Feedback requested for possible update features/changes...

[Vice]

In addition to developing two games simultaneously over the last year or so (of which the second is getting pretty close to release), I've also been working on an update/expansion to EM. Current plans are for the update to be made available sometime early to mid next year and I've collected feedback posted here on the forum and in e-mail for months now while going through the planning and early development stage for the update. Some options and features have already been implemented and are in testing, some are in the concept/draft stage, while others are still being considered. I've selected some remaining options/changes and compiled a list that I would like to get some feedback on. What I'm after is how important you think the feature is (perhaps on a scale of 1 to 10) and whether or not you would actually enjoy/use it. There are many other planned improvements that I'm already working on, this is just a short list of some of the remaining ones that I'd like to get feedback on. My goal is to focus on the most requested features/options/changes while avoiding wasting time on some that won't be used much and don't have much interest.

1 - Weapon crafting - a new 'Weapon Lab' would be introduced that lets you design and customize your own weapon functionality. You would start by selecting a class (ie plasma, metal projectile, rail, etc), then could modify various parameters such as energy load, heatsink capacity, firing rate, etc that would then determine things like damage and range. The result would be a customizied weapon that performs outside of the default configuration for those parameters.

2 - Jump drive distruption field weapon. Produces a temporary EM field that would prevent players from being able to activate their jump drive. AI's could also potentially use this device in more advanced systems.

3 - AI ships could scan human ships and demand they drop a cargo item or be destroyed.

4 - Some kind of cloaking system for player built stations that would block them from long range sensors, requiring players to visually spot them when in the same sector. This would aid in helping to protect them while players are offline. Might add a premium to the build cost.

5 - New 'farming' contract type that requires the player to recover plant material while on a planet and return it to a city. Pay would likely be low on agricultural planets, high on other types.

6 - New temporary deployment type contracts (solar array, temp station, etc).

7 - Repair contract (to repair a station or building with a beam or some kind of new repair device).

8 - New distress call event - destroy an inbound meteor before it hits a planet.

9 - Quadrant-wide notification of events that effect market prices in specific areas (gives away information to the player on where and when the best/worst buy/sell options are, rather than strictly requiring them to explore for them).

10 - Player sector locations in multiplayer would no longer displayed on the player list, keeping player sector locations secret until disclosed by the player voluntarily or when they trigger an event that broadcasts their location.

[49rTbird]

OK, my scale is 1= not so good to 10= good! "edited due to complaint":D
Idea Enjoy/Use

1=7 Yes
2=10 Yes
3=10 Yes
4=10 Yes
5=6 No
6=8 Maybe
7=10 Yes
8=8 Maybe
9=8 No
10=1 NO

[Edited on 10-14-2011 by thetiebers]

[Dingo]

scale of 1-10 with ten being good, 1 being bad. C'mon Tbird, that's how a 1-10 scale works!

1=10 yes and an extra yes, and also a please.
2=10 yes
3=1 why not
4=10 great idea
5=3 yes
6=5 yes
7=3 yes
8=8 yes
9=1 no
10=1 NO would be a yes except that I would like to know when other clans are in my clan's space.

A) Great that this will be happening. Thanks.
B) Weapon crafting.

[Edited on 10-14-2011 by Dingo]

[Cindy]

1 - Yes, I like the idea of a weapon lab.

2 - Yes, I like that idea.

3 - Sure, why not.

4 - Great idea for clans.

5 - Yes.

6 - Yes.

7 - Yes.

8 - Yes, I really like this idea.

9 - I don't think that it'd be a good idea to give away knowledge like that to everyone, because some of us like to find stuff on our own.

10 - No, I like seeing where everyone is and who they are.

[Viper]

Just an idea: wouldn't a poll about this subject give you a clearer view of the community's opinion?

1 - Weapon crafting - a new 'Weapon Lab' would be introduced that lets you design and customize your own weapon functionality. You would start by selecting a class (ie plasma, metal projectile, rail, etc), then could modify various parameters such as energy load, heatsink capacity, firing rate, etc that would then determine things like damage and range. The result would be a customizied weapon that performs outside of the default configuration for those parameters.
My score: 10.
Brilliant idea, whoever thought of it. As long as balance is kept in check (no 'Uber weapons'), this would add a brilliant extension to the game. You would be able to design different weapons for different purposes. Players could have their 'own' weapon made with their own unique ingredients - awesomeness!

