I would like to describe what the idea is before going into why I think this would be an interesting, positive addition to the mod.
The basic idea of this is to sacrifice a cruise disruptor slot for the ability to prevent a base or planet (unless it has an atmospheric entry point) from being dockable for a brief moment of time.
I can see two possible versions of this;
1. Pretty much exactly a cruise disruptor; a projectile that can be shot at a base and, when it connects, disables the ability to dock for all ships for x seconds.
It would need fairly long range and fast movement so during a chase you could shoot it ahead of the target you're chasing without having been exclusively better off with an actual cruise disruptor.
2. Effectively a cloak disruptor, this would likely have less range but be able to affect several bases at the same time, more of an ambush type scenario.
Regarding PoBs:
Ideally it would disable docking for the X seconds without triggering or draining the stations shields if it has any or causing defenses to go hostile.
I have no clue if that is possible however so I'll simply leave it at that for now.
Why use the cruise disruptor slot:
Sacrificing a cruise disruptor seems like the most 'fair' trade off in terms of giving the person you're chasing a chance to give away.
You'd have to either stop cruising to use the type 1, giving the other player time to keep flying away. With the type 2 you'd have to be significantly closer and the other player could simply continue cruising unless you timed it exactly right to trigger while they were docking.
Ammo:
Regardless of what type is equiped, it should have very little ammo. Enough for maybe 5 uses in my opinion.
This is A to ensure that the user has multiple uses with enough wiggle room to miss without it being a terrible waste.
and B to ensure that the chase doesn't drag out endlessly and ruin the fun for the other player by being repeatively denied docking over and over.
Duration:
This part I'm iffy about. I have nowhere near enough experience or balance knowledge to have any good indication here.
It would have to be long enough to dissuade the chased player from simply hanging around the base without making it impossible to wait it out if they have no choice.
How to obtain:
I can see both types fitting in nicely as PoB built equipment, which would require a module.
Why I think would be a positive addition:
1. This would give non police factions a chance to prevent people from docking, which would be useful for psuedo houses like Coalition, Corsairs and Outcasts enforcing their rules in their space.
2. Pirates in a chase would be able to prevent their targets from simply lol-docking while they're typing rps
On a final note, an idea for inRP explanation:
Both type 1 and 2 temporarely disable docking clamps/docking ring guidance with a precise emp burst, requiring a manual reboot or a full cycle to pass (however x amount of seconds it lasts), making it impossible for ships to dock during that time.
Edit: Snak raised a point that nullified a positive addition as it was unneeded, as such it has been removed.
Quote:1. This would give non police factions a chance to prevent people from docking, which would be useful for psuedo houses like Coalition, Corsairs and Outcasts enforcing their rules in their space.
Can be done by giving official factions representing mini-houses the /nodock command
Quote:2. Pirates in a chase would be able to prevent their targets from simply lol-docking while they're typing rps
Oh yes. lol-jamming docking on lawful station which I reached because pirate failed to take my CAU8 Stegodon down is lol-docking.
Quote:3. It would a viable countermeasure against battletransports / liners docking midcombat, healing/restocking, launching and rejoining a fight. (Current rules exempt transports from combat docking = pvp dead)
Trade ships who dock during combat may not reengage.
Add jumpgates to viable targets and we're really cranking it up. A pirate or navy could keep a gate 'locked down' while they can hold the area. I'm jealous I never thought this one up myself.
Then folks could go on raids to random places and hold commerce hostage, or actually blockade bases that are sell points for valuable commodities. Meaning in many cases, navies and police would then be needed more often to clear and secure an area to make sure it stays open.
I also see it as better than CD'ing a POB to stop a fleeing ship. Having this ability for all npc bases would be good too finally, but yeah a reasonable range (very close, perhaps under 1 or 2k, so as to say, if you were THAT close to the target still, you get to delay them at least once). And many know what its like to be so close to destroying a ship yet they dock. For a proper moneysink, I'd have no problem dying to a professional. Giving escorts a reason to exist is never a bad thing either.
Quote:1. This would give non police factions a chance to prevent people from docking, which would be useful for psuedo houses like Coalition, Corsairs and Outcasts enforcing their rules in their space.
Can be done by giving official factions representing mini-houses the /nodock command
Quote:2. Pirates in a chase would be able to prevent their targets from simply lol-docking while they're typing rps
Oh yes. lol-jamming docking on lawful station which I reached because pirate failed to take my CAU8 Stegodon down is lol-docking.
Quote:3. It would a viable countermeasure against battletransports / liners docking midcombat, healing/restocking, launching and rejoining a fight. (Current rules exempt transports from combat docking = pvp dead)
Trade ships who dock during combat may not reengage.
Appreciated.
1. Seems a bit too strong for what I was going for with my suggestion. Police factions with /nodock would still be far more efficient at denying docking rights then anyone with this gear would be (and for longer times too).
2. I'm fairly sure I'm aware of what you're talking about but I'll have to point out we (you and I) didn't actually fight in that encounter, infact we saw eachother for what? 15 seconds total? Nor did you dock at any point while I was in scanner range. Though I'll freely admit I thought you had to leave empty due to docking infront of the scylla earlier, something which you clarified for me when I PM'd you about it ingame.
3. This part I wasn't aware of and is good to know. I'll edit my suggestion to remove positive addition 3 accordingly.
I was referring to generic situation giving example with my usual set up. I didn't even know we actually encountered each other since I don't follow which player plays which character.
It's an interesting concept, honestly. It would need refinement, as you said, but I feel like it could give factions the representation they currently lack. If we could find a way to make /nodock account for base ownership (LPI, Hogosha, Molly, etc.) it would be even more useful. Perhaps this device could be used by corporations to control docking on their own bases, like a freelancer who assisted pirates against Ageira being blocked from docking on Pueblo. It would be situational, but in a game server where the max player count rarely reaches triple digits in high time, it's not a bad idea altogether.
As it stands, there are only two factions on the entire server that can use /nodock (BPA and the LPI). Having this be available for any faction save the obvious ones (Any generic ID, Nomads, Wild [why would they need them], etc.) would add in the ability for these factions to do their jobs or secure their interests. This would of course detract from the appeal of going official with these factions (GRP and KSP in particular), but these would be minor deterrents as going official gives more perks than a simple /nodock command.
It has potential, and I'd like to see if this could be implemented.