I would like to thank all the folks at Splitscreen Studios for creating Pirate Galaxy. It is a game that I have found enjoyable when played either hardcore or casually, and that is a rare quality to find in a game these days.
In the spirit of 'give and take', I offer these ideas for what they may be worth; ideas to impliment as-is, ideas to modify, or even ideas that simply serve as food for thought that leads to better ideas.
Loyalty Bonuses
Longtime players of any MMOG enrich the programmed environment of any game, often providing usefull information and assistance to newer players. Rewarding longtime players for their loyalty is a good way of keeping that loyalty.
Rewards that do not affect gameplay, like an 'Loyalty Rank' indication of playtime (which is already tracked by the game) could be added to the players status message (eg: novice/veteran/expert etc.).
Rewards with a minimal impact could be added to the options available in the hangar (under armor, above repair), like a 'energy generator' that periodically adds a trivial amount of energy based on pilot rank (eg: 1 energy/10 sec at rank 10, 2 energy/10 sec at rank 20 etc.). These rewards could be made available at a specific 'Loyalty Rank' and also have their effect multiplied as the players 'Loyalty Rank' rises (eg: 2 energy/10 sec at rank 10, 4 energy/10 sec at rank 20 for a veteran player) or have the effect frequency increase (Note-this would also increase bandwidth usage and is not the best option. eg: 1 energy/10 sec at rank 10 for a veteran).
Pros: Enhanced offerings for longtime players may provide incentive for contined play.
Cons: May conflict with existing or planned content such as pay-per-use items.
PvP Planet
Some players enjoy PvP more than others, and aside from conquests PvP action takes place in the same areas as PvE. This can make finding willing opponents difficult at times, and can lead to undesirable conflicts. The creation of a planet specifically for PvP could alleviate a portion of these problems.
Open to all Pirate Galaxy pilots at all times, this planet would feature landing spots determined by the tech/rank of the ship being used by each pilot to allow for fairly even combat between pilots of various ranks. Each landing zone would have an energy field with e-cells comperable to those found in the system where the rank of ship is normally found.
Pros: Easier to find willing PvP opponents. Potentially less 'newbie hunting' and the hostility that can arise from it.
Cons: Would require a planet or other point of entry (re-use Collosus, or add another planet/moon/station). Would require new system for assigning landing points by tech/rank (possibly an extension or refinement of existing system).
Clan Missions
To date, the main reason to join a clan is to participate in conquests. Aside from that, a player has little incentive to bother with clans at all, as assistance for missions can be gained through the public chat or buddy systems.
Clan specific missions which reward both the individual players and their clan would promote a greater use of this part of the game. Individual players could be rewarded with cryonite, and their clan could be rewarded with cryonite, a small cryonite bonus for clan members, or both.
Pros: Greater use of clan system. Improved loyalty within clans and less 'clan jumping'. Would add a gameplay option which provides more incentive to play.
Cons: Requires the creation/testing of numerous missions.
Alliance Development
Alliances are largely dependant upon public/private chat and individual clan message boards. The addition of an alliance chat channel and an alliance message board would allow greater privacy and communication betweens members of an alliance.
Pros: Better communication between alliances and their members. Reduced dependance on public chat to communicate means greater privacy. Less chat for GMs to actively monitor and reduced chance of inappropriate content being displayed in public.
Cons: Chat system may require significant redesign.
In the spirit of 'give and take', I offer these ideas for what they may be worth; ideas to impliment as-is, ideas to modify, or even ideas that simply serve as food for thought that leads to better ideas.
Loyalty Bonuses
Longtime players of any MMOG enrich the programmed environment of any game, often providing usefull information and assistance to newer players. Rewarding longtime players for their loyalty is a good way of keeping that loyalty.
Rewards that do not affect gameplay, like an 'Loyalty Rank' indication of playtime (which is already tracked by the game) could be added to the players status message (eg: novice/veteran/expert etc.).
Rewards with a minimal impact could be added to the options available in the hangar (under armor, above repair), like a 'energy generator' that periodically adds a trivial amount of energy based on pilot rank (eg: 1 energy/10 sec at rank 10, 2 energy/10 sec at rank 20 etc.). These rewards could be made available at a specific 'Loyalty Rank' and also have their effect multiplied as the players 'Loyalty Rank' rises (eg: 2 energy/10 sec at rank 10, 4 energy/10 sec at rank 20 for a veteran player) or have the effect frequency increase (Note-this would also increase bandwidth usage and is not the best option. eg: 1 energy/10 sec at rank 10 for a veteran).
Pros: Enhanced offerings for longtime players may provide incentive for contined play.
Cons: May conflict with existing or planned content such as pay-per-use items.
PvP Planet
Some players enjoy PvP more than others, and aside from conquests PvP action takes place in the same areas as PvE. This can make finding willing opponents difficult at times, and can lead to undesirable conflicts. The creation of a planet specifically for PvP could alleviate a portion of these problems.
Open to all Pirate Galaxy pilots at all times, this planet would feature landing spots determined by the tech/rank of the ship being used by each pilot to allow for fairly even combat between pilots of various ranks. Each landing zone would have an energy field with e-cells comperable to those found in the system where the rank of ship is normally found.
Pros: Easier to find willing PvP opponents. Potentially less 'newbie hunting' and the hostility that can arise from it.
Cons: Would require a planet or other point of entry (re-use Collosus, or add another planet/moon/station). Would require new system for assigning landing points by tech/rank (possibly an extension or refinement of existing system).
Clan Missions
To date, the main reason to join a clan is to participate in conquests. Aside from that, a player has little incentive to bother with clans at all, as assistance for missions can be gained through the public chat or buddy systems.
Clan specific missions which reward both the individual players and their clan would promote a greater use of this part of the game. Individual players could be rewarded with cryonite, and their clan could be rewarded with cryonite, a small cryonite bonus for clan members, or both.
Pros: Greater use of clan system. Improved loyalty within clans and less 'clan jumping'. Would add a gameplay option which provides more incentive to play.
Cons: Requires the creation/testing of numerous missions.
Alliance Development
Alliances are largely dependant upon public/private chat and individual clan message boards. The addition of an alliance chat channel and an alliance message board would allow greater privacy and communication betweens members of an alliance.
Pros: Better communication between alliances and their members. Reduced dependance on public chat to communicate means greater privacy. Less chat for GMs to actively monitor and reduced chance of inappropriate content being displayed in public.
Cons: Chat system may require significant redesign.
