Forums » Suggestions
a.k.a. "Spirit Travel", "Speed To", "Slip Through" or "Soul Train"
Before I get swamped with flames, let me say that I have considered whether there are any possible ways this ability could be abused and I think no more than any aspect of the game by someone determined enough.
Now that that's out of the way let me explain what got me thinking about this. Travel is something you do for a variety of reasons; Sometimes it's to move ships or a quantity of goods, other times it's because of a mission, and sometimes it's to meet up with a friend or get to where the action is. These last two are when travel gets tedious. You don't always have a lot of time to spend online, and boosting through sectors for ten minutes for a few duels in b8 or up into nation space for Hive Skirmishes or to meet up with a new player in the capitol chips away at patience, especially when the player may have moved on by the time you get there. No one can stop you at any rate if you have the right equipment, and the lag time in travel could actually be preventing players from getting together for fun activities (although it is a good way to experience VO's universe when you are first starting out).
You may already see where I'm going with this; let me at this point suggest this ability would not be something available to all players right away... rather it would be something to work towards once certain bridges are crossed and experiences are had. Here's how it might work:
1) The player must have achieved a certain faction level (I suggest Pillar of Society) with the station they are transferring from.
2) The player must have achieved a certain faction level (I suggest Admired) with the station they are transferring to.
3) The player may not directly transfer between stations of the same faction. (If one faction loves you and everyone else hates you you're s.o.l.)
4) No ships, equipment, or commodities may be carried through the transfer, and there may be no active missions during the transfer.
When docked, the player could select a different station from their nav map, click "Transfer to..." and be instantly transported to that station submitting to the above criteria. This would likely have little effect on the economy as no physical material such as goods or ships would be moved. It may have a profound effect in gameplay by allowing players to quickly organize around certain areas.
What about blockades?
You would still have to get in a Behemoth to haul x number of goods from system a to system b which would make you vulnerable to blockades, ion storms, etc. You would not be able to take any shortcuts because all commodities and ships would still have to be moved the regular way.
What about players using this to hit and run / escape?
There's already not much you can do about hit and run tactics. If a player does not wish to be engaged and they are in a fighter, good luck trying to catch them. Avoidance has always been strongly favored; it's usually only when a player willingly confronts you that conflict occurs.
What about players using this to grief others after transferring to their location?
Two things I can say about this; first it's the unfortunate player's fault for giving away their position. Second, if the antagonist gets there quickly, so can the help. Players have different motivations and not all of them are hostile. I think the ability to organize quickly outweighs the potential abuse.
This is not something that players would have access to right away, they would still have to climb the social ladder of the various factions and be relegated to good old gravimetric propulsion and wormholes until they did so. However it would be another reason to spend time in game earning the right faction levels, not just for the equipment but for the potential elimination of travel time, or in plain English, getting around quickly.
Before I get swamped with flames, let me say that I have considered whether there are any possible ways this ability could be abused and I think no more than any aspect of the game by someone determined enough.
Now that that's out of the way let me explain what got me thinking about this. Travel is something you do for a variety of reasons; Sometimes it's to move ships or a quantity of goods, other times it's because of a mission, and sometimes it's to meet up with a friend or get to where the action is. These last two are when travel gets tedious. You don't always have a lot of time to spend online, and boosting through sectors for ten minutes for a few duels in b8 or up into nation space for Hive Skirmishes or to meet up with a new player in the capitol chips away at patience, especially when the player may have moved on by the time you get there. No one can stop you at any rate if you have the right equipment, and the lag time in travel could actually be preventing players from getting together for fun activities (although it is a good way to experience VO's universe when you are first starting out).
You may already see where I'm going with this; let me at this point suggest this ability would not be something available to all players right away... rather it would be something to work towards once certain bridges are crossed and experiences are had. Here's how it might work:
1) The player must have achieved a certain faction level (I suggest Pillar of Society) with the station they are transferring from.
2) The player must have achieved a certain faction level (I suggest Admired) with the station they are transferring to.
3) The player may not directly transfer between stations of the same faction. (If one faction loves you and everyone else hates you you're s.o.l.)
4) No ships, equipment, or commodities may be carried through the transfer, and there may be no active missions during the transfer.
When docked, the player could select a different station from their nav map, click "Transfer to..." and be instantly transported to that station submitting to the above criteria. This would likely have little effect on the economy as no physical material such as goods or ships would be moved. It may have a profound effect in gameplay by allowing players to quickly organize around certain areas.
What about blockades?
You would still have to get in a Behemoth to haul x number of goods from system a to system b which would make you vulnerable to blockades, ion storms, etc. You would not be able to take any shortcuts because all commodities and ships would still have to be moved the regular way.
What about players using this to hit and run / escape?
There's already not much you can do about hit and run tactics. If a player does not wish to be engaged and they are in a fighter, good luck trying to catch them. Avoidance has always been strongly favored; it's usually only when a player willingly confronts you that conflict occurs.
What about players using this to grief others after transferring to their location?
Two things I can say about this; first it's the unfortunate player's fault for giving away their position. Second, if the antagonist gets there quickly, so can the help. Players have different motivations and not all of them are hostile. I think the ability to organize quickly outweighs the potential abuse.
This is not something that players would have access to right away, they would still have to climb the social ladder of the various factions and be relegated to good old gravimetric propulsion and wormholes until they did so. However it would be another reason to spend time in game earning the right faction levels, not just for the equipment but for the potential elimination of travel time, or in plain English, getting around quickly.
But Phaserlight, many of us who've been playing a while can already do that. 1 alt in Deneb, 1 alt in Grey.
Teleport from one front to the other in 15 seconds.
Teleport from one front to the other in 15 seconds.
no this wouldn't work with the faction redux, and chasing someone down to a station just to have them magically warp to another one would be the most annoying thing ever.
-1 to re-homing without relocation, this is equivalent to magic teleportation. If it was implemented, then it would be simply much safer and faster to 'magic-warp' to the other side of universe to do business, and leave only robots really flying in space with cargo.
The whole ressurection (respawn) thing in VO is a loose end...
It was never integrated into background plot. Where in history it explains why you can kill someone again? When was ressurection created? Does NPCs also ressurect? Why pirates and enemies return after being killed?
Instead, it simply exists as a game option without any explanation, what breaks immersion. People ressurect, but NPCs, bounties and missions seems to ignore this fact.
I have proposed many times to evolve this concept. It is the central concept for Galactica (BSG) and Caprica series. And it should play an important role in VO universe.
The whole ressurection (respawn) thing in VO is a loose end...
It was never integrated into background plot. Where in history it explains why you can kill someone again? When was ressurection created? Does NPCs also ressurect? Why pirates and enemies return after being killed?
Instead, it simply exists as a game option without any explanation, what breaks immersion. People ressurect, but NPCs, bounties and missions seems to ignore this fact.
I have proposed many times to evolve this concept. It is the central concept for Galactica (BSG) and Caprica series. And it should play an important role in VO universe.
@EddyHolland - I didn't think of the alt scenario. I guess that sort of makes this entire suggestion redundant. Still, it would be neat to spring up as Phaserlight in effectively the same manner while keeping my name.
@Peytros - What if you had the option to follow them? I.e. if you were docked at the station at the time player X transferred a message might appear in the station bar - "player X has moved to station Y". See my comment about using this to escape; There's not much you can do if a player doesn't want to fight. I'm also curious why you say it wouldn't work with the faction redux.
@Alloh - I've often thought about respawning in VO and what it means, and I like the fact that it's left open to interpretation. I disagree that it breaks immersion, I would rather create my own explanation for why I suddenly appear back at my home station than deal with some potentially time consuming game mechanic.
The best / most favorite explanation I can offer for why this happens is reverse causality. In other words, every time you make it to a station and home there, it was actually you flying that ship (as a body in a cockpit or bridge). If you "died", your physical presence was at your home station all along, and you were either flying your ship through remote control or by some facsimile created by nanotechnology.
Picture a single player RPG where if you die you automatically revert back to the last saved game. After finishing the game you the player may have experienced at least a dozen deaths, but what actually happened to the character was the string of events in between saves that led to the successful completion of the game.
@Peytros - What if you had the option to follow them? I.e. if you were docked at the station at the time player X transferred a message might appear in the station bar - "player X has moved to station Y". See my comment about using this to escape; There's not much you can do if a player doesn't want to fight. I'm also curious why you say it wouldn't work with the faction redux.
