Proposed Change: Unlocking Cross-Faction Ship Access with "Aces of Aces" Badge

[PuddinPantz]

Proposed Change: Unlocking Cross-Faction Ship Access with "Aces of Aces" Badge

In Star Wars Galaxies, the current system restricts players to flying faction-specific ships based on their allegiance and factional achievements. However, I propose a change that enhances player freedom and rewards high achievement within the game.

Change Details:

• Upon achieving the prestigious "Aces of Aces" badge, earned by attaining Ace pilot status in all factions and squadrons, players should gain access to fly any ship in the game, regardless of faction.
• This change would provide an additional layer of reward for dedicated pilots who have demonstrated mastery across all factions and squadrons.
• Allowing players to fly any ship they desire after reaching this pinnacle achievement would enhance gameplay diversity and encourage continued engagement and progression.
  

Benefits:

1. Increased Player Freedom: Players would have the freedom to pilot any ship they choose, opening up new strategic possibilities and enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
2. Rewarding High Achievement: The "Aces of Aces" badge becomes even more meaningful, serving as a symbol of mastery and granting tangible in-game benefits.
3. Encouraging Exploration: With access to a wider array of ships, players may be incentivized to explore different playstyles and strategies, further enriching the game world.

Overall, implementing this change would align with the game's focus on player progression and customization, while providing a significant reward for dedicated pilots who have reached the pinnacle of achievement.

 

[Right]

...if you kept the basic concept of ships that shoot at other ships and scrapped the rest to redesign the whole thing you are already moving in the right direction.

Aww... thats rough. Well, I like what they made anyways.

 

[windshadow0177]

SOE's implementation of space was always lacking, and honestly if you kept the basic concept of ships that shoot at other ships and scrapped the rest to redesign the whole thing you are already moving in the right direction. Keep multiplayer ships obviously. Arguably the best thing SOE ever did. I mean besides the crafting system of course. I think it is the crafting system that makes the space experience so impelling.

I do agree, some of the things they did are lacking (Pirate trap? Only one level of it? Really?). Some of the things they did were over-broad (X-Wings should not be able to be configured to works as interceptors and keep that hefty weapon loadout, for example). That said, I still feel like they landed closer to the bullseye than off the edge of the target.

Given the apparent passion and attention space is getting, I'm really looking forward to seeing what the Evo team does with it to make it their own.

 

[Nexacon]

I do agree, some of the things they did are lacking (Pirate trap? Only one level of it? Really?). Some of the things they did were over-broad (X-Wings should not be able to be configured to works as interceptors and keep that hefty weapon loadout, for example). That said, I still feel like they landed closer to the bullseye than off the edge of the target.

Given the apparent passion and attention space is getting, I'm really looking forward to seeing what the Evo team does with it to make it their own.

I don't think it will be hard to improve on a game this old it was revolutionary when it came out, especially for the tech of the day. But it absolutely will not be hard to design a better system now. I have no idea how hard it will be to make it compatible with an old game. That said I have faith Evolve will make it better based on how fun the ground game is.

Like I said, the 0-max license experience and customization options are really good (there are things that could be improved). I can't speak to the issue with X Wings and Interceptors because I just never tried to test it. I played Rebel Pilot on Live and I can tell you it was not easy fitting parts in that thing; however it has been many years since then. I usually go Free-Lance because it is so much easier to fit parts in a ship with high mass.

Leaving space in the state that it is in, is a missed opportunity; the space game could easily be so much better IMO. IMO space was not fully explored and flushed likely do to outside issues. From what I understand the people doing the work on the game really tried.

 

[Nexacon]

Aww... thats rough. Well, I like what they made anyways.

I don't go into details because there is a lot to cover; and yes the space game is fun but I would say everything can easily be improved and at least 1 thing should be because it would be an opportunity missed if nothing was done to it. Everything physics to visuals could be improved; for example the feed back reaction of weather you hit a ships shields could be worked on and seems to indicate a hit sometimes when you did not connect.

Also, the way your ship handles could be adjusted a little bit IMO but it works fine really it's just that it seems a bit slow maybe because hardware was not up speed at that time or is a compensation for how small the sky box is. But if you take a good look at it, all things space could be revamped. Like, why are space stations so small and where am I supposed to be for pvp; it's not that clear and seems to be lacking options for low lvl load outs. Heck why not implement outer rim deep space procedural stuff for exploration a and colonization. Manual docking with ships/stations and/or landing on Planets.

