Start TLDR;
Firstly I must say the Lugh conflict is the fun I’ve had so far. It’s also the most engaged in the ED universe I’ve been, I really care about the outcome of the conflict, I’m emotional invested and that say a lot about the community and the game as a whole.
But conflicts need be more persistent and real. Less abstracted, as they currently are.
There needs to be front lines, strategic targets and supply lines to plunder. Battles should ebb and flow, one and lost. Cap ships should jump in, be forced to retreated or dominate the field and move forward.
It's not trivial but it's doable.
End TLDR.
Once a player chooses a side it persist for the duration of the conflict, and it's visible to all players at all times. You can turncoat but it'll tank your rep with that faction.
Each side has limited war resources, a set number of virtual assets. These can be replenished through community goals, supply convoys etc. Community goals can be opposed and supplies can be interdicted and destroyed.
Battles can be one and lost, CZ only have set numbers of reinforcements once these are exhausted the battle is lost. A new CZ is spawned, but this time closer to the faction centre of power.
Capitol ships if present are the centre of these advances and become prime targets. Capitol ships once sufficiently damaged should be forced into dock to repair and are unavailable for the duration. Destroying them should be possible but extremely unlikely – you’d need to disable there jump drives somehow. Only other capital ships are really capable of destroying another Capital ship, I hope we see these behemoths slugging it out one day.
We should see supply convoys making their way to operational based and station, opposing forces can interdict the Convoy wings in SC, or jump in at set instanced staging points (Often in neighbouring systems) and attempt to destroy.
Convoys are tough targets with big escort ships, Anaconda (And eventual Corvettes) protecting them. Lone commanders may attempt to attack and destroy cargo vessels Lone-Wolf style to escape – submarine warfare style.
The advances finally result it assault in assaults on the factions’ strongholds, the stations.
Tie this all in to missions, convoy escorts, espionage, sabotage and covert ops etc. And you have a full scale war on your hands.
It doesn’t even need persistent NPC’s to work, just abstract the conflict on the amount of warships, convoys destroyed, supplies and new ships delivered, conflict zones won etc. It would still give the imperssion of total war.
They should probably even factor in manpower and industry as resources, this will stop conflict stalemating – if the smaller faction can’t achieve a decisive military victory, the larger faction will just win a war of attrition. This numbers should be waited to allow a conflict to last a week or two.
Honestly I’m sure Frontier are aware as anyone of how artificial conflicts currently feel, they are playing the same game we are. And I truly hope they have the future resourcing to introduce some of these things in the future.