2 - Jump drive distruption field weapon. Produces a temporary EM field that would prevent players from being able to activate their jump drive. AI's could also potentially use this device in more advanced systems.
My score: 8.
Freelancer had it, and it was quite a feature to be reckoned with. I feel it added to the experience, especially in battle. Again balance is an important issue; in Freelancer the refire rate was way too high so players could just keep on spamming them.

3 - AI ships could scan human ships and demand they drop a cargo item or be destroyed.
My score: 8.
It sounds realistic and makes sense. I can see Navy ships ordering you to drop an 'illegal' item, and Rebel (pirate) ships wanting you to drop valuable cargo.
That said, it might even open up new possibilities in terms of trading - illegal item trading, a black market concept. Especially for players who prefer to play the role of pirates or other scum, this would add a bunch of interesting gameplay.

4 - Some kind of cloaking system for player built stations that would block them from long range sensors, requiring players to visually spot them when in the same sector. This would aid in helping to protect them while players are offline. Might add a premium to the build cost.
My score: 7.
I guess for players who have recently suffered station destruction, this will sound like music to their ears. Personally I hope this will not apply to each player built station, as it would also affect trade routes, which are important for new players to get their bank account sorted.

5 - New 'farming' contract type that requires the player to recover plant material while on a planet and return it to a city. Pay would likely be low on agricultural planets, high on other types.
My score: 6.
Personally I can't see this becoming a very popular way of making money. My argument is that players who play these kind of games are especially interested in the sci-fi side of things, and will not care much about harvesting plants. Personally I would definitely not spend time on a trade run like that. Unless of course, it made me a hellufa lot of money lol.

6 - New temporary deployment type contracts (solar array, temp station, etc).
My score: 8.
I think this could be pretty useful. For me, deploying (and building) items looked like something pretty complicated to do when I started playing. To be honest, I still haven't attempted it, because of the same reason. Assignments that teaches the the player how to do it could be very helpful.

7 - Repair contract (to repair a station or building with a beam or some kind of new repair device).
My score: 6-.
Not much different to cleaning solar arrays if you ask me. Sounds like the type of mission that one would take when they have just started playing. When they grow more experienced I can see them not doing this sort of mission anymore, but go for the combat missions. At least that is the way it was for me.

8 - New distress call event - destroy an inbound meteor before it hits a planet
My score: 10.
I read it somewhere on the forum not too long ago, and I think it's brilliant. For me at least it would add a whole lot to the experience of living in space, and dealing with the dangers that are out there. Very realistic - excellent idea.

9 - Quadrant-wide notification of events that effect market prices in specific areas (gives away information to the player on where and when the best/worst buy/sell options are, rather than strictly requiring them to explore for them).
My score: 7.
A bit of help in looking for the best trade locations would be most welcomed as the Evochron universe is huge and the places to buy and sell goods are many. It shouldn't become too much of a spoiler, though. Maybe give a pretty clear hint, but not just disclose all the details. In my view, players should still do most of the exploring themselves. It helps with enjoying and appreciating the game, and adds to their learning experience.

10 - Player sector locations in multiplayer would no longer displayed on the player list, keeping player sector locations secret until disclosed by the player voluntarily or when they trigger an event that broadcasts their location.
My score: 7.
To be honest I don't have a real opinion on this one. I still can't make sense of the numbers in front of player names on the server, so I guess it wouldn't affect me anyway.
For players who can make sense of the numbers I can see one situation in which they wouldn't appreciate the fact that they can't see where the other players are: if they aren't in one of their claimed sectors ie. in visible range of the invading player, they wouldn't be able to judge whether or not the invading player was in their claimed sector and would therefor pose a risk to their clan stations.
Since I can't deal with the numbers but other can, there's probably more to this that just that.


~ Viper.

[Edited on 10-15-2011 by Viper]

[Viper]

Oops that came out a bit... XXL lol. Sorry.

[49rTbird]

scale of 1-10 with ten being good, 1 being bad. C'mon Tbird, that's how a 1-10 scale works.

When in dought, do as you like:D!

[zuff]

Weapon crafting would be great. Just fantastic. As long as it was balanced and there wasn't one "must-have" combination to have the best weapon in the game.

Jump drive inhibitor is a MUST for PVP and would be great if AI could use them too.

AI Cargo scanning sounds like a great idea, and what Viper said about black market trading sounds exciting as well

As for the "cloaking field" for stations, I think it should another player-built construction object. Sort of like the shield deployable, except this one has a greater radius and doesn't destroy itself on sector-exit.

