Pilot Archive

...yes, I'm well aware of the "blockading" done to prevent farmers from entering DS.

What I'm referring to is the act of denying supplies from reaching worlds, making the controlling faction's job FAR more difficult and adding a sorely needed GCW aspect to space.

I don't have the energy to fire enough neurons to come up with some ideas on how to accomplish this, but I think it deserves some thought.

I think there's a general reluctance toward mechanics that have serious and widespread consequences, be it planetary blockades, factional occupations of NPC cities that mean something, the existence of contraband that can be confiscated or heavily penalized, true hardships for Jedi, etc. Things like that can result in hassles for people not immediately involved in whatever conflict they're related to, as well as for those who are involved in the conflict but would rather not be, and that's Not Fun, which seems to be one of the major situations to avoid around here.

However, they're also the very systems that can create the most meaning and sense of involvement in a game like this. They're the things that give it depth. I think there's a sort of philosophical resistance to systems like that in this game--which is understandable, and good in some ways, since a lot of the time they aren't fun for some players--and so that's why we don't have planetary blockades. They don't fit with the paradigm.

Also because I imagine they're hard to do right.

Really though, players adapt. If hardship's the way of the game, they get used to hardship. If taking it easy's the way of the game, they get used to taking it easy. Increasing the risk in a game is always met with a lot of resistance, but I wish there were a little more balance in that direction, personally.

Well Blockades are meant to cut off resources and create attrition so perhaps the results of a blockade could be felt in faction points. Currently everything in the GCW is purchased with FP's so that is the currancy of this war.A blockade could result in an extreme increase in FP cost for bases, etc; an inability to place new bases, etc.; or a limit in the amount of FP one can aquire while under blockade.

Just some ideas that struck me.

What there needs to be for blockading to work is a NPC resource network meta game. Similar to how EVE works with trade routes.

Lets say every Starport has a Resource dealer or too, but these resources can on be shift when in a ships cargo hold. Also due to the weight of these resources, conventional hyperdrive would tear the ship apart. So low speed jump gates must be imployed to move the resources. Once you get to you destination, you can then sell the resources to another NPC resource trader for a profit, that is of course if you've went to the right place to sell.

If there was a very rare resource (or spice) then people could blockade the starports, with starports them selves giving players with these special holds scans for contraban, and if there are opposite faction players there, they can then intercept the person carrying the goods, or NPC's ships will be deployed.

Then smugglers can get involved by having special holds craftable and useable by them which gives a chance to avoid detection etc.

But, i'm just dreaming.

there's a real simple solution. blockade endor, dathomir and naboo. make them bastions of imperial might. you load into the zone as a rebel and BAM there's 3 ISDs in orbit. there's no pirates. no black sun. no other BS, just thousands of tie squadrons. flying into the maw of this beast would be suicide even for the best of pilots. put the rebel fleet somewhere too for the hell of it.

then grant smugglers ability to create chips that "fool" imperial sensors in a certainrange.

will people cry? yup. will it be awesome? yup. (the zone, not their crying). the devs need to stop catering to the people who actually end up hurting the game. the devs cater to people who cry about things, but then the game ends up being a pale shadow of star wars and people quit because of it. nobody is going to quit because they can't fly around endor to their hearts content. they may whine about it, but they aren't going to quit.