**edit: gah, can I get a guide to correct the thread title?

reading the thread on territory control, http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/1/10788#125160 , I came up with an idea on how to implement multiple teams of different nations taking part in a battle for territory, using our current mission system.. (can Deliverator do this??):

- a mission is available at both Serco and Itani border stations.. call it "territory control", or something....

- a Serco (or Itani) player or group will take the mission.. at this point it will be in "idle mode", waiting for Itani (or Serco) to take the mission as well... the players do whatever they want while they wait

- once an opposing group of near equal number takes the mission (if there are fewer of one nation than the other, maybe prompt them to enlist more teammates before beginning), then a sector on the border is randomly selected, either in Deneb or Geira Rutilus.. the mission broadcasts the chosen sector to all participants

- the mission will wait until all participants have arrived in the chosen location, then an all-out battle begins for control of the sector begins.. once all players of one nation have been killed or forced to flee, the mission ends in victory for the remaining team.. participants can return to the battle if they were killed or left, but only as long as at least one person of their nation remains in the sector at all times

Place the fate of the entire sector in the outcome of a mini nation war? It'll never happen.

These things are supposed to be epic and take months, not just a 5 mintue 7v7 battle.

Not to mention how easy it would be to exploit by having an Itani log on a Serco alt to shift the balance.

@fooz2916:

no, no... this isn't meant to change things quite so drastically at this point, but to be an alternative to BP/BS in the near future..

or, each success at a territory control mission gives the winning side a "control point" that might count towards shifting the balance on a more permanent basis... maybe if one nation can accrue 200ish more control points in a certain system then their opponent, the system changes hands?

I like the idea, but it might be exploitable by certain people who enjoy running. Once someone gets a kill, our loveable runners (who shall remain nameless) could just turbo around the sector until the other team gets bored of chasing them.

Perhaps this could be solved with a kind of "king of the hill" scenario. Make a waypoint that has to be taken control of in the sector rather than the entire sector itself. This would also provide a focus point to keep the battle together.

I like it though. Something else to do besides BP and BS.

Ah, I believe I was misreading it.

The problem is I doubt you'll manage to get a good number of people to have this mission, and it's completely doable without having it in mission form as well (as seen by the Nation War event).

maybe they should just add a system that links off of geira and Deneb that is some major battleground for the war. If all stations are taken control of then a nation temporarily gains control over that sector. Missions can be given out in Geira and Deneb either protect a station that has already been taken or attack it and it can go one station at a time the missions are giving to.

So say Dauntless B6 Station(hypothetical name) is controlled by the serco. A mission is given out to the Serco to protect this station and hold off intruders from destroying either the serco fleet there or an object for 30 minutes(maybe a station barrier of some sort of the station itself)and it commences in 10 minutes. On the other side the Itanis are given a mission to take this station but if they can't take it in 30 minutes they need to pull out their forces and that mission commences in 10 minutes. This way it prevents the whole territory from going drastically out of control but it allows for some land money and power to shift around.

Over time if all stations are ever taken over and they gain control of both wormholes i think one nation should declare itself the victor of the sector and the land is given to them maybe if they can hold off the entire sector (the wormhole leading to serco or itani space) until reinforcements arrive then they should win the sector.

-opinions-

Some good thoughts.

I definitely agree that change of ownership of a station or system should be a gradual thing involving dozens (hundreds?) of missions over the course of a week or even a month.

The problem with "territory control" is that you can stay alive virtually indefinitely with smart boosting patterns... no one can touch you. Do we really want the Serco/Itani border war to be fought in a series of games of tag? You need to have a focused objective that A) encourages combat and B) de-emphasizes individual player kills.

I think the answer lies in cap ships. Cap ships can't escape from fighters, and it takes a team effort to bring one down. In context of thurisaz's suggestion, the functionality of the mission could be the same except that a fleet of cap ships (fleet size could vary) would be sent from each team to the contested sector. The mission would end when all enemy cap ships were destroyed or fled the sector... individual fighter kills would only be a means to an end.

Backrolling or running would be pointless since you would only be saving your own hide while your teammates took on the cap ship. Well organized fighter wings would escort bombers on torpedo runs against the enemy cap ships, and enemy interceptors would try to bring the bombers down before they got in range.

*yes*, Phaserlight, I LOVE it :D :D

..and, this is why we need Avalons back asap (with damage tweaked to match capship hull strength, of course)..

... wow, I just got the idea of turning a moth into a heavy gunship with two nuke launchers... that would rock...

Capships would need anti-small-weapons-fire armour first, though.

wasn't there a brief time in alpha where CTF was replaced by destroy-the-frig? something like that... defend your flagship.