New deployable contracts doesn't sound too exciting. What would be exciting is if there are "bounties" put on multiplayer characters who've got bad reputation against a faction you're doing missions with. For example, a contract shows up with a bounty against "Dingo" for his crimes against the Navy. Navy offers so many hundred thousand if you can destroy his ship.

Distress call "Meteor Incoming" sounds fun! Not sure how many times you'd do it before getting tired of it but it's a neat idea.

"Trade Market Messages" this is a fantastic idea. Maybe not make it too easy by having to buy a "communications" equipment to receive radio messages of nearby market changes (maybe 2 systems out from your current location?)

Removing player coordinates from player list. I can see pros and cons to this. The con is it'd be a lot harder to protect player-owned stations as Dingo said, pro would prevent ambushes by factions knowing where you are at all times. The list doesn't seem to work properly with large amounts of people on, anyways, and only shows 5 people in the list instead of everyone.

Features I'd like to see:

I'd love to see more customizing options in the shipyard, or maybe the ability to easily add new textures to ships. I'd also like to see civilian ships that can equal to or surpass the navy ships in combat.

Incorporating a navigation app such as Atollski's navigation app into EM would be great.

Chat functionality, be able to send messages to your current sector only would be nice. Even have an interface to choose specific pilots, channels, factions and what not.

Clan functionality, I'd like to see more clan info show up "news consoles" at stations. Whether or not they completed missions in that area, or if they just did a mission in a nearby system, etc.

Hit-box detection, bumping into invisible walls is a pain, especially when at stations or flying low-altitude on the planet surface. Not sure how much can be done about this but that'd be a nice fix.

In-game captain's log, being able to quickly jot down any info (market prices, coordinates, player names) would be nice. Just a little pop-up window that saves inputted text.

More contracts which involve in-atmosphere dog-fighting. It really is a challenge to fight under 14km speed with no strafing in inertial mode.

Player built cities/stations on planets. In my opinion, there is hardly enough reasons to travel to planets. With the ability to travel into and land on planets and how amazing it is, it'd be great if there was more incentive.

Dying has a penalty. I can't say much for this as I'm still pretty new and haven't had much experience in PvP, but dying seems to be way too forgiving in pvp dogfights. You die, you get all your fuel/missiles back, you have 100% hull and shields, and you warp right back into the fight where the person who killed you is out of missles and has hull damage. Maybe have a percentage of damage carry over after death so you have to repair? Or maybe rockets aren't recovered?

It's way to easy to cheat with certain items. For example the Station Explosion Device. You can set one off, then quit and reload and you'll still have one, ready to detonate another station. It should save your game on-use or something similar.

EM missile that turns off your ship and puts it into inertial mode for a temporary time. You lose your HUD, shields, weapons and engine power for a brief moment while everything reboots.

More formation options with fleets in multiplayer. Being able to group-jump or form a "wing" formation would be great.

Sorry if I went a little out there with ideas/suggestions. It's just I love this game so much and I have so many thoughts on how we can make it better and better.

EDIT: More on "Fleet functionality". Would a warp-to-player or fleet-set waypoint be hard to implement?

[Edited on 10-14-2011 by zuff]

[Maarschalk]

Scale: Bad Idea 1-10 Good Idea

Point 1 through 8 = 10
Point 9 through 10 = 1

[Marvin]

"Professions" like mining or farming usually last only until a pilot can afford to buy the most expensive ship and equipment. To really make non-combat professions worthwhile, you'd probably need to make them both self-sustaining and allow them to grow and develop so that, say, a farm starts out making the player a few hundred credits per cycle but, as the farm grows, the credits grow with it. Similar to what we now have with territories ... except for SP too and not necessarily requiring building % via contracts and/or losing % when off doing something else.

I like the idea of adding more "distress call" missions ... but ease off on the quick-response times. Asteroids can be seen for days before it becomes impossible to alter their course or destroy them. Then, again, I'd like to see all the timed contracts and missions (not counting the race) be given more time to complete. It can get really tiresome running from one star system to another, gathering required items, plugging in coordinates to some place out in the boonies ... only to arrive 5 seconds too late.

[Busch]

1 - 10
2 - 5
3 - 5
4 - 10
5 - 10
6 - 10
7 - 10
8 - 10; group effort or solo ?
9 - 10; with facility to toggle on/of ?
10 - 1; good idea some of tne time. I prefer knowing who's 'in the stack"; and where.

