Why Not Introduce ongoing System and Faction Wars in Evochron Mercenary?

[The_Black_Knight]

All,

I have followed the series since its infancy back to its Starwraith roots around 2000-2001. There have been plenty of innovations in the series, most notably the introduction of planet landing among others.

What I could never understand is why there was not development of intergalactic wars in the Evochron universe or anything to keep things fresh and evolving?

Anything fully dynamic to keep repeating the same events and make someone feel as though they are making a difference in the universe.

Individual improvements never lead to long term interest.
I will give a non-introduced concept example. If alien "fauna" were introduced on planets to capture and sell (and make them less barren), this would just lead to a short diversion in means to make more money.

Another example of the same problem is if ideas like "smuggling" were introduced into the game. Individual improvements just are not enough to keep players coming back. Players have to have a sense of purpose with accomplishment with forward momentum.

I am aware of the developments in single player offshoot sagas such as Arvoch Alliance and the excitement of space combat, but its still leads to an eventual "dead end" to the game at the end of the last mission. The same problem happened with Freelancer as it was story driven to a point.

I greatly enjoy Mercenaries but after amassing huge fortunes and space combat inertial mastery, there is not much else to pursue in terms of goals, even after updates hence my uninstall/reinstall history. At this point, all planets have been found, nearly all secrets explored, and no ability to explore beyond the boundaries established except deep, empty space. MP wars are wasted with factions, as they still do not really make any difference in the long term. I certainly am not a graphics junky, as the in game graphics work great as they are. Physics work well as implemented. The navigation console could get an overhaul, but that is secondary to dynamic game play.

As Star Citizen begins its slow march to creation with nearly $18 million crowd funded (truly an amazing story of history), I want to commit in keeping this series alive as new players discover a hidden gem, but I am afraid it may get lost in late 2014 forever.

Just my opinion.
I commend Shawn Bower and Starwraith 3D games for their commitment over the past decade +.

[SeeJay]

Hi and welcome, ehhh, welcome back!?! LOL!

I agree that the MP wars need an update since there are no wars at all. Just pizza delivery to maintain systems.

I suggested somewhere way back a scenario that might work:
- When logging on, you have to chose side. (Red, Blue or no side)
- The AI reds and blues are fighting even when no one is online.
- Fronts will move and players can aid the AI to conquer the universe.
- This way you can make a difference when flying in MP, even if you are alone as a human player. Battles to join all around you.
- When several players are online, PvP and CvC will occur.
- Independent pilots could do what they want or chose side by joining the fight.

This is just some basic, simple ideas I had and would probably need a lot of work if it's possible at all.

See ya out there!;)

[Marvin]

You used the word "dynamic" ... which, I believe, is the goal of many games. The ability to have the player's actions actually change the outcome and direction of the game.

[RagingRascal]

Hi and welcome, ehhh, welcome back!?! LOL!

I agree that the MP wars need an update since there are no wars at all. Just pizza delivery to maintain systems.

I suggested somewhere way back a scenario that might work:
- When logging on, you have to chose side. (Red, Blue or no side)
- The AI reds and blues are fighting even when no one is online.
- Fronts will move and players can aid the AI to conquer the universe.
- This way you can make a difference when flying in MP, even if you are alone as a human player. Battles to join all around you.
- When several players are online, PvP and CvC will occur.
- Independent pilots could do what they want or chose side by joining the fight.

This is just some basic, simple ideas I had and would probably need a lot of work if it's possible at all.

See ya out there!;)

That would actually make the game much more interesting. my idea for this kind of mechanic would be to have npcs from different factions regularly cross over to other systems to try to "conquer" them, which faction a system belongs to would be determined by the average outcome of battles in the system in the last 3 days.
Once a system is taken over it regularly spawns npcs from the faction it belongs to.
I think if balanced enough such a system could work very well and players could have a real impact because their actions would directly influence which faction can dominate the others.
However, i don't know enough about scripting to even know if something like this would be possible in EM.

Players having to choose sides would not have to be scripted in imo, that can be done by RP rules. It works pretty well in the various Freelancer mods out there.
(You just choose which faction you want to belong to before making a character, then build positive reputation with that faction and only do missions for them.)


[Edited on 29-9-2013 by RagingRascal]

[Marvin]

Players having to choose sides would not have to be scripted in imo, that can be done by RP rules.

True. But it would probably be more effective if only a certain number of "sides" were allowed (via hard-coded subroutine) to build territory.

[DaveK]

May I formally suggest that this thread becomes the 'official' thread to propose, discuss and thrash out the whole clan territory - big fights issue?

It keeps coming up, several good suggestions have been made and then it sort of fades . . . until next time

Some issues to consider just as a starter:

• Clan territory control to eliminate the pizza delivery syndrome
• getting, maintaining and losing territory control, given the time zone differences and number of servers available and players from both sides needing to be on-line
• creating a system of big battles/campaigns/wars either as part of or as an alternative to clan issues
• whether pvp can have a role in bigger wars for example someone from each side arrange to have a fight/tussle over a station etc and the outcome is included in the whole side vs side conflict score

ps - it's actually 'Shawn and his commitment - he's a one-man band!!

[ELiTe]

May I also suggest, that in an SP game (yes some of us play EM in SP mode more than MP), that such faction wars be also done with NPC AI ships vying for control of their territories?

[Marvin]

May I also suggest, that in an SP game (yes some of us play EM in SP mode more than MP), that such faction wars be also done with NPC AI ships vying for control of their territories?

