Something to accomplish after level 150

[Kamchakk1952]

I have no idea how difficult this would be, or if it is possible, but I was thinking the other day that it would be nice if there was something that my toon could be working towards, after gaining level 150. Of course you get a point each time you level, those allow you to finish the skills that you did not have enough points to max out when you reached 150. This idea would go something like the following;

1. You can only earn this "bonus" a limited number of times (3 or 4 times)

2. The reward of the bonus (each time) would be predetermined by the developers for each class/race.

3. This would not be easy to attain, in fact it would be made very difficult.

4. The first qualification to achieve the "bonus" would be to add a given number of levels to your toon that are beyond level 150. For example if the qualification was set at 50 levels, you could only have the chance to earn the bonus at level 200, 250, 300 (maybe 350 if you can earn the bonus 4 times).

5. Each of the progression would have a mission that has to be completed in order to gain the bonus. This mission would be the "very difficult" part mentioned above. This would allow players that have already gained the required levels to have a chance at completing the missions and get the bonus.

6. The bonus could be many things, but my thought is to have 3 or 4 skills that are "greyed out" until the proper level is reached and the bonus mission is completed. For example (and this is just my thinking out loud) perhaps a JE could learn the build components line. It would be like any other pre 150 skill, it would start at level 0 and have to be advanced like any skill. This reward is just an idea, I don't know if that is possible to do and as I said these rewards can be anything the Devs decide to allow. Even if the bonus was not something uber like adding a new skill, anything that could be added would at least bring back the feeling that your working toward some goal instead of just standing around in a station leveling alts.

 

Anyway I hope you'll think about it

(Yes my main is a JE .. lol)

 

 

 

[Pakkrat [N7LA]]

This sounds similar to the OL135 skills that are learned after a long mission line is completed. Examples include (but may not be limited to): Call Forward, Compulsory Contemplation, and others that I suspect were intended for release but never saw full Development back in Westwood/EA Live. But it is good to see that others are thinking about stuff to do post-OL135.

Why not write up an Event geared for those who have nothing to do at OL150? How about a Sponsored treasure hunt? Or maybe a scavenger hunt? A massively-multi-grouped mining Raid expedition to clean Lagarto out? Hide and Go Seek with a toon on the run?

The Developers are quite busy with an itinerary of stuff that needs doing. However, we pilots can amuse ourselves with the game by setting up goals, conditions, and other activities that might spice up that endgame environment called OL150+.

If you enjoy your toon's class, ask yourself what can you do with it upon attaining OL150. How can a pilot at the apex of their career make use of their skill-set to enliven the endgame environment?

From the writers' desk at NET-7 SOL, this is the Pakkrat.

[Yuritau]

A massively-multi-grouped mining Raid expedition to clean Lagarto out?

 

o.0

 

We're gonna need a bigger vault.

[Terrell [BT]]

Mining based content sounds nice to me, would love to see some mining projects comparable to the old MCP from the original E&B.   Doesn't have to be in lieu of the MCP, but could be something done by Hyperia, or Sharim, to get themselves up to speed based on those factions needs.  Collegia already has Agrippa.  Rewards could be given based on the amount of the necessary ores or alloys needed by those two factions.  The MCP could still come along at it's regularly scheduled time in the storyline, while giving miners something to do with nice rewards while we're waiting for the storyline to advance to that point. 

 

Something comparable to a mining raid, is something I'd love to see as well.  Would be awesome if done right.

 

Mining projects; however, could be accomplished by any JE, PE, or Scout who has obtained EL45 and maxed their prospect skill, as they'll have all the refines, even if they're not OL150, provided they can get the ores without getting killed in the process.

[Luciferish]

Not all of the post 135 skills are in yet... Contemplation still has not been implemented, should we not complete one thing before starting another? Just a thought...

[Terrell [BT]]

Not all of the post 135 skills are in yet... Contemplation still has not been implemented, should we not complete one thing before starting another? Just a thought...

 

True, though I'd admit to not exactly being impressed by Compulsory Contemplation, in E&B Origins.  Now if they waive the "JE moving other than to turn breaks the skill" restriction, I might reconsider.  I'd love to see what the JT would get for 135 more than anything.  TBH, Kenu if I recall correctly, once mentioned changing Reactor Opt to the JT's 135 skill.  If it has the same buff as the skill does when maxed under the current system I think that would be a good idea, freeing up a slot for a great support skill.    Then a great support skill to replace RO, that's new unique, and makes JTs more wanted.  But then again if it was simply Navigate 7 I'd find it okay, albeit not great.

