Pilot Archive

...and it just got rekindled after seeing another naive thread by a new pilot wanting to see the Death Star II. (NOTE: Give it up on the DS2, guys - SWG's been around for two years, and I think the storyline has advanced MAYBE two months...they're not gonna skip over ESB's timeline...and all that potential income).

However, I believe the best way to get people to take piloting seriously would be to make the next Dead Eye-like quest (currently Syren, I know) to involve the imminent launching of the Executor.

Obviously, Vader's good ol' Super-class is (at this time) still in the superstructure/late planning/early prototype testing phase. However, this would be the perfect quest to inaugurate capital ships with a few months down the line.

My vision:

1. Open a new PvP-Enabled zone - Fondor. Make it the Rebel version of Deep Space, with so many Imperial ships flying about, you can't turn any direction without running into a TIE. The only static Rebel presence here should be fanatically heavily-armed suicidally-minded recon wings, since a single fighter wouldn't last two seconds even a SYSTEM away from a shipyard such as Fondor, especially with the Executor under construction.

2. Fondor should be a two-stage zone - a DS-like 16x16x16 zone, and a SCHEDULED INSTANCED (meaning people will have to plan their assaults around a specific time) 16x5x5 zone, housing the Beast in Spacedock. In the same DS vain, Fondor should be Ace-only territory.

3. To get to the ship, a Rebel would have to defeat a sizable shipyard defensive force, including orbital defense emplacements, Ye-4s, and a new (yet unownable) NPC prototype fighter in the form of the TIE Defender. Four waves sounds about right.

4. Once a strike team enters the instanced zone, a NOTAM (NOtice To AirMen) will go out to all Ace Imperial Pilots (sorry, 4444s and below) currently aloft in any sector that the Imperial Shipyards at Fondor orders their presence IMMEDIATELY to defend the shipyard from Rebellion invaders, starting a countdown until it'd be "too late." Make the countdown 10-15 minutes so there can be calls to arms.

5. A responding force is allowed to enter the same zone as the raiding party, yet they'll be surprised to find that elements of the infamous Rogue Squadron (though Luke and the other icons will only be able to be damaged enough to be forced to escape). Naturally, a ship like Luke's should have SOME chance of an exceptional drop from it in the form of a part if you succeed in damaging him or his wingmen (the same should be said about the Rebels taking down the Fondor Defense Force TIE-Defs). The assault force is then tasked with lowering the leviathan's shields.

NOTE: the 10-15 minute window for players to respond SHOULD work as so - pilots scramble, head for the public PvP sector of Fondor, and after dispatching any possible Rebel stragglers, communicate with some NPC trigger to enter a queue to enter and attempt to destroy the Rebel Player attacking force. Upon loading, all ships should spawn in one of several areas that are so secure that no Rebel in their right mind would fly near them to dissuade spawn griefing.

If the responding player force (if any) is defeated by the Rebel player assault force, and the shields are successfully disabled...

6. Here's where it gets interesting, and possibly more complicated than ANY other quest in any MMO, ever. Upon successful breach of the ship's security umbrella and defense against potential player reinforcements, everyone who is factioned with a CL of 80 on the ENTIRE SERVER (who incidentally bought the exp. pack that would contain access to this zone with it) gets a frantic systemwide message from their faction requesting support for a highly dangerous and classified mission, and all those interested should proceed immediately to a randomly-generated shuttle waypoint out in the middle of veritable nowhere. Give each faction the ability to send 25 players. Naturally, this goes back to the whole idea of scheduled instanced content.

These combatants would then fight each other amongst NPCs of equal strength in a bid to disable a VITAL part of the ship, such as the reactor or hyperdrive relays...in short, something the Imperials would have some b*tch of a time replacing, considering the Executor was the first in her class (yes, canonites, I know about the Lusankya too - don't remind me). You couldn't get the spare parts off any existing ship.

This couldn't happen every day or whenever someone felt like trying it - the servers couldn't take it. So rather - the Executor 16x5x5 spacedock zone should be SHARED by all servers, who would access it on a rotating, yet still random schedule. People should have an idea that their shot at the ship is coming up, but shouldn't have more than about eight hours' notice. Naturally, this wouldn't apply to the DS-like zone of Fondor, which would be persistent across all galaxies.

This is the farthest detail I've gone into this. Obviously, there's a big hole where a privateer's involvement should be...but one would think the Fondor Shipyards would be the LAST place a smuggler or neutral pilot would want to be. Still, one would think someone like Jabba would want details of a new class of Imperial battlecruiser - perhaps an reconnoitering of its design and potential capabilities - not a blatant act of aggression like a flat-out attack........which would more than likely cause a glassing of the surface of Tatooine from Wayfar to Anchorhead courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Imperator-class ISD and orbital bombardment system.

I have no idea what the reward should be, but I think the old system of "overall victors" like Dead Eye has to go - each server gets one shot at a time, and if the Rebels win, Condition A, and if the Imperials successfully defend, Condition B for X amount of time.

Sufficed to say, mere discounts on factional items and a slight FP earning boost wouldn't be NEARLY enough for something of this scope.

Message Edited by KaylBreinhar on 06-29-2005 04:56 AM

It even works into canon, since Imperial Admirals attempted to have the Executor sabotaged because they got pissy the Emperor was giving Vader such a powerful ship whilst they still had to tool around in dinky Imperators.

They let word "leak out" to the Rebels about the Executor's presence, and they staged a relatively unsuccessful attack to disable/destroy the vessel while it was still under construction.

...and the Empire needed more Admirals with non-crushed tracheas and still-attached heads not long thereafter.

