(I totally didn’t come up with this idea because lately my exploration runs were dropping fancy faction weapon battery BPCs that no one wants to buy for some reason.)
So the concept is introducing a new service module that every Upwell structure can fit, maybe even multiple at the same time.
The module would “reserve” 10% of the power grid and CPU of the structure, and would allow you to place some of the current POS batteries around the structure, based on the reserved amount of resources. This way we could make the interactions with citadels a bit more interesting, while we could keep some assets and a probably significant part of the market.
The batteries could be placed within 2500m from the citadel anywhere, except in front of the undocking area. Since these batteries consume a lot of power, I imagine the service module to reduce the fitting cost by some percent. The amount of batteries you can place therefor is based on the size of the structure (some fine tuning would obviously be required here).
The behavior of the batteries would look somehow like this:
they are invulnerable when the structure is invulnerable
they are being repaired during the vulnerability window
they are passive, until a player attacks either a battery or the citadel, then they will work as an automated defense system
the player controlling the citadel can directly control the batteries, setting them active or passive, or manually giving them targets if possible
The batteries that would be allowed are:
all weapon batteries, their resupply would be automatic, as long as the citadel has enough ammunition stored
Cynosural Generator Array, people were asking for a method to turn some citadels into cyno beacons, here is a possible solution
Jump Bridge, another function some people would probably like, maybe limited to low and null
Shield Hardening Arrays, if the defenders know who is coming, they can prepare by setting proper resistances, this obviously won’t help after you lose the shield
I did the phrasing wrong on this one, what I meant is they are vulnerable but being repaired. I don’t know why I wrote the tether there.
Thanks for mentioning it!
Alright now towers are not something that a chair sitter should control. That is what high slots are for. Incidentally what you are basically asking for is the ability for structures to load weapons other than missiles.
These weapons can be destroyed, unlike the ones that are fitted in the high slots, which is usually a good thing in this game. They probably won’t help too much if the defender is afk, but they could slow down a smaller gang enough to prevent them getting through the shield.
I’m perfectly okay with this considering one of the primary reasons towers had auto-aggression on their weapon batteries was due to their 23/7 vulnerability. It’s also why only the EWAR went down during the RF cycle. The old CCP devs realize it was unreasonable to expect someone to defend their structures at all hours of the day and that even the attacker needed to face some amount of easily mitigated risk when attacking a lone structure to deter edge abuse cases.
Since citadels are now back to always vulnerable shield timers of old, it would actually make sense to re-implement WEAK automatic defense batteries. For all it matters it could literally be the POS batteries that already exist, just require them to be anchored within of the structure’s tether radius at the expense of the structure’s own CPU and powergrid (number’s obviously have to be adjusted). or create a whole new set of upwell auto-defense batteries.
The key to everything being they would need to be destructible or at least put into RF at all times. Literally look at how pos mods work, and copy it exactly. If they need to be repaired, require them to be scooped and repaired in station or locked and use a rep.
Citadels are the realisation of the idea that was behind the POS in the very beginning. Since POS codding had no perspective (or just it’s originator left the company) it flow into the thing known today as citadels.
So there’s no need of old design things on citadels.
Truly i can understand the feelings behind ideas such as these.
On the other hand though i can not agree to using stuff from the old POS design when it is being phased out.
I would prefer a highslot module, like lasers or some other point defense system that targets individual targets that can then be set for auto or manual defense. Something that is not too OP and does not do AOE like the current PD system.
Or add the option to our current missile launchers by allowing a rig or module(some sort of computer system) for midslots to allow selection for auto defense.
it would be nice if you could deploy mobile platforms like that but I think they would need to be fueled seperetly every single one of them by giving them racial fuel to run every day or two with some center control node so you wouldnt land next to gate and be insta blaped by 100 platforms or make the fuel demand quite big so its only worth deploying during wars
If you could set them up anywhere and everywhere to create a quite literal mine field, that would be super broken. If this would be done, then the platforms would only allowed to attack people who have attacked that specific platform first, or who are in war with the owner.
But most of them would probably be forgotten by the players, while also creating a significant load on the server.