- Joined
- Dec 31, 2013
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- 42
Right, faction level PVP is absolutely pointless right now, not the least because of broken weapons and a pain in the ass power system...
But even without those it wouldn't happen on large scales because there is no reason to. There is no reward to the risk.
So instead I propose 3 simple things that will encourage factional PVP and keep newbies out of things that would lead to them being dejected and pushed out of the game.
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1: A proper tier system for Factions.
Factions should be separated into tiers. These tiers have certain FP(hereafter referred to as simply point/s) ranges to be within them. Let's say that Tier 1 is between 0 points and 50 points then Tier 2 could be from 51 points to 150 points, Tier 3 could be 151 points to 250 points, and so on and so on until the top tier of, as an example, 20 where it would be from something like 15,001+ points.
These are just examples and not real world numbers, but they provide a model here.
Now, in order to prevent, say, Tier 7 factions from hunting down Tier 1 factions there could be a lock applied. The ships from the Tier 7 factions could fire on the lower tier ships, but they wouldn't do anything. Just make a lot of flash and color in the air. A 2 or 3 Tier range around each faction level would work for this, so a Tier 5 could attack a Tier 3 and a Tier 7, but not a Tier 8 and the Tier 8 would be similarly unable to attack the Tier 5. No one can attack a Tier 1 or 2 faction bar other Tier 1 and 2s.
Declarations of War, if accepted, should be able to break this rule until a peace treaty is signed or a certain amount of time has passed without any battles.
2: FP Shouldn't be Passive
Points should be gained through physical means. Space Stations, Planetary Bases, Capital Ships. These should all add Points to a faction. Planetary Bases, so long as they are viable, should give the most Points when built and fortified. Each piece of fortification should give differing amounts. Weapon systems should give the most, let's say 5 points for each weapon block, and decorations should only be worth perhaps .5 points. Defenses should give a middling amount depending on the exact defense, shields giving the most and basic armor the least. Each faction should only be able to hold however many planets they can defend, being able to purchase them with credits from the "locals" perhaps. Destroy the faction block or the planet and the points go away.
Second most rewarding to keep and hold are Space Stations beyond your Home Base. Similar rules and guidelines as the above only the point values are halved. These only require a faction block and a build block to be made after all, and thus spamming them shouldn't be an optimal way to get Points. Still, they are big unmoving targets, so there is still a risk to them being found and destroyed by rivals. These could passively gain credits or facilitate trade to allow a faction with many of these to purchase a planet, but that may be too complicated.
Finally, you have Capital Ships. These should give the least amount of Points and should be limited based on your faction's rank. A Tier 1 faction may only have one, Tier 2 may only have 2, and so on. This could be a non-linear growth, a Tier 20 could have 50 or 60 of them, or it could be linear and it would only be allowed to have as many as it's rank. These should have another halving of point values, so they give half the amount that Space Stations give. This is because they can be moved and thus could be a challenge to hunt down. They are also the only real source of Points for the lower ranking factions as they can't yet defend a Space Station nor afford a Planet. They are the most offensive way to gain Points, but also the most vulnerable as they must carefully balance mass put into weapons and defenses and mobility. Ideally they will be the largest ship the faction owns, but the faction leader must decide on that themselves.
3: To the Winner, the Glory
This is all a rather complex and deep system, but it doesn't exactly give a reason to do battle... But why not? Really, it's all because people can't see point values. They can't sort by what faction is the most powerful, which is the least.
What if the galaxy had a Leaderboard? A list of the most powerful factions, a PVP win/loss ratio, the amount of Points they've amassed, how many they've lost overtime, etc. That would provide incentive to fight, to win, to be good enough to reach the top of the Leaderboards. Perhaps the players of those factions at the top could have special cosmetic effects to show that they are the best. They themselves have little reason to challenge those smaller than them... but those who are below, looking on with envy... well, we all know how it is on the top, don't we?
But even without those it wouldn't happen on large scales because there is no reason to. There is no reward to the risk.
So instead I propose 3 simple things that will encourage factional PVP and keep newbies out of things that would lead to them being dejected and pushed out of the game.
----------------------
1: A proper tier system for Factions.
Factions should be separated into tiers. These tiers have certain FP(hereafter referred to as simply point/s) ranges to be within them. Let's say that Tier 1 is between 0 points and 50 points then Tier 2 could be from 51 points to 150 points, Tier 3 could be 151 points to 250 points, and so on and so on until the top tier of, as an example, 20 where it would be from something like 15,001+ points.
These are just examples and not real world numbers, but they provide a model here.
Now, in order to prevent, say, Tier 7 factions from hunting down Tier 1 factions there could be a lock applied. The ships from the Tier 7 factions could fire on the lower tier ships, but they wouldn't do anything. Just make a lot of flash and color in the air. A 2 or 3 Tier range around each faction level would work for this, so a Tier 5 could attack a Tier 3 and a Tier 7, but not a Tier 8 and the Tier 8 would be similarly unable to attack the Tier 5. No one can attack a Tier 1 or 2 faction bar other Tier 1 and 2s.
Declarations of War, if accepted, should be able to break this rule until a peace treaty is signed or a certain amount of time has passed without any battles.
2: FP Shouldn't be Passive
Points should be gained through physical means. Space Stations, Planetary Bases, Capital Ships. These should all add Points to a faction. Planetary Bases, so long as they are viable, should give the most Points when built and fortified. Each piece of fortification should give differing amounts. Weapon systems should give the most, let's say 5 points for each weapon block, and decorations should only be worth perhaps .5 points. Defenses should give a middling amount depending on the exact defense, shields giving the most and basic armor the least. Each faction should only be able to hold however many planets they can defend, being able to purchase them with credits from the "locals" perhaps. Destroy the faction block or the planet and the points go away.
Second most rewarding to keep and hold are Space Stations beyond your Home Base. Similar rules and guidelines as the above only the point values are halved. These only require a faction block and a build block to be made after all, and thus spamming them shouldn't be an optimal way to get Points. Still, they are big unmoving targets, so there is still a risk to them being found and destroyed by rivals. These could passively gain credits or facilitate trade to allow a faction with many of these to purchase a planet, but that may be too complicated.
Finally, you have Capital Ships. These should give the least amount of Points and should be limited based on your faction's rank. A Tier 1 faction may only have one, Tier 2 may only have 2, and so on. This could be a non-linear growth, a Tier 20 could have 50 or 60 of them, or it could be linear and it would only be allowed to have as many as it's rank. These should have another halving of point values, so they give half the amount that Space Stations give. This is because they can be moved and thus could be a challenge to hunt down. They are also the only real source of Points for the lower ranking factions as they can't yet defend a Space Station nor afford a Planet. They are the most offensive way to gain Points, but also the most vulnerable as they must carefully balance mass put into weapons and defenses and mobility. Ideally they will be the largest ship the faction owns, but the faction leader must decide on that themselves.
3: To the Winner, the Glory
This is all a rather complex and deep system, but it doesn't exactly give a reason to do battle... But why not? Really, it's all because people can't see point values. They can't sort by what faction is the most powerful, which is the least.
What if the galaxy had a Leaderboard? A list of the most powerful factions, a PVP win/loss ratio, the amount of Points they've amassed, how many they've lost overtime, etc. That would provide incentive to fight, to win, to be good enough to reach the top of the Leaderboards. Perhaps the players of those factions at the top could have special cosmetic effects to show that they are the best. They themselves have little reason to challenge those smaller than them... but those who are below, looking on with envy... well, we all know how it is on the top, don't we?