@Alloh - I've often thought about respawning in VO and what it means, and I like the fact that it's left open to interpretation. I disagree that it breaks immersion, I would rather create my own explanation for why I suddenly appear back at my home station than deal with some potentially time consuming game mechanic.
The best / most favorite explanation I can offer for why this happens is reverse causality. In other words, every time you make it to a station and home there, it was actually you flying that ship (as a body in a cockpit or bridge). If you "died", your physical presence was at your home station all along, and you were either flying your ship through remote control or by some facsimile created by nanotechnology.
Picture a single player RPG where if you die you automatically revert back to the last saved game. After finishing the game you the player may have experienced at least a dozen deaths, but what actually happened to the character was the string of events in between saves that led to the successful completion of the game.
Phaser, this isn't single player. You cannot restart a battle. Death is treated as forever, while isn't...
Consider Bounty. Why the state pays a small fortune to get someone killed? In RL it solves a problem, the bandit never returns, so it is a good investment. But why pay to kill someone that will return in a few minutes? It is not practical, and solves nothing, it becomes wasted money, because the state's enemy will return.
Same applies to opposing side. Why newbies should avoid gray? To remain alive? But death is so meaningless we should be incetivating them to go die in grayspace on a cheap ship as a cheaper training than sending training bots...
I would agree with the Remote Control option, or Cloning, or anything that explains why you can fly another ship after exploding, and make sense of "re-homing" at any station. But as now, it is a gameplay workaround without any explanation, and unrelated to the whole paradigm.
Instead, if we adopt a simple explanation, as the Cylon's ressurection hub. Something as:
-Conscience is a series of quantic states. If can be transmitted, but not reproduced neither stored. So it allows, with the proper entangled crystals implanted on clones, be transfered to a new body in the moment of death, thus allowing a form of ressurection.
With this added to backstory and a few adjustements on mission texts, it would make complete sense, and integrate death/ressurection into VO's paradigm, thus making sense that, in certain situations, one could transfer its home location to some other station.
One possible way to implement it and prevent it becoming a major exploit would be to request an entangled crystal from the remote station, and after some time a courier arrives with it and you can re-home without having to fly all the way. The practical result is adding a delay to the re-homing request.
Consider Bounty. Why the state pays a small fortune to get someone killed? In RL it solves a problem, the bandit never returns, so it is a good investment. But why pay to kill someone that will return in a few minutes? It is not practical, and solves nothing, it becomes wasted money, because the state's enemy will return.
Same applies to opposing side. Why newbies should avoid gray? To remain alive? But death is so meaningless we should be incetivating them to go die in grayspace on a cheap ship as a cheaper training than sending training bots...
I would agree with the Remote Control option, or Cloning, or anything that explains why you can fly another ship after exploding, and make sense of "re-homing" at any station. But as now, it is a gameplay workaround without any explanation, and unrelated to the whole paradigm.
Instead, if we adopt a simple explanation, as the Cylon's ressurection hub. Something as:
-Conscience is a series of quantic states. If can be transmitted, but not reproduced neither stored. So it allows, with the proper entangled crystals implanted on clones, be transfered to a new body in the moment of death, thus allowing a form of ressurection.
With this added to backstory and a few adjustements on mission texts, it would make complete sense, and integrate death/ressurection into VO's paradigm, thus making sense that, in certain situations, one could transfer its home location to some other station.
One possible way to implement it and prevent it becoming a major exploit would be to request an entangled crystal from the remote station, and after some time a courier arrives with it and you can re-home without having to fly all the way. The practical result is adding a delay to the re-homing request.
Interesting, but -1. I prefer having to travel at least in order to set home points. /explode is enough of a fast travel mechanism to me - it can be quite useful, but is restricted enough to not become lame.
With access to the soul-train, people would home where they're POS to maximize their mobility. They wouldn't be able to just run to any random station and jump away, because they'd need POS, which would be harder after the redux. But they could run to a random station, grab a bus, and then /explode back to their home station, from which they could jump to anywhere they're sufficiently liked. And, at least currently, /explode cannot be followed.
