Ulthanon Kaidos
BOVRIL bOREers Mining CO-OP
RAZOR Alliance
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Posted - 2015.07.30 15:16:00 -
[1] - Quote
Observation Arrays
For Observation Arrays, I have to work under a pair of assumptions; each assumption changes some fundamental characteristics of the OA. The first assumption is that null-sec Local will be removed as a baseline feature. Under that assumption,
- Observational Arrays should, to some degree, return some version of Local Chat to their system. Keep in mind that doing so would burn fuel continuously; CCP has also stated that players will be able to anchor more than one OA in a system, so I think it would be fair to state that multiple OAs should return Local to its current state of operation, at the cost of all that fuel constantly running.
- Other options for Local, should an alliance not have enough OAs for "Full Local" functionality (or if they're not turned on at a given time) could be: No local at all; a 'Doorbell' that provides a soft inbound/outbound noise played system-wide when a ship enters or leaves (but with no counter); or a 'Local Counter' as mentioned elsewhere that shows the number of ships, but not who.
Now, if we work under the assumption that null-sec local will remain as a baseline feature, then they obviously won't influence the Local Chat window since it wouldn't be going anywhere in the first place. Anyway, moving on.
If we envision OAs in the fitting window shown for stations, a multitude of different functionality options appear before us. For instance,
If an OA can be sat in, we'll assume it has a host of scanning equipment (because duh). We could tie OA scanning into the Beta Map and allow it to visually show us where D-scan pings come up; it could be equipped/rigged to scan down any signatures in its range; it could be equipped with specialized scanners that can penetrate cloaks.
After all, remember: the problem isn't cloaky campers, the problem is afk cloaky campers. If a dude has the day off and decides to spend it cloak-burning safes, bouncing around your system, ganking your Retrievers and then disappearing again- he deserves to do this. That player is active, and that's the key; he or she could dodge an OA scan by moving. An afk cloaky camper would get caught, which is good because that gameplay is totally lame.
Disabling Observational Arrays
Obviously shooting it or entosising it would turn it off, but here's a thought: Ships that entosis it or shoot it cause an alarm to go off, much like an ESS does today. "Ulthanon is attacking the OA!", and then everyone warps in and dumpsters me. Sadness reigns.
BUT, I have another option. I can fly a CovOps! And if I come in with my Data Module*, I can hack the OA into submission without triggering a system-wide warning. Maybe upon successful hack, I can chose one or more of its intelligence streams to turn off. Maybe I shut down local. Maybe I make all of the anoms in the system go to 0%, needing them to be scanned down like signatures. The what can be debated but it adds an interesting dynamic that exploration ships have never had before.
Obviously, if I fail the hack, I get locked out of the system and the warning is broadcast. Now everyone knows to scan for my Buzzard and I am once again hunted down like the dog I am. Maybe failure disables my cloak for a time!
As for the OA's module slots, maybe these would be more toward anti-hacking defenses than actual launchers or turrets. Perhaps certain rigs/mods increase the system core's strength, while others have an increased chance to spawn Restoration Nodes. In this way, we keep the OA's theme intact (lightly defended but highly advanced), we encourage active gameplay (discouraging afk campers and passive OA boosts), we add a new and interesting dimension to a previously PvE-only skillset and we balance risk with reward for both sov-holders and hunting gangs. |