I am not saying you need to change everything. But there is definite opportunities you miss if you do nothing. Like I at least hope for more instance progression options for end game space. But it's like trying to turn a mobile home into a house with a basement. When you look at everything that needs to be changed there is a strong case for scrapping the mobile home and starting with an empty lot. That may not be realistic or even true for a program situation but but as far as know it could be as well. But that's how I think about things because of what I have seen in my body of experience. That's how I think when it comes to the task at hand and making something more goodder/amazinger.

There is always a cost to change something. And sometimes it may well lead to you scrapping some or all things you're trying to change, to try to lower the cost; but it doesn't always work. I think the staff at Evolve can easily come up with something better. I'm not too worried about it.

 

[Draskon]

I don't go into details because there is a lot to cover; ...

Ship shields showing a hit yet not actually registering damage is something that can't really be improved all that easily, because that's a client to server "talkback" issue. When you directly hit a ship, your client will show a shield hit because yes, you hit the ship directly on your screen. However, your target's hitsphere/hitbox is further ahead of the ship server-side, which is why sometimes you have to shoot absurdly far in front of a ship to actually damage it. It depends on many factors, like ping, distance, and relative speeds.

That's why you always have to lead between the lead reticule and the ship's actual position in order to properly register damage.

Space overall is a bit too slow, yes; scaling is all over the place and inconsistent as well. The PvP thing is a bit weird because the only places PvP is enabled are in Dantooine and Lok GCW Space battles (which has shoddy implementation for the moment) and the Deep Space sector which you need special hyperspace chips to get to (and is largely empty because there's no reason to even really go there). You can technically PvP anywhere you want with a command to flag as Space SF/Overt, but for designated PvP zones, the aforementioned are all that're there atm.

Pretty much everything in your post regarding balancing is being addressed. However, there are definitely some limitations to things. I doubt we'll ever be able to make landing on planets possible with the engine's infrastructure, and it wouldn't make sense to dedicate that much time to trying to turn SWG into an extremely archaic version of No Man's Sky; as much as I'd love that.

 

[Nexacon]

Ship shields showing a hit yet not actually registering damage is something that can't really be improved all that easily, because that's a client to server "talkback" issue. When you directly hit a ship, your client will show a shield hit because yes, you hit the ship directly on your screen. However, your target's hitsphere/hitbox is further ahead of the ship server-side, which is why sometimes you have to shoot absurdly far in front of a ship to actually damage it. It depends on many factors, like ping, distance, and relative speeds.

That's why you always have to lead between the lead reticule and the ship's actual position in order to properly register damage.

Space overall is a bit too slow, yes; scaling is all over the place and inconsistent as well. The PvP thing is a bit weird because the only places PvP is enabled are in Dantooine and Lok GCW Space battles (which has shoddy implementation for the moment) and the Deep Space sector which you need special hyperspace chips to get to (and is largely empty because there's no reason to even really go there). You can technically PvP anywhere you want with a command to flag as Space SF/Overt, but for designated PvP zones, the aforementioned are all that're there atm.

Pretty much everything in your post regarding balancing is being addressed. However, there are definitely some limitations to things. I doubt we'll ever be able to make landing on planets possible with the engine's infrastructure, and it wouldn't make sense to dedicate that much time to trying to turn SWG into an extremely archaic version of No Man's Sky; as much as I'd love that.

I am glad you are doing something to space because it needs it. Basically there is much opportunity to improve space the way SOE left it. It just warms my heart to see that the good base they left is not going to waste because of the unrealized potential.

I am no programmer so I don't really know what is realistic. I just think that there is so much that could be done with the amazing foundation SOE left in the space game. I think I have like 15ish years of frustration about the state that SOE left space in that I am not articulating it effectively. I am overly excited that you guys are working on it. And because of how much more fun the ground game is on this server, I have no doubt you will do the same for space. TY for all you are doing and have done. You guys are really turning out some on point content here.

 

[windshadow0177]

That's why you always have to lead between the lead reticule and the ship's actual position in order to properly register damage.

I'm not 100% certain, but I think there's also a fault in how the leading indicator is calculated as well. I don't have any means to test it to be certain, but what I think is happening is that the lead indicators position is calculated based on throttle position rather than current speed. For example - target ship is moving at 50m/s. They then throttle up to 100m/s. The lead indicator immediately moves to a proper lead position for 100m/s, but the target ship is still accelerating to 100m/s - and thus, shots go wide when shooting at the indicator.

I don't think this is the only thing going on, but I'm as certain as I can be that it is a factor.

 

[windshadow0177]

and the Deep Space sector which you need special hyperspace chips to get to (and is largely empty because there's no reason to even really go there).

This is incorrect. You can also reach Deep Space via the same station that you use to enter Kessel.

