Ideas for connecting different ED features
In ED we have a multitude of different game mechanics most-of which currently operate independently from each other. This has been a strong source of criticism from the community so here are a few ideas on connecting the different features together for a more satisfying game experience;
Player Policing
Navy Ranking--Background Sim--Crime
Crime Scenes
Crime--Signal Sources--Bounty Hunting--Policing
PvP Missions
Traffic Report--Missions--PvP
Power-pledged Minor Factions
Powerplay--Background Sim
Powerplay Teams in CQC
CQC--Powerplay
I'll add any other good ideas to the OP if/when they crop up in the thread.
Cheers
In ED we have a multitude of different game mechanics most-of which currently operate independently from each other. This has been a strong source of criticism from the community so here are a few ideas on connecting the different features together for a more satisfying game experience;
Player Policing
Navy Ranking--Background Sim--Crime
- When reputation with a faction (major or minor) is friendly or above, the player should be given the option to play the role of police officer/system security.
- Navy Ranking could then be more attuned to law-enforcement actions such as, catching smugglers or catching/killing wanted ships.
- When a player is operating as law-enforcement, it is shown in their info panel when identified. Their alignment towards you would also match faction reputation, so they would show up as green, orange or red based on faction rep.
- Players would only be able to police for one faction at any one time as this is more realistic than the current situation, where players can be allied to all major factions at once.
- While acting as police, players will be alerted to crime-scenes in their jurisdiction (See 'Crime Scenes' section below).
- Policing would give the player conditional-access to special features such as police paint-jobs, live crime reports and the ability to arrest criminals (by disabling target ship and calling in a police tow ship to take it to the nearest penal colony).
- If a player is arrested they are fined and taken to the nearest penal colony where they must remain for 10-30 minutes, depending on the seriousness of their crimes.
- The fine amount would be 50% of their local bounty, but they would not have to rebuy their ship so in some situations surrendering to the police may be worthwhile.
- The success/failure of player policing would feed into the local system security rating and contribute to the influence of the local minor factions.
Crime Scenes
Crime--Signal Sources--Bounty Hunting--Policing
- When a murder or robbery take place, the low-wake turns into a crime scene which other players can drop into.
- If a ship was destroyed there the wreckage can be scanned to see (depending on scanner rating) who it belonged to, their combat rank, ship type, who destroyed it and with what weapons. If there is a live player or NPC there they can be offered assistance (repair limpets maybe?) and questioned.
- Bounty hunters could drop into crime scenes to get leads on targets by way of wreckage-evidence, wakes and police text chatter. Crime scenes would usually be crawling with police so it would only be advisable dropping into one while clean.
- This would help expose serious player crime more to bounty hunters and police, as right now it can be done fairly secretively with hardly any consequences.
- Crime data obtained from crime scenes could then be sold to starports (like exploration data), and published in the local system crime reports for other bounty hunters to read.
- Crime scene data collected on a certain criminal player could then feed into their total bounty or 'most wanted' ranking as it would be based on more than just a credit value (making bounty exploiting harder).
PvP Missions
Traffic Report--Missions--PvP
- Systems with a high player traffic count should generate PvP missions. These could include bounty hunting, piracy, powerplay or policing and are triggered when certain players are successfully repeating the same actions in the same star-clusters for long periods of time.
- Police missions (see above) could be based on catching successful player-smugglers and confiscating illicit goods from players, or apprehending notorious local criminal players.
- If a specific player is being especially effective at powerplay in a particular region, a powerplay-based PvP mission (see below) could be generated to take them out. This should generate a lot of merits, credits and minor-faction rep.
- Piracy missions could trigger if traders are repeatedly using the system as a profitable trade hub (*cough* Cemiess *cough*) and the local security level is not high enough (player policing could feature here). If these piracy missions are successfully completed this could then trigger bounty hunting and assassination missions on the pirates.
Power-pledged Minor Factions
Powerplay--Background Sim
- Include minor factions that are pledged to powers. These would offer powerplay-related bulletin board missions to pledged players that pay-out a combination of merits and credits.
- The influence of power-pledged minor factions could then have an impact on the spread of powers territory, either by assisting or impeding the power's progression in a control system - this would make supporting certain minor factions more crucial/effective.
- They could never become powers themselves as they are proxies for their controlling powers.
- They would always be unfriendly or hostile to rival power-pledged players not belonging to the same major faction.
Powerplay Teams in CQC
CQC--Powerplay
- Fight in CQC for your power - team death matches which match-make players of the same power into teams to fight against other factions. A league table of the powers could then be created.
- FD could also introduce CQC-only power-unique weapons/modules.
- Create individual CQC league tables of commanders which could then be filtered by; All Commanders, major faction, power, CQC rank, combat rank or friends lists.
I'll add any other good ideas to the OP if/when they crop up in the thread.
Cheers
Last edited:
