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Intel Decoys
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Monty Kvaran
State War Academy
Caldari State
#1 - 2012-01-22 17:07:09 UTC  |  Edited by: Monty Kvaran
Eve would benefit from more subterfuge options. Specifically, decoy ships that would appear on scanners/probes/grid. In my vision, they would be anchored, require fuel, and until attacked, be indistinguishable from an idle player controlled ship.

All generators would be freely attackable in all security space, in empire there would be no concord response or security loss.

Decoy Generator mk1
Once anchored, allows you to Select any ship type, ship will appear on scanners/probes as the type specified, on grid the ship will appear empty. Targeting the ship or approaching within 2500m will cause the generator to go offline. (Will go back online once its not targeted and there is nothing in range)
Uses 1 racial fuel block per day for every 20 sensor strength of the ship its mimicking, racial block type determined by sensor type.
Size - 10 m^3
Fuel Bay 40 m^3
Estimated cost - 100k

Decoy Generator mk2
Same as mk1, but allows you to specify a player to clone. Player will appear to be in the ship if on grid, and will appear in local. All standing and other player info will be inherited from the player being cloned.
Uses 1 extra fuel blocks per day for spoofing local.
Size - 15 m^3
Fuel Bay 40 m^3
Estimated cost - 200k

Decoy Generator mk3
Same as mk2, but can be loaded with a stealth bomber bomb. Bomb detonates when Decoy Generator is revealed. Detonating bomb destroys any other decoy generators within its area of effect, preventing chaining of decoy bombs. Only usable in 0.0.
Uses 2 extra fuel blocks per day for the bomb.
Size - 35 m^3
Fuel Bay 40 m^3
Estimated cost - 400k

When the fuel runs out the generators un-anchor and be scoopable by anyone.

This would reduce the reliability of current intel gathering tools such as local, but there would be a cost to doing it, and it could be defeated by anyone who actually checks out the fakes. Other possible decoys would be fake POS, fake Cynos, and even fake cosmic signatures that could be used for ambushes.
Gizznitt Malikite
Agony Unleashed
Agony Empire
#2 - 2012-01-24 22:01:02 UTC

I'd personally prefer a more simple approach.

Decoy Ship

An Anchorable object that mimics a player's ship. On everyone's overview/scan it has the same pilot name, ship type, and ship name of the pilot/ship that anchored it.

Give it static HP (10k?) and static Signal strength (for scanning).

Single use.... once deployed, it lasts for 60-120 minutes, or until destroyed.

I could potentially see the value of a fancier version, where you can select the pilot name (& associated info), as well as the ship type before anchoring it.

I'd like them moderately cheap 1-10m, I don't see the need for fuel, and I don't really see the value in making them reuseable. I'd like them purposely expendable.

Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#3 - 2012-01-24 22:33:25 UTC
Gizznitt Malikite wrote:

I'd personally prefer a more simple approach.

Decoy Ship

An Anchorable object that mimics a player's ship. On everyone's overview/scan it has the same pilot name, ship type, and ship name of the pilot/ship that anchored it.

Give it static HP (10k?) and static Signal strength (for scanning).

Single use.... once deployed, it lasts for 60-120 minutes, or until destroyed.

I could potentially see the value of a fancier version, where you can select the pilot name (& associated info), as well as the ship type before anchoring it.

I'd like them moderately cheap 1-10m, I don't see the need for fuel, and I don't really see the value in making them reuseable. I'd like them purposely expendable.



I'll take you one further. A decoy needs to exhibit behavior that appears correct.

Set up a decoy mining ship in a belt. Have it fire holographic lasers at a nearby asteroid. (Since nothing but light is hitting the asteroid, nothing is mined, the asteroid is unaffected)

The decoy ship can certainly have the overview name of the pilot who launched it. It looks more convincing if that pilot is actually in system, so local is consistent. Since it is an empty shell, it's outer surface is still present for D-Scans to hit it and say it is what it looks like. D-Scan can be fooled, in other words

Now, stretch this out, 6 mining ship decoys. The real pilots are in ambush craft, one of which is a covops or SB watching over the decoys. The others are far enough off grid to be off D-Scan range.

The attacker(s) show up, see names in local, send a scout to the belt, see the miners, and warp in expecting joyful ganking. Boom! Ambush craft warp in, establish points, and force them to buy Gallente Scout cookies!

(Or, alternately, kill them for the killmails and ship loot, either way)

Upgrading Local to Eliminate All AFK Influence What if Local Chat changed, Hunting the Cloaked...
Gizznitt Malikite
Agony Unleashed
Agony Empire
#4 - 2012-01-24 23:21:48 UTC
Nikk Narrel wrote:
Gizznitt Malikite wrote:

I'd personally prefer a more simple approach.

Decoy Ship

An Anchorable object that mimics a player's ship. On everyone's overview/scan it has the same pilot name, ship type, and ship name of the pilot/ship that anchored it.

Give it static HP (10k?) and static Signal strength (for scanning).

Single use.... once deployed, it lasts for 60-120 minutes, or until destroyed.

I could potentially see the value of a fancier version, where you can select the pilot name (& associated info), as well as the ship type before anchoring it.

I'd like them moderately cheap 1-10m, I don't see the need for fuel, and I don't really see the value in making them reuseable. I'd like them purposely expendable.



I'll take you one further. A decoy needs to exhibit behavior that appears correct.

Set up a decoy mining ship in a belt. Have it fire holographic lasers at a nearby asteroid. (Since nothing but light is hitting the asteroid, nothing is mined, the asteroid is unaffected)

The decoy ship can certainly have the overview name of the pilot who launched it. It looks more convincing if that pilot is actually in system, so local is consistent. Since it is an empty shell, it's outer surface is still present for D-Scans to hit it and say it is what it looks like. D-Scan can be fooled, in other words

Now, stretch this out, 6 mining ship decoys. The real pilots are in ambush craft, one of which is a covops or SB watching over the decoys. The others are far enough off grid to be off D-Scan range.

The attacker(s) show up, see names in local, send a scout to the belt, see the miners, and warp in expecting joyful ganking. Boom! Ambush craft warp in, establish points, and force them to buy Gallente Scout cookies!

(Or, alternately, kill them for the killmails and ship loot, either way)


It would be nice if decoys included light shows and simulated drones... if it can be done without crazy additional developer time, then let it be done.

Truthfully though, we don't need perfect decoys... we need decoys that pass the first glance though. If they can look at the overview and easily ID decoys because they lack a pilot name, then it's significantly less than ideal.
Mary Mercer
Doomheim
#5 - 2012-01-25 04:27:26 UTC
Nikk Narrel wrote:


I'll take you one further. A decoy needs to exhibit behavior that appears correct.

Set up a decoy mining ship in a belt. Have it fire holographic lasers at a nearby asteroid. (Since nothing but light is hitting the asteroid, nothing is mined, the asteroid is unaffected)

The decoy ship can certainly have the overview name of the pilot who launched it. It looks more convincing if that pilot is actually in system, so local is consistent. Since it is an empty shell, it's outer surface is still present for D-Scans to hit it and say it is what it looks like. D-Scan can be fooled, in other words

Now, stretch this out, 6 mining ship decoys. The real pilots are in ambush craft, one of which is a covops or SB watching over the decoys. The others are far enough off grid to be off D-Scan range.

The attacker(s) show up, see names in local, send a scout to the belt, see the miners, and warp in expecting joyful ganking. Boom! Ambush craft warp in, establish points, and force them to buy Gallente Scout cookies!

(Or, alternately, kill them for the killmails and ship loot, either way)


Oh I love this! I'd get my guys to drop a mining fleet in a field in low sec and wait for the pirates to roll in! Anti-pirating at it's best!!!!
Nikk Narrel
Moonlit Bonsai
#6 - 2012-01-25 15:21:03 UTC
Mary Mercer wrote:
Nikk Narrel wrote:


I'll take you one further. A decoy needs to exhibit behavior that appears correct.

Set up a decoy mining ship in a belt. Have it fire holographic lasers at a nearby asteroid. (Since nothing but light is hitting the asteroid, nothing is mined, the asteroid is unaffected)

The decoy ship can certainly have the overview name of the pilot who launched it. It looks more convincing if that pilot is actually in system, so local is consistent. Since it is an empty shell, it's outer surface is still present for D-Scans to hit it and say it is what it looks like. D-Scan can be fooled, in other words

Now, stretch this out, 6 mining ship decoys. The real pilots are in ambush craft, one of which is a covops or SB watching over the decoys. The others are far enough off grid to be off D-Scan range.

The attacker(s) show up, see names in local, send a scout to the belt, see the miners, and warp in expecting joyful ganking. Boom! Ambush craft warp in, establish points, and force them to buy Gallente Scout cookies!

(Or, alternately, kill them for the killmails and ship loot, either way)


Oh I love this! I'd get my guys to drop a mining fleet in a field in low sec and wait for the pirates to roll in! Anti-pirating at it's best!!!!

That's what I was thinking too.

If you set decoys in game, after the first week, intelligent players will stop being fooled if it's just a ship sitting there doing nothing. They will know if they attack it, that an idiot will be in a fight.
Either someone dumb enough to just sit there with potential hostiles, or them for falling for a trap.

If the decoy, however, is performing believable tasks, and it is plausible they were too busy to react in time to safe up, the ambush trap works far more often.

Upgrading Local to Eliminate All AFK Influence What if Local Chat changed, Hunting the Cloaked...