I initially posted this in a different subforum in order to get some feedback. At this point I am posting it here in hopes that the Dev's will actually see it.
We can all agree that player owned Starbases (SB) are not in the short term plan (. . . or, said more bluntly, a “non-starter’). That is not what this is about. This is about the Starbases that we choose to call, “home.”
What should a, “Home Starbase,” (HS) be?
Pilots should be provided a single free HS. Please understand that when I say HS that this is not an entire SB, it is simply a home on the SB (or planetary base). It should require that a pilot be, at least, friendly. If a pilot falls to unfriendly they should be required to pay rent. It they fall to hostile then it is reasonable that the home and all assets in it be seized (stored ships and modules may, merely, become unavailable).
Players pledged to a power should not be able to purchase a HS in a SB that is pledged to a different faction. The superpower of the players HS would determine the superpower flag of their ships (e.g. a player with a HS in an Alliance SB would show as Alliance when scanned). Some have mentioned a time limit on how frequently a player can acquire new homes (e.g. a player cannot declare a home SB more than one per [unit of time])
What should a home provide?
First, something that has been called for by many players; a small amount of storage. I would consider about 40t (approximately the capacity of a 21st century shipping container) to be adequate. This would keep players from storing enough to unbalance economies.
Second, low cost, or free, module and ship transfer TO, and only to, the HS. It is reasonable that it would take longer to transport modules on a reduced, space available, cost basis.
A resident should, based on a combination of reputation and time as a resident, develop the contacts to access slightly better prices at his, or her, home SB. Ideally, a trusted resident would also be trusted with special, more delicate, missions. A Resident should also, by virtue of better contacts within their home SB be able to access slightly better prices for cartographic data; again, the exact multiplier would be based on a combination of reputation and time as a resident.
A couple of comments that were made, that I would like to hang on to were these:
and this one, also calling for meaning to be applied to "Home" albeit, with slightly different details.
What it comes down to is that ship commanders should be able to apply meaning to the term “Home.” The actual details are just that. Details.
We can all agree that player owned Starbases (SB) are not in the short term plan (. . . or, said more bluntly, a “non-starter’). That is not what this is about. This is about the Starbases that we choose to call, “home.”
What should a, “Home Starbase,” (HS) be?
Pilots should be provided a single free HS. Please understand that when I say HS that this is not an entire SB, it is simply a home on the SB (or planetary base). It should require that a pilot be, at least, friendly. If a pilot falls to unfriendly they should be required to pay rent. It they fall to hostile then it is reasonable that the home and all assets in it be seized (stored ships and modules may, merely, become unavailable).
Players pledged to a power should not be able to purchase a HS in a SB that is pledged to a different faction. The superpower of the players HS would determine the superpower flag of their ships (e.g. a player with a HS in an Alliance SB would show as Alliance when scanned). Some have mentioned a time limit on how frequently a player can acquire new homes (e.g. a player cannot declare a home SB more than one per [unit of time])
What should a home provide?
First, something that has been called for by many players; a small amount of storage. I would consider about 40t (approximately the capacity of a 21st century shipping container) to be adequate. This would keep players from storing enough to unbalance economies.
Second, low cost, or free, module and ship transfer TO, and only to, the HS. It is reasonable that it would take longer to transport modules on a reduced, space available, cost basis.
A resident should, based on a combination of reputation and time as a resident, develop the contacts to access slightly better prices at his, or her, home SB. Ideally, a trusted resident would also be trusted with special, more delicate, missions. A Resident should also, by virtue of better contacts within their home SB be able to access slightly better prices for cartographic data; again, the exact multiplier would be based on a combination of reputation and time as a resident.
A couple of comments that were made, that I would like to hang on to were these:
The details can be debated, but, if you're tied to, obviously as an option, a specific faction you're more likely to become interested in the game deeper than "PowerPlay is for shield upgrades and missions are to be stacked with board flipping to get a Cutter."
and this one, also calling for meaning to be applied to "Home" albeit, with slightly different details.
Marking a system as home system.
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- Commanders can mark a system as a home system.
- Cmdrs can only mark a system as a home system when they are allied.
- You can only mark one at a time and only change home systems once per 3 months (just throwing it out there, could also be 6 months or 12).
- A system that is marked as a home system will always stay allied.
- A system that is marked home system will get a special marker in the star map.
Possible Advantages:
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- You get discounts there (perhaps 10%). People know you, like you, treat you better.
- You get better missions, better pay-outs, better rewards. People know you. Like you. Treat you better.
- Moving ships to your homesystem costs 10% or perhaps 20% less
- Your fines are lower (perhaps?).
- If you are attacked in a homesystem the authorities will respond much quicker to help you out.
- Bounty pay-outs are 10% higher.
Other stuff:
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- When you commit crimes, you will lose your special status and you will have to work to get it back.
- Also commanders are greeted with lines to make you feel like you are returning to you home "Welcome home cmdr". "Long time no see", "Glad you are back" and stuff like that.
What it comes down to is that ship commanders should be able to apply meaning to the term “Home.” The actual details are just that. Details.
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