As of March 7th, 2012
I've thought of a few things that could make PG more fun, and one of those things has to be Conquest Space Stations. These would be space stations that only clan members could dock at and use it to refill energy. This would also give PG a more realistic way for depositing Cryonite, Log Files, and Gravitons into the clan bank.
=Movement=
Each Conquest Space Station (CQSS) would be able to move across any part of the galaxy and could even be positioned above planets, however they could be most prone to attack by other clans and maybe even mantis that way. In order to attack a station, a clan should first send a probe in a path along where a station may or may not be, or find a CQSS above a planet. CQSSs will be harder to find when there is more distance between the probe and the CQSS, and the variable of CQSS placement anywhere in the current system goes without saying.
=Attacking and Defending=
Attacking a CQSS would take place in 3 stages. The first stage would obviously involve finding it and prepping a group of ships (perhaps a Conquest ship too?) to attack this station. A variety of special ships could also be available for purchase specifically for attacking these stations. The defending clan would also have emergency AI controlled Raider-Class ships at the hangar section of the CQSS, available for countering enemy special ships. The second stage is attacking and defending, where the attacking team would have to destroy key points of the defending team's CQSS (such as station-mounted LRGs, missiles, life support, radar, etc.). The third stage is landing on the station, where if enough of the attacking teams ships land (or maybe one Conquest ship), the station would be taken over.
=Leveling Up=
CQSSs would use the clan fund to "level up" its defensive systems that could be used to ward off an attack. In example, leveling up an LRG would allow it to shoot farther or take down targets more accurately, or leveling up a Ion Flak Gun would allow it to spam more bullets at a higher rate, or even give it spash-damage.
=Possible CQSS Systems=
A stations, as large and daunting as it is, is still weak and fragile without the proper equipment to keep it in shape. Below are ideas I have thought up of to have on these stations. Post your ideas, I appreciate the support in your ideas.
-Offensive
-Ion Cannon: Deals moderate damage at moderate range. Upgrades increase damage and durability.
-LRG: Long Range Gun with decreased damage. Upgrades increase damage and targeting ability.
-Plasma Flak Cannon: Short range cannon that sprays a flurry of energy pellets over a wide radius. Upgrades increase rate of fire, range, and radius.
-Hailfire Missile Launchers: Missile system that launches a barrage of missiles at a single target. Upgrades increase number of items available to target and number of missiles fired.
-Star Mortar Battery: Long range bombardment system that launches bombs from a long range, but has a long reload time. Upgrades increase splash range, damage, and cluster bomb effect.
-Gamma Lancer: Fires concentrated beams at a target at long range and high damage. Long recharge rate and variable damage depending on range of target. Upgrades increase damage, tightens damage variability, but does not increase range.
-Corruption Nanites: The opposite of the repair droid you know and love, these little bugs will slowly take apart your ship rather than repairing it (much like Thermoblast) and may also switch off your ship systems. Upgrades increase damage, chance of turning off enemy systems, and active time.
-Defensive
-Mini Shield: Very low power shield with high recharge rate. Upgrades increase hit points and charge rate.
-Light Shield: Low power shield with moderate recharge rate. Upgrades above.
-Dense Shield: Moderate power shield with longer recharge rate. Upgrades above.
-Targe Shield: High power shield with very long recharge rate. Upgrades above.
-Solar Flare Ejection System: A device used to disrupt targeting ability, causing projectiles to miss more often. Upgrades increase targeting disruption rate and active time.
-ECM: Causes enemy radar to become unreadable to a certain extent. Upgrades increase range, effectiveness, and active time.
-ECCM: Causes enemy radar to focus on a specific area, forcing them to attack it. Upgrades above.
-Repair Drone Bay: Sends out Nanite Repair Drones to repair a targeted system of the ship. Upgrades increase repair rate, effectiveness, and Nanite lifetime while in space.
-Tactical Systems
-Stun Beam: Fires a system-delaying laser that slows the target down the more the laser is fired on the same target. Upgrades decrease target speed and system usage as well as the time it takes to do so.
-Stun Net: Fires an EMP field onto a specified area, much like Star Mortars. Upgrades increase stun ability, fire rate, chance of turning off systems, and cluster bomb effect.
-Electron Circulation System: Speeds up systems of all nearby units as well as making them more powerful. Much like a Speed Actuator and Attack charge. Upgrades increase effectiveness and decrease recharge time.
-Disruption Field: Shuts down attacking clan shield systems within a certain area. Upgrades increase range of the field and active time.
-Rally Point: Sets AI units to focus on a certain location, attack a certain target, etc.
-Spread Point: Sets AI units to avoid a certain location.
-Safe Point: Sets AI units to fall back into a certain area if they sustain too much damage, then repair.
