In a game where players are distributed fairly thinly across a gigantic play area, we need a way of determining where most players are (for lawful and outlaw purposes). This would result in more organic PvP scenarios which can currently be very hard to find unless you go to a CG, which can get samey and tedious after a while.
Traffic Overlay
I propose that the traffic volume data is used as a galaxy map overlay, which would colour stars based on how many players have traveled through the system in the last 24 hours - this data is already displayed on the station home screen, so it makes sense for it to be used as a galaxy map category.
The star colour overlay would show as the following for player traffic numbers:
Danger Overlay
Also there should be an overlay showing star system danger levels which would be determined by the number of illegal/powerplay PvP assaults & kills (it would not take into account wanted player destruction or 'crimes off' assaults or kills). This would be really useful for not only peaceful players who want to avoid pvp danger, but also player bounty hunters looking for pvp kills.
The star colour overlay would show as the following for player vs player assault/kill numbers:
________
NOTE: It would be preferable if these overlays were not restricted by range from the current player location. However if there is some technical requirement for them to be range limited, I suggest the range being no less than 100ly. This is because range limits reduce the usefulness of these kind of heat-map overlays IMO.
A couple of preemptive counter-arguments:
Q: Wouldn't a player traffic overlay encourage griefing?
A: No more than the concept of CGs already do... But it would also help defensive pvpers protect other players and bounty hunt. Not to mention other intended forms of PvP gameplay such as piracy and powerplay which are currently too spread out and hard to find without using 3rd party tools like Inara or EDDB. Both of these overlays would also help players avoid wondering in to pvp hotspots unintentionally.
Q: Player traffic numbers are not useful as it doesn't show which mode the players are in.
A: If a system has a high player-traffic level, it's likely that those players will be equally distributed across all three modes, making it highly useful for finding players in open (likely somewhere between 25% - 60% of the traffic data). To prove it, go to any system with player traffic reports over 1000 and you will see players in open fairly regularly.
Traffic Overlay
I propose that the traffic volume data is used as a galaxy map overlay, which would colour stars based on how many players have traveled through the system in the last 24 hours - this data is already displayed on the station home screen, so it makes sense for it to be used as a galaxy map category.
The star colour overlay would show as the following for player traffic numbers:
- 0 : Grey
- 1 - 50 : Purple
- 51 - 150 : Blue
- 151 - 500 : Cyan
- 501 - 1000 : Green
- 1001 - 2000 : Yellow
- 2001 - 3000 : Orange
- 3001 + : Red
Danger Overlay
Also there should be an overlay showing star system danger levels which would be determined by the number of illegal/powerplay PvP assaults & kills (it would not take into account wanted player destruction or 'crimes off' assaults or kills). This would be really useful for not only peaceful players who want to avoid pvp danger, but also player bounty hunters looking for pvp kills.
The star colour overlay would show as the following for player vs player assault/kill numbers:
- 0 : Grey
- 1 - 3 assaults/ 0 kills : Green
- 4 - 10 assaults / 0 kills : Yellow
- 11 - 25 assaults / 1-5 kills : Orange
- 26 - 50 assaults / 6-20 kills : Pink
- 50 + assaults / 20+ kills : Red
________
NOTE: It would be preferable if these overlays were not restricted by range from the current player location. However if there is some technical requirement for them to be range limited, I suggest the range being no less than 100ly. This is because range limits reduce the usefulness of these kind of heat-map overlays IMO.
A couple of preemptive counter-arguments:
Q: Wouldn't a player traffic overlay encourage griefing?
A: No more than the concept of CGs already do... But it would also help defensive pvpers protect other players and bounty hunt. Not to mention other intended forms of PvP gameplay such as piracy and powerplay which are currently too spread out and hard to find without using 3rd party tools like Inara or EDDB. Both of these overlays would also help players avoid wondering in to pvp hotspots unintentionally.
Q: Player traffic numbers are not useful as it doesn't show which mode the players are in.
A: If a system has a high player-traffic level, it's likely that those players will be equally distributed across all three modes, making it highly useful for finding players in open (likely somewhere between 25% - 60% of the traffic data). To prove it, go to any system with player traffic reports over 1000 and you will see players in open fairly regularly.
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