Forums » Suggestions
Lifecycle of Hive Bots
Here's a thought I had the other day that would be interesting if implemented and would create a much more important reason to go botting ;).
If you jump into a sector with collector bots you will see a lot of bots running around, scanning roids and gathering cargo, and you will occasionally see a transport flying around the sector guarded by a few loyal collector bots. Have you ever wondered what happens to the collectors when they fill up their cargo holds? Or what about the transports that fly around the sector, where exactly are they "transporting" their cargo to?
What if when a collector bot filled up its cargo hold, it made a rendevous with the transport and dropped off its cargo. When the transport's own cargo hold filled up, it would warp with its escorts to the hive queen and drop off the cargo for the hive queen to use.
The hive queen would use this ore to build more collector bots, guardians, and escorts which it would send out to the various sectors as needed. The hive queen would also upgrade its own weapons and armor, becoming more and more powerful.
If the hive queen and her minions became powerful enough, she would make a raid on a random station in the system, warping in and taking out the defense bots first before parking on top of the station, blocking all commerce and trade to and from that station until a group of players came and took her out.
Whenever a hive queen is destroyed there would be a brief period where all bots go into hiding until a new queen is spawned and the hive lifecycle starts over.
If you jump into a sector with collector bots you will see a lot of bots running around, scanning roids and gathering cargo, and you will occasionally see a transport flying around the sector guarded by a few loyal collector bots. Have you ever wondered what happens to the collectors when they fill up their cargo holds? Or what about the transports that fly around the sector, where exactly are they "transporting" their cargo to?
What if when a collector bot filled up its cargo hold, it made a rendevous with the transport and dropped off its cargo. When the transport's own cargo hold filled up, it would warp with its escorts to the hive queen and drop off the cargo for the hive queen to use.
The hive queen would use this ore to build more collector bots, guardians, and escorts which it would send out to the various sectors as needed. The hive queen would also upgrade its own weapons and armor, becoming more and more powerful.
If the hive queen and her minions became powerful enough, she would make a raid on a random station in the system, warping in and taking out the defense bots first before parking on top of the station, blocking all commerce and trade to and from that station until a group of players came and took her out.
Whenever a hive queen is destroyed there would be a brief period where all bots go into hiding until a new queen is spawned and the hive lifecycle starts over.
I wondered about these "rouge" hives and their queens.
Are they actully ingame as a physical objects or what?
i wouldn't mind seeing a hive or a queen even if i died in seconds lol.
oh, and good idea!
Are they actully ingame as a physical objects or what?
i wouldn't mind seeing a hive or a queen even if i died in seconds lol.
oh, and good idea!
yeah i still have yet to see a hive queen but the idea sounds sweet.
Amazing idea!! I would love to see a hive 'group' do that, that would be truly spectacular :)
Which sounds better? For a Hive Queen to pick a empty coordiante and stay there until it is destroyed, then a new empty coordiante is picked or for the hive queen (with its guards), to change coordianates every few hours or hour.
Right now the bots are "unaligned"... I guess that means that they are hive bots but it doesn't really say.
Also, collectors will jump out of the sector to a random other place - but not really. Or at least when you follow them they aren't there.
Also, collectors will jump out of the sector to a random other place - but not really. Or at least when you follow them they aren't there.
Also when a Hive Queen is becomes a certain strenghth, it picks another blank coordinate to start another hive queen. When the blank coordinate are full, it will take over non-blank coordinate. If it isn't taken care of soon, the entire sector is taken over.
All this would have to be scaled according to the average number of players in each system, of course, so things don't get out of hand.
For those of you who have not yet seen a Hive Queen, there's one in every system, and they like to roam around empty sectors. Believe me, you will know one when you see one.
Also, I would like to add that this shouldn't be an "all or nothing" idea, that is to say it shouldn't be the end of the world if a hive queen takes over a station, and there should still be some bots running around after a hive queen is destroyed. There needs to be a balance between having enough bots for players to level up without hunting the population to extinction, but at the same time you don't want a system to become totally swarmed.
For those of you who have not yet seen a Hive Queen, there's one in every system, and they like to roam around empty sectors. Believe me, you will know one when you see one.
Also, I would like to add that this shouldn't be an "all or nothing" idea, that is to say it shouldn't be the end of the world if a hive queen takes over a station, and there should still be some bots running around after a hive queen is destroyed. There needs to be a balance between having enough bots for players to level up without hunting the population to extinction, but at the same time you don't want a system to become totally swarmed.