-Key Systems
-Hangar: The objective to the attacking clan, which must be captured in order to take over the CQSS. Defended by Targe Shields to prevent entry along with 4 Plasma Flak Cannons. Could also launch Raider-Class AI fighters to defend the station.
-Life Support: Another possible objective of the attacking clan, guarded by Targe Shields and Plasma Flak Cannons. This system allows players to launch from, land on and stay on the station. Once destroyed, players have a certain amount of time to either fix the Life Support or lose the CQSS to the attacking clan.
-Command Bridge: Nearby the Hangar, the Command Bridge controls the AI fighters and allows the defending clan to see you on radar if inside the station. The defending clan can use this to plot patrol routes for the AI and plot defensive strategies. Destroy this to stop AI fighters from launching and attacking you.
-Tactical Bridge: More frequent and located across the ship, this allows the defending clan to see all allies on radar when inside the CQSS. This also allows them to plot defensive plans to players, but only to a certain degree.
-Propulsion Systems: CQSSs use these to drift the star system. Destroying this will cause the CQSS to move slower after the battle, even if the attacking clan loses.
-Repair Drone Bay: The defending clan's repair drones can repair ship systems on the spot and even nearby spacecraft.
-Target Tracking Radar: These are found normally nearby weapons, and types of radar vary depending on the range of the weapon nearest it. Stations cannot automatically shoot enemy spacecraft without these.
-Communications Antenna: These allow ships to land at the station, and AI ships to communicate with the station. Destroy this to disrupt enemy AI fighters and disable AI landing and takeoff. This may also cause AI ships to attack any target except the station. Will not stop departing of spacecraft.
=Powering Up=
Stations will also use energy to operate, and if it runs out of energy, it could also eat away at the clan's Cryonite. There would be a special ship available to either pilot or automatically control that would collect energy from energy fields on the surface of a planet in order to power the station. This would however put the energy collector at risk of attack by other clans. Referencing another post (http://forum.pirategalaxy.com/viewtopic.php?f=314&t=20239) these special class collector ships would equip Area of Effect Collectors which would speed up the process of collecting energy for the station. Higher level collectors would be able to hold more energy for higher level CQSSs, which would need more energy to operate.
=Known Issues=
However, it is known that some clans are all-powerful and stacked against the rest of the community, and don't need anything more to terrorize us. Which is why all clans will be limited to one, perhaps two stations per system.
That's all I have to say for this topic. Please post any additional ideas and thoughts, I like to keep an open mind to my ideas. I update this as I come up with or post shared ideas.
I've thought of a few things that could make PG more fun, and one of those things has to be Conquest Space Stations. These would be space stations that only clan members could dock at and use it to refill energy. This would also give PG a more realistic way for depositing Cryonite, Log Files, and Gravitons into the clan bank.
=Movement=
Each Conquest Space Station (CQSS) would be able to move across any part of the galaxy and could even be positioned above planets, however they could be most prone to attack by other clans and maybe even mantis that way. In order to attack a station, a clan should first send a probe in a path along where a station may or may not be, or find a CQSS above a planet. CQSSs will be harder to find when there is more distance between the probe and the CQSS, and the variable of CQSS placement anywhere in the current system goes without saying.
=Attacking and Defending=
Attacking a CQSS would take place in 3 stages. The first stage would obviously involve finding it and prepping a group of ships (perhaps a Conquest ship too?) to attack this station. A variety of special ships could also be available for purchase specifically for attacking these stations. The defending clan would also have emergency AI controlled Raider-Class ships at the hangar section of the CQSS, available for countering enemy special ships. The second stage is attacking and defending, where the attacking team would have to destroy key points of the defending team's CQSS (such as station-mounted LRGs, missiles, life support, radar, etc.). The third stage is landing on the station, where if enough of the attacking teams ships land (or maybe one Conquest ship), the station would be taken over.
=Leveling Up=
CQSSs would use the clan fund to "level up" its defensive systems that could be used to ward off an attack. In example, leveling up an LRG would allow it to shoot farther or take down targets more accurately, or leveling up a Ion Flak Gun would allow it to spam more bullets at a higher rate, or even give it spash-damage.
=Possible CQSS Systems=
A stations, as large and daunting as it is, is still weak and fragile without the proper equipment to keep it in shape. Below are ideas I have thought up of to have on these stations. Post your ideas, I appreciate the support in your ideas.
-Offensive
-Ion Cannon: Deals moderate damage at moderate range. Upgrades increase damage and durability.
-LRG: Long Range Gun with decreased damage. Upgrades increase damage and targeting ability.
-Plasma Flak Cannon: Short range cannon that sprays a flurry of energy pellets over a wide radius. Upgrades increase rate of fire, range, and radius.
-Hailfire Missile Launchers: Missile system that launches a barrage of missiles at a single target. Upgrades increase number of items available to target and number of missiles fired.
