ShipSpinner
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Posted - 2011.08.03 18:00:00 -
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To agree with and summarize a number of ideas I've seen presented so far: Sov could be redesigned to work a little bit like the Incursion system. That is:
- Different levels of control, with one or a few "HQ" type systems and then less-controlled systems further out
- Level of control relates to bonuses granted to friendly entities and/or penalties imposed on non-friendly entities
- Distributed objectives in these "outer" systems make an assault on the more "central" systems easier, but it is also possible (if far more difficult) to assault the central system directly.
Making sov-holding alliances designate a limited number of "HQ" system might also give smaller alliances an edge, because their "HQ" system will be on even footing with every other alliance's HQ, but they will have fewer less-well-defended systems to support. The distributed objectives would make small-gang or more distributed fighting more viable and open up opportunities for small groups to make a big difference. To avoid tedium, you shouldn't have to clear every lower-level system to strike at the core, but if you pick your targets well you can viably assault core systems after three or four tangential target systems. Maybe even have some kind of constellation-command, and with X constellation commands taken down (which can in turn be weakened by attacking other systems in the constellation) being able to assault an "HQ" constellation. There are many variations of the idea that could be developed.
You can imagine things like Local would be restricted to HQ and similarly high-level systems, whereas lower-level systems might run on delayed or "pinged" (once every X minutes) local. You could upgrade, as an alliance and at great expense, how many systems of each level below HQ you can control, or in some other way still make it possible but much more expensive to control large areas of space. In short, it should be possible to control a lot of space, but there should be some point at which further expansion becomes non-viable, more so than the current sovbill system. This ceiling should be high, at least one region's worth of systems or maybe up to two, but it should also exist.
TL;DR Incursions by and against players could be an interesting form of sov.
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