Sorry for the thread necromancy, but it was linked from a newer thread.
( http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/8675#100588 )
Queens are originally programmed to match the commerce needs of the system, right?
But when one was launched without orders it all went heywire.
OK, but the basic programming remains.
That means any cap put on this (amount of queens and bots) would not be artificial, but backed up by stuff allready in the game.
I'd LOVE to see the queens come to "deliver" their cargo to a station like they would under the now-screwed-up system since they went heywire. Only now they don't have current docking codes (or whatever) and see the station as hostile when they get there. They would not destroy it, but they would block all other traffic.
Only one problem:
What if newbie players, that is players that have no idea how to kill the mid-to-high-level guardians that escort the queen, are homed in that station?
Would they still be homed there, and would have to escape?
I suggest the queen is parked well away from the station to allow people to escape, but they attack anyone warping in.
("They see the incoming warp signature and try to hail on an obsolete frequency noone uses anymore and using encryption 100 years obsolete. They get no answer so they assume it's a hostile.")
To mop up my post: I _really_ want to see something that requires players to recruit other players. This would cause companionship in the game and something for the newer players to aspire to be a useful part of.
( http://www.vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/8675#100588 )
Queens are originally programmed to match the commerce needs of the system, right?
But when one was launched without orders it all went heywire.
OK, but the basic programming remains.
That means any cap put on this (amount of queens and bots) would not be artificial, but backed up by stuff allready in the game.
I'd LOVE to see the queens come to "deliver" their cargo to a station like they would under the now-screwed-up system since they went heywire. Only now they don't have current docking codes (or whatever) and see the station as hostile when they get there. They would not destroy it, but they would block all other traffic.
Only one problem:
What if newbie players, that is players that have no idea how to kill the mid-to-high-level guardians that escort the queen, are homed in that station?
Would they still be homed there, and would have to escape?
I suggest the queen is parked well away from the station to allow people to escape, but they attack anyone warping in.
("They see the incoming warp signature and try to hail on an obsolete frequency noone uses anymore and using encryption 100 years obsolete. They get no answer so they assume it's a hostile.")
To mop up my post: I _really_ want to see something that requires players to recruit other players. This would cause companionship in the game and something for the newer players to aspire to be a useful part of.
Why not have the hive queen hail you on the system chat.
"<hive queen> 10110111 11100101?"
If you respond with the appropriate control codes, it dumps a boat load of ore and then warps off to collect more. If not, it tries to kill you.
Of course the codes should be difficult to figure out and will rotate periodically.
"<hive queen> 10110111 11100101?"
If you respond with the appropriate control codes, it dumps a boat load of ore and then warps off to collect more. If not, it tries to kill you.
Of course the codes should be difficult to figure out and will rotate periodically.
I like the idea of the bots handling thier own spawning and what not, and I see a possible mission chain from the hailing the queen with the correct codes thing
That hail the Queen with the right code would totally rock. Could be expanded to more than dumping ore, too, like don't shoot me (which becomes super-easy Queen Kill ;). But have the codes randomize, and be tough to figure out.
From In Progress:
"basically a change in focus and behaviour for the Hive, and the alteration of our current "stupid respawning bots" into an actual organized, dynamic (and partially defeatable) PvE faction, along with the introduction of something larger than a Queen (heheh). I think this is really going to make the whole botting thing much more interesting and purposeful, both for individuals going after bots, as well as for major guilds who want something on the scale of an Epic raid."
I would just like to take this opportunity to say....
*bump*
;)
"basically a change in focus and behaviour for the Hive, and the alteration of our current "stupid respawning bots" into an actual organized, dynamic (and partially defeatable) PvE faction, along with the introduction of something larger than a Queen (heheh). I think this is really going to make the whole botting thing much more interesting and purposeful, both for individuals going after bots, as well as for major guilds who want something on the scale of an Epic raid."
I would just like to take this opportunity to say....
*bump*
;)
i definately like the idea of hive queens moving around and doing something other than hoarding cargo and waiting to die. i would also like the idea about transmiting the right codes to get the queen to recognise you as friendly. there could even be a mission where you catch a damaged queen and learn part of the code. Chances are the code would be a fairly long alpha neumeric code (somethiong like AG556-723TR-001AA) it would be near imposable to guess, you'd have to do the mission if you wanted any real chance at guessing the code. I also think that each system's queens should hav a different code, and it should change every week or so.
As for the queens blocading stations, i think there should be a warning in the general chat chanel when a queen is about to blocade a station so that experienced players can come and help take care of it rather than expecting whoever is in the station to take kare of it or call for help.
