul system. UEE points can be gained by successfully completing UEE missions, and removed by doing pirate missions.

Available missions:
Seek out enemy forces - Before we can attack, we need to know where the enemy is, and how strong they are. Find their forces and report back so we can hit them hard. (scouts and explorers);
Evacuate Civilians - Our civilian population is trapped on that planet/moon/station. We need you to go there and get as many people your ship can support off. Watch out, there has been enemy activity (or not) in the area. Get them to one of our staging ground or out of the sytem depending on your resources.(transports),
Bring supplies to the front - our troops need fresh supplies if they are going to hold the line. Bring in resources (good, ground vehicles, etc) to help them stem the tide. (haulers)
Refuel and repair missions - Our fleet just finished an engagement with some Pirates/Valduul. We need them patched up, fueled, and re-armed so they can get back into the fight. (Vulcans, Starfarers, Crucibles)
Recover the missing ships - Some of our ships didn't make it back from the last mission, but we took them all out. We need to go out and recover any usable materials. Scrap the rest so we can reprocess it. (Vulture, Reclaimer);
Escort - Some of the civilians are making a run for the jump point. Meet-up with them and escort them to the jump point and make sure they get out, then come back. (fighters/gunships/etc),
Combat missions - We have a target for you/your group/your fleet. There is a Vanduul (ship/base/capital ship) that's off on it's own. We don't know how long it will vulnerable before their escorts/carrier returns, so get in there and eliminate the threat. (fighters, bombers, capital ships, ground assaults, etc)

Counter/PvP missions - pirates looking to capitalize on the invasion:
Snatch and Grab - There is a lot of tech and resources being left behind as people scramble to evacuate the system. We want you to go in and disassemble some of the habitats or loot some of the abandoned stores. (Pioneer, haulers and Troop Transports)
Get the WiDoW out - We had a few production facilities of...questionable product. We want to ensure that we get any remaining product out of the system before we're locked out and while no one is really looking too hard during the scramble. Give us a hand moving this to one of our safe houses out system. (haulers blockade runners)
Find the safe route - With us scrambling to grab everything we can during the panic, we don't want to drawn attention to ourselves by running headfirst into a UEE battle group. Find out where the UEE and Vanduul are so we can plot a safe route out of the system without attracting undue attention (scouts and explorers)
Appropriate the leftovers - The last battle left quite a bit of material drifting around. Go grab what you can. If it works or you can make it work, great. If not, scrap it and bring it in. (repair and salvage ships)
Look what we have here - We have someone inside the UEE funneling us some contracts. We just got word that a nice shipment of battle goods is being readied for shipment to the front. Get there and either capture the shipment in flight, or get the contract yourself and bring the goods back to our safehouse.
Protect the base - The UEE (or Valduul) have been operating close to one of our bases of operations. We need combat ships ready to intercept and down these ships if they enter scanner range. Be sure to use ships that look like the opposing faction to prevent suspicion from falling on us. (combat ships)
Weaken the UEE - the time has come to weaken the UEE. While this system is lost, if we take out some of their Frigates, we have prevent them from poking their nose in our business in other places for at least a year or two. Engage their forces and bring them to their knees. (combat and sabotage), etc
 
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