The Vonari would be a good candidate for just such a subroutine. I have a feeling, though, that it would greatly increase the size of the DL.

[Razgriz]

Assuming this idea really catches on and guilds or factions increase in size. Perhaps the Vonari could be used as a balancer, Hitting much more powerful factions to prevent them from taking over too easily. Allowing smaller factions an opportunity to expand while the big dog protects its turf on multiple fronts. A sort of the enemy of my enemy deal in MP.

[ELiTe]

In the old days of PC gaming, simulations such as Jane's Longbow (Apache AH-64D helicopter simulation) and Falcon 3.0 (F16 jet simulation) had a "dynamic campaign" where the player's action helped to influence the outcome of various battles and the territories would shift according to the results.

Would be a fantastic feature to add to EM, if it's at all possible As Marvin has said, the Vonari could be the "main" enemy, but between systems there could also be the different factions vying for control too (Energy,Navy, Miners etc) in an SP game. The contracts you do for the factions could help to "shift the balance of power" for whichever one you did the contracts for

[Edited on 4-11-2013 by ELiTe]

[Marvin]

Vice tries to keep a close correlation between SP and MP. Perhaps, instead of MP territories degrading due to "lack of proper maintenance" they could degrade due to a concerted incursion of AI partisans. The corresponding SP option would be ... what? AI-owned territories which won't carry over to MP?

[ELiTe]

Just throwing ideas here...

Perhaps a small change could be made to EM to track who the player/clan supports - ie which of the 4 AI factions the clan or player supports by doing missions for them, or which of the 4 factions has a higher % territory gained via player actions (to indicate support).

In an SP game, the player does missions for the Miners, and the other 3 factyions would run missions against them to win back territory, thus a "dynamic campaign". If player does missions for all factions, then the results would be calculated on the impact of the missions done by the player to see if any of the missions had more effect than the others, to calculate "territory". Results could be "zero" too, ie the actions of the players helped every faction and no real territory was gained or lost.

In an MP game, Clan [ABC] can do missions for a faction , similar to the SP mode. If clan [ABC] does missions for every faction, similar to SP mode, the clan's actions would be calculated against the effect of the misssions done, to see if there's any territory gained. The navmap will then be updated to reflect the results (or lack of) of clan [ABC]'s actions.

[Marvin]

Like this:

Factions

As the old saying goes: There are two sides to every story. And the Evoverse is no exception. Its two sides are: (1) the Federation and (2) the Alliance. Without going into great detail (or any detail at all), suffice to say that these two sides have somehow managed to maintain an uneasy detente (see entry on the cease fire agreement), despite numerous provocations.

All the gated star systems (and most of the ungated ones) are governed by one side or the other. Every pilot, military or civilian, is to some degree associated with one of these sides. Like it or not, somewhere in the tangled network of computer data exists a record informing local authorities where each pilot stands. Ergo, pilots are rated* according to their reputation: good, fair, moderate or hostile. Alliance pilots fair badly in Federation-held star systems and Federation pilots fair no better in Alliance space.


[align=center]
Map of the gated systems and their predisposition to Alliance mercenaries[/align]

Admittedly, there is crossover (it's part of the cease fire agreement). Ergo, you will often find Alliance ships (including really big Navy cruisers) transiting Federation space and Federation ships loitering, unmolested, within Alliance space.

Nonetheless, the worse a lone pilot's standing is with local authorities, the greater the likelihood he will be harassed by factions. Navy capital ships can be downright belligerent, attacking without provocation or warning. As can Navy fighters. And, if the Navy is against you, expect other factions to follow suit. Even law-abiding pilots working for Energy or the Miners are likely to take pot-shots at an unsuspecting mercenary. And don't be thinking that lawless factions like Rebels or any of the Guilds will treat a wayward pilot any better. On the contrary. Guilds are nothing more than mobsters, often flying in packs, preying on independent pilots who will never receive (nor should they expect) protection.

While it's nearly impossible for a mercenary to convince the local administration of one's good intentions, it is possible to improve one's reputation among some of the factions. Even the indigenous Navy, supposedly operating under direction of the authorities, will begrudgingly "go easy" on pilots who sign up to assist in defending the star system from marauders, interlopers, carpetbaggers and invaders. Admittedly, the Navy and other lawful factions will still stand aside while a lone mercenary is under attack. But at least they aren't as likely to join in on the side of the attacker(s).


[align=center]
News Console readout displaying faction reputation in one particular star system[/align]

Of course, it's possible for a mercenary to choose the road not normally taken: completing contracts for rogue Guilds or Rebels. Should that be the case, the mercenary will then almost certainly be branded as a bandit and hunted by agents of the current administration. He will find no solace or refuge within the associated star system. Nor will his actions curry favor from the opposing side, be it Federation or Alliance. Because an untrustworthy mercenary can be trusted by no one.


* I bet you thought it was the other way round. (Confusion can be blamed on local authorities, all of whom are hidden behind city walls and trade station energy fields. You hear them. You sometimes read their messages. But they never fly. They hardly ever even take a taxi. They are the Federation. Or the Alliance. And they can make life very, very difficult for anyone born and raised in a foreign star system, be it a system which is far, far away or even one right next door.)

[ELiTe]

Marvin,

Nope not like that.

Factions from Pearl don't invade Pices, for example.

Current implementation just makes you friendly to the faction you support/do missions for, does not "help" them much in taking "territory".