Balance NPC's in House systems

[aerelm]

Balance them to Gallia levels ? Oh no thanks ... Don't think of when you've parked your Navy Avenger next to Manhattan in a server with 198 players on. Imagine the time when you are trying to go through New Tokyo with your Katana on a server with 40 players, and finally after 2 hours you run into someone, and you are like "oh perfect, now I can have at least some RP in its minimum standards" and then right in middle of your RP four battleship patrols arrive and start chain firing pulse and razors on your ...

Reduce the Capital patrols and also Number of other NPC patrols, but give them better guns (Not Uber Guns)
Right now, trying to play on your unlawful char when there are 40 players on, is pretty pointless, specially in Kusari, because even in border systems of Kusari space, there are always Cruiser and Battleship spawns with Pulse-Razor loadout.
Ballance the NPCs a bit:

• Guard Systems: Gallia level, or even more/stronger NPCs, so no hostile vessel can enter the system.
  
• House Capital System: Caps and high number of fighters
  
• House Core Systems: Gunboat and Cruiser patrols, but not Battleships and medium number of fighters
  
• House Border Systems: No Caps, just Fighters
  
• House Unlawfuls: Better Ships but same number
  

This is what I suggest.

Im just bored to get ganked by 3 xeno starflea lol

Now, Try flying a In a Xeno char through New York when there are 70 players on ...
Unlawful NPCs are not a big deal cause most of them are in vanilla light fighters, the problem is with lawful NPCs which throw some little nice gank parties (4 BS, 6 Cruisers, 12 Fighters vs. a single Barghest) when they feel bored.

[Harcourt.Fenton.Mudd]

Well another is to revamp patrol routes.

Using New York as example...


Planets/stations, within 20k of them EVERYTHING from BS to bomber can show up

Capital planets need static non-destroyable defences that basicly make it so if you go red, you get death msg almost as fast as you can notice in all but larger caps.

Stations need to actualy be able to hit an evading gunboat/bomber/fighter.

have light patrols (no bigger than a GB with escort) on the lanes, to keep up realism. Prehaps the extra rare cruiser patrol there.

Unlawfuls, primarily on the lanes, prehaps once in a blue moon a GB patrol, mostly 1-2 barghests with escort.

Badlands....... GB/Barghest swarms the deeper you go in.

Within 10k of Buffalo have heavy and continualy respawning when killed Barghest/GB patrols to deal with lawfuls camping too close were they shouldnt be.

well away from bases/lanes have random fighter/bomber patrols with the occasional GB.

Prehaps some PTans smuggling AND PTrans patrols (2barghest/2fighter/PTrans) as well.


Oh, and add armor to all NPCs. And only use real ships, not vanilla ones. For loadouts, talk to the factions represented adn get several loadouts submitted and used.

This'll make it so that NPCs remind you were you shouldnt be.


Now, for the warzones...... have regular NPC battles
Prehaps add some anti-cap missions as well for waring factions, IE: add 300k payment 'kill person X' missions. Have that person fly various caps (of course list what cap in the mission to avoid a lone bomber going against a BS)

[crimecities]

Capital planets need static non-destroyable defences that basicly make it so if you go red, you get death msg almost as fast as you can notice in all but larger caps.

Capital planets currently only have turrets on the docking ring and on the orbiting stations. We could add weapons platforms to the mix, having half of them solaris/missles for anti-fighter/bomber and the other half very heavy, very durable anti-capital weapon platforms with razors/pulse cannons. (Someone model a heavy weapon platform). Of course, these things can take hits from player ships and dish it back out.

Throw in a couple wasp/hornet CD platforms (Train CD might be a little too much), and you got a powerful static defense for capital planets that will keep unlawfuls away even when there are no NPC's.

EDIT: The best way to hit an agile player fighter with a stationary weapon is autotracking missles. Make a high-agility station missle for anti-fighter. Even an EMP missle would be helpful for keeping shields and powerplant down and the fighter in a panic.

[Harcourt.Fenton.Mudd]

EDIT: The best way to hit an agile player fighter with a stationary weapon is autotracking missles. Make a high-agility station missle for anti-fighter. Even an EMP missle would be helpful for keeping shields and powerplant down and the fighter in a panic.

Agreed.

Prehaps make a 'u dai nao' type CD for capital defenses, and guard system JH defences.

3k blast radius. It detonates as soon as it launches. Basicly come in 3k of the platform, kiss cruise goodbye.

For capital missle, give it 600 speed. Uber acceleration. Uber turn.

Give it BS missle stats.

a TAD much, yes.

However, capitals are SUPPOSED to be safe.

If theres gona be an event, easy enuf to auto-update and disable the defences, then auto-update after and replace.

[crimecities]

A weapon platform CD should be timed to fire immediately after the target's '5 second no cruise' is over and the cruise engines just got done charging. Sure, we could just fire a CD every 5 seconds, but this is more tormenting.

[underd0g]

Easiest fix would be to make the low level ships that every other NPC flies better, aim to make them only slightly under par with the standard fighters/cargo haulers/etc. that's being used by the rest of us. Obviously a reduction of number of spawning NPCs needs to be implemented too, which needs to be done in most of the border- & edge-worlds anyhow.

Much can be done in the way of immersion with the NPCs. Right now they are a nuisance, whether they are low level 'target practice drones' or high level ganking squads. Balancing random NPC encounters are hard, given the way the game engine spawns them.

Less, but better NPCs. More variation of NPCs encountered in space, Liners for example. And upgrade the Starflier and similar low grade ships to closer to 'normal' levels in regards to weaponry, hull, etc. As it is now nobody uses them any more, which is sad and a waste space. But that's another topic.

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My characters on Disco:
[LN]-Andy.Doggett, The.Flying.Betty, Russ.Dalton, Harald.Treutiger

Stories:
The Shellback Identity
Trader Blues

[Asymptotic]

This issue has made me curious for quite a while, but I've never spoken up about it.

First of all, the poll seems to indicate people would like NPCs balanced, with good reason: it contributes to house bias. It is harder to get around when the enemy NPCs are tougher, and NPCs that are closer to "max" player levels provide more assistance in fights. NPCs thus unreasonably skew faction choice and base of operation choices, at least for independent players who aren't fanatical about their RP like many on the forums are.

I believe keeping Pennsylvania nerfed, but balancing everything else to a reasonable level would be ideal. Give new players a place to spread their wings and learn the ropes, but please, let us oldies have some fun blowing up tough NPCs.

[Ceoran]

Gallic NPCs aren't insane. they just have supernovas and can harm caps. ONOZ. But fighters have a rather easy life there.

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My Stories Outcast laws and structures Join Samura|-

Go play the game, within the given limitations. That is how role play games are played. Not by trying to work around those limitations or whining about them.