[Kamchakk1952]

I think these are great ideas and they sound like we all could have a lot of fun with them. A big mining raid on a large sector would be huge fun, I think there would be a lot of people on hand for something like this. I'm not too sure how to go about organizing something like that, but maybe some of you could point me in a direction or would be willing to help.

I have given my original idea some thought and have decided after reading your response's that yes the Devs do have a lot on the plate so this might be just too much to ask. However, (yes the dreaded however) ... maybe instead of adding a skill line or creating a modification to the basic ship (which would be difficult and require a lot of programming) there could be "devices" rewarded after reaching the required post 150 level and completing the task mission. Again I am just giving a thought out loud, lets take a PW for example. We all know that the PW is short on device slots, so what if the "prize" for a PW when they complete the mission was a "doubled up" device of some type. In other words, combine two good PW devices into one and that way the PW would in effect gain a device with no modifications to the toon or ship. Maybe give a JE a "double barrel beamer" .. make it unique so only one can be installed. Again these are just thoughts.

You may be asking yourself, if Mining Raids and other types of group activities would be good and would be fun, why am I still working at this post 150 reward line. My answer is that the group raids and any scheduled event only occurs periodically, so in between the scheduled events you are still left with a routine of (in my case at least) go out mining raws, sort them, vault some of them and refine the rest. When not mining, I have my alts that my level 150 JE becomes a taxi for, kinda sad. Anyway, I'm glad some of you had time to read this and reply. I'd be happy to be a part of any kind of scheduled mining raid or anything that would be fun for people.

In game known as

Moonfrost, L150+ JE, Space Riders Inc.

Moonblast L143 PW

Moontide - JS

Moonwave - TE

Moonglow - PS

Marypoppins - TT (ran out of Moon ideas)

[Terrell [BT]]

I think these are great ideas and they sound like we all could have a lot of fun with them. A big mining raid on a large sector would be huge fun, I think there would be a lot of people on hand for something like this. I'm not too sure how to go about organizing something like that, but maybe some of you could point me in a direction or would be willing to help.

I have given my original idea some thought and have decided after reading your response's that yes the Devs do have a lot on the plate so this might be just too much to ask. However, (yes the dreaded however) ... maybe instead of adding a skill line or creating a modification to the basic ship (which would be difficult and require a lot of programming) there could be "devices" rewarded after reaching the required post 150 level and completing the task mission. Again I am just giving a thought out loud, lets take a PW for example. We all know that the PW is short on device slots, so what if the "prize" for a PW when they complete the mission was a "doubled up" device of some type. In other words, combine two good PW devices into one and that way the PW would in effect gain a device with no modifications to the toon or ship. Maybe give a JE a "double barrel beamer" .. make it unique so only one can be installed. Again these are just thoughts.

You may be asking yourself, if Mining Raids and other types of group activities would be good and would be fun, why am I still working at this post 150 reward line. My answer is that the group raids and any scheduled event only occurs periodically, so in between the scheduled events you are still left with a routine of (in my case at least) go out mining raws, sort them, vault some of them and refine the rest. When not mining, I have my alts that my level 150 JE becomes a taxi for, kinda sad. Anyway, I'm glad some of you had time to read this and reply. I'd be happy to be a part of any kind of scheduled mining raid or anything that would be fun for people.

In game known as

Moonfrost, L150+ JE, Space Riders Inc.

Moonblast L143 PW

Moontide - JS

Moonwave - TE

Moonglow - PS

Marypoppins - TT (ran out of Moon ideas)

 

Those seem like some pretty good ideas. 

 

Not sure how best to balance it, but in EnB Origins, the Loony's Special Gizmoblastit, was a mission reward that combined a few good devices to make a great L8 device. The JE & PE could use it, but the Scout would not be able to use it if it was in EnB Origins, as the device was Terran Restricted)   It's buffs were Scan, Fast Tractor Beam, Long Tractor Beam, and Reduce Sig.  It was like a combination of an Invisible Eye, Harpy, and Roc, but better.  TBH I'd love to see the Ghost Edge's buffs on a Plasma beam, with around 100 DPS @ 200% quality (Pitbull Sr. has 99.83 DPS @ 200% quality, but no buffs)  Not spectacular, but nice, and a buff combo not seen on a plasma beam.  Made by Nishido, not unique, and manufacturable.

