New Event Type Ideas
Prime Lorca
✭✭✭✭✭
in The Bridge
While I like the current level of event predictability, I am also in the mood for something fresh, maybe around the May/June timeframe. I've had a couple ideas for new events which could be based on existing parts of the game. That might make them easier to implement, should DB choose to do so.
1) Voyage event: Using event/bonus crew could either give stat boosts or extra antimatter (AM) or both. VP would drop randomly, increasing after each dilemma, and in larger amounts at each dilemma, in flat amounts to level the playing field somewhat. DB could also give bonus AM for using a certain ship or ship category and sell packs with that ship. DB could do ship schematic, voyage revival, and dilithium offers to get some profit.
2) Gauntlet event: This would be set up a little like Expeditions. There would three tiers of 5 gauntlet opponents. Bonus crew would get less fatigue and provide bonus VP. Event crew would get less fatigue, provide bonus VP, and get a small crit bonus. Like Expedition, players would start with 3 tickets. Players would generate one ticket every 12 hours to a max of 4. Like Expeditions, this would be the first part of a hybrid event. Tickets could be purchased with dilithium, but a galaxy or skirmish phase 2 would even the playing field for non-spenders.
What do you think? Are these viable? Do you have a fresh idea for events? Or are you happy with the predictability of the game in its current state?
1) Voyage event: Using event/bonus crew could either give stat boosts or extra antimatter (AM) or both. VP would drop randomly, increasing after each dilemma, and in larger amounts at each dilemma, in flat amounts to level the playing field somewhat. DB could also give bonus AM for using a certain ship or ship category and sell packs with that ship. DB could do ship schematic, voyage revival, and dilithium offers to get some profit.
2) Gauntlet event: This would be set up a little like Expeditions. There would three tiers of 5 gauntlet opponents. Bonus crew would get less fatigue and provide bonus VP. Event crew would get less fatigue, provide bonus VP, and get a small crit bonus. Like Expedition, players would start with 3 tickets. Players would generate one ticket every 12 hours to a max of 4. Like Expeditions, this would be the first part of a hybrid event. Tickets could be purchased with dilithium, but a galaxy or skirmish phase 2 would even the playing field for non-spenders.
What do you think? Are these viable? Do you have a fresh idea for events? Or are you happy with the predictability of the game in its current state?
Farewell 🖖
4
Comments
Good voyage ideas. I especially like the possibility of setting different difficulties.
Kind of like a "Skirmish"?
This sounds like a complex all-in-one idea, if I am understanding correctly.
And this sounds like Arena, but against live players. Do you have an idea for a mechanic that would give newer players a fighting chance and not just be extremely frustrating?
While I am not the OP, I think this Gauntlet event idea would work similar to skirmishes in that you'd not be gauntleting against other players, but predetermined NPC characters, like how we fight against NPC ships in skirmishes.
@[10F] Prime Lorca As written I think both would almost certainly need some adjusting, but I applaud your forward-thinking, ingenuity, and for providing a respite in The Bridge for us old timers longing for a simpler time when people got along and ideas could be shared without temperamental tangential arguments flaming out of control and torpedoing entire threads. I love this thread, and if I can think of anything to enhance your ideas or contribute something new, you can rest assured I will contribute.
You nailed my intentions with the Gauntlet. And I really appreciate the kind words. Thank you for helping me make a positive thread. I look forward to your ideas and help in fine-tuning my fledgling concepts.
I'll take any input. I just want something fresh and workable. I've been playing about a year, so I have a good grasp on the game, but newer players will have fresher ideas and older players will have knowledge of things that were tried before that I missed and some perspective that I am still working to gain.
If you can flesh out some ideas that would make either of mine work in a balanced way, please share. (Preferably in @ByloBand 's positive spirit.
1. Instead of replacing current voyages, a voyage event would have players sending out mini-voyages from the event menu with only 6 seats instead of 12.
2. These mini-voyages would not harvest all the goodies of a normal voyage, but would operate similarly to skirmish bonus yields of victory points and a few other choice items, possibly anti-matter or whatever fuel the mini-voyage ships use.
3. Voyage events would have featured ships that would give bonuses to fuel and RNG rolls. They would also have event crew who would also receive fuel and RNG bonuses.
4. Unlike regular voyages, event mini-voyages would not have dilemmas nor get stranded when they run out of fuel. They would simply run until they exhaust their fuel and then automatically return. Something will need to be put in place to replace dilemmas (I want to remove the dilemma system so players are not tied to their devices every 2 hours for an entire 4 day period) and they should probably occur every 30 minutes, and happen automatically.
That is all I have so far. Obviously it is flawed, but it feels like a good foundation of something that would be fun.
Some points to consider when coming up with new event structures.
1. We will need to come up with a way for DB to make money on the event. So far I have tried to do this by including the ability to sell ship and crew event packs, but for the mini-voyage event idea something else will be needed, like possibly boosts or something similar that players can use, purchasable fuel tanks, something.
2. We will need to also think up a way for whales to pay-to-win, or at least pay-to-achieve. This goes along with point 1, but at least some attention needs to be given to allow whales to be whales within the confines of the event. It is my hope that we could avoid the all out pay-to-win structure of faction events, but we all win to some degree when the whales have a desire to go for it and an available path to do so.
3. We will need to find a way to keep this structure engaging for everyone to sustain interest for 4 days without forcing people to be glued to their devices for 4 days just to hit the thresholds.