-Star Mortar Battery: Long range bombardment system that launches bombs from a long range, but has a long reload time. Upgrades increase splash range, damage, and cluster bomb effect.
-Gamma Lancer: Fires concentrated beams at a target at long range and high damage. Long recharge rate and variable damage depending on range of target. Upgrades increase damage, tightens damage variability, but does not increase range.
-Corruption Nanites: The opposite of the repair droid you know and love, these little bugs will slowly take apart your ship rather than repairing it (much like Thermoblast) and may also switch off your ship systems. Upgrades increase damage, chance of turning off enemy systems, and active time.
-Defensive
-Mini Shield: Very low power shield with high recharge rate. Upgrades increase hit points and charge rate.
-Light Shield: Low power shield with moderate recharge rate. Upgrades above.
-Dense Shield: Moderate power shield with longer recharge rate. Upgrades above.
-Targe Shield: High power shield with very long recharge rate. Upgrades above.
-Solar Flare Ejection System: A device used to disrupt targeting ability, causing projectiles to miss more often. Upgrades increase targeting disruption rate and active time.
-ECM: Causes enemy radar to become unreadable to a certain extent. Upgrades increase range, effectiveness, and active time.
-ECCM: Causes enemy radar to focus on a specific area, forcing them to attack it. Upgrades above.
-Repair Drone Bay: Sends out Nanite Repair Drones to repair a targeted system of the ship. Upgrades increase repair rate, effectiveness, and Nanite lifetime while in space.
-Tactical Systems
-Stun Beam: Fires a system-delaying laser that slows the target down the more the laser is fired on the same target. Upgrades decrease target speed and system usage as well as the time it takes to do so.
-Stun Net: Fires an EMP field onto a specified area, much like Star Mortars. Upgrades increase stun ability, fire rate, chance of turning off systems, and cluster bomb effect.
-Electron Circulation System: Speeds up systems of all nearby units as well as making them more powerful. Much like a Speed Actuator and Attack charge. Upgrades increase effectiveness and decrease recharge time.
-Disruption Field: Shuts down attacking clan shield systems within a certain area. Upgrades increase range of the field and active time.
-Rally Point: Sets AI units to focus on a certain location, attack a certain target, etc.
-Spread Point: Sets AI units to avoid a certain location.
-Safe Point: Sets AI units to fall back into a certain area if they sustain too much damage, then repair.
-Key Systems
-Hangar: The objective to the attacking clan, which must be captured in order to take over the CQSS. Defended by Targe Shields to prevent entry along with 4 Plasma Flak Cannons. Could also launch Raider-Class AI fighters to defend the station.
-Life Support: Another possible objective of the attacking clan, guarded by Targe Shields and Plasma Flak Cannons. This system allows players to launch from, land on and stay on the station. Once destroyed, players have a certain amount of time to either fix the Life Support or lose the CQSS to the attacking clan.
-Command Bridge: Nearby the Hangar, the Command Bridge controls the AI fighters and allows the defending clan to see you on radar if inside the station. The defending clan can use this to plot patrol routes for the AI and plot defensive strategies. Destroy this to stop AI fighters from launching and attacking you.
-Tactical Bridge: More frequent and located across the ship, this allows the defending clan to see all allies on radar when inside the CQSS. This also allows them to plot defensive plans to players, but only to a certain degree.
-Propulsion Systems: CQSSs use these to drift the star system. Destroying this will cause the CQSS to move slower after the battle, even if the attacking clan loses.
-Repair Drone Bay: The defending clan's repair drones can repair ship systems on the spot and even nearby spacecraft.
-Target Tracking Radar: These are found normally nearby weapons, and types of radar vary depending on the range of the weapon nearest it. Stations cannot automatically shoot enemy spacecraft without these.
-Communications Antenna: These allow ships to land at the station, and AI ships to communicate with the station. Destroy this to disrupt enemy AI fighters and disable AI landing and takeoff. This may also cause AI ships to attack any target except the station. Will not stop departing of spacecraft.
=Powering Up=
Stations will also use energy to operate, and if it runs out of energy, it could also eat away at the clan's Cryonite. There would be a special ship available to either pilot or automatically control that would collect energy from energy fields on the surface of a planet in order to power the station. This would however put the energy collector at risk of attack by other clans. Referencing another post (http://forum.pirategalaxy.com/viewtopic.php?f=314&t=20239) these special class collector ships would equip Area of Effect Collectors which would speed up the process of collecting energy for the station. Higher level collectors would be able to hold more energy for higher level CQSSs, which would need more energy to operate.
=Known Issues=
However, it is known that some clans are all-powerful and stacked against the rest of the community, and don't need anything more to terrorize us. Which is why all clans will be limited to one, perhaps two stations per system.
That's all I have to say for this topic. Please post any additional ideas and thoughts, I like to keep an open mind to my ideas. I update this as I come up with or post shared ideas.