Indestructible
Hello commanders now mind you this is only my opinion. As I see it fleet carriers are only a time and credit sink they hold no real value in game. Now there are many players that will disagree with me and that is fine but that dose not change the fact that fleet carriers being indestructible is not only a imbalance in the game but a big wast of time. There is no real strategic value to them there was a no true emergent gameplay value to them. They are only a Vanity item for those who grind and grind and grind like mad men. If Frontier wanted to add something special and dynamic they should have made them be able to sustain damage. At the very least be able to drive the management or up keep cost up. But once again frontier has shown that they develop elite dangerous for solo and other players.
Well rant over that is all I have to say. Fly Strong Commanders.
Vicktore Beskor drops the mike
I wouldnt say they are an "epic fail" but I would agree they would tremendously benefit from some sort of exposure to direct attack/defense. Here is a proposal along those lines:
Intro Fully aware that this proposal, even if entertained by FDEV, can easily mean significant coding and dedicated resources for balancing and testing, and that FDEV may be way past the point where this (or something along these lines) could be implemented. I still think this could lead to an...
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Intro
Fully aware that this proposal, even if entertained by FDEV, can easily mean significant coding and dedicated resources for balancing and testing, and that FDEV may be way past the point where this (or something along these lines) could be implemented. I still think this could lead to an interesting discussion and some ideas and principles that FDEV may want to keep in its back pocket for future use.
Please also note the proposal has been drafted with the intent the FC assault gameplay is entirely optional so no gameplay style is forced on anyone, and also it can be played from any game mode, solo, open, private group. For optionality to be of interest to players certain gameplay integration bonuses have also been introduced alongside some risks for adequate balance of said bonuses, such as damage repair costs.
It is worth noting that FC damage repair costs are also a feature that would help balance FC´s currently indestructible and zero risk nature, and can therefore allow FDEV to consider further reductions of upkeep and depreciation loss requirements.
Without further ado here is the full description, and a FAQ at the bottom:
1. FC owners can now switch on and off an “Active Duty” flag for the FC.
a) Once switched on it can not be switched off during a period of 3 days or until an FC withdrawal occurs (see 6 below), whichever happens first.
b) Alternatively a FC owner can switch off the “Active Duty” flag by paying 50% of the maximum possible damage repair theoretical cost figure (exact figure to be tested and decided based on game balance considerations), see section 6 below.
2. An additional module is now available for purchase and installation at FC: “Garrison” module (see 6 below).
3. FC can now align to a BGS faction or PP power similar to current PP and Squadron mechanics.
4. If the flag is switched off then there are no changes to current gameplay.
5. If the flag is switched on then the following changes apply:
- FC upkeep is reduced by 10% (exact figure to be tested and decided based on game balance considerations)
- Any BGS related action performed in the system the FC is parked in, and affecting positively the influence of the faction that the FC is aligned with, will see the impact of said action increased by 10% (exact figure to be tested and decided based on game balance considerations). This BGS bonus is not stackable with multiple FC.
- With regards to PP, and for FCs aligned with a given power:
- Bonus to Expansions: Each FC offers a 4% bonus to own power Expansion activities only in the system they are in, stackable up to a max of 12% (3 FC in the system)
- Penalty to enemy Power activity: Each FC also offers a penalty of 2% to any enemy power PP activities (Undermining, Fortifying etc) in the system they are in, stackable up to a max of 6% (3 FC in the system).
- Power aligned NPC buff: FC with the Garrison module give a buff to their own power NPC activity in the system they are in proportional to the bonus too. If, say, “1.0” is the standard quality and amount reference for Power aligned NPC spawning in a given system, then 1 FC in that system will increase quality/amount NPC to “1.2”, 1.4 for 2 FCs and 1.6 for 3 FCs in the system.
- Any and all FCs with the active duty flag switched on become now subject to the assault gameplay loop described in section 6 below.
6. FC assault gameplay loop
Overview: The FC assault gameplay loop works as a hybrid of Conflict Zone and material gathering CG, and can last up to 3 days. During this period the FC can not switch off its “active duty” flag at all (unless it withdraws, see below). At the end of the gameplay loop the progress bars for the atack and the defense forces are compared and the end result decided based on the difference.
- An assault is formally initiated when a player (or group of players) opens fire at the FC and the FC receives a total amount of damage over a (to be determined) certain threshold within a (to be determined) certain period of time. Note: Current FC fire response power would need to be tweaked to allow for this.
- Once an assault has been formally initiated the FC owner and players on board will be notified of the fact, and a clear warning message should be displayed at all times at the FC info panel.
- Once an assault has been formally initiated the following two gameplay scenarios are generated:
Attack scenario: An attack CZ scenario spawns around the FC location. Players can take sides as per usual CZ scenarios. Progress of the scenario happens in the same way the BGS currently accounts for regular CZ scenarios in War or Civil War states.
Attack progress is measured via the progress in this CZ scenario.
NPCs are also spawned as per regular CZ scenarios in the two sides, “FC attack force” and “FC defense force”. Both NPC sides are by default exactly balanced. This balance can be modified in favor of the FC defense if an additional “Garrison” module has been installed and maintained at the FC. If, say, “1.0” is the standard quality and amount reference for NPC spawning for the Defense Force side in the CZ, then the Garrison module in that FC will increase the quality/amount of said NPCs to “1.2”
Any player ship that has sided at least once with the “FC attack force” in the CZ scenario will not be allowed to dock in FC for the remainder of the Assault gameplay loop.
Defense scenario: A delivery mission to bring in a (to be determined) specific type of commodity or commodities. Players can contribute to the defense of the FC via delivery of said commodities.
