Fish'o'war Turinna
Terror From Beyond
5
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Posted - 2014.04.09 02:15:00 -
[1] - Quote
I was thinking about the requests that us Dust players have voiced about being able to pick the systems we fight in, and the requests for new maps/game modes. It occurred to me that we could fight in the strategic outposts floating in space that EVE players interact with.
For those of you who aren't familiar with how Factional Outposts work, here's the short version. Outposts of four sizes spawn in space in low security systems that are part of the Factional Warfare warzone. From smallest to largest (as far as ship classes allowed inside the acceleration gate) are Novice, Small, Medium, and Large. Eve players can come and capture them by remaining within 30 kilometers of the outpost for 10 to 20 minutes as long as there are no hostile ships inside that range. NPCs of appropriate sizes (frigate, destroyer, cruiser, and battlecruiser) spawn inside these outposts. Those NPCs are alligned with the faction that currently controls that system. Those have to be destroyed for an attacking player to capture that outpost. Capturing the outpost gives the winning side a small amount of influence toward either making the hub vulnerable to attack (at which point it can be shot at until it flips sides) or defenders can move the influence away from vulnerability.
Now for my idea: Dust players can board and capture these outposts.
(Please note, the scenario below is theoretical to demonstrate my idea, but it could feasibly happen.)
Part 1: Attacker
Let's say I want to lead a Caldari attack on a Gallente controlled system. I would go to the Battle Finder, and there would be a subsection under Factional Contracts labeled "Strategic Contracts". I would then be able to choose a system to attack, and it would query if there were any strategic outposts in the system, and what class they are. Novice would allow a 3 man group, Small a 6 man squad, Medium a 16 man team, and Large a 32 man raid.
At this point, it asks me if I want to attack the Gallente Medium Outpost in Oicx. The nearest Caldari system is Innia, and it asks me to confirm the payment to deploy a Strategic Assault Transport (hereafter termed SATs) to attack the outpost. That would be 2 jumps away. I push confirm.
A NPC transport is deployed from a station in Innia. This ship is a black ops ship, meaning it can warp while cloaked. The NPC ship then makes its way to the designated outpost, but it can be destroyed en route.
When it reaches the outpost, it decloaks and fires a breaching vessel at the outpost. This is a large projectile that slices through the armor of the target station, and then seals the gap using nanites and deploys a CRU and a Supply Depot. Each Breaching Unit only has 15 clones, and your SAT will attempt to transfer all of the clones it is carrying to the outpost. After this point, and only after this point, does the battle actually start for the player initiating the attack. If the SAT is destroyed en route, then nothing happens for a player attempting to attack an outpost. The SAT cannot recloak after firing the initial Breaching Unit, because the hostile navy ships will begin targeting it. Due to this mechanic, you need to hack the remote shield booster to begin repairing your SAT's shields. Each SAT is equipped with a powerful active tank and a moderate arsenal of weapons. The SAT will periodically launch additional Breaching Units to reinforce the attack.
As soon as you spawn, NPC infantry drones begin assembling throughout the outpost and start attacking the invaders. You have to hack the Core System Computer, which will begin a timer. (Novice, 10 minutes, Small, 10, Medium 15, and Large 20) If you hold it for that time then you will be deemed victorious and the influence will be moved on behalf of the faction you are fighting for.
However....
Part 2: Defender
Playing defense for strategic outposts is a lot like queuing for standard planetary Factional contracts. You put yourself in the Defense queue, and wait for someone to attack an outpost. Once their Breaching Units go online, it triggers a request for infantry reinforcement and a SAT is launched from the nearest friendly station. Your objective is to stop the attackers from remaining in control of the outpost and hack the outpost back to your faction.
Part 3: Special Mechanics
There will be 5 consoles scattered throughout the outpost. These control the Energy Drain Array, the Combat Drone Protocols, the Sentry Gun Protocols, the Remote Shield Tower, and the Core System Computer.
Energy Drain Array: This console will control an Energy Drain effect, targeted at the enemy SAT of whichever team hacks it. This will severely hamper the defensive capabilities of a SAT and prevent it from repairing itself due to low energy. If there is no defensive SAT in the area, it will target any hostile within range.
Combat Drone Protocols: Once hacked, this launches a swarm of combat drones to attack hostile ships near the outpost. These drones prioritize high damage ships and will respawn after a set duration if destroyed.
Sentry Gun Protocols: This console puts the outpost defenses online, and its sentry guns will engage hostile ships nearby.
Remote Shield Tower: This enables the remote shield repair facilities of the outpost, augmenting the SAT's defenses and making it last longer.
Core System Computer: This is the heart of the outpost. Whoever controls this console will make the computer systems realign the ownership of the outpost. Whoever controls it for its total time will win.
Please note that NPC drones will also attempt to hack consoles.
To summarize, I think that this or something like it would create even more ways for EVE players and Dust players to interact and coordinate. A simple Dust match on the outpost could escalate into a large space battle if both sides reinforced it, and make Dust players able to fight for their faction in a different and interesting way.
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