OK, that is all I have right now
I like it! One idea for the whales and monetization comes to mind: being able to send more than one voyage at a time. Using only six crew at a time either means we don’t really need many bonus crew options (such as with Skirmish and Galaxy events), while being able to send multiple mini-voyages allows for more crew usage (and therefore also act as another merit sink, which DB should like). Whales will be able to use all of the crew they have to increase length and improve VP rewards, while the rest of us who don’t have all of the crew will have more options for bonus crew to choose from.
Determining the cost of additional voyages might be the challenge. Would it use the Intel mechanic from Skirmish events, enticing people to buy those chroniton deals? Would it be more like Faction events, with the first voyage being free and subsequent voyages costing geometrically-increasing amounts of dil? That would allow for Voyage Start Tokens to be sold. Would there be a cap on the number of voyages that could be sent at once as there is a physical limitation to the number of shuttle missions? I think that is wise, though I am not sure what that limit should be...three? Five? More?
Another monetization idea would be to leave the two-hour dilemmas in, but have consumable items that auto-execute dilemma choices and allow people to work/sleep/be with loved ones for more than two hours at a time. Dilemma choices would need to be rigged such that one always gives VP and the other gives honor (for example); then, there could be two flavors of Voyage Supply Pods that will default the choice one way or the other for you. Some of these pods would appear in the threshold rewards, while more would be available in Time Portal deals.
I’d lean towards the voyage event because like an expedition it might give a chance to use more crew. Anything that lets me feel like I’ve recouped my time/time/time/time/money investment by gettting to enjoy my crew is a winner.
I would say three voyages - one for each event crew. What do you guys think about 3-hour dilemmas with that purchasable auto-complete option? The biggest money-makers could be the already built-in extensions and quick returns with dilithium. Could we use the existing boosts to avoid making new ones? Maybe do a ticket system and sell additional tickets for dilithium? Or we could have a special event faction whose shuttle missions have a chance of dropping tickets.
Different reward structure - got it! (I'm not above pandering
It would certainly involve more than normal for an event. That is part of the reason I suggest making it the first part of a hybrid. Other reasons being:
1) Don't want Gauntlet event to primarily determine event winner.
2) Many players (understandably) get frustrated with gauntlet and just don't like it.
3) Would prefer this to be an uncommon event that primarily breaks monotony. Phase 2 would be a return to normalcy.
But I agree that a mechanism to allow for an extended voyage w/o direct player involvement would be needed, similar to the 2x-9hr boosts used in faction events. Of course, these boosts could be monetized. The event must allow players an option that precludes waking up in the middle of the night simply to be competitive.
I like the multiple-voyages concept. Probably easiest to copy the rental shuttle mechanism with event-only voyage tokens (also monetize-able). So maybe everyone can send 2 "free" voyages, with an option to send several more "token" voyages (two? four? other?).
OK, the more I'm thinking about this, the more a voyage event starts to look like a faction event. Which is actually ok, since it means the wheel does not need to be re-invented, just tweaked. Variable ships, variable starting AM, variable player ability to maintain a schedule of dilemma completion, variable boosting strategies... yep, this could work. Just need a VP system and reward tables.
Another wrinkle - "regular" voyages would also still be ongoing. After all, not every player would want to participate in the event, plus the event might not drop the usual voyage rewards, so no one should be forced to give those up just because an event is running. For the players that do compete, they would have to manage crew distribution to both their event voyages and their regular voyages. While this sounds potentially overwhelming, I also think it could be an interesting challenge.
If there are dilemmas to complete, randomize the screen locations for the buttons. Otherwise this will become a complete macro-fest. And be much harder to detect. (After all, it's not impossible for a player to be present every 2hrs and press the "left" button within a second of it's appearance. How would DB determine if such behavior is human or bot?)
Indeed. And that would cut into the profit from selling auto-complete items. And I could see DB clamping down on things that threaten profit.
I'm starting to be torn on crew management. If you don't allow crew to be used on shuttles or regular voyages, then DB could do drops similar (but modified) to existing voyage drops. Players could get drops from event voyages and regular voyages. If players could use crew in both places, it would probably be giving too much away or the event voyage drops would have to be severely nerfed.
If players are able to use duplicate crew, we would have to limit drops to VP and... well, in the interest of not upsetting the game economy, probably just VP. Otherwise, I think it would amount to giving away the farm.
I hadn't considered earning AM like intel. Great idea!
PvE Gauntlets could be interesting. I rarely fare well in normal gauntlets, but I think there's a lot of potential, especially following a similar system as skirmishes, as others have suggested.
Starport
But not too be a Debbie Downer, this board has been asking for new event types for 2+ years. Great ideas then.. great ideas now..
But I think we'd have a better chance them being implemented if we wrote the request in paint on our bedroom walls and spun in an office chair 300 times.
.. That said I like the idea of a gauntlet event. Pick 20 characters PvE points, 3 tickets a day to refresh. Refresh resets difficulty. More tickets for Dilithium.
I shall break out the office chair now.
Lol
I don't know where the skirmish idea came from, but I know that the event type is less than one year old. In the interest of giving credit where it is due, you must admit that somewhere in that 2+ years, DB did listen. It may not be what everyone wanted, but it was a new event type that I personally love. Approaching the one year anniversary of the first skirmish was part of the inspiration of this post.