Before I start, and before people dismiss my desperate attempt at reaching developers with this topic again - this time I have some concrete ideas 
Right...this might be a wall of text. Brace yourself Commanders.
My main goal is to outline a system of integrating CQC into the main game that would please EVERYONE. Yep, you've heard me right. According to my theory(not proven by actual scientists) this system will have a positive long lasting influence on players who want to play CQC in the main game, and will go pretty much unnoticed by players who don't care about it. Win-win? Let's see.
Why do we need it?
1. Assets are already there. Maps, ships, weapons, rules, scoring system to some extend.
2. It could be elegantly incorporated into the game lore without any mental gymnastics. CQC Arena is a virtual sport for Pilot's Federation Commanders to hone their skills, gain rewards, and fame through fair competition.
3. CQC rank display in game would finally make some sense.
4. Necessity of having a credit sink. Beauty of my system is in the fact that it can be a source of credits, or a credit sink depending on several factors.
5. It's another activity that can expand a list of gameplay possibilities, while being completely optional.
Signing up
How an actual matchmaking would work is quite simple. In CQC, being a virtual sport within the game, competitors don't have to be in the same space. Any station with a special facility can serve as an entry point, and from there matchmaking will do it's work.
Entrance fees
I think this is very important. Matches should be broken into a few levels depending on quality of reward pools. For this example let's say there are 3 levels, and 3 price points of fees.
Level 1 - Free admission. You enter a game for free, and draw from the lowest rewards pool. This will mostly include different amount of credits and modules. Possibly some materials, and/or valuable rare commodities. Could be helpful for new players, or people who want to gain points in seasonal leaderboards without losing lots of credits(more on seasons later).
Level 2 - 250k-500k credits. This being a middle tier, and the first one designed to work as a credit sink we introduce more material rewards, more expensive modules(price of them should exceed an entry fee by some margin), and theoretically something I came up with - engineering vouchers These will allow you to apply one unlocked modification for free at any engineer you have access to.
Level 3 - 1M+ credits. This is where credit sink becomes noticeable, and this is where rewards should reflect that. Reward pool(more on that later) will include reasonable amounts of highest grade materials, engineering vouchers, and maybe ships and system permits as a rare rewards.
I have to stress one point here - entry fees are important, as one of the reasons CQC to be introduced is to be one of the credit sinks. However, no player should feel cheated out of his time so reward pools should be respectable.
Reward pools
My idea behind reward pools is simple. Get rewarded for your time spent. Get rewarded MORE for MORE effort
For example 10 players enter a match. In this case reward pool will include 10 prizes. One per each participant. Players who end up at the top 3 places of the board get to pick their reward. Top player having the right to chose first. In this case players who get an upper hand in combat and are more skilled get a chance to pick from the best rewards available. The rest may have a reward randomly assigned to them from the remaining pool randomly. No reward should be too low or pathetic enough, so even players who end up on the bottom of the leaderboard don't feel like they've wasted their time. I will make it clear - this is not an attempt at throwing participation rewards at absolutely everybody. Best players should get best rewards, but it doesn't mean that the rest can get out with empty hands and wasted game session time.
Seasons and seasonal rewards
Creating a seasonal leagues should help with providing longevity to the gamemode, and steady interest from Commanders. Season could last anywhere between a month to three months, this could take some planning. During each season players will accumulate points, and climb leaderboard. Multiple tier reward system should be in place to stimulate commanders and retain their interest. At the highest tier rewards could include unique decals, weapon/engine colour effects, unique paintjobs. Few lower reward tiers can contain decent quantities of materials, engineering vouchers, ships, or even fully engineered modules. Last tier would simply reward a decent amount of credits and would require you to just participate in CQC 5-10 times per season. For those who would just want some credits Remember, this is all about being a credit sink and a credit making tool all in one.
I'm leaving this at the mercy of Commanders, and hope to find at least somebody who would find something like this a welcome addition to the game.
