TobyB1
T
Here's a few ideas.
I want to see a MASSIVE crash in the galactic economy - we’re seeing 1920’s hyperinflation at the moment, what about a 1930’s Great Depression - with Colonia relatively immune. I would like to see the value of all activities relative to the costs of ships and their outfitting fall ... to a point where "routine" trading, old-fashioned common minerals mining, rare-commodity trading, etc all become worthwhile and important again. Colonia sheltered as it’s so far away … and to encourage (create?) trade to/from the Orion Spur Bubble.
At the same time, a huge new game mechanic where maintaining, repairing and fuelling becomes a real and significant part of game play ... remember how much each round costs before you hit the trigger! The game already has corrosive Thargoid material degrading ship components ... so the basics for coding are there.
Normal D&E-class modules are cheap and easy to maintain/repair. Higher class ones are not only expensive to buy, but should also be proportionately more expensive to maintain. And repairs for high-class stuff could only available in higher-tech and/or more specialised shipyards – so you need to travel to, or base yourself there. “ Specialised” might be not just pertain to technical abilities, but also to attitudes to reputations (famous explorers or rogue traders?) , criminal records, etc. This already exists in game for where you purchase them. Maybe you’d need components too. Engineered modules cost more and even more specialised centres to service/maintain. And certainly need components to refit. High performance components need a lot of maintenance and wear out quicker. Heavy duty last better. Worn out modules drop grades in terms of function, but retain maintenance costs, weight, etc. Un-maintained thrusters run slowly, but jump drives become unreliable with reduced range and mis-jumps increasingly common. Creaky old shields fail unpredictably, and worn weapons overheat, misfire and might even explode. Misaligned sensors misguide docking manoeuvres which might be expensive to repair (the stations landing pad, even if your shields held!) but be even more costly when you are fined and black-listed from docking privileges so you can’t repair your ship or sell your cargo. Cash can’t always buy your way out … black-market in reverse … imagine paying massively over-the-odds for a dodgy “repair” just to be able to limp out of the system to somewhere your reputation hasn’t reached yet? And all the pirates local intelligence networks will know the moment when you launch ... and merchants at stations in your jump range might know just what cargo you need to off-load and offer you appropriate prices when you limp into port?
Think of the “cars model”. In Europe, N.America, etc. in densely populated areas … mid-range cars easy to buy (new and second-hand) and maintain. Luxury and sports cars, more expensive and less available. Super-cars, and race-track-engineering? It’s cheaper to keep warm burning £10 notes! Travel into Sub-Saharan Africa or Central Asia in a relatively old-tech mid-range common vehicle, and you’ll find a mechanic who’ll keep it running somehow. An off-road vehicle … you might be fine. A Bentley or a Lamborghini, let alone a Ferrari F1 race engine, no chance! Anyone familiar with the costs, unreliability and hassles of running a vintage car? Or the reliability of “genuine factory parts” sourced off e-bay?
So – Class A jump drives need a major service after 100 full range jumps, but D’s will do 2500 … Class E thrusters will potter along for months with just topping up the fuel tank, but Class A Grade 5 Dirty Drag’s need a full rebuild after 15 hours of full-throttle … and if you don’t refit your luxury cabins to this season’s fashion after abuse by spoilt brats, you’ll find only Business and eventually Economy passengers will pay to travel in them. Outposts and tatty old Coriolis stations in poor anarchy's will almost always refit a Cobra somehow, but an A-rated FDL might be beyond them … and your Cutter will need to get to a first-class Imperial dockyard for even basic repairs and servicing. In some parts of space it might be more economic to scrap the once-fancy but now worn-out power distributor for something simpler that’s affordable to run and doesn't cut out during high demands. Pirates, smugglers and the like might find it easier to fly less specialised craft from outlaw stations than risk being interdicted by Security Services for running a cracked power plant leaking high-grade radiation.
And if game-achievements (i.e. ships) now need maintaining … maybe the same goes for Ranks … if you’ve not kept up with your service record, in your worn-out ill-fitting desperately old-fashioned Admiral’s uniform you could find the Federal dockyard won’t touch your equally tatty old Corvette!
For FDev’s, there’s potentially a huge amount of interesting game play here to work in … none of these ideas are new, they are familiar tropes of so many novels and films set in every real or imaginary world and period of time, often vital parts of the narrative … think of the new missions, game events and stories you can write in with these? Although done badly, it’ll inevitably lead to shout’s of “More GRINDING”.
And for FDev’s accountants … paint jobs get tatty and old fashioned, ship kits even more so!