Defense progress is measured via the progress in this delivery mission scenario.
Note: Players can also defend by opposing the attack progress bar via participation in the attack CZ scenario and siding with the “FC defense force”.
Note: These scenarios can be played in all modes, open, solo or private group.
- Once an assault has been formally initiated both attack and defense progress bars will be displayed at the FC info panel as well as a FC assault status dedicated section in the right side info panel in all ships within the concerned system (similar to the local minor faction influence status info panel).
- Once an assault has been formally initiated and the attack CZ instance has been generated the regular crime & punishment rules and security impact is disabled in the instance as in any regular war CZs.
- After a 3 day period since the assault initiation the assault ends and the result is decided based on the attack and defense progress bars.
- If the Defense progress bar is higher than the attack progress bar, Defense wins. No further changes. Assault scenario ends.
- If the Attack progress bar does not reach a (to be determined) minimum threshold, Defense also wins. Assault scenario ends.
- If the Attack progress bar is higher than the Defense progress bar and it is also higher than the (to be determined) minimum threshold referred to above, Attack wins. Assault scenario ends.
- Consequences of an Attack win:
- If the FC has not jumped out of the system by the end of the 3 day assault scenario, the FC is forced to do an Emergency Jump that does not require Tritium. The emergency jump is to a random system within a radius of 50LY, or to the closest system if no system is within a 50LY radius.
- FC modules receive damage. Some of them shut down and need to be repaired via payment of a repair fee. Exact number of modules shut down / damaged and repair costs to be decided based on the attack and defense progress bars differential. The larger the differential the more modules impacted and the larger the cr repair bill.
- FC “active duty” flag is automatically switched off. The FC owner can, if he/she so decides, switch it on again at any time.
- FC withdrawal
- The FC owner can also activate a regular jump as per current FC jump rules and fuel consumption, at any point in time within the 3 day Assault scenario.
- Withdrawals also lead to FC damage (based on the attack and defense progress bars differential at the time the jump order is issued to the FC) as described under “Consequences of an Attack win”. After the withdrawal, the Assault scenario ends.
- Following withdrawal if the FC has received at least an amount of damage above 25% of maximum possible damage (exact figure to be tested and decided based on game balance considerations) then the FC “active duty” flag is automatically switched off (even if less than 3 days since it was switched on). The FC owner can, if he/she so decides, switch it on again at any time.
- Following an Assault scenario end, both CZ and commodity gathering missions despawn.
FAQ
Q: Isn't this proposal forcing players to be constantly under attack or even griefed?
A: No. Switching the flag on is completely voluntary, and with it switched off there is no change from current gameplay, i.e. no griefing possible. Also notice that following both Attack win and Withdrawal events with more than 25% damage the flag is automatically switched to “off” so to prevent repeated attacks/griefing.
Q: Doesn´t the “Active Duty” flag bonuses have the adverse effect of punishing players who “don't fight”? Won´t players with the flag switched off “miss out”?
A: Not really. Remember that FCs that switch on the “Active Duty” flag would be exposed to repair shut downs, damage costs, unwanted jumps and time delays that a FC with its flag off will not suffer, so switching it on is not a "free lunch". It is naturally balanced and the risks are significant.
Q: Doesn´t this mean that a FC out in the deep may be just enjoying easy “cheaper upkeep”?
A: Not exactly. It is true that the more isolated a FC is the lower the risk of being assaulted. But the impact of the assault risk materialising with the flag on is also significant. Locations for FC will be made public sooner or later, so a FC owner may still decide that he/she does not want to take any risks at all and keep the flag off even when in deep space.
Q: Would FC now be fully destroyable?
A: No. They can incur significant repair costs, suffer module shutdown (until repaired) and be subject to unwanted jumps and delays though.
Q: Would “Active Duty” flag BGS bonuses be stackable if multiple FC aligned with the same BGS faction were present in the same system?
A: No. The BGS bonus is applied only once, irrespective of how many FC are present in the system. Having said that if one of them is assaulted and forced to withdraw then the remaining FC will still apply the bonus, so having more than one FC in the area may come in handy. On the other hand, having too many FC in the same system may be a bit of a waste if your faction is also active in other areas. Decisions, decisions…
Q: Would “Active Duty” flag PP bonuses be stackable if multiple FC aligned with the same PP power were present in the same system?
A: Yes, but only up to 3 FCs. See section 5 for more details.
Q: Where do the attack scenario CZ NPCs come from?
A: The “FC attack force” and “FC defense force” NPCs are spawned out of “thin air” when the CZ itself spawns, much like NPCs in regular War or Civil War CZs. And will despawn when the assault gameplay loop ends. They do not represent any running cost (except the optional FC Garrison module buff) and they are solely used for the purpose of having players progress the CZ bars or slowing them down, as the case may be, depending on the side you join in the instance.
Q: How would the situation where a Faction aligned Carrier jumped to a system where the Faction was not present be handled
A: In this case there would be no BGS impact, but the FC will still have an upkeep saving bonus. Also remember the FC does not need to be aligned with a BGS faction, that is also optional. The proposal for upkeep saving is made so the active duty flag can support all FC gameplay styles, not just BGS related.
Q: How can players who do not play in Open defend against an attack from players in Open? Or vice versa?
A: Game mode does not affect the assault gameplay loop because it works in the same way the BGS works. All game modes are welcome. Players defending in Solo or PG modes can do so via participating at the attack CZ and siding with the “FC Defense Force” side, or by delivering the required commodity in the defense scenario. Conversely players in Solo or PG can also attack the FC in the CZ scenario fighting against the NPC “FC defense force” and the FC turret defenses.
