Development Cycle Archive
Thread: In-Concept Open Discussion (Week Ending 3-8-04)
WIldWhippy wrote:
When will wookiees finally get some lovin? maybe make them wait another year so no one plays wookiee anymore
If you gave them +10 experimentation to the crafting, that would be a substantial benefit and easiest to code. Force sensitive slots are currently combat only, but why don't you give them a chance to be something different?
If you like... give them a TEF for crafting. That would make the jedi still need to live in the middle of nowhere to have their shop. Still remaining secret as they should be.
Always trying to be cautious of my suggestions as implementation is easier said than done...
I dont think jedi xp should be given for the jedi crafting, as this would promote macro grinding of the jedi (not good!). Also, it is one less thing you need to code.
For a FSCS that chooses not to go that jedi tree, a simple +10 bonus to stats should be available. This would be supported by the movies, as anakin was capable of building and piloting a pod racer better than any non-human (humans were supposed to be inferior at the sport) and had no jedi training or skills at that point and was still a young boy. Though not as attuned as Vader is, our FSCS should have hit this level by the age we are in the game.
If coding is not considered (yeah right... im a programmer... i would hate to do this)... you cold make another jedi tree, seperate than initiate, that boosts crafting and other skills to compliment standard professions instead of making them an standard boost to all fscs.
As far as death penalties goes... make them lose a whole tier of the skills they had. I personally was a fan of permadeath... but hey, we cant have everything
a couple of things to think of how about being able to shoot while mounted on a vehicle? the precedent that i give is return of the jedi.
there is another thing that i believe would really show the game a new facelift for many things. i was playing knights of the old republic and with my character in there i was able to hold 2pistols and 2 lightsabers. all i could think of was man that would be awesome to be able to do that in galaxies. well what i propose is look at the roleplaying game of star wars from wizards of the coast im not saying rip their rules off because u will not be able to at all but that outlines avery effective way to put this ability into the game.
for instance putting 2 pistols in the game u could start it in the pistol tree of the novice marksman with this u can incurr a major penalty at first and as u progress in the tree u can digress on the penalty to hit. it is then furthered in the pistoleer tree as well. same thing with fencer u could do it like the dodge but with the penalty being decreased (the attribute being lowered would most likely look to be accuracy) now while u still have this feat and are able to use it you still lose part of your accuracy that u will not be able to regain unless you unequip one or your pistols or your swords.
same with jedi as well if u are going to allow a 2 bladed lightsaber u might as well allow 2 lightsabers to be weilded at the same time. precedent for all of these things is jango fet in episode 2 and anakin in the same movie. these things are based on the D&D rules so to speak, so why not go back to the source to find what u need to keep the game fresh. i have many ideas about what u could put in for many different professions and this is the first of many posts i hope =)
Thunderheart, I've compiled a list of questions concerning the Space Expansion over in the Core Systems forum (message #10329).
For now, I'd like to summarize those questions down to two:
- When can we expect to see some firm information on selected Space Expansion features?
- When will an officialSpace Expansion forum be created for focused discussion?
I'd appreciate any information you could pry loose on these two questions.
Thanks!
--Flatfingers
Bases should have set vulnerable times BUT I like the idea oh having it vuln 3 - 4 days a week on a random rotation chooseable by the game and not the owners, this makes it so once a vuln time is known it still has a random factor to it. Vulnerable times should be atleast 3 hours but you should be able to choose if you want larger vulnerability time such as 3 or 4 hours
Greater base defenses should not be vulnerable attacks unless it's an hour before the vulnerable window through the vulnerable time, this will prevent the bases from having there defenses destroyed during times where nobody can defend them and allowing users to walk right in. Turrets should also not fire during downtimes as well
Greater base defenses should only be allowed to be attacked if the attacker is declared.
I like the change coming with theturrets must be destroyed before an attacker can enter the base.
Minefields should be a better defense then they currently are, also while examining the minefields, the same faction should be able to see what types of mines are located in the field.
Burst running or driving into a base should not be allowed
I suggest making the door something that needs to be sliced to open either by a smuggler or a droid, skills determine the amount of time it takes to open and there should be a countdown timer to open the door.