[Shieldwolf]

woof....
On Weapons Engineering...My vote is a Yes ABBY SOLUTELY
Jump Drive EMP's..............Sure. Why not
AI ship scan......................Good idea
Station Cloak Field.............Yes
Farming Contracts.............Can't see any reason why not
Temporary Deployment ....Sure. Why not
Repair Contracts...............Yes. ( With an added idea of having the capacity of repairing player ships. At least to the point where they can travel on their own.)
Inbound Meteor.................Yes
Quadrant Prices.................Not Sure
Player Locales...................Not Sure

There's my thinking on em. For the most part I think they're all real good ideas. Thanks Vice. :):)

[Dave S]

Sounds like everyone is pretty much singing the same songs on most of the ideas you are pushing for feedback on, and I agree with almost all of them. Here is where I have some differing ideas:

- Player locations: Don't eliminate the capability, but maybe instead of showing their exact sector, maybe it shows it with a + or - error in it. (i.e. it shows a sector location, but the player can be in that or any adjacent sector). That way an ambush pilot has to do a bit more searching, but still has a chance of finding you, and noobies aren't as quickly located and killed by guys like the Reavers.

AI Ship scan, and quadrant-wide notification of prices: I LOVE the idea of having different systems legalizing items differently thus opening the possibility of black market actions that raise the stakes, but also raise the pay-off if successful. Navy ships can scan you and if you have contraband, you either have to drop the cargo, or risk being fired upon and having your reputation in that system effected. The game Darkstar One had that feature (just about its only really cool feature) and it really changes the dynamic. It also opens the possibility of you players assisting the local authorities in policing the black market trade to positively affect their reputation.

Cloaking System: I like the idea, but make it a piece of equipment that you have to purchase and activate, but it has an effective useful timeframe (like 48hrs) which would force clans to actively upkeep their stations. Or maybe the % of clan ownership in a system impacts the useful time of the cloaking device (100% gives you 48hrs, 75% gives you 36hrs, 50%=24hrs, 25% or less gives you 12hrs).

Beyond that, I agree completely with Zuff and Viper. I am very excited to see what comes out of your magic hat Vice. Keep it up.

[BLEVE]

1. 10 Great
2. 8 Very good
3. 2 Who will drop their cargo??
4. 8 Nice
5. 6 I wont do them. They will take too long to do.. ok for new players.
6. 6 ok
7. 6 ok
8. 1 I wont do them
9. 1 No
10. 5 At times this would be great. However would make LMS comps hard to referee.

[DennyMala]

Here's my list, 1 bad/unuseful - 10 good

1. I'll probably end up fiddling with it almost more than playing and shooting the weapon I create! I love it. I get you more unknown when you encounter someone. 10

2. It should be very expensive or you can just remove the HJ capability from ship and make fixed jump station where you select the destination. Everyone will have one to kill the other player otherwise. 5

3. Loving it, more interaction and variability. The Black Market idea too is good. 10

4. Just choice if you want it to be visible or not when building, that will be good. 8

5. Variety is always good, but in the end it's like any other mining contract, probably not worth the time. 3

6. This is something new on the scene. Might be interesting. 10

7. As above. A specific equipment for this will call for a very high payout for the contract. The regular mining beam will keep it in usual range.10

8. I never care for distress as long as they call for a distant location, too few time and too much hassle. 2

9. Nice for trading. Loving it. 10

10. Not an issue to me. 1

I'd like to point out something more; I'd like to see a map log overhaul that will allow the ship systems to automatically track built stations around and make them searchable in a sort of DB allowing one to restrict the search for names, systems, distance to location... and so on. Maybe even with the galaxy map in it showing dots.

The recent MP addition caused a steep increase in log datas that are only text strings put down in order of creation. Not the best thing when you have to sort through a lot of those.
Since you'll want to know where you put those stations, ship comp should take care of it.

[Sinbad]

1. 10

2. 10 I particularly love this idea! Will make combat more interesting.

3. 10 Also how about "police" AI (or Navy) scanning for illegal cargo? Maybe trading Fulcrums could be illegal?

4. 7 I think the cost should be much higher... many pilots are rolling in cash not knowing what to do with it!

5. 5 A simple return plants to city contract wouldn't add much to the present variety of contracts. I wouldn't bother doing that one. I would be more interested if it had more complexity with a high money return, for example having to find and assemble components to actually buiild and set up a farm which could then make you money. You might also have to protect it from AI attacks.

6. 5 Same again... a simple go and deploy something contract wouldn't interest me much, although probably good for new players. I would prefer something with more complexity, maybe a 3 waypoint contract in which you need to assemble the resources to complete the objective, perhaps with a bit of danger thrown in too.