I want to see a MASSIVE crash in the galactic economy - we’re seeing 1920’s hyperinflation at the moment, what about a 1930’s Great Depression - with Colonia relatively immune. I would like to see the value of all activities relative to the costs of ships and their outfitting fall ... to a point where "routine" trading, old-fashioned common minerals mining, rare-commodity trading, etc all become worthwhile and important again. Colonia sheltered as it’s so far away … and to encourage (create?) trade to/from the Orion Spur Bubble.
At the same time, a huge new game mechanic where maintaining, repairing and fuelling becomes a real and significant part of game play ... remember how much each round costs before you hit the trigger! The game already has corrosive Thargoid material degrading ship components ... so the basics for coding are there.
Normal D&E-class modules are cheap and easy to maintain/repair. Higher class ones are not only expensive to buy, but should also be proportionately more expensive to maintain. And repairs for high-class stuff could only available in higher-tech and/or more specialised shipyards – so you need to travel to, or base yourself there. “ Specialised” might be not just pertain to technical abilities, but also to attitudes to reputations (famous explorers or rogue traders?) , criminal records, etc. This already exists in game for where you purchase them. Maybe you’d need components too. Engineered modules cost more and even more specialised centres to service/maintain. And certainly need components to refit. High performance components need a lot of maintenance and wear out quicker. Heavy duty last better. Worn out modules drop grades in terms of function, but retain maintenance costs, weight, etc. Un-maintained thrusters run slowly, but jump drives become unreliable with reduced range and mis-jumps increasingly common. Creaky old shields fail unpredictably, and worn weapons overheat, misfire and might even explode. Misaligned sensors misguide docking manoeuvres which might be expensive to repair (the stations landing pad, even if your shields held!) but be even more costly when you are fined and black-listed from docking privileges so you can’t repair your ship or sell your cargo. Cash can’t always buy your way out … black-market in reverse … imagine paying massively over-the-odds for a dodgy “repair” just to be able to limp out of the system to somewhere your reputation hasn’t reached yet? And all the pirates local intelligence networks will know the moment when you launch ... and merchants at stations in your jump range might know just what cargo you need to off-load and offer you appropriate prices when you limp into port?
Think of the “cars model”. In Europe, N.America, etc. in densely populated areas … mid-range cars easy to buy (new and second-hand) and maintain. Luxury and sports cars, more expensive and less available. Super-cars, and race-track-engineering? It’s cheaper to keep warm burning £10 notes! Travel into Sub-Saharan Africa or Central Asia in a relatively old-tech mid-range common vehicle, and you’ll find a mechanic who’ll keep it running somehow. An off-road vehicle … you might be fine. A Bentley or a Lamborghini, let alone a Ferrari F1 race engine, no chance! Anyone familiar with the costs, unreliability and hassles of running a vintage car? Or the reliability of “genuine factory parts” sourced off e-bay?
So – Class A jump drives need a major service after 100 full range jumps, but D’s will do 2500 … Class E thrusters will potter along for months with just topping up the fuel tank, but Class A Grade 5 Dirty Drag’s need a full rebuild after 15 hours of full-throttle … and if you don’t refit your luxury cabins to this season’s fashion after abuse by spoilt brats, you’ll find only Business and eventually Economy passengers will pay to travel in them. Outposts and tatty old Coriolis stations in poor anarchy's will almost always refit a Cobra somehow, but an A-rated FDL might be beyond them … and your Cutter will need to get to a first-class Imperial dockyard for even basic repairs and servicing. In some parts of space it might be more economic to scrap the once-fancy but now worn-out power distributor for something simpler that’s affordable to run and doesn't cut out during high demands. Pirates, smugglers and the like might find it easier to fly less specialised craft from outlaw stations than risk being interdicted by Security Services for running a cracked power plant leaking high-grade radiation.
And if game-achievements (i.e. ships) now need maintaining … maybe the same goes for Ranks … if you’ve not kept up with your service record, in your worn-out ill-fitting desperately old-fashioned Admiral’s uniform you could find the Federal dockyard won’t touch your equally tatty old Corvette!
For FDev’s, there’s potentially a huge amount of interesting game play here to work in … none of these ideas are new, they are familiar tropes of so many novels and films set in every real or imaginary world and period of time, often vital parts of the narrative … think of the new missions, game events and stories you can write in with these? Although done badly, it’ll inevitably lead to shout’s of “More GRINDING”.
And for FDev’s accountants … paint jobs get tatty and old fashioned, ship kits even more so!