[Terrell [BT]]

There are some other lower level mining based missions in the game, and I think that's a good start.  When the maelstroms open, if it goes like live, there will eventually be missions offered at Paren station for low level explorers, to get maelstrom keys made.  I can't remember if the PE could do it in EnB Origins, but I think we should allow all 3 explorers to do this mission when it comes into the game.    This is the type of thing, for explorers, I think should go throughout one's career progression even when the explorer is well into overdings.  Most for all 3 explorers, some for one or two of the explorer classes.

 

Of course warriors & traders should get something that suits their professions as well.

[Kamchakk1952]

Just to let you all know, I am trying to write up a contest outline that is not too difficult and the could be managed in a simple manner. It would be something the would involve using players skills and would require no involvement on the part of the dev's. Once it is written up and thought out a little better, I will post it here and hopefully get some feedback on it.

[Kamchakk1952]

Well this is just great, I had the entire thing type out for the contest, my hand slipped, hit the TAB key and it's gone. I'll come back and type it again when I have another 30 minutes to spend :(

M.O.O.N .. that spells frustrated

[Kamchakk1952]

Ok, I feel better now .. lol .. here is what I was thinking for a contest to mine raws;

 

The contest will be to mine only 3 named raw materials, they will be level 9.
The raws that will be required will be announced at the beginning of the contest.
The three named raws will each be of a different type (ie. crystal, gas, radioactive).
The contest is Galaxy wide, not limited to a single sector. Hopefully this will reduce lag and conflicts in a single sector.
The contest is timed, one hour.
The contest will start and end in Pluto/Charon Sector at the station, chosen because of it's central location to aragoth and beta hydra.
Wormhole will not be allowed during the contest (sorry JE's but travel times need to be made equal). We will give each contestant a single trade good item to carry in their cargo hold and it must be returned at 100%. Note: We may need some special Trade Good Item that can not be purchased in game.
I envision the contest to last for one hour, longer might cause people to have to drop out for real life issues.
Pilots can go where they choose to mine these raws.
At 15 minutes before the end of the contest we will need an announcement and maybe again at 5 minutes before the end, to warn pilots to start moving back to the station in Pluto.
Any pilot that returns after the end of the one hour time period will be disqualified.

 

Now the active part of the contest is over and the judging / counting process must begin, this is a bit sticky, I am not really sure how to best count so many loads of raw mined materials.
My first thoughts are;
1. Have several volunteer judges that the three types of raw material could be traded to by each contestant.
2. The judges would have to record (somehow) the name of the pilot and the number of each of the three types of raws they collected.
3. When the counting is done we will have 4 winners;
    First place and overall winner = most raws collected, all three types combined.
    Then three equal second place winners by named ore such as most Grail Water, Most Tiberium, Most Crude Ruthium (just examples).
Each of the four winners would recieve donated items, possibly they could be announced ahead of time.
These are just some ideas, maybe someone could look at this and see if it seems possible. I would be happy to help organize something if this sounds fun and do-able.

 

Moonfrost 150 JE

[Terrell [BT]]

Hmm, that pretty much means that the Scout has the advantage, since it's the fastest class in warp, bar none, and the Sentinel is SOL, since they're the slowest explorer.  Perhaps the contest could have divisions, where explorers compete among explorers of their own race.

[Stanig[IS]]

The concept is sound, I actually like the idea overall but there are a couple of major problems that would need to be addressed before anything else would happen.

 

1.  Whats to stop a miner from pulling raw ores off of a mule and turning those in on the sly (item transfer on the portal)?  Yes we could track that, but it would be a real pain in the ass.

 

2.  When we did the valentines day shields there were 3 devs and 2 gms that were handing them out and we were absolutely swamped.  In some cases I had a queue of over 30 people at a time I was plugging through PMs with.  It was a nightmare.  Add math and comparing to that and you see what I mean, right?

 

By all means keep discussing.

[Kamchakk1952]

Hmm, that pretty much means that the Scout has the advantage, since it's the fastest class in warp, bar none, and the Sentinel is SOL, since they're the slowest explorer.  Perhaps the contest could have divisions, where explorers compete among explorers of their own race.

I had not given the travel time enough thought. After removing the wormhole advantage I failed to look further into the class warp speed advantages / disadvantages. Your idea has even more positive aspects to it than just addressing the speed issue. We could have three contests instead of one. JE day (and we could allow WH), TS day and PS day. Another benefit to this would be the rewards for the winning pilots could be better suited to the class. With a contest for everyone, the prizes would have to be items that are useable by (all / all) and would limit the usefullness of the items that could be won.