Base Pets should be buffed a bit to prevent one shot kills, bases should never be an easy thing
I believe that bases should have to be attacked by a large force and not an elite few team members
Countdown timers currently seem fair so that should not change
TH & DEV's
This post is about a replacement for /citywarn ... As a founding Arch for my city, malitia commander, senior military commander and now PA Leader I have given this much thought and I wanted to present my ideas to the community as well as you all up there in La-la land.
A) PROBLEM WITH /CITYWARN
Citywarn was taken out due to greifing other players, too much power put in the hands of "the player" when it came to PvP against others. I myself am not a big PvP person and enjoy the PvE instead. Since it was taken out, I have seen some things written it will not be coming back or is in work.
Vall's solution ....
B) City Malitia Forces:
Each type of "faction" game wide is based off a 5000 point counter. (-2000 Jabba, 5000 Imperial, etc). As each city has become an in-game faction so to speak. Each Mayor is the "faction leader" deaing out the malitia, zoning, etc.
What if the Malitia system was revamped in a way that the Mayor from "City X" could promote a "Captain of the Guard". That new Captain goes to the city management terminal and requests a "Malitia Recruiter". The recruiter is then placed whereever.
From this point on, everyone in the malitia can request "X" amount of NPC city Malitia's per update cycle. Say 5 total NPC's per week or cycle. They are dropped within the city itself, they can walk around, maybe give out little missions here and there for the PC Malitia members, maintain security, and so on. Each time a city reaches a new level, perhaps the combat power, or vision, or physical look of the city Malitia NPC's can be changed from a list much like when picking out a vendor of some kind. The Malitia NPC's cannot leave the city bounderies, just like every police force as its jurisdiction, so do these. They can shoot beyond the boarders till the range on the weapons, but cannot physically leave the city bounderies.
C) How does this protect cities?
Simple, when I roll into some new city and cause problems. I can be TEF'd in some fashion by the NPC only, they give me the option of leaving the city, growing obident to city rules of some kind, or they will shoot to kill me. If I were to openly attack these NPC's I am TEF'd and can be attacked by PC malitiausing the exact same code sets as if I were an Imperial that was declared and someone attacked my Imperial NPC's. But if I (as the cities visitor)kill 5 of the malitia NPC's then I lose faction points for that city. Thus next time I go there, it would be just as if I had -1000 Nym's Points on Lok and his body guards always attack me. Same exact concept.
D) How can we avoid greifing when TEF'd by PC Malitia, or unwanted attacks by the NPC malitia?
The PC Malitia run missions from some Malitia terminal or something. As they gain their own Malitia ranks and or points (IE: +2330 Tiberius Points) they can have more "Malitia Commands". If I roll back into "City X" and already have negative malitia points for that city. But I want to be a good visitor, then once the PC Malitia member talks with me or whatever. They can call off their own malitia thus making me not attackable by NPC malitia for a certain time period. Perhaps like a "/standdown" command removing any TEF on the visitor and resetting the NPC malitia's view of him.
E) What if I have -5000 City X points and I want to gain points to be a good visitor or new citizen?
Easy, run missions to help that malitia out. Say pick up a mission to bring an informant into the city, or stop a local Spice dealer. To avoid players who have lost city points from exploiting the system as a whole, as the visitor trying to get into the good graces of the city approaches 0 or positive points, the PC malitia member can use maybe a "/malitiapardon" command removing that player from any threat until they begin losing points again by their own actions.
F) How can we grow the city malitia forces?
Easy, each new city level brings the following to help that malitia out:
1. A new physical look for NPC's who can be called by PC malitia members.
2. Increased combat skills by the NPC's
3. Increased malitia missions that can be run.
4. Increased number of malitia that can be called by a PC for that given update cycle.
5. What can you think of?
G) Can GCW affiliations be rolled into this?
YES! .... Absolutly ... as a city is declared on any side of the line. The NPC's that can be called by a PC Malitia member resimble their affiliation of the GCW. An Imperial town can call perhaps not ST's but instead just "Imperial" looking security forces all in the same uniform of some kind. Same on the Neutral or Rebel sides. And as the city grows in size, the selection's grow larger allowing for many new features to be added.