7. 7 Could be interesting especially if it were in dangerous territory.

8. 10 I love this idea! There could even be extra large ones that can only be stopped by 2 or more co-operating players in MP.

9. 5 Not sure about this one. I agree that the trade system needs something more to assist players in finding trade routes. I would prefer something that involves the player having to invest time and money to take advantage, for example buying and installing a relay satelite that could transmit market info from a particular location.

10. 5 For me either way is fine. If you take out player sector locations, there should some other way to know if another clan has entered your clan's territory... perhaps another type of relay satelite placed in that system could transmit info to you about which pilots are entering the area.

[Edited on 15-10-11 by MCCON]

[Marvin]

10. 5 For me either way is fine. If you take out player sector locations, there should some other way to know if another clan has entered your clan's territory... perhaps another type of relay satelite placed in that system could transmit info to you about which pilots are entering the area.

Or modify the current sensor array so that it also differentiates between AI pilots and players. Else you could spend all day jumping from one dot to another.

[Sinbad]

That's an idea but the sensor array only functions when you are in the same sector. You still wouldn't know anything if you were in a far away system when another clan entered your territory. I was thinking more like for example you could place a satelite in the system of your clan's territory. Then if you were away in another system and another clan entered your territory you would receive an alert saying something like "[IM]Marvin has just entered system Emerald".

[Edited on 15-10-11 by MCCON]

[Marvin]

That sounds like a good idea ... except Emerald (and most other star systems) are fairly big. The warning could be less generic ... 'though Viper might have a problem if you replaced the name of the system with the sector coordinates. Another option is to use the name of the trade station ... assuming warnings are only broadcast by that type of station.

[DaveK]

The warning could be less generic ... 'though Viper might have a problem if you replaced the name of the system with the sector coordinates.

I think you'll find that Viper is now pretty well up to speed with the pesky numbers - not a newbie, more an advanced newbie (Sorry Viper - just joking!) :D

[Viper]

Sorry, wrong thread. Posted Here.


~ Viper.

[Edited on 10-16-2011 by Viper]

[soulsacrifice]

To try and keep things simple i've just listed them in order of preference, with the ones appearing at the top being my most favoured (some people are using 1 as least favoured and 10 as most and I would expect it to be the other way around).

1 - Weapon crafting.
2 - Jump drive distruption field weapon.
4 - Cloaking system for player built stations.
10 - Player sector locations in multiplayer would no longer displayed on the player list.
3 - AI ships could scan human ships and demand they drop a cargo item or be destroyed.
8 - New distress call event.
9 - Quadrant-wide notification of market prices.
7 - Repair contract.
6 - New temporary deployment type contracts (solar array, temp station, etc).
5 - 'farming' contract type

PS. Additionally if people don't like 10 (player locations not being listed then I wouldn't mind if they were only not listed whilst using stealth, but were there at other times).

[Edited on 16-10-2011 by soulsacrifice]

[Accountant]

A new game? Intriguing...

As for the purpose of this topic:
1. Weapon crafting: 10. Enjoy and Use. This would fit perfect with the whole "design your own ship" part of the game. Could we also decide what the weapon looks like, kind of like the ship maker? (Yes, a bit trivial, but it is the small things that count )

2. Jump Drive Disruption: 9. Enjoy and Use. Love the idea, especially if AI use it.

3. AI Cargo Scanning: 10. Enjoy and Use. More human-like AI = more engaging and enjoyable AI.

4. Station Cloaking: 5. Would not Use. I do not build many stations, so I am ambivalent about this feature.

5. Farming contract: 7. Might Use. More contracts are always a good thing, even if not everyone uses them. Makes the universe seem more alive.

6. New temporary contracts: 7. Might Use. See number 5.

7. Repair contracts: 7. Might Use. See number 5.

8. Distress call: 9. Would use. See number 5.

9. Quadrant-wide notifications: 10. Would use and enjoy. Perfect for the trader in all of us.

10. Player locations not displayed: 2. Would not enjoy. Although I do like soulsacrifice's suggestion about not displaying a player's location when using stealth. That is a clever suggestion and fits in with the functionality of a stealth system.

