07-21-2017, 08:16 PM
System bloat has always been an issue in Discovery Freelancer. The Devs has done well in solving this issue in Liberty, but I think there's a bit of room for improvement. Here's a list of changes that I have envisioned for Liberty over the past week. Whether they are good or not is up to you.
ALBERTA
This system deserves better, and it still has some activity in it. However, there is a dark matter storm heading towards the system, and it would only make sense that the Dark Matter Storm turn this system into another Omicron Chi, due to its destructive abilities. Not all is lost, however, as the mining field and stations here can be moved, and the system can still be in-game, albeit as a dangerous navigational hazard for pro explorers only.
Changes:
-Cover the system in the Dark Matter Storm, filling it with Asteroids and OP Radiation Levels, making it much like Omicron Chi. This also means cancelling out the NavMap for it, and removing all lore information on infocards here.
-Have every station moved out by lore means or retconning, leaving only the wrecks of Red Deer Station and Camrose Supply Depot behind with the natural elements in the Dark Matter Storm. Also remove the Jump Gate connection, by wrecking the one in Alberta and making the one in Ontario inactive.
-Size the system down a little bit, but still have more or less the same regions in it. For example, the Cold Lake Nebula can be turned into a large asteroid zone in the Dark Matter Storm, and Planets like Calgary and Edmonton can be surprise Planets in the thick of the Storm.
-Have two Jump Holes leading to Kepler and Ontario somewhere in the system for access points. The other sides would be the current Alberta Jump Hole in Ontario and the Cassini Jump Hole in Kepler.
-Move Battleship Concord to where Battleship Ottawa formerly was, in Ontario.
CASSINI
This system, despite it's de-guarding, still has no activity. I would suggest it be retconned, but it's stations be moved to more appropriate locations. The Planets and Nebula can stay, as I don't see a reason to move them as well.
Changes:
-Rename Attica to "Cassini Planetoid", and move it and the Nonsense Factory to the center of the Raiden Cloud in Galileo. The new Rogue HQ's backstory can be that it was a Planetoid ripped from its home system by the Dark Matter Storms, and got hollowed out by the LR in Galileo to act as their ultimate refuge.
-Move San Quentin Base to the Cheyenne Asteroid Field in Colorado, and move said field closer to the New York Jump Gate-Planet Denver Trade Lane so that it can serve as a smuggling depot and a good spot for raiding the trade lane and local Police bases imported from the now retconned Illinois.
-Move Gonzales Station to the Coos Asteroid Field in New Hampshire. This can serve as a base for Xenos and HF raiders heading into...
ALASKA
I'll need a whole poorly drawn MS-Paint map to explain this mess, so here you go:
![[Image: HxFkFPQ.png]](http://i.imgur.com/HxFkFPQ.png)
Changes:
-The Guard bases are now in an extension of the Zone-21 Minefield. This field (and the Battleship Bethel) would be ripped from Virginia, being transformed from Zone-42 and the Battleship Fairmont into this. The Alaska Jump Hole in Virginia, subsequently, would be de-guarded. The only entrance into the mine field would be the Jump Gate and a small entrance near the Battleship Bethel.
-A Nomad Lair is added to explain why Nomads stayed here after the Nomad War. Nomad NPCs will only be seen in the Aleutian Cloud.
-Leduc Station "disappears" from Alberta shorty before the Dark Matter Storm hits, and along with the Jump Gate Prototype, becomes classified research of the Liberty Navy.
-Vancouver is Ageira's replacement for Leduc's production facilities(this is actually a remade Camrose), hilariously being in the same system as their "Lost" station. Planet Seattle is a small Gas Giant, by the way.
-The criminal bases and Freeport 14 are retconned from Alberta into Alaska. I was too lazy to think of a better use for them, so this is what I'm doing for now.
-If you're wondering where the Jump Hole to Alaska is in New York, it's right next to the LR Destroyer in the Pittsburgh Debris Field(to prevent just anyone from using it).
-Mitchell is no longer a prison(accident in 803 when all the prisoners got infected by D9), but is now the command center for Zone 21 forces. Kodiak is now semi-public, as it was previously the only place where Battlegroup Harmony could hide in Alaska before escaping.
-The Platinum Mining Field got moved to the new "Oregon Asteroid Field", and has around the same amount of security as the Kansas and Vespucci Fields(which is close to zero). The trade route from it would go through Virginia and then to Texas, where it has trade lanes from there.
