Endoskeleton PvP Solution For Initial EA Launch

[STEALTH]

Lifting This From My Reddit Post So It's On The Official Forums:

This idea was also posted in the "Suggestions" area of the Official Discord with the Community seeming to love it as well! So I understand that Early Access means absolute bare bones experience and I'm perfectly fine with that! I see according to statements made in Discord that Endo PvP will be very limited compared to what has been seen in videos. This is due to Mega Stations being Safe Zones and there being no Player Stations at launch.

For now the only options will be Endo PvP in the middle of space (if one chooses to be crazy enough to float around shooting with ships all around), Asteroids (a little more viable), or the few times there'll be a Centurio size ship floating about to board. My suggestion is that the Devs add structures that can be seen as "Abandoned Stations" or "Destroyed Stations" in a few places that are not marked as "Safe Zones". This will at least give us a little more Endo PvP instead of just mostly Ship PvP until such time as Player Stations can be added into the game!

I don't know about others but I'm more a Crewman (for repairs or gunner) or Ground Troop and not so much the Pilot type. I fly here and there but I prefer gunning or Infantry PvP. Some kind of mild level incentive could be place in these structures (nothing too good but just enough to become a POI for some) so that we can enjoy Endo vs Endo Combat!

These stations can be indestructible from the outside with mild furniture/walls that can be on the inside during the combat. Just some bare minimum deal that doesn't tax the Devs too much in their EA stuff but something that should provide a pretty large additional activity to the bare bone experience at Early Access Launch for us than mostly Ship vs Ship Combat!

 

[CalenLoki]

After that short conversation on discord I though about posting it as well. I've been too slow

I agree in general, but disagree with some details.

1. IMO it should be all destructible. What's the point of testing combat in completely different environment than actual game offers. And destructible environment is as core part of it as having guns. Instead, the stations should in some way regenerate. Either from time to time respawn the whole thing, slowly re-grow, or some other kind alien magic thing.
   Using basic cheapest material would both prevent anyone from grinding it for resource, and be easier to blow holes through for great visual effect.
2. Infantry combat is nice, but combined arms is better. Thus while sending infantry should be the core reason for those stations to exist, ships flying around should still be useful as rearming and fire support. That's also closer to how station sieges will look like in actual game. So I suggest station core (few hundreds meters in diameter) to be very tight (infantry only), then get more and more spacious spaces (corridors, halls) towards external perimeter. Thus allowing "urban" close quarter combat for small ships as well.
3. While the main purpose would be testing in EA, I see great potential in expanding and improving it as permanent game element. As a place, where all bloodthirsty warriors/warbands can go and be sure to find combat. That's both good way to channel peoples need for destruction and great resource sink. It would work really well as an optional goal for competitive players if those stations provide built in game mode that can be won. Preferably with some form of proving the victory.
   I.e. stations would spawn alien artefact in the core every 5 minutes. It appears on HUD of everyone within render distance. Whoever get there (on foot), kill all the competition, transport it out to ship, then fly to megastation can exchange it for points (scoreboard) and unique cosmetics for endos/ship (bragging rights).
   Simple mechanics, but force combatants to engineer their way through all stages of battle: space superiority around the base, combined arms urban combat through hangars, passages and halls, infantry battle in the core. And allows multitude of tactical choices: get single artefact and escape? Or wait for several ones? Transport them together for better protection? Or maybe split for a chance of partial victory? Keep your escape craft hidden inside the station? Or call for it once you need it? Or maybe just wait outside the station and wait for someone to bring it out of the station?

 

[STEALTH]

1. Don't personally mind the station being destructible; I only really mentioned it not being so it can be a very light task that hopefully the Devs wouldn't mind adding to their original EA Launch plans. Not sure how much more of a task it would be to make it destructible and then have to deal with respawning mechanism of these areas compared to just having some that are around that don't go anywhere.

2. Agreed, never intended for the idea to be Infantry Only...just an idea to allow for CQB where as the current plan doesn't really have much beyond ship boarding the few large vessels that would even be around early game.

3. Can agree with that!

 

[Burnside]

"Lightball"/paintball arenas.

 

[STEALTH]

Well...Lauri himself has already spoken on Discord on this and has stated that their are "Outpost" that are OUTSIDE the safe zones so that basically takes care of this issue. Was glad he responded and glad to hear that such exist so it looks like we're good to go!