Also, although your idea would still allow people to blockade trade, it would not allow us to completely cut off an area of space. Say ITAN decided that they didn't want anybody in Bractus while they moved large volumes of cargo from one of the normal stations there into the conquerable station. If they put up blockades at the wormholes, they could delay anybody trying to enter the system. However, with the soul-train, they could jump directly to one of the stations, grab a fighter, and interfere. It is less desirable to attempt a blockade at the stations themselves because that puts the blockaded people one step closer to their target, decreases the delay between attempts, and increases the difficulty of maintaining the blockade due to the NFZ and the potential for faction loss.
Not that that's a large complaining point to me, just thought I'd mention it.
The issue of long travel times will lessen as the population grows. Travel times won't change, of course, but the need to travel so far to find interesting things will be reduced. Besides which, I prefer being able to bump into people on the road, even if the odds of unconsentually running them down are low if they're in a traveling ship.
With access to the soul-train, people would home where they're POS to maximize their mobility. They wouldn't be able to just run to any random station and jump away, because they'd need POS, which would be harder after the redux. But they could run to a random station, grab a bus, and then /explode back to their home station, from which they could jump to anywhere they're sufficiently liked. And, at least currently, /explode cannot be followed.
Also, although your idea would still allow people to blockade trade, it would not allow us to completely cut off an area of space. Say ITAN decided that they didn't want anybody in Bractus while they moved large volumes of cargo from one of the normal stations there into the conquerable station. If they put up blockades at the wormholes, they could delay anybody trying to enter the system. However, with the soul-train, they could jump directly to one of the stations, grab a fighter, and interfere. It is less desirable to attempt a blockade at the stations themselves because that puts the blockaded people one step closer to their target, decreases the delay between attempts, and increases the difficulty of maintaining the blockade due to the NFZ and the potential for faction loss.
Not that that's a large complaining point to me, just thought I'd mention it.
The issue of long travel times will lessen as the population grows. Travel times won't change, of course, but the need to travel so far to find interesting things will be reduced. Besides which, I prefer being able to bump into people on the road, even if the odds of unconsentually running them down are low if they're in a traveling ship.
I think this all is interesting idea. It deserves more care, because some points put here are valid. Nonetheless, I believe all of them can be solved by rules, and additional mechanics.
Alloh@:
I am pretty sure Phaserlight really knows this is not a single-player...
How bounty system interferes with this suggestion?
Heck, tell me how this is related to newbies? You need to be Admired at destination, and POS on the place you are. Newbies will come to grey after some time, to gain respect and be admired. But I can see no difference from current state.
Let stay apart your hijack which we are used to... Just a note: I love BSG as well. But I don't want my character to "shut in the head" to transfer it to another station. So, NO, thanks.
Delays are quite good mechanics, and will work well in this scenario.
I would not force any kind of EXACT explanation, like crystals and such, and would leave the delay as a simple explanation of "transmission delay". With distance let the delay increase. For example let j is number of jumps, then the delay in seconds d calculates as d = 30 + 10x. 30 means administrative cost to prepare transmission.
Each second of a transmission is for 10.000c. If you go there for a good business, well you are on your own. If not, prepare your cash.
Pizzasgood@:
/explode is really ugly mechanics to travel, and I feel is as the workaround at least, rather, best described as the pseudo-cheat. What the heck is the feeling from the game, when you are MADE to use /explode (understand suicide) to move to some more distant place? That is the immersion? No. It's not. Explode is lame itself by design, even well secured to not being straightly ABUSED. I strongly believe it's not intended and designed to be used to actually TRAVEL.
/explode countdown time should be calculated on similar basis as the transmission delay, and limited somehow to fulfill its emergency nature. The teleport feature will replace /explode feature with appropriate mechanics.
For blocking teleports, you can still use additional game mechanics. Create mechanics which will disable/harden the availability to teleport into a system, something obscenely expensive, or special in other way. Pay a 300.000c in the Jamming Mission for a 30ms of 60s longer teleport transmission, which will make it much more expensive. Heh. It this is only one limitation I can imagine right from the desk. There are plenty of them still waiting to bringing them to the light, I am sure.
As a dungeon master, I learned a lesson. If it's too powerful what you created, but in the same time it's a good idea, give it extra requirements to work, and/or drop probability of it's success, choose who can use it. In that order.
