The siege mechanics that the capital ships provide are fantastic solutions. They prevent offline raiding but still, the attacker has the choice when to attack and most importantly they CAN attack. Brilliant!
Unfortunately, the way this mechanic was designed puts a lot of potentials to waste, and also puts a spike into people who realize that they are being lied to.
The capital ships are not capital ships, they are mobile space stations, they are like these cigar-shaped mega carriers from DUNE.
This is a lie!
Reality:
You made it look like a ship, you call it a ship, you are trying to sell it as a capital ship. A very distasteful lie!
My proposal here offers more flexibility, more options to carry out the fight, eliminates the lie, and gives a LOT more strategic depth to the game.
Let me present you the...
Capitalie ships are completely repurposed, they are what they are, mobile space stations to transport stuff around.
Safe zones are rephrased as safe fields replacing absolute magic with something more sensible and tasteful.
A safe field works just like the safe zone but it's more like an active projected field that has an effect on people(robots) and stuff. Details are unimportant, it is safe zone as you mean them to be really.
The field disruptor is the device that neutralizes it taking the job of the "military capitalie ship".
It is big, really big, huge!, heavy, and radiative! You have to build it into a big battleship and defended it well for it to work(-out).
-How it works-
For it to be able to neutralize a safe-field first it has to charge itself up to the required "frequency-code-phase-whatever" of the target's safe-field. You get this "frequency-code" by scanning the target field beforehand (with a scout ship maybe). This is basically just to identify the specific target, a serial number to say.
It has to be outside of any safe-field to start and mantain charge. Charging takes X hours/days.
Once a field disruptor starts charging to a particular station's safe field that base gets a warning. (similar how you plan it to be with the "military capitalie ship")
Charging and maintaining charge requires great amounts of power and it creates enormous radiation. Once the device charged and the device brought near the target base it disturbs (disables) the target's safe field.
Once a safe field is disabled, even if the disruptor is neutralized it still needs X hours to come back online. The battle "ends" when the station is either captured or the disruptor is neutralized and the safe field came back online.
All this creates a whole range of opportunities to both stop and execute a siege:
-Enriching space battles-
Like this, there will be actual fleet-convoys going on a mission. All that radiation signal of the ships making up this fleet makes them very visible and identifiable on the radiation radar. The field disruptor itself multiplies that so people can see it from afar that there is something going on.
The attacking fleet could be ambushed by either the defender or allies or groups looking for opportunities.
The attacker party could decide how to reach and engage their target, they could postpone the attack sacrificing expensive fuel to maintain the disruptor charge maybe to lure the defenders out or for whatever reasons.
We have real ships, no fake capitalie ships space stations.
-Territory, diplomacy, and information-
As fleets would have to physically get to their target rather than teleporting, they could be crossing territories owned/controlled by factions.
This gives a whole new level to the gameplay, as you would have to engage in diplomacy to cross certain territories, you could be approached by others questioning your motives as your fleet is detected moving.
Information of the whereabouts of fleets is valuable information to be used in diplomacy and to be sold to whoever is interested.
Scouting as a job is so vital, information of the what about of the fleets are also important.
Radiation signals could be used on a holo table/deck to project a 3D map of the universe or a section of it. I already made a similar suggestion about this in my other thread "THE space combat solution v.2 (making large ships viable while respecting the core mechanics too) In depth presentation."
That whole other suggestion complements this one by the way.
-New player/company protection-
We all know that protecting those who are new or wish not to be harmed is important. This is no new topic.
It also has to be fair!
Let's take a company (or a solo player) that has a station. Until that station is the only station of the company and the value of the station (size, stored resources, whatever assets) doesn't exceed a certain "limit", is totally invincible, and its safe-field can not be disabled.
You lose this invincibility
-if the total value of assets of your company exceeds a certain size
-if your company builds a second station
-if you attack a company/faction, you lose invincibility against that company/faction
Wanna stay small and just mind your own business peacefully without being griefed by big factions? You can do it.
-Balancing factions-
Here we talk about another crucial "protection" feature. This helps greatly for smaller factions to survive and naturally prevent super (just way too big) factions to form.
This is achieved by the safe-field disturber charge-up time balance.
If your company and the target company are about the same size (member count, assets, whatever determination) that is the standard X hours/days of charging time. Let's say 24 hours.
If your company is twice as big as your target's company then the charge-up time increases to 36 hours.
If your company is 5-10 times bigger than your target's company then the charge up time increases to 2-4 days
On the other hand, if you are half as big then the charge up time reduces to 20 hours etc. (it has to be that large factions can not abuse this making fake small companies, maybe no decreasing charge-up time at all)
These time values are simply for demonstration and not actual suggestions, it is up to the developers to balance them out.
This mechanic gives extra protection for the weaker companies giving them extra time to prepare including engaging in diplomacy.
Also promotes more factions to be instead of few super factions as if half the world was one faction, they would look for a charge-up time of a month trying to siege anything small.
It also creates a natural fluid barrier of how big a faction can grow. No super factions griefing everybody!
Now let's talk about another lie:
See that large ship? Is this a viable ship? Is this Starbase? That is no fighter nor bomber nor gunship. That is a big battleship! (i would call it a frigate or maybe cruiser)
This lie is the banner of the youtube channel! Imagine the disappointment of the people who come to play with capital ships and large ships to find that they have been scammed!
Instead of big ships, they get this:
Let's eliminate these lies!
Here is another suggestion to make large ships viable:
Just remove the capitalie ships completely, they take potential away from the game anyway. Let people have real ships!
-How it works-
The warp drive has to charge up for X amount of time before warp. (10-30 minutes)
It doesn't make the ship teleport, instead, it gives a straight movement with higher speed.
Similar to what @Joelfett suggested here.
The more of this device you install, the faster you can travel, but the heavier and detectable you are.
It uses enormous amounts of power. It could use a special very rare fuel. Warpium?
You don't warp around with your mining vessel...
The higher speed you are achieving the more resources it consumes exponentially. Also the heavier you are the slower you can warp.
For example:
You have 1 drive installed (i imagine destroyers as the smallest class to potentially have 1 or 2, destroyers from my radiation auto turret suggestion ofc)
You can warp with about 300 m/s consuming X amount of fuel.
With 2 drives you go 550 m/s consuming 2X amounts of fuel. (not 600 m/s because you got a lot heavier with the extra drive compared to the total weight of your ship -the destroyer-)
With 3 drives you go 700 m/s consuming 6X amounts of fuel.
These speed and consumption values are only for demonstration! It could be 3000 m/s as well, needs to be balanced.
It takes good engineering and design balance to make a ship fast responding with fast warp speed, but also fast maneuvering for battle. Faster response or better combat performance? Are you willing to spend the stupid amounts of resources for that extra 150 m/s? Your choice of ship design!
-Conclusion-
Imagine the diversity and all the opportunities of engagements with all of these!
Large ships are becoming viable. Ship designing has a much deeper variety to consider.
Siege battles are much more fluid and natural and even fairer!
Starbase will attract a lot wider audience!
You need to populate this huge world! Capitalie clown stations with gunship-bomber-fighters won't do it unless you shrink the world by 70% or more!
Catering to a whole wide audience will do it!
There are important elaborations in my responses to the comments below as I addressed some concerns.
Unfortunately, the way this mechanic was designed puts a lot of potentials to waste, and also puts a spike into people who realize that they are being lied to.
The capital ships are not capital ships, they are mobile space stations, they are like these cigar-shaped mega carriers from DUNE.
This is a lie!
Reality:
You made it look like a ship, you call it a ship, you are trying to sell it as a capital ship. A very distasteful lie!
My proposal here offers more flexibility, more options to carry out the fight, eliminates the lie, and gives a LOT more strategic depth to the game.
Let me present you the...
Safe-field disruptor
Or shortly the field disruptor.
Or shortly the field disruptor.
Capitalie ships are completely repurposed, they are what they are, mobile space stations to transport stuff around.
Safe zones are rephrased as safe fields replacing absolute magic with something more sensible and tasteful.
A safe field works just like the safe zone but it's more like an active projected field that has an effect on people(robots) and stuff. Details are unimportant, it is safe zone as you mean them to be really.
The field disruptor is the device that neutralizes it taking the job of the "military capitalie ship".
It is big, really big, huge!, heavy, and radiative! You have to build it into a big battleship and defended it well for it to work(-out).
-How it works-
For it to be able to neutralize a safe-field first it has to charge itself up to the required "frequency-code-phase-whatever" of the target's safe-field. You get this "frequency-code" by scanning the target field beforehand (with a scout ship maybe). This is basically just to identify the specific target, a serial number to say.
It has to be outside of any safe-field to start and mantain charge. Charging takes X hours/days.
Once a field disruptor starts charging to a particular station's safe field that base gets a warning. (similar how you plan it to be with the "military capitalie ship")
Charging and maintaining charge requires great amounts of power and it creates enormous radiation. Once the device charged and the device brought near the target base it disturbs (disables) the target's safe field.
Once a safe field is disabled, even if the disruptor is neutralized it still needs X hours to come back online. The battle "ends" when the station is either captured or the disruptor is neutralized and the safe field came back online.
All this creates a whole range of opportunities to both stop and execute a siege:
-Enriching space battles-
Like this, there will be actual fleet-convoys going on a mission. All that radiation signal of the ships making up this fleet makes them very visible and identifiable on the radiation radar. The field disruptor itself multiplies that so people can see it from afar that there is something going on.
The attacking fleet could be ambushed by either the defender or allies or groups looking for opportunities.
