Voyage Home Proposal (with images)

[Darren_Kitlor]

Voyage Home Proposal
an alternative exploration/diplomacy system for everyone

Goal:

This proposal would introduce a new type of exploration "cluster" - one agnostic to all factions and available after the tutorial and all the way through level cap.

You travel through a spatial anomaly near any social hub (i.e. wormhole). While you can "fast travel" at any time back to your faction homeworld, you can only return to a point as far as you've advanced in the"Voyage Home" map. Think of it like a board game.

There'd be an invisible box over each system instance, corresponding to warping out to the adjacent cells on your Voyage Home map.

It simultaneously addresses the need for more complex exploration missions while also tracking faction standings in novel new ways.

So far there are three (3) images detailing what various interfaces/game mechanics might look like in-game:

( --| See the Voyage Home Map |-- )
( --| See the Breakthrough Merit Research |-- )
( --| See Faction Standing Menu here |-- )
( --| See Voyage Home Map with Territory Influence System |-- )

______________________________________

Table of Contents
I. Design Principles / Mission Archetypes
II. Breakthrough Merits
___a. Using Merits
III. Faction Standings
IV. Territory Influence and Open PvP Star Systems
V. Bounties and Banding
______________________

I. Design Principles:

Content would strive to:

• be faction agnostic
• be level agnostic. (by utilizing squad mechanics to allow anyone to group together.)
• feature "advanced" exploration missions (i.e. more complex than scan/kill 5 things)
• have more diplomacy (even klingons without the context of their brethern would need to forge alliances - rather than die unremembered)
• open PvE & PvP (players, if flagged could work for or against each other in select star systems
• territory control (from Open PvP systems, Fleet Actions, and War Zones) affecting combat mission rates (as the enemy players would have their allies attack you more)

Mission Archetypes:

• Diplomatic
• Technologic
• Combat
  
  note: mission failure is not only possible but has its own unique effect!
  Each mission type would reward its own "breakthrough merits"

( --| See the Voyage Home Map |-- )

II. Breakthrough Merits:

Each mission archetype rewards its own breakthrough merit.

These merits can be spent in the following fashions:

• Combat Merits can be spent to force an enemy surrender or suprise ambush.
• Diplomacy Merits are used to improve your standing with a culture or lower merchant costs via trade aggreements.
• Technology Merits allow you to research new items or skip hex spaces.

a. Using Merits:

Technology Merits can be spent on research new, named technology (i.e. Polarized Tetryon Beam Arrays) that can be crafted at any Mk/Tier but are locked in rarity.
Diplomacy Merits lead to improved relations between factions (improved standing means less likely chance of encountering them in combat). Trade agreements might make it extremely profitable to sell your unused items to merchants/traders.

( --| See the Technology Breakthrough Merit Research |-- )

III. Faction Standings:

Individuals players (or the average of a group) would have faction standings based on th successes and failures they've experienced.

The silent totals of your breakthrough merits (even after spending them) would influence NPCs. Some culture might value high Combat Merits, others might value Technology Merits and vice-versa.

This allows for six factional attitudes. Borg may wish to subjugate you regardless of merit. Klingons may want to ally with you due to combat merit. Ferengi Merchants may be leery of someone with low technology credits.

Players could also use their diplomacy merits toward improving a faction's attitudes, reach trade agreement (to net more energy credits from faction merchants), or unlock special titles as well.

( --| See Faction Standing Menu here |-- )
( --| See the Diplomacy Breakthrough Merit Research |-- )

[Darren_Kitlor]

IV. Territory Influence and Open PvP Star Systems

Scattered across each map are hexes containing Open PvP Instances, Fleet Actions, or War Zones.

They exert influence over a one hex radius: increasing PvE combat missions for the surrounding areas (as they fall under that player faction's control.

Players can either work to "recapture" the central hex to reduce the combat missions in the surrounding area or they can work to spent their own diplomacy merits to improve relations with the aliens in each star system.

This means player routes will change with the shifting allegiances in the region.

( --| See Voyage Home Map with Territory Influence System |-- )

V. Bounties, Nemeses and Banding

With the creation of Open PvP Star Systems, players may have the options to track down other players for their involvement in the current galactic war.

A Bounties System would randomly assign another player who is flagged to enter Open PvP Hexes as a bounty. You could earn additional research Merits based off your performance in tracking them down.

A Nemeses System would assign the player who has killed you out the most as your nemesis. Taking this player out - either through combat or a diplomacy system. Combat would remove the nemesis [flag] from said opponent. Diplomacy could be as simple as calling a cease-fire with that player. This places an arbitrary cooldown - where you shouldn't attack that Captain. Breaking you word would lose you some diplomacy merits (after-all, how can strange new life trust you now?)

Fleet Action Hexes would be level banded to ensure as many players could utilize them as possible. If a fleet action were designed for level 18, every entering that hex instance would be "leveled" to 18 for balance purposes.

[Darren_Kitlor]

and pending more information

[Darren_Kitlor]

one more placeholder post - this time with feeling.

[Summit]

Originally Posted by Darren_Kitlor

one more placeholder post - this time with feeling.

hahahaha I get it!!!

but anyways, I like the idea!

[clarkeismine]

How long would you expect a standard "Voyage Home" map to last in hours? Is it something I might start on Monday and then work on for an hour a night till I finish on Friday? Would there also possibly be obstacles on the map, which one must go around or use Technology merits to safely pass through?

[XyyyrBrin]

This idea sounds very intriguing to me. I like the idea of going the way of Voyager so to speak. The thought of more complex exploration missions are very appealing to me. I'd love to see something like this implemented.

[LotD]

And why is it again they haven't they hired you yet, Darren?

[FuturePastNow]

Very nice, very interesting.

I read the headline and guessed that this would be about the Whale Probe

[CrashTestPilot]

Very good proposal. This is what the Genesis system builder should be used for! It would even make the "Scan 5 things" missions more worthwhile if I earned some sort of tech gain for it.