So a Military Career Overhaul has been on the books for quite a while now, & I certainly hope its a high priority for 2.4.
With that in mind, I'd like to share my thoughts on how I'd like to see the Military Career work, post overhaul.
Navy as a "Faction": Although I think that Super-Power Affiliates should remain the way to gain initial acceptance into the Navy, I believe that gaining additional missions & rank with the Navy should require you to work with the Navy as a Separate Faction on the Mission Board & in the Passenger Lounge.
Navy Missions by Rank: As it was in Elite II & Elite III, Missions & Passenger Contracts should be gated by Military Rank, more than by your various Elite Rankings. Low level Missions/Contracts would be fairly simple Point A to Point B Courier, Haulage & Passenger Missions (though the Haulage might be items that you cannot normally get via the commodity market, rising up to much more difficult missions in the higher ranks. However, Missions performed for the military should have a significantly higher chance of spawning a mission follow-on than Civilian Missions.
Navy Rank: Obviously the way to gain rank is to do missions for the Navy, but gaining combat bonds with a Super-Power affiliated faction might be another way. Rank could be lost, though, by gaining a bounty from a Super-Power affiliated Faction, from failing multiple missions, losing influence with the Super-Power whose navy you're in, & by "Resigning your Commission" (which loses you all accumulated rank). The other thing I'd like to see is that, as you increase in rank with one Super-Power, the slower the gaining of rank with other Super-Powers becomes. It also becomes harder to gain influence with Factions belonging to Rival Super-Powers, & easier to lose influence with them.
Benefits of Rank: The Higher your rank in the Navy, the easier it is to gain influence with Factions & Engineers affiliated to that Super-Power. Rank can also be sacrificed to "Call in a favour" to further benefit your relations with the aforementioned Factions, Engineers.....& even Powers....or to get something from them. Rank will also get you access to Military Only Facilities. Military Outposts would be open to Civilians, but Military Settlements, Military Stations & other Military Facilities (like Naval Shipyards) would only be accessible by those of sufficient rank. Also, along with ships, increased rank would gain you access to Military Grade Modules & Military Only Engineers.
Military Facilities will also always have Military Missions & Military Passenger Contracts.
Medals & Decals: If you perform exceptionally well in a mission, you will be able to gain various medals that fit in with the kind of mission you did so well in. These medals will be visible to the player in-game, & can also be placed on the flight suit of your Holo-me avatar. Also, military service will gain you access to various Military Specific Decals that you can put on your ship.
Anyway, those are my thoughts regarding a Military Career. If anyone has other ideas, please feel free to share them here.....& lets all keep our fingers crossed!
With that in mind, I'd like to share my thoughts on how I'd like to see the Military Career work, post overhaul.
Navy as a "Faction": Although I think that Super-Power Affiliates should remain the way to gain initial acceptance into the Navy, I believe that gaining additional missions & rank with the Navy should require you to work with the Navy as a Separate Faction on the Mission Board & in the Passenger Lounge.
Navy Missions by Rank: As it was in Elite II & Elite III, Missions & Passenger Contracts should be gated by Military Rank, more than by your various Elite Rankings. Low level Missions/Contracts would be fairly simple Point A to Point B Courier, Haulage & Passenger Missions (though the Haulage might be items that you cannot normally get via the commodity market, rising up to much more difficult missions in the higher ranks. However, Missions performed for the military should have a significantly higher chance of spawning a mission follow-on than Civilian Missions.
Navy Rank: Obviously the way to gain rank is to do missions for the Navy, but gaining combat bonds with a Super-Power affiliated faction might be another way. Rank could be lost, though, by gaining a bounty from a Super-Power affiliated Faction, from failing multiple missions, losing influence with the Super-Power whose navy you're in, & by "Resigning your Commission" (which loses you all accumulated rank). The other thing I'd like to see is that, as you increase in rank with one Super-Power, the slower the gaining of rank with other Super-Powers becomes. It also becomes harder to gain influence with Factions belonging to Rival Super-Powers, & easier to lose influence with them.
Benefits of Rank: The Higher your rank in the Navy, the easier it is to gain influence with Factions & Engineers affiliated to that Super-Power. Rank can also be sacrificed to "Call in a favour" to further benefit your relations with the aforementioned Factions, Engineers.....& even Powers....or to get something from them. Rank will also get you access to Military Only Facilities. Military Outposts would be open to Civilians, but Military Settlements, Military Stations & other Military Facilities (like Naval Shipyards) would only be accessible by those of sufficient rank. Also, along with ships, increased rank would gain you access to Military Grade Modules & Military Only Engineers.
Military Facilities will also always have Military Missions & Military Passenger Contracts.
Medals & Decals: If you perform exceptionally well in a mission, you will be able to gain various medals that fit in with the kind of mission you did so well in. These medals will be visible to the player in-game, & can also be placed on the flight suit of your Holo-me avatar. Also, military service will gain you access to various Military Specific Decals that you can put on your ship.
Anyway, those are my thoughts regarding a Military Career. If anyone has other ideas, please feel free to share them here.....& lets all keep our fingers crossed!
