LOLOLOLOLOL.
No…
The map & MER give away large scale production, and you need hundreds of titans to even start to be worth considering.
It will be, but numbers can be built to some extent outside of Null. Subcaps can be gathered. And it’s likely that you can inflict significant losses vs subcaps even if you fall in the end, which leads to the ‘we’ll let them hold that one constellation because burning them out would be really expensive’. You aren’t doing that against the 500 titan fleet with your subcaps.
Yeah, so the point is to limit the number of players in each alliance. I propose doing this by retracting some API regarding newbro background checks, so that they’d be more hesitant in receiving applications (except if they ask for newbro SSNs, then newbros won’t join them)
A little bit of titan friendly fire? Make titan doomsdays like bombs (if there’s enough they explode onto themselves)? That’ll solve everything. Maybe.
Is there a way to prevent player organizations (corps, alliances) from banding together and forming blocks ?! Just saying, because coalitions don’t exist officially, they were player made. Even if you put limits on the size of alliances, it would only be an inconvenience for the administration of a coalition, if at all.
Technically, this is actually a helpful thing. While that may sound counterintuitive, the downside of massive groups is always in things such as bureaucracy, administration, and logistics. More things to maintain. More things to pay attention to. It is largely the downside of massive groups even in real life, so making it more prevalent in the game is probably a simple first step if that’s what you’re after. I don’t think, however, that this is exactly what the goal is.
Honestly, I think the solution to this is to make NPC nullsec less dominated by large nullsec groups that already have their own space. NPC null is less valuable innately in its current form, but we still have massive groups that go in and take all the opportunities that could be left more open for small groups. Customs offices, space for structures, etc. It’s kind of a deathgrip right now, which is incredibly stifling on smaller groups that would like to have some null to play in, but aren’t large enough to even think about taking space.
Some creative solution that makes NPC null actually held by NPC null, or not holdable by people with sov elsewhere, would open up a lot of space as a ‘middle ground’ for smaller groups to move into and try to hold things system by system instead of just another area dominated by one big group. Kinda the same way that I see FW…a big opportunity to set things up for it to be a hindrance to too-big entities, while fostering a playground for gang and small fleet warfare.
If the mechanics are good, it should start kinda pushing you towards finding your own true null space if you start getting too big, or downsizing. Again, not really up on an actual idea right now, but those are the goals I’d look for to go at this problem of ‘stuck behind’. Just make the middle-ground areas hostile to being taken and held by people who already have their part of the game carved out.
Diamond rats are already a strong step towards this.
Personally I think we need islands & seas full of bounty in null. To explain further, Null should not all be buildable. A lot of it should be filled with ‘space storms’ which whatever they are make building stations impossible in those systems. There should be islands in the middle of this where you can build infrastructure. These islands should not connect with each other to give a buffer zone between groups that may be competing so that you aren’t forced into full scale eviction warfare just because you don’t like your neighbour. That infrastructure can be good at industry, and have decent farming for your newbies, but in the middle of the storms is where you get the best rats & mining. This can include NPC null as well.
What this creates is a situation where you have to venture beyond the safety of your structures into a dead land of sorts to get the big scores. You might extend your intel network that far of course, or stretch out a combat fleet to cover it for a duration, but you will always be vulnerable to being outflanked and having a bubble camp set up on your return gate as a result.
Note. This still has issues with Titans & Supers that also need solving by making them a strategic asset that you don’t need 1000 of, or even 1, you can do the things they allow another way, but that is neat & nifty to have. Such as Supers becoming true carriers, not just fighters but other player subcaps etc. (This is an example idea)
All this “analytics” from CCP just shows they know nothing about the game they develop. They should try to play it, but play as other players. It’s easy to talk about something without encountering the real problems - it’s like CCP guys PvPeing on streams with skills and ISKs just added by slash commands.
Yup, and the most important bit is the fun you have trying to establish a foothold. And in the end, fun should be more important than ambition in a game
Ok, and how is it fun knowing that you are crushed the moment the other guys bother, because they have an unbeatable lead in Titans built up, that even if you get the same amount of space and same size, they have a 10 year lead on you in a ship class that is required?
Hmm, methinks someone lost track of the exchange ? I was referring to your and my post about the power of numbers (leaving supers/titans out of the picture). You may have to scroll back a bit
I did, you quoted me from the sentence where I directly talked about why Titans are causing the issues.
Sure, numbers are numbers. But numbers mean a very different thing if you are taking your fight to establish a foothold in against subcaps, regular caps, or super caps/titans.
All hypothetical stuff anyway. If anyone wants to carve out a piece of space he/she’s going to have to be one smart, crafty bastard who is willing to climb up the greasy pole, kill enough ships when doable and not ever look back. Leadership, politics, strategy and especially a good team of committed crafty pilots will be a minimum. One thing is certain, the road will not be straight nor short.
Ok… I’m not sure how any of that makes it hypothetical. I mean we are talking about the literal state of null right now. That’s as far from hypothetical as you can get.
We seem to be talking along different lines here.
If your statement is that it’s almost undoable to claim sov nowadays, yep, I said that before. Almost undoable is not equal to impossible. As I sketched, it is still possible, just not by head-on fighting as the sole method. Diplomacy and intel will be key.
Still harder to kill titans than it was a few years ago, quit your whining already.
And there never was any catching up anyway, so that’s irrelevant. It doesn’t matter how fast a new group can or can’t build them. The established group has the same build requirements yet will churn more of them out.
Or cost so much to keep combat ready there’s strong economic incentive not to hoard them or use their excess. The US doesn’t have a thousand carriers because it cost a lot of $ just to keep them running.
