Ok, reading Badguy's post, I thought about it. I think there are three main things that alienate people- 1)mission grind, 2)too much stuff to work with (not a bad thing, but some people hate reading manuals
) and 3) they just don't have time to play the game properly. So here's my suggestion:
Remember my idea on side vs side server? Well, I just scaled it down a bit here- to see if I can adress the issues.
1) It is a Race vs Race combat style. To win, a team must capture and hold a set % of the universe, say 60%. They must hold it for 5 hours in order to win the round. Holding the system may involve just a system fleet, or huge fortifications e.g. stations(thouroughly beefed up).
2) Creds- you will get a set amount of creds every set period of time (like you will have a constant supply which means you won't fall bankrupt and be able to get back on his feet quickly, but not enough to bring you an edge,just to let you get more soon. ) Also, there will be rewards for capturing and reclaiming systems, killing enemy ships (tokens, explained later) and, normally, segs and workers. Also, the players can share money. It won't disbalance things out since its RvR, so no chance of one guy killing all, the other side can do the same anyways.
3)Killing enemy ships will give out "tokens", like XP does, but less. These can be sold for money or exchanged for minerals, thus turns can be put into combat. Tokens can also be bought (at a small loss) by creds.
4)Movement- players can only move from one star to another which are X turns apart. This is to ensure that there is no territory grabbing from a mile away. Also, the player must wait 10 secs cool down time before travelling again, and 30 secs if he attacks. This will make "choke points" and valuable assault stations.
5) Stations- these are going to be based on the normal stations, except- there will be no tech researching, just building on the modules. No cloak either. Also, the owner can "request" the module to be built by other players if he has no minerals left. To make things fair, the mineral cost will increase with every module built. Also, stations can house marines, with improved combat abilities than those on the ship, and can be modified with modules . Statiuons will also be measured in FP.All modules increase station's FP. This way stations can really be fortresses that are (almost) impenetrable. BUT!!!! Because the potential to be overpowering for the station is high, players will be allowed mutual attacks on the stations too, in the way like this- one, the leader, clicks "set up raid" and chooses number of players and selects a target from the intel menu, and raid start coords are created(where raid is launched from, must be within players range of X turns). To join, players must move to raid start coords first, then join the raid. When all slots are taken up, or the leader deletes the open ones, everyone clicks engage. they jump to the attack location. When the leader attacks, all their ships engage at the same time (multiple attack). Since this too can lead to super players beating the whiff out of weak stations, the total raid power must max of X % power of station.
6)Warping- There are no disruptors/stabilisers. Player selects the chances to be warped 400-10%. Now, heres a good bit- depending on how low he selects it, he can be flung farther by the warp. So at 10% he can warp so deep into enemy territory that he will be cut off from reinforcements and help, while less chance to evade means he will be in a closer visinity to his side. Also, warp drive will need 10 minutes to recharge Both have pluses and minuses, so it will be interesting.
7)Start off- Players will be given an amount of creds in the range of maybe 10-20 billion at the start. For the first 3 hours, the players are free to move around teams, design for the upcoming battles, design strategies, etc. Then there will be 2 hour cease fire. Teams are locked, and players acn move within a radius of X turns from the "home system" (un-capturable by the enemy, with a massive station ,unupgradeable, indestructible) and capture systems. Then, at last, open combat begins, with all galaxy up for grabs, and allowing fighting.
8) Base system- each side has a base system, with a large indestructible base. This will offer protection for people trying to regain resources for combat, but it will by no means stop attackers, just slow them down by providing first fire and bonuses.
Ok, I deliberately avoided posting any definite values cos its is just a mere thought. The way I see it, it may attract players with little spare time, as rounds will take a week at most. There will be no need for missions, as combat will pay off. The person will be alowed accounts one acc only, but he will be able to switch between sides at start of round. The PvP will get a kick-start as well
Ok, maybe I left stuff out, I will post it as I think of it. I want to hear your thoughts as well.