Teleport (or you can call it differently) IS DARN POWERFUL stuff. Make it limited, unavailable, expensive, whatever, but leave it breathe. Many people will rather pay 60k for a teleport, instead of /exploding. Me, for example. I am /exploding, but I don't like it. Difference of 10s vs. 15mins is too big.
I would like to offer some mechanics which can be created to actually limit the teleport feature:
+ pilot transfer procedure takes a time (e.g. d=30+10*hops)
+ transfer expenses controlled by destination station
.....* blockade hook to make the cost available for influence of bribes, blockades, etc.
.....* hook will work for conquerable stations as well
.....* faction specific coefficients
.....* under specific conditions, you can teleport even when you are not Admired in the destination
+ physical presence of "device" at the destination (faction standing(already suggested),'visited' tag)
+ local mission (investing of players real time)
+ random transmission interruption (most safe capitols, then research, barracks, commercial, mining)
* transmission is over, character still at original place, money paid out :)
+ transferring means real re-homing. When you transfer, you are homed there, so no /explode
Still, if all or nothing applies, you can make a teleport to your home station much cheaper, to avoid/lessen /explode stuff.
Alloh@:
I am pretty sure Phaserlight really knows this is not a single-player...
How bounty system interferes with this suggestion?
Heck, tell me how this is related to newbies? You need to be Admired at destination, and POS on the place you are. Newbies will come to grey after some time, to gain respect and be admired. But I can see no difference from current state.
Let stay apart your hijack which we are used to... Just a note: I love BSG as well. But I don't want my character to "shut in the head" to transfer it to another station. So, NO, thanks.
Delays are quite good mechanics, and will work well in this scenario.
I would not force any kind of EXACT explanation, like crystals and such, and would leave the delay as a simple explanation of "transmission delay". With distance let the delay increase. For example let j is number of jumps, then the delay in seconds d calculates as d = 30 + 10x. 30 means administrative cost to prepare transmission.
Each second of a transmission is for 10.000c. If you go there for a good business, well you are on your own. If not, prepare your cash.
Pizzasgood@:
/explode is really ugly mechanics to travel, and I feel is as the workaround at least, rather, best described as the pseudo-cheat. What the heck is the feeling from the game, when you are MADE to use /explode (understand suicide) to move to some more distant place? That is the immersion? No. It's not. Explode is lame itself by design, even well secured to not being straightly ABUSED. I strongly believe it's not intended and designed to be used to actually TRAVEL.
/explode countdown time should be calculated on similar basis as the transmission delay, and limited somehow to fulfill its emergency nature. The teleport feature will replace /explode feature with appropriate mechanics.
For blocking teleports, you can still use additional game mechanics. Create mechanics which will disable/harden the availability to teleport into a system, something obscenely expensive, or special in other way. Pay a 300.000c in the Jamming Mission for a 30ms of 60s longer teleport transmission, which will make it much more expensive. Heh. It this is only one limitation I can imagine right from the desk. There are plenty of them still waiting to bringing them to the light, I am sure.
As a dungeon master, I learned a lesson. If it's too powerful what you created, but in the same time it's a good idea, give it extra requirements to work, and/or drop probability of it's success, choose who can use it. In that order.
Teleport (or you can call it differently) IS DARN POWERFUL stuff. Make it limited, unavailable, expensive, whatever, but leave it breathe. Many people will rather pay 60k for a teleport, instead of /exploding. Me, for example. I am /exploding, but I don't like it. Difference of 10s vs. 15mins is too big.
I would like to offer some mechanics which can be created to actually limit the teleport feature:
+ pilot transfer procedure takes a time (e.g. d=30+10*hops)
+ transfer expenses controlled by destination station
.....* blockade hook to make the cost available for influence of bribes, blockades, etc.
.....* hook will work for conquerable stations as well
.....* faction specific coefficients
.....* under specific conditions, you can teleport even when you are not Admired in the destination
+ physical presence of "device" at the destination (faction standing(already suggested),'visited' tag)
+ local mission (investing of players real time)
+ random transmission interruption (most safe capitols, then research, barracks, commercial, mining)
* transmission is over, character still at original place, money paid out :)
+ transferring means real re-homing. When you transfer, you are homed there, so no /explode
Still, if all or nothing applies, you can make a teleport to your home station much cheaper, to avoid/lessen /explode stuff.