As for the queens blocading stations, i think there should be a warning in the general chat chanel when a queen is about to blocade a station so that experienced players can come and help take care of it rather than expecting whoever is in the station to take kare of it or call for help.
To add to this, it would also be neat to see different types of bots have more clearly defined roles within the hive.
Guardians are responsible for defending crucial hive mining operations. They guard sectors with valuable ore, or if a certain sector is getting repeatedly cleaned out by human botters, a few guardians will be assigned to guard the collectors in that sector.
Collectors are responsible for collecting ore and bringing it to the transports. Not every sector will have a transport so in that case they will warp to the closest one.
Transports are responsible for bringing bulk quantities of ore to the Hive Queen. Their main function is to warp back and forth between the Hive Queen sector and the area of mining to which they have been assigned.
The Hive Queen is responsible for creating new bots and giving directives to her overseers. As she picks up ore dropped off by her transports she will upgrade her weapons and armor and create more bots. Each bot would have a different ore requirement to create. If the queen is attacked she will begin calling assaults and guardians to her aid. If the queen is destroyed most bots will go into hiding until a new queen emerges.
Overseers are like mini-queens, they direct bot operations in certain portions of every system, but they cannot produce new bots. If an overseer is destroyed the bots it is responsible for will go crazy, attacking each other and warping to random sectors until a new overseer is sent to regain control.
Assaults are responsible for making precision strikes as needed against human settlements and human incursions into hive territory. If a group of players (having at least level 2/2/2) continues to obliterate bots in a certain sector, the hive queen will sent a team of assault bots to deal with those players.
Observers are the Hive's eyes and ears, they patrol each sector and if they spot any trouble, they immediately relay the information to the Hive Queen. If an observer sees you beating up on collectors, or even easy guardians and tycorps, expect company from some tougher bots.
It would also be cool to see some new bot types... whatever happened to Infiltrators and Sentries?
Guardians are responsible for defending crucial hive mining operations. They guard sectors with valuable ore, or if a certain sector is getting repeatedly cleaned out by human botters, a few guardians will be assigned to guard the collectors in that sector.
Collectors are responsible for collecting ore and bringing it to the transports. Not every sector will have a transport so in that case they will warp to the closest one.
Transports are responsible for bringing bulk quantities of ore to the Hive Queen. Their main function is to warp back and forth between the Hive Queen sector and the area of mining to which they have been assigned.
The Hive Queen is responsible for creating new bots and giving directives to her overseers. As she picks up ore dropped off by her transports she will upgrade her weapons and armor and create more bots. Each bot would have a different ore requirement to create. If the queen is attacked she will begin calling assaults and guardians to her aid. If the queen is destroyed most bots will go into hiding until a new queen emerges.
Overseers are like mini-queens, they direct bot operations in certain portions of every system, but they cannot produce new bots. If an overseer is destroyed the bots it is responsible for will go crazy, attacking each other and warping to random sectors until a new overseer is sent to regain control.
Assaults are responsible for making precision strikes as needed against human settlements and human incursions into hive territory. If a group of players (having at least level 2/2/2) continues to obliterate bots in a certain sector, the hive queen will sent a team of assault bots to deal with those players.
Observers are the Hive's eyes and ears, they patrol each sector and if they spot any trouble, they immediately relay the information to the Hive Queen. If an observer sees you beating up on collectors, or even easy guardians and tycorps, expect company from some tougher bots.
It would also be cool to see some new bot types... whatever happened to Infiltrators and Sentries?
Station blockade by Hive Queens...guide event anyone?
/givemoney devs 2
-:sigma.SB
/givemoney devs 2
-:sigma.SB
I hope the Hive update includes many of these Ideas, and I agree with pretty much everything that's been said here. The one thing I'd like to pick a fight with, is the overflow of reproducing bots. At max, there can only be 1 hive queens to a system, and assault bots attack stations, (not too frequently,). Once in a blue moon, and if there are already 10 queens in the system, one will be dispatched to assault a station. In my opinion, this thread holds the greatest potential of almost anything I've seen on this forum so far. So if you have any extra time devs, please try this.
How about gaining Hive Faction?
Drop many ore in front of queen and gain her respect!
Then mate!
...
Profit!
(resistence is useless...)
Drop many ore in front of queen and gain her respect!
Then mate!
...
Profit!
(resistence is useless...)
Well put,i tryed to think of somthing to add but my brain started hurting...:)