I rest my case.
Right...this might be a wall of text. Brace yourself Commanders. My main goal is to outline a system of integrating CQC into the main game that would please EVERYONE. Yep, you've heard me right. According to my theory(not proven by actual scientists) this system will have a positive long lasting influence on players who want to play CQC in the main game, and will go pretty much unnoticed by players who don't care about it. Win-win? Let's see.
Why do we need it?
1. Assets are already there. Maps, ships, weapons, rules, scoring system to some extend.
2. It could be elegantly incorporated into the game lore without any mental gymnastics. CQC Arena is a virtual sport for Pilot's Federation Commanders to hone their skills, gain rewards, and fame through fair competition.
3. CQC rank display in game would finally make some sense.
4. Necessity of having a credit sink. Beauty of my system is in the fact that it can be a source of credits, or a credit sink depending on several factors.
5. It's another activity that can expand a list of gameplay possibilities, while being completely optional.
Signing up
How an actual matchmaking would work is quite simple. In CQC, being a virtual sport within the game, competitors don't have to be in the same space. Any station with a special facility can serve as an entry point, and from there matchmaking will do it's work.
Entrance fees
I think this is very important. Matches should be broken into a few levels depending on quality of reward pools. For this example let's say there are 3 levels, and 3 price points of fees.
Level 1 - Free admission. You enter a game for free, and draw from the lowest rewards pool. This will mostly include different amount of credits and modules. Possibly some materials, and/or valuable rare commodities. Could be helpful for new players, or people who want to gain points in seasonal leaderboards without losing lots of credits(more on seasons later).
Level 2 - 250k-500k credits. This being a middle tier, and the first one designed to work as a credit sink we introduce more material rewards, more expensive modules(price of them should exceed an entry fee by some margin), and theoretically something I came up with - engineering vouchers
These will allow you to apply one unlocked modification for free at any engineer you have access to. Level 3 - 1M+ credits. This is where credit sink becomes noticeable, and this is where rewards should reflect that. Reward pool(more on that later) will include reasonable amounts of highest grade materials, engineering vouchers, and maybe ships and system permits as a rare rewards.
I have to stress one point here - entry fees are important, as one of the reasons CQC to be introduced is to be one of the credit sinks. However, no player should feel cheated out of his time so reward pools should be respectable.
Reward pools
My idea behind reward pools is simple. Get rewarded for your time spent. Get rewarded MORE for MORE effort
For example 10 players enter a match. In this case reward pool will include 10 prizes. One per each participant. Players who end up at the top 3 places of the board get to pick their reward. Top player having the right to chose first. In this case players who get an upper hand in combat and are more skilled get a chance to pick from the best rewards available. The rest may have a reward randomly assigned to them from the remaining pool randomly. No reward should be too low or pathetic enough, so even players who end up on the bottom of the leaderboard don't feel like they've wasted their time. I will make it clear - this is not an attempt at throwing participation rewards at absolutely everybody. Best players should get best rewards, but it doesn't mean that the rest can get out with empty hands and wasted game session time.
Seasons and seasonal rewards
Creating a seasonal leagues should help with providing longevity to the gamemode, and steady interest from Commanders. Season could last anywhere between a month to three months, this could take some planning. During each season players will accumulate points, and climb leaderboard. Multiple tier reward system should be in place to stimulate commanders and retain their interest. At the highest tier rewards could include unique decals, weapon/engine colour effects, unique paintjobs. Few lower reward tiers can contain decent quantities of materials, engineering vouchers, ships, or even fully engineered modules. Last tier would simply reward a decent amount of credits and would require you to just participate in CQC 5-10 times per season. For those who would just want some credits
Remember, this is all about being a credit sink and a credit making tool all in one. I'm leaving this at the mercy of Commanders, and hope to find at least somebody who would find something like this a welcome addition to the game.
I rest my case.
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