Player Features and Ideas Discussion

1) Variety - Rounding Out Drone Utility

Drones in their current iteration can do damage, collect resources, and provide racial based e-war. I would like to also see drones be able to provide basic fleet improvement bonuses as well, and can also be racial if need be. This game could do very well with things like:

• Mimitar: Remote Sensor Boosting Drones
• Gallente: Tracking Link Drones (also shift Scimitar / Oneiros bonuses for these drones)
• Caldari: Projected ECCM Drones
• Amarr: Capacitor Transfer Drones
• + Also it would be nice to see a salvage drone, in form of a Sentry.

2) Customization - Fitted Drones

Drones in their current iteration require they be deployed and are of no direct benefit to their pilot. They can either aid or damage other pilots. I suggest that you allow pilots to utilize their drone bays more freely but within reason as to not overpower the concept. I will lay this out below, basically think of R2-D2 on top of the X-Wing.

Drones inside the drone bay may be permanently attached to a ship with a certain amount of volume available per ship class. This drone will never be able to be launched and will instead provide a bonus to a ship. Ships with larger dronebays will have a slight advantage in this regard, as they will be able to maximize their bonuses and still field some drones. This is still quite balanced as many drone boats are valued for their larger drone bays but in combat seldom get to fully utilize it. This will in no way effect available bandwidth. Hulls that do not have drone bay will not benefit from this at all, hulls that have very small drone bays will have hard and exciting choices to make.

- Potential Fitted Drone Bonuses

Mimitar:

• Warrior: 1% Ship Speed / Warrior II: 1% Projectile Damage
• Valkyrie: 3% Ship Speed / Valkyrie II: 3% Projectile Damage
• Berserker: 9% Ship Speed / Berserker II: 9% Projectile Damage

Gallente:

• Hobgoblin: 1% Turrent Optimal / Hobgoblin II: 1% Hybrid Damage
• Hammerhead: 3% Turrent Optimal / Hammerhead II: 3% Hybrid Damage
• Ogre: 9% Turrent Optimal / Ogre II: 9% Hybrid Damage

Amarr:

• Acolyte: 1% Capacitor Recharge / Acolyte II: 1% Laser Damage
• Infiltrator: 3% Capacitor Recharge / Infiltrator II: 3% Laser Damage
• Praetor: 9% Capacitor Recharge / Praetor II: 9% Laser Damage

Caldari:

• Hornet: 1% Sensor Str + 1% Scan Res. / Hornet II: 1% Missile Damage
• Vespa: 1% Sensor Str + 1% Scan Res. / Vespa II: 3% Missile Damage
• Wasp: 1% Sensor Str + 1% Scan Res. / Wasp II: 9% Missile Damage

Sentries (fitting bonuses):

• Garde: 3% Bonus Powergrid / Garde II: 5% Bonus Powergrid
• Bouncer: 3% Bonus CPU / Bouncer II: 5% Bonus CPU
• Curator: 3% Bonus Capacitor / Curator II: 5% Bonus Capacitor
• Warden: 50 Bonus Rig Calibration / Warden II: 100 Bonus Rig Calibration

Repair Drones:

• Tech 1: 40% of Repair Amount as Constant Regeneration
• Tech 2: 50% of Repair Amount as Constant Regeneration

EWAR Drones:

• ECM Drones: 1/3/9% to Local Jammer Range + Effect
• Neut Drones: 1/3/9% to Local Neut/Nos Range + Effect
• Sensor Damp Drones: 1/3/9% to Local Sensor Damp Range + Effect
• Web Drones: 9% to Local Web Range + Effect
• Paint Drones: 1/3/9% to Local Painter Range + Effect
• Tracking Disruptor Drones: 1/3/9% to Local TD Range + Effect

Buffer Drones (New Drones):

• Mimitar: 1/3/9% to Scan Resolution
• Gallente: 1/3/9% to Tracking
• Caldari: 1/3/9% to Scan Strength
• Amarr: 1/3/9% to Capacitor Regen

Harvesting Drones

• Mining: 1/3/9% to Cargo Capacity
• Salvaging (new): 10km to Local Salvager Range

- Dronebay Volume Fitting Limitations

• T1 Frigate - 5 Volume Max for Fitting
• T2 Frigate - 10 Volume Max for Fitting
• T1 Cruiser - 15 Volume Max for Fitting
• T2 Cruiser - 25 Volume Max for Fitting
• T1 Battleship - 50 Volume Max for Fitting
• T2 Battleship - 75 Volume Max for Fitting
• Capitals - 100 Volume Max for Fitting

- Fitting Scenarios

#1 - Harbinger: 50 Volume / 50 Bandwidth / 15 Optional Fitting Volume

Fit:

• 1 Acolyte II (5 Volume)
• 1 Infiltrator II (10 Volume)

Combined Bonuses:

• + 4% Laser Damage

Drone Bay (35 Volume Remaining):

• 2 Hammerhead II + 3 Hobgoblin II
• or
• 7 Hobgoblin II

#2 - Ishkur: 50 Volume / 25 Bandwidth / 10 Optional Fitting Volume

Fit:

• 1 Hammerhead II (10 Volume)

Combined Bonuses:

• + 3% Hybrid Damage

Drone Bay (40 Volume Remaining):

• 2 Warrior II + 5 Hobgoblin II
• or
• 7 Hobgoblin II

If you like these ideas simply reply with: "SHUP UP AND TAKE MY MONEY"

SHUP UP AND TAKE MY MONEY

I would like to see the basic drone functions reworked first.

Fitted drones are a bad idea as well, it increases thier server cpu needs.

How so? Thats easy, having it work.

Okay you want to increase cpu per drone, fleet flights are what 3,000 players big now? each one of them having a fitted drone and then 5 of each or more. You just easily tripled the amount of lag in a fleet fight congradualtions.

You're very wrong and obviously have no idea what I am referencing too.

No matter how good you're computer is its not going to effect how much lag you are going to get when if this idea was live. Has little to do with graphics at all.

What is invovled is 18000 entities all talking to each other at once of what are they, where they exactly are, what they are doing and you sir with this suggestion would significantly increase the 'what they are' factor by alot. Its bad enough there are 18k of these things in the first place on a battlefield. The suggestions you bring up brings them ALOT closer to an actual player ships which are by far the heaviest thing you can throw down, followed by missiles then current drones. All this eats precious bandwidth.

Development team is more committed to delivering quality experinces, period. Any idea suggestion or change that severly degrades this factor usually is thrown out. Acheiving this mad pipe dreams isnt in their job description at all and they're more inclinded to fix drone UI, AI, and CPU usage. Not contribute to Drone CPU usage which WILL CAUSE WHEN SHIPS HAVE TO CHECK AGAIN WHAT BONUSES I HAVE, Let alone updating the fact that hey Im not having anymore bonus becuase my drone died has been known to throw fits and or wonky ship bonus behavior in the past as in nullifying any skill bonus. Not contribute to Drone misbalances which this idea WILL CAUSE, Not contribute wonky AI that half works some of the time.

Also from a lore and technological points of view, why would a drone provide to its mothership other than forward sensors these bonuses and even if the drone could feed targeting infomration back to the mothership the motherships cpu wasted on the updating telemetry of drones would resultingly either cancel each other out or be of little effect by the time it arrives and is processed.