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Player Features and Ideas Discussion

 
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New drone module
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Juicebox Jones
Destructive Influence
Northern Coalition.
#1 - 2014-05-14 12:29:53 UTC
What does everyone think about a new module to increase a ships drone bandwidth???? any takers?
Rayzilla Zaraki
Yin Jian Enterprises
#2 - 2014-05-14 12:39:12 UTC
This makes sense.

Of course, it would have to come with a corresponding module that can decrease an enemy's bandwidth in order to have any semblance of balance.

The bandwidth blocking module was from another F&I thread from a week or so ago. Credit where credit is due.

I get the sense that CCP may be moving towards bandwidth dictating how many drones can be launched at a time rather than skills. As you recall, it was stated that they didn't want noobs to have to get all the way to skill level 5 to be viable drone boat pilots, so this is a way it could be done.

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Nolen Cadmar
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#3 - 2014-05-14 13:37:37 UTC
Rayzilla Zaraki wrote:
This makes sense.

Of course, it would have to come with a corresponding module that can decrease an enemy's bandwidth in order to have any semblance of balance.

The bandwidth blocking module was from another F&I thread from a week or so ago. Credit where credit is due.

I get the sense that CCP may be moving towards bandwidth dictating how many drones can be launched at a time rather than skills. As you recall, it was stated that they didn't want noobs to have to get all the way to skill level 5 to be viable drone boat pilots, so this is a way it could be done.

Lol, a drone bandwidth disruptor or some such. That would be pretty....interesting.

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TheMercenaryKing
Collapsed Out
Pandemic Legion
#4 - 2014-05-14 14:08:51 UTC
Nolen Cadmar wrote:
Rayzilla Zaraki wrote:
This makes sense.

Of course, it would have to come with a corresponding module that can decrease an enemy's bandwidth in order to have any semblance of balance.

The bandwidth blocking module was from another F&I thread from a week or so ago. Credit where credit is due.

I get the sense that CCP may be moving towards bandwidth dictating how many drones can be launched at a time rather than skills. As you recall, it was stated that they didn't want noobs to have to get all the way to skill level 5 to be viable drone boat pilots, so this is a way it could be done.

Lol, a drone bandwidth disruptor or some such. That would be pretty....interesting.


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stoicfaux
#5 - 2014-05-14 14:21:08 UTC
Geckos as "one drone that's really two" would potentially make such a module imbalanced. Meaning, Geckos (and Gurista ship super-drones) have disrupted the bandwidth/5-drone-limit paradigm, so a bandwidth module would further contribute to that disruption.

IMO, I think we'll see the current drone system overhauled into the fewer, stronger drones paradigm, thus making a bandwidth module unnecessary.

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Rayzilla Zaraki
Yin Jian Enterprises
#6 - 2014-05-14 14:32:42 UTC
Nolen Cadmar wrote:


Lol, a drone bandwidth disruptor or some such. That would be pretty....interesting.



Yes, it would, but both concepts make sense and would have to be introduced together in order to work.

How I see it is that drones have become a primary weapon system, as Fozie had mentioned. No other weapon system requires a player to skill up in order to use more than one turret or launcher. So, I see CCP doing away with the need to get to level 5 inorder to field 5 drones and, rather, having the amount you can launch limited strictly to a ship's bandwidth and, quite possibly, a number limitation per ship class so that we don't get ships capable of launching 5 Sentry drones at 25 mb\s each also able to launch 25 light drones at 5 mb/s each. Drones could possibly be limited like the hardpoints on ship classes: frigates can launch at maximum 4 even though their available bandwidth may allow more, while a destroyer could do 8. (Numbers are just examples).

Players could then modify their ships with modules and rigs to allow more bandwidth, more launchable drones, more drone bay space or any combinations of those. I am not sure it would be the balancing nightmare that it might look like on it's face if you think of drones as turrets. We already have ships that can launch a full flight of drones AND have almost all turret hardpoints. Players just sacrifice the turret or launcher for another launchable drone.

Conversely and to balance the system, a module that disrupts the target ship's bandwidth is needed. This could disrupt some or all of the bandwidth depending on how it all balances out. Since it's EW, it'd be a mid slot with a cycle time and optimal range, chance to not work etc.

Interesting indeed.

Gate campers are just Carebears with anger issues.