Ideas for system capture mechanics

[silverfoe]

Just saw this video.
I think it would be pretty awesome if something similar existed in starmade when there will be few systems in the universe of value.

Have you guys got any ideas on how capturing systems could work in the universe update and onwards etc?

 

[Cluwne]

To be honest that does seem a bit tedious, especially for the apathetic half-dead """community""" of this game after years of lethargy. No one would even bother with system capture if it took a bloody week to jump through all the hoops.
Plus there's a thing called timezone - not everyone's living in the same timezone and EVE is well-knows for "timezoning" aka attacking when the other side is sleeping, that takes place in corp war.
Random "defense window" can put either side at severe disadvantage, non-random one will put the defending side at disadvantage since the enemy has the luxury of choosing the time of attack which would determine the "defense window".
All in all, needs a lot more thought put into this.

 

[JinM]

The few things I read about eve all contained a spoiler for a very toxic community. I think that's due to some gameplay this game has. So everything that comes from Eve should be measured very carefully. And the chokepoint mechanic is one of this high competetive features. If this mechanic would be suited for PVE only it would be a different story. Rather than such sort of universe I would love to have a pvp calender ingame where I can plan appointments to pvp with others. That doesn't mean I don't like this chokepoint idea in general, but I would like to see a pvp where the competetiveness stays on a nice level and can't turn into toxicity because there is too much competition.

 

[Scypio]

Have you guys got any ideas on how capturing systems could work in the universe update and onwards etc?

Plenty of theses suggestions got formuled in the past in the suggestion forum and most of them, if not all, got ignored. Maybe it's planned, maybe it'll never be a thing and we'll stick to the old faction's homebase claim. Nobody knows except schine and they don't intend to share anything about it so... Wait and see. Wait and see...

Rather than such sort of universe I would love to have a pvp calender ingame where I can plan appointments to pvp with others.

Go into your server's forum, organize a tournament. Done. Pvp on a regular basis. You'll soon see why nobody does it, that's boring as hell.

 

[Crimson-Artist]

The way id do it is to have a system where players need to set up at command center space stations in a system claim it. The more stations you set up the more influence over the system you will have. if someone wants to take over that system from you they have to destroy all of your command center stations. you only need one command center station but its more beneficial to have several in case one or more get destroyed.

a station can be designated as a command center from the faction module. to stop players just filling the entire 16x16x16 sectors of a system out with command center stations each station will have a maintenance cost of either faction poitns, credits or both that is taken every faction turn. Also each additional command center station will have a progressively increasing cost based on the amount of CC stations there are in a particular system to further discourage players. this will make players consider where their influence should be in terms of their empires. the more important systems will have more CC stations while less important ones may only have one or two.

perhaps influence could be an additional game mechanic where it effects the effectiveness of AI fleets or something. As an attacking force destroys more CC stations your influence in that system goes down and your AI fleets either dont respond to attacks as fast or maybe the dont respond at all.

 

[Cluwne]

Well here's the clown's ramblings of a madman:

First we introduce a new intentionally expensive block - a "faction enhancer" for the lack of a better name, which connects to faction block, read further for explanation.

Spoiler: Here's how the system claiming works

• Build a station, put down the faction block, hit "claim system".

• Then you click "mark as system hub" in the same faction block menu.
This marks the station as the "system hub" - your main station in the system and the one that is controlling it.
Only one is allowed per system and there is a cooldown period before you can designate new station as such after losing the last one.
Note: hub cooldown is per-system.

• You then build another station somewhere in the system and place the faction block
In it's menu you hit the "mark as system outpost" to designate the station as the system outpost.
Once there is an outpost in the system, after a short delay the hub and everything docked to it become invulnerable.

• If you want more outposts you must construct additional pylons "faction enhancers" and place them on the system hub.
Those blocks take energy and the more there are such blocks on the station - the more energy they will require.
An outpost relinquishes it's "hub capacity" only when it's faction block is destroyed.

• Once there is more than one outpost, all but one become invulnerable as well, with this "vulnerability window" cycling between the stations.
Note: there is a delay before the newly constructed outpost becomes invulnerable.