+1, IF:
-Provide transporters at only one station in systems with (3 or 4?) or more stations, or introduce some other sort of restriction on which stations have transporters.
-Make it cost. A lot.
-Provide an addon that completely jams this ability to anyone within sector when activated, costing 55 energy/second, and causing slow faction loss over time with the blocked station.
-I like the idea of a delay such as astib described.
-Introduce a chance of failure based upon distance, such as 10% chance added to 2% chance per jump.
-Provide transporters at only one station in systems with (3 or 4?) or more stations, or introduce some other sort of restriction on which stations have transporters.
-Make it cost. A lot.
-Provide an addon that completely jams this ability to anyone within sector when activated, costing 55 energy/second, and causing slow faction loss over time with the blocked station.
-I like the idea of a delay such as astib described.
-Introduce a chance of failure based upon distance, such as 10% chance added to 2% chance per jump.
I would like to put yet another note to this. Almost all good stuff is controversial at first. I do understand some people don't like it at first sight. I am pretty used to be in those situations, while I was designing games (which i am not doing for some time now).
I really appreciate, Phaserlight, your decision to express yourself. I think it's an unfinished gem awaiting for processing. If handled well and implemented, it will:
* improve immersion (/explode is not immersing)
* avoid boring just-to-get-there tens of minutes spent of gazing to infiniturboed travel
More mechanics offering:
* in each system, put somewhere long-range comm satellite, which if it's destroyed, teleport to that system is blocked. Options:
..... * It may be a "cluster" of them, maybe 5 satellites in neighboring sector to a bigger station.
..... * Each satellite from the cluster can be a turret. Respawn countdown set to 15 minutes.
..... * Let it be defended by spawned SF while attack
..... * Put a very small station nearby in the sector, maybe conquerable (to facilitate ownership of the teleporting "license")
..... * Wrap the mechanics with the missions (supplies to the station, retook the station to national hands, etc)
* teleporting devices are placed in the conquerable stations ONLY (this has some pre-requisities to think through, like ship availability there, etc.)
Last note: I would prefer the cost would be not obscene, but somewhere in singles of 100.000c. Too high transfer fee would make this unavailable to medium leveled, but sufficiently factioned characters.
I really appreciate, Phaserlight, your decision to express yourself. I think it's an unfinished gem awaiting for processing. If handled well and implemented, it will:
* improve immersion (/explode is not immersing)
* avoid boring just-to-get-there tens of minutes spent of gazing to infiniturboed travel
More mechanics offering:
* in each system, put somewhere long-range comm satellite, which if it's destroyed, teleport to that system is blocked. Options:
..... * It may be a "cluster" of them, maybe 5 satellites in neighboring sector to a bigger station.
..... * Each satellite from the cluster can be a turret. Respawn countdown set to 15 minutes.
..... * Let it be defended by spawned SF while attack
..... * Put a very small station nearby in the sector, maybe conquerable (to facilitate ownership of the teleporting "license")
..... * Wrap the mechanics with the missions (supplies to the station, retook the station to national hands, etc)
* teleporting devices are placed in the conquerable stations ONLY (this has some pre-requisities to think through, like ship availability there, etc.)
Last note: I would prefer the cost would be not obscene, but somewhere in singles of 100.000c. Too high transfer fee would make this unavailable to medium leveled, but sufficiently factioned characters.
I'm in support of anything that gets me from debeb to sedina faster. But two very important things would be needed if this were to be implemented:
-A cooldown. You can only do this once every hour or something like that.
-Your ship must be outside of the station and idle for 30 seconds. Similar to logging off. This prevents people from using the mechanic to flee from pursuers who have chased them to a station.
The idea behind these two additions is that it's already too easy to run. This needs to be limited in such a way that you can't use it as yet another way to flee pursuers.
-A cooldown. You can only do this once every hour or something like that.
-Your ship must be outside of the station and idle for 30 seconds. Similar to logging off. This prevents people from using the mechanic to flee from pursuers who have chased them to a station.
The idea behind these two additions is that it's already too easy to run. This needs to be limited in such a way that you can't use it as yet another way to flee pursuers.
