Player Features and Ideas Discussion

I would like an anchorable object that you deploy in space (like a secure can), which creates a "decoy ship".

Details:

It would have a Sensor strength to make it scannable by probes.

It would have a paper thin tank (no matter what ship it was mimicking).

It would be single use, meaning once deployed it would stay in space until it "expired" or until it was destroyed.

It would be temporary.... probably lasting several hours, but perhaps a day or two (we should debate what is reasonable).

It would be smallish (like about the size of a mobile warp disruptor bubble, so any ship could utilize it).

It would be treated as disposable (think build costs similar to a small mobile warp disruptor bubble).

The simple version: It mimics your ship: If you deploy it in a taranis, it appears as a taranis, with your name, your corp ticker, your alliance ticker, your militia ticker, a speed of zero, et al, on everyone's overview (and dscan). If you deploy it in an Avatar, it appears as an Avatar with your name, your corp ticker, et al, on everyone's overview (and dscan).

This more desireable, but harder to code version: Allow the deployer to chose a ship type to mimic, and perhaps even a character (or none) to mimic (with their corp name, ticker, etc). This would need to be done prior to "onlining" the decoy ship, and wouldn't be alterable once onlined. Then a taranis pilot could deploy an Revenant under the name TSID (or some such thing). If this takes "too much" coding, then simple version would be just fine!

Why should this be added to the game?

It creates more opportunities for interesting traps:

Ambushers, you anchor a decoyed titan and put up a bubble around the decoy. Light a cyno inside the bubble, near the titan when an enemy fleet enter's system. They send a scout who reports there is a titan in a bubble at the cyno... the enemy fc warps the fleet to the cyno, and is soon thereafter greeted by bombers, smartbombing BS's, or who knows...

Scammers, you put up a sell order for a Nyx, and enjoy a boatload of extra isk when some poor fool buys a decoy ship instead of the real thing.

Nullbears: Deploy a "decoy tengu/machariel/nightmare/Thanatos" in the belt closest to the in-gate. A skirmisher enter's system, identifies that ship, in a belt, nearby. Warps in and tackles it, calling in backup. While they are busy with the decoy ship, you finish off your tackle and get safe. Miner's could deploy a rorqual 200 km's off the belt, with a can next to it, so any skirmisher worth their salt ignores the macks in the belt and heads right for the rorqual!

Campers: You deploy a decoy falcon, logisitics, or bling target near your forces. If an enemy comes in to attack, they my waste a bunch of energy one your decoy, allowing you to get the upper hand, or perhaps get safe.

I can think of many uses for this, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't break any aspect of game play!

Please post your thoughts!



FYI: Similar versions of this have been posted before.

Intel Decoys
Decoy Ships

It would definitely be amusing. I'd buy them in bulk and create a faux staging ground, OR, just randomly spawn caps around Jita, that would work too.

A smart person won't fall for the scam, and I certainly don't intend to make an undetectable scam!

With that said, be creative... Deploy & online it somewhere in system, long before you bring in your mark. If CCP creates the advanced version, and you create a nyx without a pilot in it. The buyer lands on grid, sees you next to a nyx without a pilot, that he can't board "because you have it locked" or some such non-sense. Tell him you'll unlock it and warp off when he sends you the isk. I honestly don't scam, but I'm sure some scammer will find a create way to use this! Especially if they can use it to mimic any ship type in game!!!

ohh yeah... anchoring a thousand of those rifters at the sun. uhhh yeah.

And take a picture :D

Simply put, for scammers, this would be a prop that "adds validity" to their scam. However, if you spend any time observing the prop you'll realize its a bogus prop! Simply lock it and shoot it once, and watch its HP go down much, much faster than a supercap's would. Scan it with a ship scanner, and get a bogus result.

And, from my limited understanding (because I don't broker supercap trades to be honest), you generally don't buy a supercap without a trusted third party. The third party takes possession of the isk from the buyer, the buyer then takes possession of the supercap and verifies it's good to go, then the third party then transfers isk to the seller. People like Chribba have a flawless reputation, and broker deals like this all the time. Even with the creation of decoy supercaps, it would take a special snowflake to think the decoy was real.

As for having the decoy mimic your presence in local... I'd like that, however I think that brings a ton of controversy to this fairly simple, straight forward, and non-controversial idea. In other words, I'm ok with such a mechanic, but recognize many players would down-vote this proposal were I to include that, simply because of the whole "local" controversy. I think this is a great idea outside of such a debate, and wish to avoid the associated stigmas of "local should/should not be an intel tool" debates!

Let decoys be on 100% delay, only showing up if they say anything.

Now, before you get excited and say things, let me finish this thought.

Let it have preprogrammed 1 or 2 lines it can say, either by a timer, or if someone puts a keyword into chat.
That keyword could be as simple as the name of the pilot they impersonate, or anything else, really.

Interesting... but again I fear we are approaching "unrealistic to program" territory. I don't know what CCP can or cannot implement, but lets start with the basic, easy to implement feature and allow them to make more complicated and realistic variations.

i like this idea. i don't care for the auto-chat feature being discussed, but from a pvp aspect you're always d-scanning for targets, and the decoy would work perfectly.

especially if on grid there were tell-tale signs if you looked close enough to ferret out the decoys.

some other limitation details... or features?
- uses inside deadspace plexes or FW plexes?
- uses within docking range of stations?
- anchorable inside POS shield?

Anyone know which CSM candidate would be willing to champion this idea?

+1