Forums » Suggestions

Massive Game Addition Ideas

Apr 28, 2009 Damen link
So ive been playing VO for about 2 weeks now and i have to say its pretty decent for a space MMO. One thing i have noticed though is the lack of depth this game has. Ive played many space mmo's (No i didnt like eve) but by far the best one ive ever played is Star Sonata and thats because the game had so many endless possibilities as far as having player built stations and manufactoring common/rare items yourself.

This is a great game but with some added content it will continue to hold the attention of the more long term players, honestly ive only played 2 weeks and im getting pretty bored of it already.

Some of these ideas are pretty vague and would require alot more elaboration but ill leave that up to otehrs or the dev's.

1.) This game NEEDS a money sink, ships dont cost much and all we do is accumulate wealth with nothing to spend it on. Perhaps making the ability to purchase a manufacturing facility at certain predetermined bases would help with that. Also incorporate "Blueprints" into the game, maybe make them Hive queen drops to rare Hive drone drops, but make it so you can "learn" the blueprint at your manufacturing facility and make the item at a cost and or material requirements, perhaps ore? Make special ships, weapons, or anything else you can think of at the facility.

2.) Ships versatility doesnt really exist here, i think making "Augment slots" available on ships would be a good idea.

List of Augment levels and stats:

level 1 Minor Augmentation
level 2 Basic augmentation
level 3 Standard augmentation
level 4 Excellent augmentation
level 5 Superior augmentation

These could drop from any hive ai but the better ones could drop from queen or levi.

Stats on the augmentations could be extra hull space, increased energy regen, increased dmg, increased firing rate, increased speed, increased thrust, increased nimbleness (10000kg x 0.5) to lessen your weight.

of course you would lose these augmentations upon booming of your ship but thats the risk we take.

these are just some random ideas for you guys. I really like this game and id hate to leave because of lack of interest but honestly this game needs more versatility and uniqueness.
Apr 28, 2009 Death Jr. link
I sense a little bit of EVE going on here.

Sure, sure, sure... but let's get our priorities straight. This stuff will come, surely, but... let the devs get done what needs to be done right now.
Apr 28, 2009 Spedy link
hrmpf. VO is VO, not EVE. Manufacturing is here, in a limited sense of missions. It will be expanded upon. Ship customizability like what you are saying has been talked about before. Before you make another suggestion threat, read the thread that says "READ THIS BEFORE POSTING." ok? They're good ideas but we've seen them before and they are not currently a priority...
Apr 28, 2009 Dr. Lecter link
Devs have eschewed rare/epic lootz customization because they want (my understanding) to give an advantage to pilots with twitch based combat skill--not to those who are willing and able to grind enough bots to get the VO version of the old Diablo I "king's sword of haste." (I suppose I'm showing my age that this is the first example that springs to mind.)

The problem with this laudable goal is that it discourages immersion and encourages a kind of space quake mentality--my ship isn't special, I've nothing invested in it, and so I don't give two shits about it or losing it in combat. However, nobody really wants to deal with morons like roda, who have no life, getting a PvP edge because they have all the time in the world to devote to grinding for lootz.

It's a tricky problem. Given that VO will never have any significant "traditional MMO" playerbase (anyone who wants to seriously debate this, Devs excluded, is in need of a major reality check--I exclude the Devs because I like VO and don't want them to go find something else to do that would be, long term, better for their careers and bank accounts), the Dev's approach is probably the best solution.
Apr 29, 2009 Damen link
Dr. Lecter i agree with what you say but only in the pvp sense, dont forget about pve which is also a large part of this game. Im just saying theres no risk vs reward in this game, thats what gives MMO's an edge to them, knowing that your time investment was worth something not just accumulating vast wealth that youll never spend or do anything with. None of those ideas were takin from eve anyways, i borrowed them from Star Sonata, check out there free trial if u want you might like that game as well.
Apr 29, 2009 PaKettle link
I remember that sword.... impossible to get without a cheat....:P

Still have the ps version...

Good suggestions but a long way down the Devs list I think...
Apr 29, 2009 Dr. Lecter link
but only in the pvp sense, dont forget about pve which is also a large part of this game

And you propose to keep people from using PvE weapons/lootz in PvP . . . how?
Apr 29, 2009 Aticephyr link
And you propose to keep people from using PvE weapons/lootz in PvP . . . how?
by making them shiny and nothing else I suppose... lol.

otherwise, there could be odd variants of current weps. like the hive has hive fast cells. granted, the HFC is pretty much not useful, but maybe if some decent guns were introduced (an AAP variant or other variants... only better than the orig depending on taste), that'd be cool.
Apr 29, 2009 toshiro link
The sword was not impossible to get without a cheat.

