Jarnis McPieksu
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
213
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Posted - 2012.01.17 09:55:00 -
[2] - Quote
The only "deployable terrain" we have today is warp disruption bubble - either from a dictor/hictor or from anchorable bubble. There also once was a plan to add mines but those never went anywhere and I guess were removed from the game at some point (some copies of these still exist...)
POS shields, I guess, would also kinda fit here but they are far more complex and time-consuming to set up and can only exist at moons.
A portable, deployable "POS shield" would be an obvious idea to work on. Naturally you can't have a mobile "Large POS" grade shield that takes huge amounts of damage to collapse but something around that mechanic could perhaps introduce situations where part of the fleet could be on the field, yet inside a shield unable to take or deal damage for the moment. Yes, there would be many gotchas that would need careful consideration on deployment delay, capability to move it, bumping, EHP etc... but it could all be fleshed out from the basic idea of being able to set up "fortifications" on the field under certain rules and limitations. Could be deployables, could be "bomb"-style things comparable to dictor bubles or stealth bomber bombs, could be active modules like HIC bubbles (with either specific ship or restriction to certain types of ships), could be something completely different.
Alternatively we could have other kind of "field" effects that change the parameters of combat. A "sensor damp bubble" (shorter range, longer lock time) or "web bubble" (slowing everyone inside it) could be interesting - again with the questions of "how to deploy, what limitations" completely open.
A third option could include system-wide variables. We already have those in Wormholes and in Incursion systems (Sansha penalties) and while some of them are just a tad silly, the general idea of being able to influence a whole system in some way could be interesting. Right now the only thing like this we really have is the Cynojammer.
Such features, depending on exactly how they are implemented, could for example allow defenders (or very prepared attackers) to mould an expected battlefield to counteract expected strategies. Careful testing and development would be required to get balanced and fun stuff without making certain ships or strategies completely obsolete. |