4. Once a strike team enters the instanced zone, a NOTAM (NOtice To AirMen) will go out to all Ace Imperial Pilots (sorry, 4444s and below) currently aloft in any sector that the Imperial Shipyards at Fondor orders their presence IMMEDIATELY to defend the shipyard from Rebellion invaders, starting a countdown until it'd be "too late." Make the countdown 10-15 minutes so there can be calls to arms.

Great Idea, the problem would be lag. My computer would be chugging out 2 frames per minute lol. I couldn't hit a Kimo in pvp because of the ISD going offin DS.

Yeah, but it'd possibly be the singlemost complex quest ever devised for an MMO...could be just the thing to resurrect SWG as a front-line title and bring the abandoned concept of innovation back.

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FataIity wrote:
Great Idea, the problem would be lag. My computer would be chugging out 2 frames per minute lol. I couldn't hit a Kimo in pvp because of the ISD going off in DS.

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I think the lag has more to do with some coding anomaly - I know people with even better systems than mine that get the same problem when the ISD gets wiggy because of a superglued ship to its hull.

Lag could be compensated for with the Executor's defenses by scripting in that the defensive system is only effective for short periods (it IS still being constructed, after all), and that not all zones are functional.

Message Edited by KaylBreinhar on 06-29-2005 05:09 AM

Not to pick apart your idea, because I do dig it, but wasn't the Executor's first mission an attack on the Rebel base on Yavin shortly after the destruction of the first Death Star?

I'd buy the expansion in a heart beat!

Very good idea there, even withthe holes

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KaylBreinhar wrote:
It even works into canon, since Imperial Admirals attempted to have the Executor sabotaged because they got pissy the Emperor was giving Vader such a powerful ship whilst they still had to tool around in dinky Imperators.

They let word "leak out" to the Rebels about the Executor's presence, and they staged a relatively unsuccessful attack to disable/destroy the vessel while it was still under construction.

...and the Empire needed more Admirals with non-crushed tracheas and still-attached heads not long thereafter.

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You rang?

I'd love to take down the Executor!

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Coran_Sienar wrote:
I'd love to take down the Executor!

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Well, as I said, you can't "destroy" the Executor - you could merely keep it from launching so the Rebels could better prepare their forces.

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Treena_Daal wrote:
Not to pick apart your idea, because I do dig it, but wasn't the Executor's first mission an attack on the Rebel base on Yavin shortly after the destruction of the first Death Star?

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Nah, the Executor hadn't been in service long, but it was launched before the beginning of ESB.

Taken from starwars.com:

The Executor was the first of a new generation of immense warships, a Super-class Star Destroyer. Constructed in secret at the starship yards of Fondor, the Executor was a crowning achievement for both the Imperial Navy and Kuat Drive Yards. During the construction phase of its existence, the whole operation was under the command of Admiral Griff.

The Executor's maiden voyage was both a military mission and a political one. It was a demonstration to the Rebellion and the galaxy that the Alliance's success over the Death Star was pure chance. This new weapon, of which there would be many, would be unstoppable. Once leaving dry-dock at Fondor, the Executor destroyed the Rebel outpost at Laakteen Depot.

The warship then set forth to Yavin 4, where the Rebels were in the midst of a rushed evacuation. The use of rare power gems allowed several Rebel ships to penetrate the Executor's shields and momentarily cripple the craft. During the mass exodus of Yavin to Hoth, Admiral Griff miscalculated his task force's hyperspace jump, bringing the three Destroyers out on top of the Executor. The angle and shielding was sufficient to protect the Super Star Destroyer, but the other three vessels were annihilated.

The surface of the Executor was dotted with all sorts of weaponry. Its front arc was covered by 200 heavy and light turbolaser batteries, 50 concussion missile launchers, 100 ion cannons, and 20 tractor beam projectors. Its side arcs each boasted coverage by 75 light turbolaser batteries and 50 heavy turbolaser batteries, as well as 75 missile tubes, 50 ion cannons and 10 tractor beam projectors. The rear arc, traditionally the least defended area of a vessel, had an impressive weapons array of 50 heavy turbolaser batteries, 50 missile tubes, and 50 ion cannons.

Taken from Random forum posting somewhere, but I've seen the same info from a more reputable source (I just can't remember/FIND it atm):

Several Imperial Admirals saw the SSD as a blatant bid for power by Lord Darth Vader and they tried to sabotage the SSD Executor while it was still under construction at Fondor by informing the Rebels about it. In the end, the Rebels were not successful and the treacherous Admirals were eliminated by Lord Vader.

Just because the Rebels were unsuccessful in DESTROYING the Executor, doesn't mean they can't DAMAGE it. The MISSION might be to destroy it, but once enough damage is inflicted both externally and internally, the mission should be declared a success.

Message Edited by KaylBreinhar on 06-29-2005 05:57 PM

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KaylBreinhar wrote:

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Treena_Daal wrote:
Not to pick apart your idea, because I do dig it, but wasn't the Executor's first mission an attack on the Rebel base on Yavin shortly after the destruction of the first Death Star?

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Nah, the Executor hadn't been in service long, but it was launched before the beginning of ESB.

Taken from starwars.com:

The Executor's maiden voyage was both a military mission and a political one. It was a demonstration to the Rebellion and the galaxy that the Alliance's success over the Death Star was pure chance. This new weapon, of which there would be many, would be unstoppable. Once leaving dry-dock at Fondor, the Executor destroyed the Rebel outpost at Laakteen Depot.

The warship then set forth to Yavin 4, where the Rebels were in the midst of a rushed evacuation.

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OK, so I forgot about the mission to Laakteen, but other than that, isn't that more or less what I said?