Edited to add:

Deep Space isn't without its uses... Handy place to grind faction for shifts as you're zipping through AOA. Also a handy place to pick up Corvettes for the Slayer collections without getting tapped on the shoulder by Tier 6-9 ships in Ord Mantel - with an extra bonus of getting help on the job from faction-aligned ships where you're on your own in Ord Mantel.

 

[Draskon]

Yes, I forgot about the stations as I hate going to them to get there or to Kessel. Thank you for the correction.

The lead indicator is never going to be precise either because it's predicting where something is moving. It updates slowly enough that quick movements can be enough to throw you off. If the lead indicator can act more like the joystick emulation reticule (in that it shows different opacity reticules at different distances in relation to where you're aiming/going) or something similar, then that may be helpful, albeit probably a bit distracting.

The way the reticule is designed with the "hooks" up in each diagonal direction is supposed to help you line up a shot in relation to your target during movement. However, it can be a bit tricky to get used to, but if you get a feel for it, eventually you only need to use the lead indicator as a reference point and not a direct target to shoot for. There are plenty of times I've flown directly passed the bow of a Lambda shooting literally nothing and kill it because I know where its hitboxes are.

I know there are different reticules to use with a /ui reticule something command, so the hooks don't apply to every reticule you can use obviously, but I hope that makes sense.

I'll admit that I didn't know if DS was a good place for Vettes compared to Ord. Ord isn't bad once you get passed the initial spawns of T6 and T9's, because they don't spawn out that far, it's just the copious amounts of T5's you have to contend with which isn't exactly much easier sometimes. Not to mention killing 25 Vettes each for the gunship schematics is about as boring as it gets after a while.

 

[windshadow0177]

Not to mention killing 25 Vettes each for the gunship schematics is about as boring as it gets after a while.

T R U T H

I find taking them in Deep Space is much more similar to taking them in Kessel once you've dealt with the nearby hostiles... Better, in the sense that you get help from the faction NPCs... The only catch is that you can't get credit for one that the NPCs have already parked, but they do cycle decently in Deep Space.

At the end of the day, the thing that really makes using DS for Vettes (and Gunboats) worthwhile is how disused it is here. If it gets a rework like what Legends did, it'll be more trouble than it's worth.

 

[windshadow0177]

The lead indicator is never going to be precise either because it's predicting where something is moving. It updates slowly enough that quick movements can be enough to throw you off. If the lead indicator can act more like the joystick emulation reticule (in that it shows different opacity reticules at different distances in relation to where you're aiming/going) or something similar, then that may be helpful, albeit probably a bit distracting.

No, I do agree, it shouldn't be a "Shoot Here" button, but I think you can also agree that it's comically inaccurate in many ways. How often is the indicator anywhere but square on the target on a 0/0 head-to-head pass? 50%+ in my experience. In many circumstances, aligning a single axis of a triangulation is all the indicator is worth. All it reliably tells you is where the target's nose is going. It's only minimally-to-moderately useful for ranging, and abysmal for indicating the target's speed.

I've spent many hours training to shoot without even targeting my... LOL... target for this reason; and the only time I consistently target now is when I need to shoot at components. The only ships that really give me fits are the standard TIEs. Because of their symmetry it's hard to read their orientation.

 

[Right]

I'm not 100% certain, but I think there's also a fault in how the leading indicator is calculated as well. I don't have any means to test it to be certain, but what I think is happening is that the lead indicators position is calculated based on throttle position rather than current speed. For example - target ship is moving at 50m/s. They then throttle up to 100m/s. The lead indicator immediately moves to a proper lead position for 100m/s, but the target ship is still accelerating to 100m/s - and thus, shots go wide when shooting at the indicator.

I don't think this is the only thing going on, but I'm as certain as I can be that it is a factor.

Interesting! I think its also calculated based on heading, not actual momentum (which can be very different when ships like interceptors with high slide, or players with EO4 are moving and turning fast).

 

[Right]

That's why you always have to lead between the lead reticule and the ship's actual position in order to properly register damage.

Sometimes, I lead, sometimes I track, and sometimes I trail the reticle. Its very intuitive and unsystematic for me at the moment, haven't figured out why anything works when it does so far.

 

[windshadow0177]

Interesting! I think its also calculated based on heading, not actual momentum (which can be very different when ships like interceptors with high slide, or players with EO4 are moving and turning fast).

Very. That would further explain more of the behavior I've seen out of the indicator that I can't get any metrics for to look over... That's why I was reluctant to mention it to start with... Everything I can offer about it is anecdotal/observation based.