Better NPC random generation

[Darth Ender]

NPC's are currently generated randomly with a few rules depending on where you're looking.

I think that the random npc generator should take into account any present player's combat rating along with how many npcs that player has killed in the last hour or so when generating wanted npcs.

For instance, I'm expert rating. Fresh in the game for the day so no kills in the last hour. I enter a Res and it spawns some novice and maybe competent level bad guys. I quickly kill them and eventually more wanted show up. However, these guys are noticeably more difficult and higher combat rank. The game should tell that I'm killing bad guys pretty quickly and killing a lot of them. Eventually wings who dont all run away when their friend is killed show up. Then elite's start showing up. Then Wings of elites. They're not happy i killed their criminal buddies and I have a reputation now that has me in their sights. Eventually my one-man-army killing spree of wanted criminals will be forced to an end by overwhelming numbers of elites showing up wherever wanted ships are commonly found.

All the while as my killing of npcs increases the presence of authority ships should decrease since they have better things to do if they're not needed.

This increase in ranking of wanted ships lasts for about an hour and is independent of instance.

edit: your ranking determines the rate and number of ships that show up, but eventually the ranking of those ships climbs to elite regardless of your rank.

 

[Defacto]

I don't understand. What would things you have done previously with no connection to what you currently are doing affect what ships are there when you enter a RES?
I think that RES as they are now should be removed, because it doesn't make sense to have a single point for resource extraction with how mining currently works. Instead, combat should happen in situations and places where they make sense and is the result of something more than the Cmdr just deciding that they want to ''farm some mobs''.

 

[Darth Ender]

There are no "places that make sense" because if such a place could be identified, the authority would just sit there.

The game mechanics doesn't restrict you to "space lanes" and the there's really no other reason for anyone to really cross paths with anyone else outside of these artificially created sites.

That being said, if such sites are to exist, then wanted spawning should respond to your ruthless killing of wanted ships. It's a gameplay thing as much as random ships getting generated in the zone are already, only it keeps you from feeling like you're just farming easy npcs all day long. While at the same time, not punishing unskilled players by just throwing elites at them all day.

 

[Defacto]

You are right - that is why I hope the ''grinding zones'' go away. Such a waste of (simulated) human life...

I hope that the career as someone who flies to special zones in space and endlessly pewpew at huge hordes of wanted ships disappears. Even FE2 had a vastly deeper system. This game deserves better.