Yes please, this would be an EXTREMELY good thing.
/wants
But we would have to do it properly (i.e add dozens of them, all properly filled with mysterious stuff), not just add a few empty systems.
Also, one thing i have noticed, in all new systems, there seems to be a HUGE ammount of planets, now, i remember when i first played vanilla, finding a planet was exciting because they were so rare, and that really made you want to explore. With the ammount of planets (most of them desolate rocks, with no interesting infocards or such), especially in gallia where in one of the systems i think there is about 7 planets, none of them habited or with interesting, mysterious infocards to read.
Imo this has slightly spolied the atmosphere of discovering new places, so if this is done, which it definately shoudl be, can it be done so as to add to the atmosphere, not degrade it.
It's not that disco doesn't have that lost in space feel. In a way, not having the discovery complete nav map was a blessing in disguise. The temptation is there to look at it every time were lost. Otherwise we'd have no problems in terms of this.
I'd suggest these systems be made as large as stably possible in terms of their internal volume.
I would also suggest that no list of them, their names, or an updated map, be given out when they're released, rather let the players do their best to find the new jump-holes and thus the new systems.
If the systems are large and hard to navigate (maybe make some of them so that the in-system nav-map doesn't function. I know it can be done...) and you have to pass through some of the new systems to get to the others then you could (in theory) get 'lost' or stumble onto something totally new.
If you also set it so that some of them show on the larger Sirius map, and some don't, then the mix of 'gaps' in the 'charts' will contribute to the frontier feel and make it that much harder to know where you are.
In the single player campaign, there were systems that didn't show up on the starmap. There were also systems that you couldn't use the navmap in. I believe that we could use these two special system attributes quite liberally, if not universally, in these "uncharted" systems.
Or, perhaps, that would just be a touch in certain systems.
Whatever the case, those two definitely create a mysterious, foreboding, and dangerous environment.
Think about it. You're three systems into the unknown zone, and you can't see any of them on the starmap or even how you got anywhere on the navmap.
That would be somewhat scary.
EDIT: And if we made the unknown systems invisible on the starmap, we could stack the systems on top of each other and save space.
I used to have great fun at 2:00 am my time venturing deep into the eeriest systems I could find, then running all the way back to NY after the first nomad I encountered. Getting back to Manhattan alive at 3:50 is a really good feeling indeed. The experience underscores the contrast between house space and wild untamed space.
The more systems we can make that show off that contrast, the better.
I support this idea as well, however I would like to offer three counterpoints.
1) What happens when these systems become old hat? There is a fairly limited (although large) number of systems the game can support.
2) Eventually someone is going to want to develop them in some way.
3) Data storm will kill any exploration. Many goodies can be found in it our other common software. For this to truly work, we will need to find a way to disable these programs operation.
I'm not sure if thats possible, but if it is I support it.
Regardless, those of us that like to explore can be free to enjoy the new systems despite any temptation to look up the map.
Another point I find interesting; there was a mod somewhere I saw in passing that had figured out a way to have multiple sectors. There was Sirius and then something called the 'Altair cluster' I think...
In any case, we could start a new sector map directly off the upper or right edge of the current Sirius map, make some sort of visible nebula feature that bridges the edges of both maps, then think up a snappy name like;
"The Amargossa cluster" or "The Argolis Traverse" or "The Gamma Hydra Abyss"
We could very very slowly develop this sector over the course of many many Discovery updates, moving very slowly and perhaps setting up natural barriers or Nomads to prevent development past a certain point permanently.
In addition, since updates seem to be automatic now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the developers could make slight changes to these new systems in little patches every so often.
Do things to mix it up and make it so that one day after a couple updates, you come back and Discover (;)) something that wasn't there before.
Lots of things have contributed to a lack of a "Frontier" feel for many systems - Omega-11 being one of the only good examples left. Since the Zoners because powerful enough to guard against whatever, all those sorts of systems (like Theta) lost that feel. Delta has the possibility for it, but it's connected to a lot of other systems and has many, many stations.
The one idea I had was to have the connections through a variety of newly discovered ancient gates. Basically, have something happen that turns them on, much as how things started happening in SP. Newcastle would be a great place. Then have a few systems that are all mysterious, without map or location (like the ones that became Kappa, etc were) that are connected in interesting ways, such as one-way only gates.
Is having multiple sector maps possible? Because having Gallia in another sector, as well as the possibility of other systems, would be neat. Or having some occasional Freelancer bases built out in the frontier. Could be interesting for mining if there were various metals that were uncommon in bulk in Sirius there to be mined, but not any place that bought or sold things. Well, maybe some stations just on the other side.
Well, new 'frontier' systems would be spread about, and a rejuvenation of some of the current systems isn't a bad thing. But we do have a bit of space left for expansion. Places like Southwest of Bretonia, Northeast of the high Omicrons, south-southeast of Rheinland and the Omegas, etc.
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I was thinking of having a bit of variety about . Some systems would be empty, with different astronomical Phenomena. Maybe a newborn system with an accretion disk, and lots of diamonds and jumpholes formed from the collisions and screwy gravity?
Another idea is something akin to Homeworld's 'Karos Graveyard'. E.g. The broken up remnants of some Dyson Sphere or some other megalithic thing surrounded by wreckage and old spaceships of mysterious origin.
Or maybe a pulsar system, or a Star-Blackhole binary? Or other astronomical phenomina?