Regis Blackbird
DUST University
Ivy League
209
   |
Posted - 2014.05.13 11:09:00 -
[1] - Quote
Wall of text incoming 
I started playing Dust 514 in closed beta after a few years absence from New Eden. I really like the IP, and when Dust was built I had grand visions of what a Merc in New Eden would be able to do. Those dreams sadly came short in Dust 514 (but I still love the game), but with Legion my fantasies have started going wild again :-)
Free world roaming
So here it goes (many things have been discussed in other threads):
First of New Eden is divided into High Sec (basically safe), Low Sec (be wary) and Null Sec (suicide for unprepared players). I feel this should be very prevalent in Legion as well, and my vision is:
1) High Sec:
You can deploy anywhere directly using the "starhub" to a warbarge in orbit (with few exceptions, see example mission). When deploying to a planet district, it is "locked" for other players by Concord. You have the sole "scavenging" right, and no other (player) can intercept you. The enemies will be pure AI or environment.
This applies to:
- Wild PVP / Free World Roaming
- Agent Missions
2) Low Sec:
You can deploy anywhere directly using the "starhub" to a warbarge in orbit (with few exceptions, see example mission). When deploying to a planet district, it is flagged to other players which can also deploy to help or (most likely) try and destroy you. The enemies will consist of AI, environment and potentially other Mercs.
This applies to:
- Wild PVP / Free World Roaming
- Agent Missions
3) Null Sec:
You can not deploy directly as there are no Warbarge in orbit, and have to rely on EVE players for transport. This will lock out a majority of the player base from Null Sec, but this is supposed to be the "End Game", which require quite large investment of skills and backing by a Corp to be successful, so I see no problem with this.
This applies to:
- Wild PVP / Free World Roaming
Regardless of where you have your base of operation, you should be able to deploy anywhere in High or Low sec. There are no goals or objectives, just exploring the unknown. You can expect to find enemy resistance in form of AI and other players (Low Sec only), but you are never sure what form that will take. When selecting "where" to go, I think the "scanning mechanism" should be linked to the warbarge in orbit (which has to be there, right?). It will pick up things like distress signals, rouge drone infestations etc. It should also mark if any players have already deployed to the district (regardless of High or Low Sec), with the option to intercept in Low Sec.
Joint EVE and Legion Missions.
Godin started a really good thread about Agent Missions (cudos to you!). I won't go into details what different types of missions there could be, apart from one I feel very strongly about: Joint Missions.
These missions will take you to places you can't reach on your own, and will involve goals and objectives for both capsuleers and mercs.
An example:
A security agent (in EVE) have a mission to retrieve some stolen documents from a rouge operative, which is hiding on his base located in somewhere in dead space. The base is heavily fortified both with ships outside and security drones on the inside.
The mission is initially accepted by the EVE player, which selects if the merc "squad" should be locked (playing with friends) or open to everyone. He then continues to load a mobile CRU into his cargo-hold, which makes the mission available in Legion. Accepting the mission (in Legion) will load you into the ships loadingbay (similar to the warbarge, but smaller). A custom channel is created where the mercs (and EVE player) can interact during the travel to the destination (they can also spawn in during the travel).
When the EVE player reaches the jump gate he needs to decide if he have enough mercs (CRU contains 50 clones total), since when he jumps to dead space the mission will be locked in Legion.
After jumping the EVE player will be engaged by the enemy, and his first objective is to eject the CRU within X km from the base (it will refuse to eject beyond that point). After ejecting, the CRU will "dock" with the station which will initiate the fight for the mercs. The mission should state which objectives needs to be met, but preferably the fight should be in tandem. I.e. to speed up the progress in the base, the EVE player can destroy objectives in space (i.e a power relay or similar), and the mercs can disable auto turrets targeting the ship by hacking the consoles in the station etc. None of these things should be required to complete the mission, but it will promote cross play for mutual benefit. If the EVE player is destroyed or the clones run out, their individual mission will fail. (both EVE player and Mercs have individual goals along with a common goal)
When the mercs have obtained the documents, they will extract the same way they came and "eject" the CRU into space again where it can be picked up by the EVE player, and returned to base.
The example mission above would promote cross play between EVE and Legion, but not make the two games fully dependent on each other, since there is nothing that forces anybody to accept the missions. The results though will be very similar to the EVE Forever video shown during Fanfest. 
Thoughts? |
Regis Blackbird
DUST University
Ivy League
210
|
Posted - 2014.05.14 21:17:00 -
[3] - Quote
Any other thoughts?
I could add that Null Sec travels should be easily set-up as a EVE contract for Legion only corps, so there would be no need to have a EVE player in the corp (although it would help). The EVE player would then be tasked to transport a mobile CRU (or a warbarge) for future direct access, so you obtain a foothold. This can then be the basis for future planetary conquest, where corps and players can form their own territories and borders. |