- Joined
- Dec 23, 2014
- Messages
- 110
- Reaction score
- 39
So I don't necessarily have problems with the idea of station decay, but I think the mechanics can use a little work. Currently, you have two types of decayed stations: derelicts, which spawn into the game decayed, and pirate/guild/player owned stations which fall into decay when the station's faction block is destroyed. Salvaging decayed station blocks yields scrap alloy and composite which can be refined into generic materials; on top of that you can also pay to repair the station by going up to the station and pressing M - the cost is essentially the base price of all the blocks on the station.
That being said, a few minor changes to both the delay mechanic itself and the idea of derelict stations will IMO improve gameplay and encourage exploration:
1: Make a station's faction module act like a ship core in terms of damage. Right now, if you destroy a station's faction block, it goes into decay; at that point you can pay to repair the station and put your own faction module on it to replace. I think instead of having the faction module destroyed, it should go into an "overheat" cycle same as a ship core. The difference is, an overheating faction module cannot be interacted with at all until the cycle ends. The station goes into decay at the start of the overheat cycle, and once it is over the faction block resets itself to its max HP but is considered neutral. The overheat cycle would prevent station defenders from merely repairing and re-factioning the station the moment the faction block gets hit; it would basically be a window of opportunity for the attackers to enter the station, kill the defenders, and secure it before claiming it as their own. (This of course applies to player and pirate/trade stations since they are actively manned, but derelicts would spawn with the cycle already completed.)
Alternatively we can utilize an entirely new block instead to act as the control point for the station - but the important part is there needs to be a kind-of "station core" block on the station that cannot be destroyed but can be damaged to force the station into decay. Even after the station decays, this core block needs to be there, because:
2: Require direct interaction with the "station core" block to repair a station. Right now you can go to any part of a decayed station and hit M to repair it. I think this is BS - once you've decayed a station in order to repair it you should have to explore the interior to find the "station core", and only THEN can you restore the station to working order. This means you actually have to get out of your ship and walk around in the ruins of the station, potentially facing security measures and enemies along the way. This would make finding and restoring derelict stations a lot more fun - you'd basically be like Indiana Jones in space, especially with those derelicts that look like a giant space-Vatican or something. It would also encourage EVA and infantry combat, as well as the use of sidearm weapons. Which brings me to my third point...
3: Decayed stations lose their shields and power regen. The whole idea is that a decayed station has been either A) abandoned for centuries, possibly millenia, or B) has a giant chunk blown out of it, and it is decayed because the main systems have shut down and it can no longer function without repairs. Why then, does a derelict station still have full shields and power? It doesn't make sense. I am personally for nerfing shields completely on decayed stations - this would make it possible to damage the station exterior with astronaut weapons so as to "breach and enter" to find the station core as mentioned above. As for power regen, while I don't think it should be completely nerfed, it should at least run at only a trickle of its full power, maybe 1% power regen. The idea is that while the station is derelict or heavily damaged and cannot generate a shield or run at full reactor capacity, it DOES have emergency power systems to run things like lights, elevators... and possibly even a turret or two as a nasty surprise for intruders.
4: Last but not least, make it so that decayed stations only need a small fraction of their base cost to repair and restore. While I totally agree with you that the aforementioned space-Vatican with its ginormous 45k DPS per barrel X 20-barreled god-tier antimatter cannon that would make even Gendo Ikari crap his pants would probably have cost upwards of 1 billion credits building from scratch, keep in mind you're not replacing the entire station, merely restoring the blocks, so why should you pay just as much to restore the station as you would to build it? If you're just repairing the station it should only be a percentage of the actual cost... especially since you deserve at least SOME discount for fighting your way through the traps and space-vermin infestation to reach the station's core (see above). This would make archeological expeditions to explore abandoned stations not only fun but profitable, as you can dismantle the station and sell the parts for their normal prices, then use the cash to fund additional ventures!
