Player Features and Ideas Discussion

So, I'll attempt to be brief - I believe one of the most interesting things CCP did in recent memory was wormhole space. Not just the mechanic of going into unknown systems, but the way they changed things up in these systems - no local, no way out of the system without a wormhole, and most important to this idea, unique systems based on the type of star present.

Black Holes, Pulsars, Magnetars, and so on each make systems unique, bonusing certain weapons systems, penalizing others, making ship fits that are optimal in nullsec a deathwish in certain high-class wormhole systems. And vice versa.

I would like to see something similar when it comes to planetary combat in EVE & DUST.

What exactly do I have in mind? One idea to begin with:

Make Orbital Strike Effectiveness Depend on the Planet

Currently in-game, you can showinfo any planet, moon, or other celestial body to get characteristics about it. For planets, this includes three important ones, the surface gravity, pressure, and temperature. With this in mind (and an educated guess about what type of atmosphere the planet has), you could get an idea of how the planet might react to an orbital strike.

Each planet appears to be unique, and these characteristics could help influence at least orbital strike effectiveness. For instance, a more massive planet would accelerate the incoming rounds more quickly than a smaller planet, making a normally light strike from a ship like a destroyer hurt far more than normal. A planet with a thick atmosphere might slow down the rounds due to atmospheric friction, weakening any strikes, and forcing ground forces to shoulder more of the load in winning a fight. Conversely, airless rocks would have little if any resistance, potentially offsetting their lower masses.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Depending on the planet type in question, there may be additional factors in play. For instance, could your ship accurately receive strike coordinates from a team down on a Storm or Plasma planet? What are the chances of fratricide, or would it take longer for a strike to occur, possibly putting the ship above in danger? Would an orbital strike be successful attacking an underwater dome on a Water planet, or desired on a platform high in the atmosphere of a gas planet?

Just some ideas to consider going forward. I want to make orbital strikes commonplace, but at the same time prevent them from becoming an I-win button, if and when we escalate to medium, large, or especially capital-grade weapons.

In short, make each planet unique and different.

Also, speaking of planets - why stop at planets? Why not give moons an overhaul, and instead of them all being lifeless, airless rocks, give them a little variety. And allow us to fight on them as well. Switch it up guys and girls!



These are just a few ideas, and are certainly not a finished product. I'd just like to start a discussion on this, and see what everyone else thinks. Certainly not a small suggestion, but it's one that could breathe a lot of life into fights which might seem the same everywhere.

first things first. Make ship mods and weapon stats count. OB should not end up being something you use a trial account for. I would even go further and make tactical ammo T2 ammo.

once this is done CCP would have a solid foundation to add environmental effects to the equation. Stormy planets may influence accuracy (tracking mods)... etc.