[Suggestion] Added depth to Combat Zones/Resistance Pockets for expansion and conflict resolution..

[CMDR Byr Goefin]

Events that use one of the flavors of CZ/RP/CW POIs (points of interest) should have a fixed number of spawns.

Say 1000 ships per side, which get used up as ships are destroyed in the CZ.

When one side or the other runs out of ships, the POIs shuts down and extra merits/influnces are awarded to the side that "won" the POI.

More POIs would spawn until a set number are met, say 100 POIs per system conflict. This might be based on population: bigger population, more resources for each side to thow into the the POIs.

At that point the battle is won, and the conflict is over.

If the timer runs out first, like at the end of PP cycle, and there are still POIs open, then the side that has won the most POIs + other merits, wins.

For those that don't know, systems that expand like this can be opposed by interdicting certain ships, not just killing them in the CZ.
Those would come into play if one side did not actually finish all the POIs.

 

[Loophole]

I like this idea. For a while I have felt that the various combat zones just felt like endless barroom brawls - they don't really give you the sense of really fighting a war.

Taking Geofin's suggestion a little further, the set of POIs could be structured to paint a bit of a story - perhaps starting out in space or around a planet that is the focus of the conflict, but if one side starts loosing, the conflict zones shift to stations or planets that faction controls. One day we might even see conflicts that culminate with a CZ that occurs in the instance with an outpost or station, representing the last-ditch defense by that faction.

Likewise, some CZs might involve defense of a "Command and Control" vessel, or "Supply" vessels, or be structured as ambushes or hit-and-run raids rather than slugging matches.

More, shorter-lived CZs with a greater sense of narrative could add a lot to the experience.