"transferring means real re-homing. When you transfer, you are homed there, so no /explode"
I like that idea. I think one of the main things bugging me about it was the mobility offered by combining /explode with the transference system. If it rehomes you, and if POS or very-high faction standings are required, when the faction redux comes the transfers could be largely one-way, because getting POS at the misc other stations would be more difficult.
I also like the idea of having to fly to a single transferring station, one or fewer per system, in order to transfer.
I like that idea. I think one of the main things bugging me about it was the mobility offered by combining /explode with the transference system. If it rehomes you, and if POS or very-high faction standings are required, when the faction redux comes the transfers could be largely one-way, because getting POS at the misc other stations would be more difficult.
I also like the idea of having to fly to a single transferring station, one or fewer per system, in order to transfer.
-Your ship must be outside of the station and idle for 30 seconds. Similar to logging off. This prevents people from using the mechanic to flee from pursuers who have chased them to a station.
That would allow loaded behemoths to transport.
That would allow loaded behemoths to transport.
Addendum:
Your ship must not be carrying cargo. (Or) Any cargo in your ships hold will be lost.
Your ship must not be carrying cargo. (Or) Any cargo in your ships hold will be lost.
-1 to OP
And what about hauling ships back and forth, such as from Jallik or Initros to Sedina? It would eliminate the availability factor in balancing ships.
Aye. If it requires being outside, it should also require you to be in a specialized transfer ship which is similar to perhaps an EC-107, but without any weapon ports and cargo storage at all. Either that, or the transfer process should destroy your ship.
I'm thinking a separate structure would be neat. It could have a large open transfer bay, the size of two side by side stacks of three docking bays each. Maybe 1.5 docking bays deep. There would be a tinted boundary field at the door. Teleporting would require remaining stationary for the countdown inside the room. For extra fun, once the countdown reaches 3, it would not be able to be aborted. Instead, if your ship moves you get telefragged.
All ships within the teleport bay would transfer at the same time to the same place. Except anybody who got telefragged. They'd remain behind and explode. The rest would appear inside the destination station, with their home moved along with them (except a special case I'll address momentarily), and their ships silently discarded (no explosions). The person who initiates the jump is the one who pays the fee and has his factions checked. Anybody else who happens to be in the bay when the countdown ends gets yanked along for the ride. If they are too unliked at the destination to dock there normally, their home doesn't change, and they are instead executed and sent back to their normal home, with a faction hit from that destination station (for trespassing) and perhaps a faction hit with the faction owning the transporter.
The countdown and movement/damage canceling system would only apply to the person initiating the transfer. It ignores everybody else's actions. This means that dashing into the bay can be dangerous because you don't know if it's about to trigger or not, so you might frag yourself as you enter and take your position. (Maybe the countdown could show for all occupants instead? But the motion-abort should be based only on the leader.)
Floating cargo would be either destroyed or ignored. Fragged people and destroyed non-bus ships should still drop items though. The busses shouldn't, so that only incorrect transfers and accidents leave a behind a mess.
Anyway, this is all really just icing on top of the overall idea, which I'm fine with as long as the re-home part and a usage fee are included, and (as in the OP) ship transfers are not allowed. (If matter transfer was possible, there would be no need for wormholes. All that is being transferred is your conciseness, same as when you /explode somewhere.)
I'm thinking a separate structure would be neat. It could have a large open transfer bay, the size of two side by side stacks of three docking bays each. Maybe 1.5 docking bays deep. There would be a tinted boundary field at the door. Teleporting would require remaining stationary for the countdown inside the room. For extra fun, once the countdown reaches 3, it would not be able to be aborted. Instead, if your ship moves you get telefragged.
All ships within the teleport bay would transfer at the same time to the same place. Except anybody who got telefragged. They'd remain behind and explode. The rest would appear inside the destination station, with their home moved along with them (except a special case I'll address momentarily), and their ships silently discarded (no explosions). The person who initiates the jump is the one who pays the fee and has his factions checked. Anybody else who happens to be in the bay when the countdown ends gets yanked along for the ride. If they are too unliked at the destination to dock there normally, their home doesn't change, and they are instead executed and sent back to their normal home, with a faction hit from that destination station (for trespassing) and perhaps a faction hit with the faction owning the transporter.
