Blackcompany
Banned
Combat zones suck. We all know it. From a design standpoint, they are a pointless Horde Mode killing floor with zero consequence and zero persistence.
Ostensibly, combat zones manifest, grow and disappear organically as battles for space supremacy over a planet grow and evolve. This is, in theory, how combat zones develop.
So lets change the way they WORK to reflect that:
Combat zones should require the defeat of a certain number of enemies before they are "cleared." That number of enemies should exist within the zone at the start of a battle. As your chosen side gains dominance, then, the number of remaining enemies dwindles, until finally the zone is cleared and dominance is "won" over that field of battle.
Such a system rewards success, by making the zone progressively less dangerous over time. As your chosen side wins more battles, the enemy presence decreases. Conversely, if your side begins losing the fight, reinforcements may not magically appear, upping the risk of a losing fight and urging players not to spend too long one any one target lest their AI battle partners suffer. Risk/Reward is increased as a side effect of this system.
But that is not all.
As zones are cleared around a system, several things can happen (ideally, dynamically, generated by systems within the game):
-Faction influence for the winner would increase, especially at nearby stations
-The faction would select a new area within a system over which to begin establishing dominance, possibly spawning more combat zones
-Salvage missions would kick off for the previous zone, now cleared
-If the zone was near a landable planet, dynamic missions would kick off there for rescue, salvage, base clearing and scanning, etc.
-Missions to scan nearby planets and other bodies would appear dynamically, asking the player to perform these scans as part of intel gathering for the selection of new target areas the faction wants to control
-The more work a player does for one faction, the more the other turns against them. At some point pretty early, the player cannot simply swap sides without a penalty any longer
Ideally, new missions generated by combat zone and influence changes, would be acceptable from inside your ship, without docking. War moves quickly, and battlefield intel is needed NOW. Likewise, the player should be able to complete/turn in these missions from the cockpit without docking.
Wars and Civil Wars need more dynamic events and missions, more system changes and more immediate impact on game play. The suggestions above, while likely not perfect, would go some way toward making conflicts more fun and dynamic, while also making them more believable.
Ostensibly, combat zones manifest, grow and disappear organically as battles for space supremacy over a planet grow and evolve. This is, in theory, how combat zones develop.
So lets change the way they WORK to reflect that:
Combat zones should require the defeat of a certain number of enemies before they are "cleared." That number of enemies should exist within the zone at the start of a battle. As your chosen side gains dominance, then, the number of remaining enemies dwindles, until finally the zone is cleared and dominance is "won" over that field of battle.
Such a system rewards success, by making the zone progressively less dangerous over time. As your chosen side wins more battles, the enemy presence decreases. Conversely, if your side begins losing the fight, reinforcements may not magically appear, upping the risk of a losing fight and urging players not to spend too long one any one target lest their AI battle partners suffer. Risk/Reward is increased as a side effect of this system.
But that is not all.
As zones are cleared around a system, several things can happen (ideally, dynamically, generated by systems within the game):
-Faction influence for the winner would increase, especially at nearby stations
-The faction would select a new area within a system over which to begin establishing dominance, possibly spawning more combat zones
-Salvage missions would kick off for the previous zone, now cleared
-If the zone was near a landable planet, dynamic missions would kick off there for rescue, salvage, base clearing and scanning, etc.
-Missions to scan nearby planets and other bodies would appear dynamically, asking the player to perform these scans as part of intel gathering for the selection of new target areas the faction wants to control
-The more work a player does for one faction, the more the other turns against them. At some point pretty early, the player cannot simply swap sides without a penalty any longer
Ideally, new missions generated by combat zone and influence changes, would be acceptable from inside your ship, without docking. War moves quickly, and battlefield intel is needed NOW. Likewise, the player should be able to complete/turn in these missions from the cockpit without docking.
Wars and Civil Wars need more dynamic events and missions, more system changes and more immediate impact on game play. The suggestions above, while likely not perfect, would go some way toward making conflicts more fun and dynamic, while also making them more believable.