The attacker party could decide how to reach and engage their target, they could postpone the attack sacrificing expensive fuel to maintain the disruptor charge maybe to lure the defenders out or for whatever reasons.
We have real ships, no fake capitalie ships space stations.
-Territory, diplomacy, and information-
As fleets would have to physically get to their target rather than teleporting, they could be crossing territories owned/controlled by factions.
This gives a whole new level to the gameplay, as you would have to engage in diplomacy to cross certain territories, you could be approached by others questioning your motives as your fleet is detected moving.
Information of the whereabouts of fleets is valuable information to be used in diplomacy and to be sold to whoever is interested.
Scouting as a job is so vital, information of the what about of the fleets are also important.
Radiation signals could be used on a holo table/deck to project a 3D map of the universe or a section of it. I already made a similar suggestion about this in my other thread "THE space combat solution v.2 (making large ships viable while respecting the core mechanics too) In depth presentation."
That whole other suggestion complements this one by the way.
-New player/company protection-
We all know that protecting those who are new or wish not to be harmed is important. This is no new topic.
It also has to be fair!
Let's take a company (or a solo player) that has a station. Until that station is the only station of the company and the value of the station (size, stored resources, whatever assets) doesn't exceed a certain "limit", is totally invincible, and its safe-field can not be disabled.
You lose this invincibility
-if the total value of assets of your company exceeds a certain size
-if your company builds a second station
-if you attack a company/faction, you lose invincibility against that company/faction
Wanna stay small and just mind your own business peacefully without being griefed by big factions? You can do it.
-Balancing factions-
Here we talk about another crucial "protection" feature. This helps greatly for smaller factions to survive and naturally prevent super (just way too big) factions to form.
This is achieved by the safe-field disturber charge-up time balance.
If your company and the target company are about the same size (member count, assets, whatever determination) that is the standard X hours/days of charging time. Let's say 24 hours.
If your company is twice as big as your target's company then the charge-up time increases to 36 hours.
If your company is 5-10 times bigger than your target's company then the charge up time increases to 2-4 days
On the other hand, if you are half as big then the charge up time reduces to 20 hours etc. (it has to be that large factions can not abuse this making fake small companies, maybe no decreasing charge-up time at all)
These time values are simply for demonstration and not actual suggestions, it is up to the developers to balance them out.
This mechanic gives extra protection for the weaker companies giving them extra time to prepare including engaging in diplomacy.
Also promotes more factions to be instead of few super factions as if half the world was one faction, they would look for a charge-up time of a month trying to siege anything small.
It also creates a natural fluid barrier of how big a faction can grow. No super factions griefing everybody!
Now let's talk about another lie:
See that large ship? Is this a viable ship? Is this Starbase? That is no fighter nor bomber nor gunship. That is a big battleship! (i would call it a frigate or maybe cruiser)
This lie is the banner of the youtube channel! Imagine the disappointment of the people who come to play with capital ships and large ships to find that they have been scammed!
Instead of big ships, they get this:
Let's eliminate these lies!
Here is another suggestion to make large ships viable:
Warp Drives
Just remove the capitalie ships completely, they take potential away from the game anyway. Let people have real ships!
-How it works-
The warp drive has to charge up for X amount of time before warp. (10-30 minutes)
It doesn't make the ship teleport, instead, it gives a straight movement with higher speed.
Similar to what @Joelfett suggested here.
The more of this device you install, the faster you can travel, but the heavier and detectable you are.
It uses enormous amounts of power. It could use a special very rare fuel. Warpium?
You don't warp around with your mining vessel...
The higher speed you are achieving the more resources it consumes exponentially. Also the heavier you are the slower you can warp.
For example:
You have 1 drive installed (i imagine destroyers as the smallest class to potentially have 1 or 2, destroyers from my radiation auto turret suggestion ofc)
You can warp with about 300 m/s consuming X amount of fuel.
With 2 drives you go 550 m/s consuming 2X amounts of fuel. (not 600 m/s because you got a lot heavier with the extra drive compared to the total weight of your ship -the destroyer-)
With 3 drives you go 700 m/s consuming 6X amounts of fuel.
These speed and consumption values are only for demonstration! It could be 3000 m/s as well, needs to be balanced.
It takes good engineering and design balance to make a ship fast responding with fast warp speed, but also fast maneuvering for battle. Faster response or better combat performance? Are you willing to spend the stupid amounts of resources for that extra 150 m/s? Your choice of ship design!
-Conclusion-
Imagine the diversity and all the opportunities of engagements with all of these!
Large ships are becoming viable. Ship designing has a much deeper variety to consider.
Siege battles are much more fluid and natural and even fairer!
Starbase will attract a lot wider audience!
You need to populate this huge world! Capitalie clown stations with gunship-bomber-fighters won't do it unless you shrink the world by 70% or more!
Catering to a whole wide audience will do it!
There are important elaborations in my responses to the comments below as I addressed some concerns.
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