Essentially, changing these things would give players an incentive to fight and explore, and would provide an alternative source of income in the form of dismantled station blocks for those who find mining to be boring. At the same time it would make exploration more difficult and dangerous, but engaging and with a definitive reward at the end. Finally it would give you space-hikkikomori a reason to get out of your nice comfy ship and go do outside things.
That being said, a few minor changes to both the delay mechanic itself and the idea of derelict stations will IMO improve gameplay and encourage exploration:
1: Make a station's faction module act like a ship core in terms of damage. Right now, if you destroy a station's faction block, it goes into decay; at that point you can pay to repair the station and put your own faction module on it to replace. I think instead of having the faction module destroyed, it should go into an "overheat" cycle same as a ship core. The difference is, an overheating faction module cannot be interacted with at all until the cycle ends. The station goes into decay at the start of the overheat cycle, and once it is over the faction block resets itself to its max HP but is considered neutral. The overheat cycle would prevent station defenders from merely repairing and re-factioning the station the moment the faction block gets hit; it would basically be a window of opportunity for the attackers to enter the station, kill the defenders, and secure it before claiming it as their own. (This of course applies to player and pirate/trade stations since they are actively manned, but derelicts would spawn with the cycle already completed.)
Alternatively we can utilize an entirely new block instead to act as the control point for the station - but the important part is there needs to be a kind-of "station core" block on the station that cannot be destroyed but can be damaged to force the station into decay. Even after the station decays, this core block needs to be there, because:
2: Require direct interaction with the "station core" block to repair a station. Right now you can go to any part of a decayed station and hit M to repair it. I think this is BS - once you've decayed a station in order to repair it you should have to explore the interior to find the "station core", and only THEN can you restore the station to working order. This means you actually have to get out of your ship and walk around in the ruins of the station, potentially facing security measures and enemies along the way. This would make finding and restoring derelict stations a lot more fun - you'd basically be like Indiana Jones in space, especially with those derelicts that look like a giant space-Vatican or something. It would also encourage EVA and infantry combat, as well as the use of sidearm weapons. Which brings me to my third point...
3: Decayed stations lose their shields and power regen. The whole idea is that a decayed station has been either A) abandoned for centuries, possibly millenia, or B) has a giant chunk blown out of it, and it is decayed because the main systems have shut down and it can no longer function without repairs. Why then, does a derelict station still have full shields and power? It doesn't make sense. I am personally for nerfing shields completely on decayed stations - this would make it possible to damage the station exterior with astronaut weapons so as to "breach and enter" to find the station core as mentioned above. As for power regen, while I don't think it should be completely nerfed, it should at least run at only a trickle of its full power, maybe 1% power regen. The idea is that while the station is derelict or heavily damaged and cannot generate a shield or run at full reactor capacity, it DOES have emergency power systems to run things like lights, elevators... and possibly even a turret or two as a nasty surprise for intruders.
4: Last but not least, make it so that decayed stations only need a small fraction of their base cost to repair and restore. While I totally agree with you that the aforementioned space-Vatican with its ginormous 45k DPS per barrel X 20-barreled god-tier antimatter cannon that would make even Gendo Ikari crap his pants would probably have cost upwards of 1 billion credits building from scratch, keep in mind you're not replacing the entire station, merely restoring the blocks, so why should you pay just as much to restore the station as you would to build it? If you're just repairing the station it should only be a percentage of the actual cost... especially since you deserve at least SOME discount for fighting your way through the traps and space-vermin infestation to reach the station's core (see above). This would make archeological expeditions to explore abandoned stations not only fun but profitable, as you can dismantle the station and sell the parts for their normal prices, then use the cash to fund additional ventures!
Essentially, changing these things would give players an incentive to fight and explore, and would provide an alternative source of income in the form of dismantled station blocks for those who find mining to be boring. At the same time it would make exploration more difficult and dangerous, but engaging and with a definitive reward at the end. Finally it would give you space-hikkikomori a reason to get out of your nice comfy ship and go do outside things.
