Reworking conquest mechanics?

[Migui]

The current port battle system to conquest new ports is described here:

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/10957-a-pugs-guide-to-port-battles/

Let me quote the fundamental part of it
 

While at a port controlled by their faction, a player may buy a conquest flag for any port that's not controlled by their faction.
An attacking player must sail that conquest flag to the port that it was purchased for.
Once there, the Conquest battle for the port will start, between the faction that bought the flag and the faction that owns the port.
If the attackers are victorious, then the port becomes contested, which means that players of both factions can enter it, and it will become one of the attacker's ports after the daily server restart.

 

On top of this:

- When an assault fleet is created, everyone gets an instant notification.
- When the battle starts, everyone gets another notification.

By design, this system favors quick expansions for as long as people can send out multiple fleets, gathering more resources or simply getting into better strategic positions, and has not many drawbacks.

 

It doesn't favor the usage of the land by the landowners.

Also, people will work around the timeframe window in order to get it to work better for them: if you put your vulnerability window when no one is around, you are pretty much safe.

 

So here is my idea:

First of all, lets define an "occupation index" that is proportional to the number of days that the port has been in the same hands. There might be different levels, granting different things. To be determined.

PHASE I:

Everyone can attack any port at any moment if they want. Everyone gets notified when the attack is starting instead of when a flag is purchased.

When attackers reach the port area and "attack" it starts a timer that might be proportional to this "occupation index" in minutes, giving the defender the chance to get there. How many minutes is tweaking numbers.

A big AI fleet should spawn and act as a "buffer" when attackers get there, giving the defender time to react. This is to prevent trolling with a small fleet to trigger a defensive spawn and making people move for nothing. The AI fleet should be big enough to grant this doesn't happen easily, after all you are attacking a port! Players nearby may join either side of the fight (nationals should be forced to support the nation side of course).

How big the AI fleet is, might be proportional as well to this "occupation index". Also, how many minutes people does have to enter the battle instance, might be related with this "occupation index".

So lets say attackers are there, the timer is expired and now humans are to fight humans.

- If defenders won, port is uncontested.

Everything is rolled back and there might be a cooldown before that port is allowed to be contested again, which might be proportional to the "occupation index", economic activity, outposts, usage of it, whatever you want.

- If attackers won, then we enter the second phase:

PHASE II:

Defenders set on beforehand their preferred timeframe for the last phase of the port contest.

In this state, a new timer will be generated and will make the port invulnerable until the desired timeframe is reached. A battle will happen within X hours +/- a threshold that could be introduced to slightly randomize it.

Once this timer expires, a regular port battle humans vs humans happen.

- If defenders won, port is uncontested.

Everything is rolled back and there might be a cooldown before that port is allowed to be contested again, which might be proportional to the "occupation index".

- If attackers won, port is flipped in the next reboot. The "occupation index" is now at minimum and it will grow on the following days, weeks, etc.


Advantages:

- Prevents flipping rampages steamrolling entire nations over the span of a few days.

- Makes people watch out for their ports and actively use them because they will increase the "occupation index".

 

- Makes ports something meaningful to keep, use and maintain.

- Gives defenders multiple chances to defend. They can ignore PHASE I if they want. Perhaps the AI fleet is enough. But at least they don't have to instantly get there, they can fight tomorrow if they prefer but they will miss a chance to reset everything.

- Creates new chances of fighting and grinding XP/gold versus the AI that is spawned in PHASE I. Encouraging conflict, but also not letting a couple of ships to troll an entire nation with conquest.

- This might be used to grind XP/gold so if the defender doesn't appear, it is just like the actual system pretty much.

Disadvantages:

- It makes things slower.

 

- "Balkanization" of the map: huge empires might not be interesting under this conception.

 

 

Flowchart:

 

[Flob]

I agree the timer mechanic needs changed, as it stands just now, it has become stagnant, everyone setting timers to stupidO'clock so there are no more port battles making the game stale and leaving players with nothing more to pvp than griefing. It's BORING

 

The fact you have realised this I acknowledge and the fact you've come up with a suggestion at least, but, it would need a lot of work, the biggest one I can see straight away, only 1 attack every 12 hours or so would be needed.  Or you could just rotate fleet after fleet after fleet, farming xp from ai, or forcing a smaller defender nation to spend 12 hours a day defending one port (if owner is offline), that, would drive people out of the game, or destroy nations, that would never be a good thing.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Flob

[JCDC]

Ports are too easy to capture, it does need solving.

 

However there is no shortage of port battles! I don't know where you have been playing but in the 'hot' areas, we are doing PBs 12 hours a day. if anything we need less of them.