Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Lets do history for a moment:

(c)Wikipedia

So what about adding similar symbolic representation of FW groups to the game, and make it capturable, to heat up a competion a little bit more?

Those new banners are either granted to FW active corps for great deeds, or bought for huge sum of LPs from FW shops. Or both, doesn't matter atm. What matters is that they are unique (one corporation can be granted with only one such "standart" during its lifetime), customizable at the moment of creation (in the same manner as corp logos are) and hard enough to aquire, so should be treasured.

And of course, they can be captured from its owner. I haven't got clear vision of actual mechanics, so any input on this regard is welcome. But in a nutshell, this should work like that: upon aquiring its personal banner, corporation has to set it in some system of its choice (it's an open question should we exclude some hard to capture, core systems, from this list, and should we limit number of such standards per system; may be it's even will be better to place it randomly). After that said corporation granted with personal small multiplyer to number of LPs its members receive from FW activities. Picture of corp standart appears on corporation's info window (that one visible to any pilot), together with any captured standards (smaller pictures, or just additional info tab here). If corp standard was captured by enemy and its location is known, this info shown here too, instead of standard itself, to make their disgrace known to general public All corporation standarts (or just most reknowned ones) also visilbe to any pilot visiting this system in left upper corner of game screen, somewhere close to others FW pictograms shown here.

When system in which set of different standarts were placed undergo heavy enemy assault, enemy forces should be presented with opportunities to seize several of those standarts (attacker should be able to choose which exactly he want to aquire). Then attacker have two options: he can either secretly store it in a system of his choice (or at randomly chosen one), without getting any benefit from it aside from grief of its former owner who now has to guess which one system to check for it; or he can make it installed in system of his choice and fully visible to all other pilots coming through here (former owner notified about this bold move by evemail automatically, with name of this system specified). In last case former owner of the standart will get slight decrease in LPs earned by his members, and members of corp that captured it will get these lost LPs as a bonus (this will combat mutual exchanging of standarts for LP generation - now to one side receive LPs as bonus other side has to lose them)

If standart remains in wrong hands for too long, it will be "dishonored", and removed from all mechanically-wise meaningfull interactions, but can still be shown in some history tabs of related corporations.

If different corporation - member of the same militia, or allied one, managed to seize standard belonging to ally, there should be some ability to return it to its owner in exchange for cash reward (or without it, should be left to discretion of finder). It's an open question should or shouldn't it be represented as some ingame item for this cause.

As for integrating it into the lore, consider "standart" to be just a placeholder. Each nation has deep enough cultural background, and some precious national symbols can be digged out of it for shure.

Append1:
Changed the LP boosting in case standart were captured and set in some system by enemy corp. Now it's not two disjointed processes, but rather enemy corp will get those LP lost by standart's owner corp as a bonus.

Append2:
Lets discuss somewhat different approach. We could lower the effort requirments to aquire some standart, but at the same time we could place some restrictions which will make corp leaving tatcics infeaseable.
1) First of all, I have to mention, that aforementioned LP "drain" is really slightest one. Like, size of 0,1%, so from 100k LP gained player will lost 1k LP maximum. But corp captured 5 standarts can get tangible LP bonus of it
2) If you were in a corp which standart was captured and you left it soon after the incident, you still will be a subject to LP loss mentioned, untill the standart will decay, or will be recaptured by your now former corpmates; or untill circumstances described in next paragraph will apply. But for members of enemy copr which captured the standart to receive these LPs as a bonus they have to stay enlisted to it.
3) If you already have aforementioned "LP drain" from former membership in a corp which lost its standart, and you join some other corp with a standart and it loses it too, you won't gain "LP drain"x2, what happens is that LP "drained" from you now will redirected to last enemy captured standart of a corp you were in. So there can be only one "current lost standart" at a time.
4) About how to squeze this into the game's lore - well, we already have Concord as a mediator of all inernational bargains in New Eden. So such mechanics can be - lore-wise - overseed by it, and they were set in place to motivate said mercenaries to be more responsible for what they are paid for.

People who join Faction Warfare are not "soldiers" in the traditional sense. In fact... the way the mechanics work we are third party mercenaries... akin to Privateers or Corsairs.

Also...

- creating a mechanic that gives more rewards based on the amount of LP people can farm is just asking for abuse and does not sit well with me.

- a mechanic that gives more rewards based on the amount of "flags" captured and displayed is asking for even more abuse (people can create "shell corporations/allainces"... plant flags in a system... have their alts on the enemy side capture them and the system... then gain the LP bonuses. Rinse and repeat).

- having a [real] corporation or alliance kicked out of militia because they got squashed by a more powerful opponent (with no way to get their flag back) is an utterly ******** mechanic. It discourages small FW groups from "playing with the big boys."

Proposal of somewhat different approach added to OP, please check Appendix 2 there.

Can you elaborated what meaning you are putting in when saying it is "forced"? There is nothig forcing you to have a standart in the first place, or join the corp having it.

In a nutshell, it's like this: the corp did something great, and were offered with a choice to "bear a standart". By chosing to do so it will get unmeasureable amount of vanity boost amongst its members' ranks, and some neglectable LP boost (like said +0,1%). But at the same time it now risks to be stripped of it and become a joke for its enemy - toghether with now slightest reduction in LP gain. And enemy will receive those "siphoned" LPs as a slightest boost to theirs.
if you leave such corp after it lost its standart, you still will be subject to "LP siphoning". But the fact it so tiny and insignificant and the fact that, once again, nothing force you to join standart-bearing corp, or stay in it after it just aquired standart, can't be seriously perceived as "forcing".


I can't see where forced part begins in this.

As addtinal incentive to own a standart and struggle to return it in case it was stolen ability to "upgrade" it in a way strategic index in sovereignty mechanics upgrade over time would be reasonable addition. If some corp maintain their banner for long enough its LP bonus increases... but so do and effect of "LP siphoning" if they will lose upgraded standart.

I want to note that this mechanic isn't reduntant with other system-wide bonuses already in place - it's a personall bonus for individual corporation, which comes with inherent risks of losing the standart and face the "LP siphoning" instead of LP gain.

Edited: other problem needs to be tackled is, of course, option to disband the corp after standart was lost, and create new. To combat that, we already have "LP siphoning" which will follow you even if you left said corporation. But as particular corporation can't get new banner untill old has decayed (remember, they decay if stay captured for too long), it can be tempting to disband corporation and get new standart right away. This already is balanced by idea of standart's "leveling" to some extent, but can be further strengened by making "cost" of initial standart's aquiring relatevely high, and cost of subsequent standarts (after captured one decayed) - far less expensive (may be even rate of standart "leveling" for subsequent standarts can be rised, if previous captured standart were well developed?) This cumulative set of rules will make disbanding a corporation just because it lost a standart meaningless.

Edited2: before any additonal accusations with forcing something on someone, I want to remind that no one is forced to bear standart in the first place. Your copr can be offered to bear it, not assigned with it. And nothing bars you from leaving a corporation if you disagree with CEO's decision to get a standart for it - if you will do it before standart was captured from your corp, then no "LP siphoning" for you.