There have been a few new mission types that have been provided as of late. It's nice to have a change in the format of the missions, but fundamentally they remain the same as existing missions. So I've been thinking about ideas for mission types that would essentially be completely different, while still fitting the mold of the game fairly well.
1.) Temporary RNG Ships
My primary idea centered around missions involving piloting ships that the mission taker essentially doesn't own. The player is tasked with delivery or retrieval of some ship that is more or less randomly outfitted based on a random purpose. For instance, a player might be tasked with delivering a Type-7 full of cargo to another station, or to retrieve a beat up vulture from a surface port and bring it back to a station.
By taking the mission, the ship would just essentially be treated temporarily as yours, but wouldn't be able to be delivered (because what would be the fun in that?). The real caveat would come as the cost of rebuy. By taking a mission, the CMDR would have to accept that they will be fined the full rebuy of the ship if it is destroyed during the mission. Failing to go pick it up or not delivering would only result in the rep hurt or maybe a fine. But you'd be expected to pay for it being destroyed. And these missions could involve carrying anything from legitimate or illicit cargo, to passengers, to even ships that have bounties tied to them.
The real fun with this mission type comes with Odyssey (On Foot) missions. With Odyssey, it's not just a matter of transporting ships, but you can also build a system around stealing/heisting ships. This could be stealing a cargo ship full of goods, or it could be stealing back a fighter vessel that was itself stolen by pirates. For these types of missions, you might nowt be granted the keys right away. If you're stealing the ship, you would need to find the pilot in the settlement and clone their profile. Only then would you have access to the ship and be able to takeoff with it. These ships would also be tied into the alarm system of the base. If you don't disable the alarm system, it will be triggered the moment you board the ship. But then, add some more fun to it. Once you leave the settlement, you're now actively being pursued by them. Just like cargo missions will spawn pirates trying to interdict you, so will this mission type spawn pursuers.
I like the idea of mission types like this as they offer up the ability for players to fly ships they might not be interested in flying otherwise. A player who has been at the game for ages wouldn't waste their own credits buying certain ships and outfitting them. And as such, they miss out on them entirely. But if that ship was available to them as a one time thing and then it's out of their hair forever, it might be just the allure they need to hop into one. Not to mention, it can be a real test of someone's skill. Quietly sneaking into a base, shutting down the alarm system, snatching a pilot's profile, and making off with a ship, all without killing anyone.... Well, that takes some skill. Now make it a sidewinder that is sporting experimental tech that some corporation wants their hands on. Now it's not just a matter of how talented you are on foot, but also how talented you are as a pilot.
2.) On-Foot Station Combat
There is a pirate/terrorist problem in a station. This is nothing new for non-Odyssey. The station is on fire and you need to collect evacuees and drop off supplies for emergency personnel. But that's not why you're here. You were tasked a mission to eliminate a high-profile target in the ranks of their organization. And intel has been provided that they are here.
Normally it's just fire in the station, but now there are combatant vessels attacking anyone and everyone that gets near. You manage to break through their ranks and carefully touch down on the landing pad and are immediately brought below deck. You quickly disembark your ship and take a few steps towards the elevators, then realize that the evacuation Protocol has been initiated, so the elevator systems only allow transport TO the docking bays. However, the evacuation protocol will have opened up the maintenance passageways. Cautiously, you ready your weapon, and step into the dark corridor.
What comes next is a brutal onslaught of linear close quarters combat as you make your way through the back tunnels to the concourse. This is where your target is most likely to be. Use your own imagination to paint the picture of how this fight goes down, but you win. And in your victory, you get the keycode to a number of locked storage chests scattered around the concourse. Why not help yourself to the spoils. In these chests, you find a healthy supply of those far more difficult to find assets, goods, and data. A reward for the challenge you just faced.
You stow all your findings, then make your way over to the elevators. Before you know it, your back in the landing bay and ready to head back out. Time to go cash in that bounty.
3.) Both are so good, why not marry the two together?!
Rather than needing to pry a ship from the hands of personnel at a settlement, you need to get one from a station instead. You fly into the station where the target is located. From there, you need to get to the correct dock. But you can't take the elevator because you aren't authorized to access that bay. So once again, you find yourself in the maintenance passageways. But this time, you're not allowed to be in there. Quietly (or not) you make your way to the dock where you find the ship you need to procure. You dispatch the ships pilot and clone their profile, giving you access to the ship. Now all you need to do is leave, right?
Well unfortunately, if the alarms weren't going off before, they are now. Station and system defenses turn their sights on you as you are now a threat. But this doesn't phase you. You scoff as you point the nose toward the mail slot and boost through before the turrets can even lock you. The security force pursue in their Eagles, but you manage to evade and jump to hyperspace. From here, it's just a matter of fending off the bounty hunters, assuming your mission wasn't sanctioned as legal by some organization.