-Accountant

[SeeJay]

My 2 cents:
(1-10 and 10 as most favoured)

1 - Weapon crafting - 10.
2 - Jump drive distruption field weapon - 10.
3 - AI ships could scan human - 8.
4 - Some kind of cloaking system for player built stations - 10.
5 - New 'farming' contract - 5.
6 - New temporary deployment type contracts (solar array, temp station, etc) - 8.
7 - Repair contract (to repair a station or building with a beam or some kind of new repair device) - 10.
8 - New distress call event - destroy an inbound meteor before it hits a planet - 10 (a must have);).
9 - Quadrant-wide notification of events - 5.
10 - Player sector locations in multiplayer would no longer displayed on the player list - 1.

/SeeJay

[DaveK]

1: 10 points; I love studying the stats and testing out equipment combinations!
But to prevent a unique super weapon appearing that everyone has, there would have to be a good balance - some sort of zero sum element so that increase fire rate is balanced by decreased yield or range.
It's a great opportunity to introduce new technology as well. Perhaps rare, hard to acquire (e.g. on a location on Planet Vonari - or Earth ) and expensive items that can be integrated into weapon systems, but which degrade fairly quickly to avoid the super weapon scenario; build it and store it you your hangar until it's needed because you can't use it for long

2: 10 points; being battered and damaged means that you can't jump out anyway, but as a way of stopping someone from running away before the fight it's a great extension to combat tactics

3: 5 points; The AI ships would have to be pretty beefy - at the moment human (and wolf!) pilots would laugh and then blast the hostile in no time. If the hostiles appeared in a "gang" jumping in close by it would form a challenge - hostile systems only though. Otherwise it gives a bit of "colour" and an excuse to fight with a hostile

4: 5 points; Clans have the manpower to defend their territories (we won't go there!! ) They can also "hide" stations out of the main system. Independents would appreciate some protection/help to avoid those with the Reaver mentality. A station that no one knows about isn't really very useful! It would become just one person's station.

5: 2 points as presented; there are already quite a few basic contracts and rescue missions. This would just be another than people would stop after a few hours of play when they gain enough $$$ to move onto more lucrative thing, though it does give the planets a unique contract type!
perhaps other contract types could be introduced at the same time - in the past bounty hunting has been a popular request; retrieval of items from other systems (mirroring picking up local containers in space but more challenging) or from ships that drop them (reverse of delivery contracts) would ring the changes - it would increase the challenge of finding the objects and add variety

6: 7 points; How long would the deployment last? would they disappear when the system is vacated - there would have to be a balance between deployment cost and reward
At the moment clans are paid for their system influence. It's sort of like a rent paid for the stations needed. If the deployed objects lasted a reasonable length of time, perhaps a per cycle "rent" could be paid to the deployer (is that a word?)

7: 8 points; could be fun, especially if joint effort could be used for a significant repair. Could Clan teams (or indie groups) be paid to construct cities (or perhaps smaller habitats on moons or planets?)

8: 8 points: But what if no-one takes it up? As Marvin has suggested, ease the time constraint. The only way I could make "rescue missions" work was by having a 25 units of the basics in my hold leaving no free cargo bays. There is no time to collect them before setting off to the rescue. Would FT's do the job or are we thinking of smaller chunks that cannon fire could fragment? It's an idea with potential though and widens the experiences available

Out of interest what would I see if I went to the scene and then just watched? - Evil I know but . . .

9: 7 points: If different systems could have significantly different "flavours" this could be very good and might encourage general trading for a longer time. It would be a step down from the one or two very very profitable trade runs that are the equivalent of winning the lottery and hence potentially interesting as an occupation for some players. It would allow mercs to plot and plan their trading runs, perhaps finding cyclic routes and would help "hook" new players

10: 9 points - the present system makes spying very easy - just look at the coords where someone is building a station. However, the universe is a very big place and if there is no info available then you could never find anyone! What types of events would trigger the info? What location info would be given? System names are a bit too vague for larger system and wouldn't work for explorers in deep space. Sector coordinates are a bit too specific - fly there, fly to the station (usually) and there they are!! Though it's very easy to see if the Vonari are being beaten up in TC! Perhaps more detail could be available when you arrive at the system (if just system name is given) to narrow things down - as you get closer the info gets more detailed (probably a coding nightmare, but I can't imagine how half the things in the game can becoded! )

I agree with Viper that system names would be a great addition to the coordinates (if it is possible to code) - I still have to flick over to the nav map to find out which system someone is in - which is irritating when MP is busy!

Overall, anything that widens the experience would be beneficial, especially those that make trading more interesting and worthwhile for longer and contract types that are genuinely different (rather than the same with a different name)

Ohhhh - finally, any chance of firing Excals in pairs, quads or the whole pack? :P