The countdown and movement/damage canceling system would only apply to the person initiating the transfer. It ignores everybody else's actions. This means that dashing into the bay can be dangerous because you don't know if it's about to trigger or not, so you might frag yourself as you enter and take your position. (Maybe the countdown could show for all occupants instead? But the motion-abort should be based only on the leader.)
Floating cargo would be either destroyed or ignored. Fragged people and destroyed non-bus ships should still drop items though. The busses shouldn't, so that only incorrect transfers and accidents leave a behind a mess.
Anyway, this is all really just icing on top of the overall idea, which I'm fine with as long as the re-home part and a usage fee are included, and (as in the OP) ship transfers are not allowed. (If matter transfer was possible, there would be no need for wormholes. All that is being transferred is your conciseness, same as when you /explode somewhere.)
Just note that Phaserlights' posting
IS NOT about teleporting ships, cargo or any kind of equipment initiated from space
it IS just about teleporting characters from stations
IS NOT about teleporting ships, cargo or any kind of equipment initiated from space
it IS just about teleporting characters from stations
It is good to read and see it evolve...
To consider RP consequences, ships and bodies cannot jump crossing many sectors... And it also restrict reasons to fly around.
But also brings more action/fun into game by gathering...
So let me try a middle term:
1. Destination only possible to Corvus. Only them offer the service, and requires standing and cash to do so. It is a mission that gives you an item. Only one item can be kept by player at any moment.
2. It is a TEMPORARY measure. It is like you purchase a "Corvus Quantic Crystal" that can be used only once.
... Once there you cam re-home, but if you die/explode before re-homing, you respawn at your regular home station.
3. To use it you must put the object in your cargo bay, launch in a ship and /explode ship. Then (s)he respawns at the corvus station where the CQC was purchased.
4. Option: Same for conquerable stations, but limited to respawn only if player's key is still active (avoids 'infiltration' after station changes ownership.
Why like this?
-RP-consistent. One cannot invade an 'enemy' station. Not even a Serco with Itani POS. And is a "gray" operation.
-Foster combat around Sedina, gathering fighter players, and works better in our small player base.
-Impose limits to abuse, while 'improving' the existing "hole" that is /explode and respawn back home.
Sample scenario:
PlayerA is at Sedina, purchases a CQC and fly back to fight in Deneb border, where he re-home and unload the CQC.
After a while, Bplayer invites someone for a quick fight in B8. PlayerA dock, load the CQC on a free bus, launch and /explode.
He respawn at Sedina, fight at B8, and lose or win and /explode. He respawns back at Deneb.
Alternatively, he could re-home in Sedina, fight at will, purchase another crystal and fly back to Deneb.
To consider RP consequences, ships and bodies cannot jump crossing many sectors... And it also restrict reasons to fly around.
But also brings more action/fun into game by gathering...
So let me try a middle term:
1. Destination only possible to Corvus. Only them offer the service, and requires standing and cash to do so. It is a mission that gives you an item. Only one item can be kept by player at any moment.
2. It is a TEMPORARY measure. It is like you purchase a "Corvus Quantic Crystal" that can be used only once.
... Once there you cam re-home, but if you die/explode before re-homing, you respawn at your regular home station.
3. To use it you must put the object in your cargo bay, launch in a ship and /explode ship. Then (s)he respawns at the corvus station where the CQC was purchased.
4. Option: Same for conquerable stations, but limited to respawn only if player's key is still active (avoids 'infiltration' after station changes ownership.
Why like this?
-RP-consistent. One cannot invade an 'enemy' station. Not even a Serco with Itani POS. And is a "gray" operation.
-Foster combat around Sedina, gathering fighter players, and works better in our small player base.
-Impose limits to abuse, while 'improving' the existing "hole" that is /explode and respawn back home.
Sample scenario:
PlayerA is at Sedina, purchases a CQC and fly back to fight in Deneb border, where he re-home and unload the CQC.
After a while, Bplayer invites someone for a quick fight in B8. PlayerA dock, load the CQC on a free bus, launch and /explode.
He respawn at Sedina, fight at B8, and lose or win and /explode. He respawns back at Deneb.
Alternatively, he could re-home in Sedina, fight at will, purchase another crystal and fly back to Deneb.
hardly a new suggestion - and it has been rejected before....