This is not a new idea, but with some very popular threads going on about different aspects of immersion and realism, I'd like to revisit the idea of Frontier offering a "Hardcore Mode" for ED. Some of the things this mode might include would be:
1) No rebuys. If you lose your ship in combat, it's gone. You'll have to buy, outfit, and engineer a new one to replace it. It's not called "hardcore" mode for nothing!
2) Limited synthesis. Synthesis would remain as-is for things like SRV fuel and FSD boost, but actual physical objects like bullets and limpets would require an AMFU, and make synthesis time similar to module-repair time, thus AMFU size / quality affects speed and amount of synthesis that can be done.
3) No bounty payoffs. Once you get a bounty in a system, that bounty remains until you are sent to a detention center. I do think C&P needs some other balancing regarding what is a fine vs. what's a bounty in order for this to work, and bounties should be huge, not small fines with KOS attached.
4) Increased time and cost for maintenance. If my Anaconda comes in with 10% hull, then it should take time to repair, perhaps hours even. Make it incremental - perhaps %1 repair per minute, similar to AMFU repairing our modules (this is for Conda, it should be much less for smaller ships like Sidewinder). And make it expensive - hull repairs from 0% to 100% should cost almost as much as buying a new E-rated ship.
5) Limit exploration rewards. Keep ADS rewards the same, but only give DSS rewards for undiscovered / first-discovery planets. In other words, no "road to riches" in hardcore mode.
6) Reward players for choosing hardcore. Double XP comes to mind, since players operating with these handicaps are more "Elite" IMO than those who play under 'normal mode'. Perhaps increase credit payouts as well... Oh, and a cool decal for our ships so other players know we're awesome
I think hardcore mode should be something a player can 'turn on' at any time (I don't want to restart my CMDR). It probably should be easy to turn off as well, but the penalty is that the player loses any extra XP / credits they earned while HCM was on.
While I bet I'm forgetting something, I do think the list should be relatively small / simple. The purpose is to provide an extra challenge and realism to those of us who want it, without forcing these things on those who do not. Thoughts?
1) No rebuys. If you lose your ship in combat, it's gone. You'll have to buy, outfit, and engineer a new one to replace it. It's not called "hardcore" mode for nothing!
2) Limited synthesis. Synthesis would remain as-is for things like SRV fuel and FSD boost, but actual physical objects like bullets and limpets would require an AMFU, and make synthesis time similar to module-repair time, thus AMFU size / quality affects speed and amount of synthesis that can be done.
3) No bounty payoffs. Once you get a bounty in a system, that bounty remains until you are sent to a detention center. I do think C&P needs some other balancing regarding what is a fine vs. what's a bounty in order for this to work, and bounties should be huge, not small fines with KOS attached.
4) Increased time and cost for maintenance. If my Anaconda comes in with 10% hull, then it should take time to repair, perhaps hours even. Make it incremental - perhaps %1 repair per minute, similar to AMFU repairing our modules (this is for Conda, it should be much less for smaller ships like Sidewinder). And make it expensive - hull repairs from 0% to 100% should cost almost as much as buying a new E-rated ship.
5) Limit exploration rewards. Keep ADS rewards the same, but only give DSS rewards for undiscovered / first-discovery planets. In other words, no "road to riches" in hardcore mode.
6) Reward players for choosing hardcore. Double XP comes to mind, since players operating with these handicaps are more "Elite" IMO than those who play under 'normal mode'. Perhaps increase credit payouts as well... Oh, and a cool decal for our ships so other players know we're awesome
I think hardcore mode should be something a player can 'turn on' at any time (I don't want to restart my CMDR). It probably should be easy to turn off as well, but the penalty is that the player loses any extra XP / credits they earned while HCM was on.
While I bet I'm forgetting something, I do think the list should be relatively small / simple. The purpose is to provide an extra challenge and realism to those of us who want it, without forcing these things on those who do not. Thoughts?