Alright, so there it is. Not my best work, but I want to see what you think of it. Personally, I think butchering three systems to make another Omicron Chi and an almost unrecognizable Alaska might somehow benefit Liberty. This post is subject to change if you offer a better way to do this in the replies.
ALBERTA
This system deserves better, and it still has some activity in it. However, there is a dark matter storm heading towards the system, and it would only make sense that the Dark Matter Storm turn this system into another Omicron Chi, due to its destructive abilities. Not all is lost, however, as the mining field and stations here can be moved, and the system can still be in-game, albeit as a dangerous navigational hazard for pro explorers only.
Changes:
-Cover the system in the Dark Matter Storm, filling it with Asteroids and OP Radiation Levels, making it much like Omicron Chi. This also means cancelling out the NavMap for it, and removing all lore information on infocards here.
-Have every station moved out by lore means or retconning, leaving only the wrecks of Red Deer Station and Camrose Supply Depot behind with the natural elements in the Dark Matter Storm. Also remove the Jump Gate connection, by wrecking the one in Alberta and making the one in Ontario inactive.
-Size the system down a little bit, but still have more or less the same regions in it. For example, the Cold Lake Nebula can be turned into a large asteroid zone in the Dark Matter Storm, and Planets like Calgary and Edmonton can be surprise Planets in the thick of the Storm.
-Have two Jump Holes leading to Kepler and Ontario somewhere in the system for access points. The other sides would be the current Alberta Jump Hole in Ontario and the Cassini Jump Hole in Kepler.
-Move Battleship Concord to where Battleship Ottawa formerly was, in Ontario.
CASSINI
This system, despite it's de-guarding, still has no activity. I would suggest it be retconned, but it's stations be moved to more appropriate locations. The Planets and Nebula can stay, as I don't see a reason to move them as well.
Changes:
-Rename Attica to "Cassini Planetoid", and move it and the Nonsense Factory to the center of the Raiden Cloud in Galileo. The new Rogue HQ's backstory can be that it was a Planetoid ripped from its home system by the Dark Matter Storms, and got hollowed out by the LR in Galileo to act as their ultimate refuge.
-Move San Quentin Base to the Cheyenne Asteroid Field in Colorado, and move said field closer to the New York Jump Gate-Planet Denver Trade Lane so that it can serve as a smuggling depot and a good spot for raiding the trade lane and local Police bases imported from the now retconned Illinois.
-Move Gonzales Station to the Coos Asteroid Field in New Hampshire. This can serve as a base for Xenos and HF raiders heading into...
ALASKA
I'll need a whole poorly drawn MS-Paint map to explain this mess, so here you go:
Changes:
-The Guard bases are now in an extension of the Zone-21 Minefield. This field (and the Battleship Bethel) would be ripped from Virginia, being transformed from Zone-42 and the Battleship Fairmont into this. The Alaska Jump Hole in Virginia, subsequently, would be de-guarded. The only entrance into the mine field would be the Jump Gate and a small entrance near the Battleship Bethel.
-A Nomad Lair is added to explain why Nomads stayed here after the Nomad War. Nomad NPCs will only be seen in the Aleutian Cloud.
-Leduc Station "disappears" from Alberta shorty before the Dark Matter Storm hits, and along with the Jump Gate Prototype, becomes classified research of the Liberty Navy.
-Vancouver is Ageira's replacement for Leduc's production facilities(this is actually a remade Camrose), hilariously being in the same system as their "Lost" station. Planet Seattle is a small Gas Giant, by the way.
-The criminal bases and Freeport 14 are retconned from Alberta into Alaska. I was too lazy to think of a better use for them, so this is what I'm doing for now.
-If you're wondering where the Jump Hole to Alaska is in New York, it's right next to the LR Destroyer in the Pittsburgh Debris Field(to prevent just anyone from using it).
-Mitchell is no longer a prison(accident in 803 when all the prisoners got infected by D9), but is now the command center for Zone 21 forces. Kodiak is now semi-public, as it was previously the only place where Battlegroup Harmony could hide in Alaska before escaping.
-The Platinum Mining Field got moved to the new "Oregon Asteroid Field", and has around the same amount of security as the Kansas and Vespucci Fields(which is close to zero). The trade route from it would go through Virginia and then to Texas, where it has trade lanes from there.
Alright, so there it is. Not my best work, but I want to see what you think of it. Personally, I think butchering three systems to make another Omicron Chi and an almost unrecognizable Alaska might somehow benefit Liberty. This post is subject to change if you offer a better way to do this in the replies.