Just keeping the dream alive and serious discussion is always welcome. I wish to continue to argue the case for adopting a regulated system by which official factions can make 'moves' against NPC bases that meet their rules of engagement requirements. I have proposed the exact same system that governs the engagement of POB's. This doesn't need to happen overnight but getting a start on this would be the start of a new direction here, and it seems like a good time for a restart.
Adopting a system like this will allow for a new level of roleplay and story involvement. It won't govern all story development, but will allow for a bare minimum of story to remain ongoing between major story turns. All we need is a team to carry out and operate the system.
The basic premise remains the same, use scidata as a currency for earning an 'attack' on an NPC base by an official faction, as dictated by their ZOI and ID rules of engagement. The attack would be a siege event, and would require making the targeted base an attackable object for 7 days. If the base can be reduced to 0 HP, it changes IFF to that of the attacking faction (captured). This can be challenged immediately however by opposing factions if they are able to 'buy' a counter attack event of their own. The system is to fight over bases, not destroy them (although I wrote that if a base could be held for 6 straight months, self destruction could be purchased with more scidata, that is an option anyways).
There are many advantages to using this system:
-It creates a new in-game based, player drivable activity with practical value.
-It creates an openly accessible system that guarantees equal opportunity to make gains or to challenge outcomes, by all parties involved. It sets out what can and cannot be done well in advance and ensures most influence by players must be done in-game (& forum), not via oorp private relationships.
-It encourages official faction membership, as official factions become direct driving forces on the server, with even more ability to exert force on the map. To have your effect on some story, a player can always find an appropriate faction to join and contribute to.
-It creates a perpetual 'capture the flag' back and forth battle ability that functions in a way that ensures that group effort raises the chances for victory, yet no outcome is forcibly permanent, and a purpose can always be derived from either end of a factional conflict (maintaining holdings, or taking them back). This is the most important part, as it should allow for a perpetual state of increased activity.
-It focuses player activity around naturally forming events/activities.
-It generates more opportunity for players to make greater utilization of their earned resources and skills.
-It creates inevitable roleplay and consequence enforceable activity.
-It allows for official factions as groups to form greater plans, secret strategies, secret efforts/projects.
-It guarantees a new atmosphere here that there are always new developments and opportunities for new players.
-It creates a constant need to consume certain resources by players, forcing greater use of built up levels of in game currency, scidata, and player built equipment (preventing economic stagnation).
At the moment it still feels like the place is in slow motion. I still firmly believe that this can change rather easily and that we would all feel that the future of our involvement here will be much more fulfilling. As I write this there are 5 people online. Why not log to fly even at this hour? Easy, nothing new to do. Change that, and even late at night we'd see dozens more online than now. That makes spontaneous logging much better for everyone else, and a bigger average population makes it better for everyone in the long run. Remember when Discovery always had dozens of people online and only the little servers had 5 people online? Well I think we're there.
In Omega 3 We have 5 potential bases for challenge over. Several factions have ZOI in this area that can otherwise lay siege to POB's. Yes, the point is, that any one of these factions could begin trying to change the map a bit slowly in their favor, or stage of big surprise and pull a fast one, if well prepared in advance. It gives factions a lot more to plan around, roleplay for help over, form bonds/treaties, etc.
According to the system, groups like the Corsairs and Red Hessians could capture the civilian bases if not fended off. Each attack would be a chance to bring in attention from smaller groups if the target base has no active faction. Most bases are covered by house military ZOI's, or another large ZOI faction. This of course, is exactly where a huge avenue of opportunity opens for prospective faction forming.
Omega-48 is very similar. Both systems have vulnerable planets, the capture of which would be of huge importance. With this system, it can all develop and unfold naturally by way of the players using their factions to try to earn their gain. Again, should any faction succeed, that outcome can always be challenged if there are other factions being well maintained, and the whole thing becomes incentive to do just that. In every case, a balance will be achieved after the first initial challenges over any area. At least the keeping of a real balance will be the point of playing and staying involved.
Any factions that may succeed in capturing Gran Canaria would change the balance out there greatly, and would allow for others to take action, like those from Bretonia. If a faction did attack the planet, there would be plenty of chances for the other interested factions to counter the move and play to the action. Most of the time, a siege may be thwarted by a diligent defense that will run up the clock on the siege event in general. Yet at least the ability to really try allows us to work on something related to the effort 24/7.
Omicron Xi is my Outcast vs Corsairs example. In this case, if the Outcasts wanted to try, they could try to remove the Corsair military presence with earned sieges of their ships/bases, and try to capture the moon of Amorgos. Again, this would not be easy. The system is arranged so that it is likely this will take several tries, and each conflict is likely to remain stuck at certain focal points, until one side clearly outmatches the other (which may be never depending on the popularity of the issue).
You can see that all of these moves would require huge amounts of scidata, that would take weeks, perhaps months to earn, so attacks could not be too frequent, and the overall frequency of the events can be controlled by controlling the availability of scidata, and its value. The need to constantly mine, or play to generate funds to buy the data, to keep your faction in the game, also keeps the server alive and focused on real achievable goals. That part of the system is why people would return, and stay more, since it guarantees equal ability to counter each other in the game more so than on the forums, or through oorp relationships.
Sigma-17 is another example for potential expansion by the Outcasts or Corsairs. The Outcasts would certainly eye Planet Kurile, or Atka (finally), and the Corsairs would be concerned with stopping those moves. There isn't much for Outcasts to try to grab in Sigma-19, but Sigma-17 is only a short trip beyond, and parties like the GMG may be weak enough to pull the rug out from under them. Can they hold their own out there? Find allies to help out? Reinforce the area to 'dig in'? (POB's).
And, at the very least, if both parties decided war is not favorable for either, they can make a real deal to keep things as they are there. And then a few months later a new group gets their officialdom that wants to rock the boat anyways, and we see how it plays out.
If anyone has any scenarios they think would be troublesome or in a grey area, feel free to discuss.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that this system ensures much more fair opportunity for players to maintain their interests by playing the game, not arguing on the forums or discord. I rarely ever argued with people here except about this topic. I have never sieged or destroyed anyone's bases, removed your NPC bases suddenly, forced the removal of factions, or whole planets from play. I just want to see a more alive and modernized server so that I and the rest of us can get back to fulfilling activity. As far as I can see, this system should benefit everyone by generating a lot more business and trade, which will be more linked to driving the story of the game world. If we can get this system set up we can begin a whole new era of gameplay & roleplay that will always be fresh and exciting! It's never been the game that's the problem here, it's how we've used it.
Support is always welcomed! There's still a solid community here, it's not too late to make more use out of the place to keep it lively in the long term!
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