Deep in the black reaches of Sedina lies the key to hive technologies - the Hive Weapons Prototype Facility. Inside a hollow rock at the center of a dense asteroid field and unmarked on radar, the facility methodically produces advanced hive weapons. Every ten minutes a new weapon appears in the cargo bay:
* on the hour: Avalon Torpedo
10 minutes past: 10 hive fast charge
20 minutes past: 2 hive gat
30 minutes past: moth load sedina chocolates (levi has a sweet tooth)
40 minutes past: 10 hive positron blaster
50 minutes past: (suggestion?)

A seipos transport with a small escort arrives minutes later to carry the weapons to the levi.

This idea is designed to improve the micro economy in VO. With such a small player base, we need content which attracts the few vets playing at any one time to a single location. The reward has to be significant enough to actually attract them. Most have lots of cash - so rare items could be the reward. The facility works on a schedule, so players can plan on a regular furball to fight over the weapons.

Comments?

Hmm. A good thought, and here's a few suggestions:

Make the 'convoy' bloody hard to beat, especially the avalon/hive gat/hive positron ones.. They should be like static queen bot-groups, but with a place to get in a hurry. Heck, maybe the carrier for the Avalon-type thingie SHOULD be a queen, just to make it harder...

Deep in the black reaches of Sedina lays the key to hive technologies

Lies, for fuck's sakes, lies.

Lays is what any random guy with a shiny quarter does to your mother.

As for the idea, I like the basic concept: this is called "content" and players like to either stumble across it or go and search it out. Something to do once you're in your ship, which is not a VO strong point.

But the avalon has to go, for now at least. Sedina chocolates in a Hive weapon plant? Retarded. Add hive posis in there somewhere.

In general, I like the idea. Though I agree with Doc, really... what use does the hive have for chocolate? You did not mention it... so I will. The area should be guarded by some fairly nasty bots. Also, I would suggest to access the cargo bay, that there should be a some what complex system of tunnels... similar to the "maze" racing tube.

Mmm, silent edit. Love it.

You made me LMAO Lecter. :)

However, basic concept is wrong - hive technologies.
Who gives a damn about hive technologies?
Hive technology should suck ass compared to Itani (most technologically advanced civilization in VO). Heck, it should suck ass compared to any serco/UIT/Itani technology.
Hive posis, gats etc are a compromise... compromise devs made because they did not think of any OTHER good solution to incorporate some exotic, hard to get, advanced weapons and equipment in VO.

I suppose with exploration redux there will be a place and means of discovering advanced alien technology stuff. Give it a few years...

Hive technology should suck ass compared to

Ah, there's that meat sack prejudice showing through. Here's a hint, fleshy: the Hive does not sleep, it does not take breaks, and it can more run calculations in a few seconds than all the Itani researchers who ever lived combined. We Serco have a bit of a leg up on y'all, but still.

The Hive is the motherfuckin' HIVE.

Exactly Lecter. Its an AI... and it thinks inside the box.
Now, for thinking outside of the box...
Stupid humans have a weird habit of coming up with impossible and crazy ideas.

I don't think those words "inside the box" mean what you think they mean.

This is a good idea. And I don't understand why people have a problem with the levi eating chocolate; bots need chocolate too, you know.

Good idea in concept. The location should definitely not be static though, and the drops should not be on a schedule. Artificial, scheduled events are not content, they are placeholders.

Give the Hive convoys random starting and ending points like the existing NPC voys and you have Content.

I like the idea, but I agree with ladron that I dont think the location should be static. After all, even the Levi's can technically, "move" if need be.

I'd say that a sort of "production" variant of a queen or levi could be turned out, that moves around grey-space's deep regions producing varieties of Hive equipment.

As for some of your items, I would drop the Sedina Chocolates, and if the Avalon stays then it needs to be "specially sanctioned personnel" to equip and have no way of unlocking it presently. This will allow them to be sold for good profit, or stockpiled until such a time as the Avalon's are reintroduced.

"Itani (most technologically advanced civilization in VO)"

SURELY YOU DONT MEAN THE PEOPLE WHO SAW TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENTISTS AS THE DEVIL AND LEANED MORE TOWARDS MYSTIC CRAP INSTEAD OF THAT "OTHER" CIVILIZATION WHICH DEDICATED ITSELF TO TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS TO THE POINT OF INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY WITH THEIR OWN BODIES?? (Hint: Its the Serco)

When your IQ manages to get to room temperature, I suggest you re-read the backstory Shadoen.

The back story... as in the one that was written by the Itani? Surely that will give a fair and reasonable account of the Serco.

And now, for Bojan's next trick:

"When your IQ manages to get to room temperature, I suggest you re-read the backstory Shadoen."
It cant go that low, but if what you want is for us to discuss this on equal terms, I shall bang my head as hard and repeatedly as possible.

Before doing that however...

Nowhere in the backstory (The ITANI backstory) are they mentioned as being the most technologically advanced civilization nor can that be implied.

"Bbbut we have the supah technologically advanced Valkyrie which is teh awesum"
Well Serco have the scp (which is also awesome).

As for the hive not thinking "outside the box" just because its an AI...
It's artificial, but still intelligent nonetheless. It's self conscious, organized, it adapts, changes, and it's resilient. It integrates foreign technology into itself. How's that for thinking outside the box?

So far HIVE has not come up with a single technology breakthrough in VO universe and as Shadoen said they just successfully integrated human technology into itself.
Self preservation and expansion is at the base of HIVE programming and they use all means available to them: human technology they can incorporate in their designs - guns, drives, shields, etc.

As far as technology is concerned.... sure it must be Serco invented everything, fusion and gravitic drives, shields, weapons... everything. If not Serco then maybe HIVE... but what do I know, I am just a feeble minded nobody.

"So far HIVE has not come up with a single technology breakthrough in VO universe"

I knew it! The UIT invented Leviathon! At any rate, there is precedence in the game for the hive to "think outside the box."...

They are sentient and interestingly enough, they conform to most of the accepted qualifiers for defining life... so a better term than artificial intelligence would actually be artificial life, then again... some hive bots actually have genetic material... so who knows?

The hive first started as automated drones used by current and other defunct corporations for mining, transport, and escort operations.

The hive becoming self conscious, rebelling, and organizing the way they do now was not part of their original programming.

Also, like ryan said, they invented the freaking Leviathan and their HIVE weapons and batteries.