Spoiler: Here's what you do to capture the system

• First you scan the system and locate all the outposts, provided Schine would allow the use of stealth drive on stations. Hub is always visible.

• Then you either wait for the vulnerability window to cycle or attack the currently vulnerable outpost.
Whether to board and use scanners to locate the faction block for torching or blow the whole thing to smithereens is entirely up to you.
After one outpost gets disabled next one becomes vulnerable.

• Once there are no defenders' outpost in the system a countdown starts, when it finishes the system hub becomes vulnerable.
The countdown is in place to give the defenders time to assemble the fleet and prepare to defend the hub.

• When the hub is disabled the system becomes neutral again, ready to be claimed.

In addition. I'd also add the "warp gate" designation that provides the same invulnerability hub gets with none of it's limitations.

With a system like that we could, theoretically, do away with the homebase invulnerability.

 

[silverfoe]

The way id do it is to have a system where players need to set up at command center space stations in a system claim it. The more stations you set up the more influence over the system you will have. if someone wants to take over that system from you they have to destroy all of your command center stations. you only need one command center station but its more beneficial to have several in case one or more get destroyed.

a station can be designated as a command center from the faction module. to stop players just filling the entire 16x16x16 sectors of a system out with command center stations each station will have a maintenance cost of either faction poitns, credits or both that is taken every faction turn. Also each additional command center station will have a progressively increasing cost based on the amount of CC stations there are in a particular system to further discourage players. this will make players consider where their influence should be in terms of their empires. the more important systems will have more CC stations while less important ones may only have one or two.

perhaps influence could be an additional game mechanic where it effects the effectiveness of AI fleets or something. As an attacking force destroys more CC stations your influence in that system goes down and your AI fleets either dont respond to attacks as fast or maybe the dont respond at all.

What would the difference be here compared to how it is currently apart from more stations needing to be destroyed for the system ownership to change? Right now I don't like that people can take over your systems even when they're offline they can lose all their systems.

Cluwne solid idea, though I'm wondering, what would you think is a good method to encourage capturing a system? I mean even if someone owns the system, nothing is really stopping you from ninja mining their belts (with a reduced bonus) but still worthwhile if resource scarcity exists in the universe update. Id think perhaps ability to claim planets, and you have some kind of passive generation of resources that can be achieved through planets. If you own the system, these are invulnerable...maybe.

Also perhaps if you have npcs you own the system you have ability to send the npc "natives" of the system in fleets to regularly scout asteroid belts for intruders?

 

[Cluwne]

silverfoe
First of all - the resources. Though now it's not really a reason to expand, the future universe update seemed to be centered around scarcity and forced interaction between factions that have access to that specific resource.

I like reversed faction point mechanic, with FPs generated by the hubs and requiring connection to the homebase, whether through claimed neighboring systems or warpgates leading to claimed systems, all the way to the HB, to "send" those points to be used somewhere.
So by severing this connection you would cut off the homebase and the faction from those points, possibly purchased effects too.

Right now FPs don't seem to do anything, so I'd have them being used to "purchase" some faction bonus, like even more mining bonuses for systems with rare resources. Whether for a single system or the entire faction space, one-time purchase or an automatic FP spending. The new effect system would be perfect for such mechanic.
Should NPCrew make an appearance, I wouldn't oppose also being able to spend the faction points to hire bunch of crew members for assignment to various ships and stations.

 

[Crimson-Artist]

What would the difference be here compared to how it is currently apart from more stations needing to be destroyed for the system ownership to change? Right now I don't like that people can take over your systems even when they're offline they can lose all their systems.

well more points to attack means that its harder for an attacker to take the whole system. AI fleets patrolling your system will be a thing but it wont mean a thing if an enemy fleet can just jump relatively undetected and blow up one station and suddenly the system is lost. more points of attack means that there will be time to defend yourself.

im not entirely sure there will be a system in place that completely protects you when you are offline that isnt completely overpowered/abuse able. any persistent online world game with faction claiming always has this problem. the best solution for this problem is just to make it harder for someone to steal from you. just like IRL.