TH and DEV's ... I dont know if this is codeable or not. But after months studying the city, working with vast amounts of city malitia issues in-game. I believe and many of those I've talked to think this could be a VERY viable option to not only help us protect our city boarders, bring more activity to some cities, make things a bit more interesting and making our Malitia's useful. But I belive it would also help with the static feel of the cities which to me is important.
I hope this is an idea that is heard ...
Admiral Vall
BLACK STAR LEGION
Starsider
Tiberius - Lok
Howabout a net gun? Not sure who would use it, but it could root targets temoprarily. Kinda like the adhesive mesh trap
Have a [aggressive critter here] invasion of a city, the npcs around town could all start desperatly offering destroy missions. If the players don't slaughter fast enough, then the city gets overrun temporarily.
Make the crackdown have a bigger kick.. If a random imperial city patrol detects covert rebels, they make every factioned player in a XX meter radius overt and order them to kill the rebels. Killin rebels under these conditions gives double FP award.
Make gated resources spawn more often, but in very small locations (ie, the entire concentration map for the planet is within 1km)
Let scouts make observation towers, maybe extend the effective range of radar past 80m.
Make nasty weather DO something to people not in camps/buildings. Sandstorms could make vehicles degrade faster, thunderstorms could decrease con/stam/will stats. Have players on the plains in a thunderstorm have a small % chance of getting struck by lightning. Randomly give players very weak disease if they run around in the rain - "System Message: You've caught a cold". On the wilder planets like endor and yavin, there could be killing storms that do damage and have high winds to randomly KD players. What great atmosphere!
So even though I find cloning very handy ( I would hate to ditch a character every time I get slain ) I thought it interesting to try and figure out other alternatives if possible
The incap state is especially interesting in that regard, it offers many opportunities for a player to avoid death
for PVE mask scent could work as a repellent for wild beasts and they wouldnt come and finish, against thugs the feign death option, which should be available to more than smugglers, handy for the poor Bounty hunters too
In pvp another option other than slaying could possibly add to gameplay is "capture" that's an element of gameplay that has been seldom used in roleplaying games, enemies that capture you rather than kill. The only issue is how much entertainment value it has... after all been stuck in a cell doesnt provide for an intense fun packed moment of gaming. So should be added the opportunity of being able to leave whenever players want to, which sounds strange
why would imperials or rebels release members of other clans?
In exchange for secret informations
Upon reaching a certain rank a rebel or imperial would be given a datadisk containing top secret info, player would have the responsibility to hide it wherever he wants in the game world, there could be conceal skill that would be given big bonuses for smugglers and a search skill where bounty hunters would be given bonuses( investigation ) and would decide how easily and how fast a player could conduct a search for hidden datadisk ( if still on player when captured )
Actually players would be encouraged to go hide data disk in the place of their choice, using a "hide" command in radial menu ( or /hide command? ) then when they are incap in pvp a "capture icon" would be shown over them. then instead of slaying the character the default action upon double clicking would be to capture them, make them stand up hands cuffed and forced to follow captor, another player can free prisoner by incapacitating captor first and clicking on player.. freeing a character could take time and provide captor a fleeing opportunity ( kinda like a burst run for an incap character ) if prisoner is taken to a prison, a new building that could be a part of a faction town or a room of a faction base ) players can use sabotage to free their captured comrades.
if they fail in their objectives players have the opportunity to give out the waypoint of their hidden datadisk: captor or other guild member can go to waypoint and search place for datadisk upon finding it they have a menu asking whether they are freeing prisoner or executing it, if they chose the later a general display tells all of the player's guild member that the other guild executes prisoners and that guild becomes unable to take prisoners for a certain amount of time being unable to get disks
earning datadisks should be a good reward: good faction points and another pvp bonus: extra damage or extra defence against other guild or maybe the schematics to a top secret upgraded powerups which last longer or have bigger effects .
The guy operating the search would have to take the schematics back to his base for analysis to get access to the bonuses. A lost datadisk would mean losing a lot of faction points for the captured player... goin below 200 would mean losing rank or losing faction status temporarily
my two cents