1.) Temporary RNG Ships
My primary idea centered around missions involving piloting ships that the mission taker essentially doesn't own. The player is tasked with delivery or retrieval of some ship that is more or less randomly outfitted based on a random purpose. For instance, a player might be tasked with delivering a Type-7 full of cargo to another station, or to retrieve a beat up vulture from a surface port and bring it back to a station.
By taking the mission, the ship would just essentially be treated temporarily as yours, but wouldn't be able to be delivered (because what would be the fun in that?). The real caveat would come as the cost of rebuy. By taking a mission, the CMDR would have to accept that they will be fined the full rebuy of the ship if it is destroyed during the mission. Failing to go pick it up or not delivering would only result in the rep hurt or maybe a fine. But you'd be expected to pay for it being destroyed. And these missions could involve carrying anything from legitimate or illicit cargo, to passengers, to even ships that have bounties tied to them.
The real fun with this mission type comes with Odyssey (On Foot) missions. With Odyssey, it's not just a matter of transporting ships, but you can also build a system around stealing/heisting ships. This could be stealing a cargo ship full of goods, or it could be stealing back a fighter vessel that was itself stolen by pirates. For these types of missions, you might nowt be granted the keys right away. If you're stealing the ship, you would need to find the pilot in the settlement and clone their profile. Only then would you have access to the ship and be able to takeoff with it. These ships would also be tied into the alarm system of the base. If you don't disable the alarm system, it will be triggered the moment you board the ship. But then, add some more fun to it. Once you leave the settlement, you're now actively being pursued by them. Just like cargo missions will spawn pirates trying to interdict you, so will this mission type spawn pursuers.
I like the idea of mission types like this as they offer up the ability for players to fly ships they might not be interested in flying otherwise. A player who has been at the game for ages wouldn't waste their own credits buying certain ships and outfitting them. And as such, they miss out on them entirely. But if that ship was available to them as a one time thing and then it's out of their hair forever, it might be just the allure they need to hop into one. Not to mention, it can be a real test of someone's skill. Quietly sneaking into a base, shutting down the alarm system, snatching a pilot's profile, and making off with a ship, all without killing anyone.... Well, that takes some skill. Now make it a sidewinder that is sporting experimental tech that some corporation wants their hands on. Now it's not just a matter of how talented you are on foot, but also how talented you are as a pilot.
2.) On-Foot Station Combat
There is a pirate/terrorist problem in a station. This is nothing new for non-Odyssey. The station is on fire and you need to collect evacuees and drop off supplies for emergency personnel. But that's not why you're here. You were tasked a mission to eliminate a high-profile target in the ranks of their organization. And intel has been provided that they are here.
Normally it's just fire in the station, but now there are combatant vessels attacking anyone and everyone that gets near. You manage to break through their ranks and carefully touch down on the landing pad and are immediately brought below deck. You quickly disembark your ship and take a few steps towards the elevators, then realize that the evacuation Protocol has been initiated, so the elevator systems only allow transport TO the docking bays. However, the evacuation protocol will have opened up the maintenance passageways. Cautiously, you ready your weapon, and step into the dark corridor.
What comes next is a brutal onslaught of linear close quarters combat as you make your way through the back tunnels to the concourse. This is where your target is most likely to be. Use your own imagination to paint the picture of how this fight goes down, but you win. And in your victory, you get the keycode to a number of locked storage chests scattered around the concourse. Why not help yourself to the spoils. In these chests, you find a healthy supply of those far more difficult to find assets, goods, and data. A reward for the challenge you just faced.
You stow all your findings, then make your way over to the elevators. Before you know it, your back in the landing bay and ready to head back out. Time to go cash in that bounty.
3.) Both are so good, why not marry the two together?!
Rather than needing to pry a ship from the hands of personnel at a settlement, you need to get one from a station instead. You fly into the station where the target is located. From there, you need to get to the correct dock. But you can't take the elevator because you aren't authorized to access that bay. So once again, you find yourself in the maintenance passageways. But this time, you're not allowed to be in there. Quietly (or not) you make your way to the dock where you find the ship you need to procure. You dispatch the ships pilot and clone their profile, giving you access to the ship. Now all you need to do is leave, right?
Well unfortunately, if the alarms weren't going off before, they are now. Station and system defenses turn their sights on you as you are now a threat. But this doesn't phase you. You scoff as you point the nose toward the mail slot and boost through before the turrets can even lock you. The security force pursue in their Eagles, but you manage to evade and jump to hyperspace. From here, it's just a matter of fending off the bounty hunters, assuming your mission wasn't sanctioned as legal by some organization.