Damen: Time investment in VO ideally equals not heaps of money or equipment, but (hopefully, though not necessarily) sharpening of one's own skill(s). Or perhaps better/safer traderoutes. But not an 'uncanny advantage' over other players, that is explained simply by having spent more time on the game.
Apr 29, 2009 incarnate link
While we do avoid high-level addons and content drops that give any group of players an inordinate advantage.. we also have a certain amount of leeway (say, the difference between an EC89 and a Superlight). There are a lot of more interesting drops, and content configurability, that could be added to the game. I think that the intent of the original post is valid, and could be pursued within bounds that would still keep things fairly "skill driven" rather than "equipment driven". We could definitely do with a lot more drops. Significantly more once we have capships and Manufacturing of various sorts.

At the end of the day, however, our gameplay will really need to revolve around what one can do with the equipment, rather than simply the having. Since all our gear, on some level or other, will be far more ephemeral than that of other MMOs.
Apr 29, 2009 Damen link
The fact that this game has a twitch based interface means its always gonna take skill to play, there's nothing wrong with adding more items, this game needs variety.
Apr 30, 2009 incarnate link
Yes and no, it really depends on what the items do. For instance, it would be easy to make Swarm Missiles that were so good that no one could escape them. At the same time, if I increased weapon projectile speed very much, people on mildly latent connections (even ~100ms, let alone 200-300 that our European players sometimes see) would be unable to avoid them. We know this because we've hit those limits before, and had to nerf. A twitch combat model is a double-edged sword: we have to find ways of creating variety without causing the game to favor only people who live in Wisconsin.
Apr 30, 2009 LeberMac link
I see nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that at ALL!
Muwaaahaahahahahahaaaa!
Apr 30, 2009 Dr. Lecter link
it WAS easy to make Swarm Missiles that ARE so good that no one CAN FLY PAST them

Fixed that for ya
Apr 30, 2009 Aticephyr link
Lecter, if you can't avoid swarms... learn to fly.
Apr 30, 2009 peytros link
people live in wisconsin?
May 02, 2009 Palamedes link
Just because things have been done before doesn't mean they are bad ideas.. The OP's ideas aren't terrible..
May 02, 2009 Phaserlight link
For Spedy:
http://vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/7692

You'd think that new posters would learn to read the stickies, sometimes you gotta make it a little more obvious for them.

Re: Damen

It sounds like what you are really advocating is expanded non-PvP gameplay. Honestly, if you are bored and can't see the depth of gameplay after two weeks this might not be the game for you, but I wouldn't worry. Things are tilted toward the PvP end of things right now, and most of what you suggest is the direction I hear the devs want to move in.

As far as there being no depth to this game, you have much to learn. It may be hard for you to see the difference between a blaster with a speed of 200 m/s vs 215 m/s, but once you get into PvP that bit of difference goes a long way. The fact that combat is all twitch-based makes this a lot like a First Person Shooter in space, with some fighting game elements also. It takes months if not years to master techniques like flare throwing, evading swarms, and the energy duel. That is where the real depth to this game lies, and once you reach that level working hours just to get a blaster with a slightly faster velocity will seem worth it.

Ship augmentation has been well debated, for a lengthy discussion see this thread:
http://vendetta-online.com/x/msgboard/3/1494

Again the trick is balance. Since alpha things have reached a state where everything more or less has its counter, creating a broad range of play styles and group tactics. Not that upsetting this balance every once in a while is a bad thing, but you must consider how long it took to get here and the fact that there are only four devs. They don't have time to be constantly adding new ship mods that are well tested and balanced while working toward more exciting things like player owned stations and massive economic ventures and new unexplored star systems which will keep players like you around longer.

So, if you want to hang around have a little patience with this game and you may be pleasantly surprised. If you want to look for me in game I go by my forum name, I'll try to show some of the things I've talked about and why you're wrong about this game.
May 02, 2009 Lord~spidey link
swarms are easy as hell to dodge in anything that isn't slower than a hog with rails and flares...