Further, three contests would lower the number of pilots per contest and would help to relieve some of the burden on the judges at the end of the contest, as stated below by Stang.

Great catch and thanks for the suggestion. :D

 

Moonfrost 150 JE

[Kamchakk1952]

The concept is sound, I actually like the idea overall but there are a couple of major problems that would need to be addressed before anything else would happen.

 

1.  Whats to stop a miner from pulling raw ores off of a mule and turning those in on the sly (item transfer on the portal)?  Yes we could track that, but it would be a real pain in the ass.

 

2.  When we did the valentines day shields there were 3 devs and 2 gms that were handing them out and we were absolutely swamped.  In some cases I had a queue of over 30 people at a time I was plugging through PMs with.  It was a nightmare.  Add math and comparing to that and you see what I mean, right?

 

By all means keep discussing.

Those are a couple of difficult issues to address and I see what you mean. I don't have a solution to them yet, other than breaking the event up into three seperate contests based on class. That would definately reduce the number of people per contest and help to address the nightmare queue issue. As far as the other items you mentioned, I am thinking them over and will post again when I come up with something.

 

Thank you for looking this over and thanks for sharing your concerns.  :D 

 

Moonfrost 150 JE

[Kamchakk1952]

The concept is sound, I actually like the idea overall but there are a couple of major problems that would need to be addressed before anything else would happen.

 

1.  Whats to stop a miner from pulling raw ores off of a mule and turning those in on the sly (item transfer on the portal)?  Yes we could track that, but it would be a real pain in the ass.

 

2.  When we did the valentines day shields there were 3 devs and 2 gms that were handing them out and we were absolutely swamped.  In some cases I had a queue of over 30 people at a time I was plugging through PMs with.  It was a nightmare.  Add math and comparing to that and you see what I mean, right?

 

By all means keep discussing.

This item #1 "Whats to stop a miner from pulling raw ores off of a mule and turning those in on the sly (item transfer on the portal)?  Yes we could track that, but it would be a real pain in the ass." is pretty much a game breaker or should I say contest breaker. My first thought was to somehow monitor the quantity turned in vs the experiance gained. If a player transfers raw ore to a mule and then uses the portal to return some of that ore to themselves, it is worth zero experience points. Monitoring experiance points gained is something we could do, although it would make a heck of a nightmare for the judges. However, taking this "on the sly" issue one step further, whats to stop a player from just holding all level nine raw ore they mine for a couple weeks in their vault. It is possible to hold, in your vault, some of every kind of raw level nine ore that exists. Then they could turn in some of that vaulted ore on contest day. I cannot think of any way to monitor or prevent that from happening. I guess I will have to go back to the drawing board and try to come up with a different goal for the contest. Too bad :( because I was thinking that a contest to actually mine things would be a way to show that you have skills and have the knowledge of the mine fields to out perform others and really be the best. An "easter egg hunt" type contest will just be won by luck, no skill involved. There are not a lot of other player vs player type alternatives, I am not giving up yet, still lots of time to keep thinking it over. ;)

 

Moonfrost 150 JE

[Kamchakk1952]

I need someone to tell me a few technical things so that I can make good descisions while I do my thinking. I would hate to offer a suggestion, after much deliberation, only to be told "nice idea but not possible".

I am now thinking to limit the contest to a single sector and need to know;

1. Can a sector be closed, for example if the contestants were all inside a given sector, could the gates be deactivated to preven leaving and entering the sector while the contest runs? (preventing contestants from leaving to land at stations, where vaults could be opened and transfers made)

2. If the contest was held in a sector that had no station to land at, could the judging and everything else, be done while in space? (preventing contestants from opening their vaults)

3. If the contest was made so that each class would have a turn in the sector, would the number of ships / pilots be so great that the lag would become a major issue?

4. If a suitable sector is found and the above conditions are do-able, but the sector does not contain level nine raw ore, can the ore be changed for the contest duration only? (I kinda already know this one is going to be a no)

I think you can see where I am headed, try to keep the original idea alive, stop the "on the sly" manuvers.

 

I'm really sorry that we have to spend so much effort on making something that can not be cheated at. I'd much rather be thinking of the content (some kind of story line) and also moving on to what contests we could have for the warrior and tradesman classes, but ... thats just how it is ...  :wacko:

 

Thanks again for all the help :D

Moonfrost 150 JE

[Stanig[IS]]

1. Yes, we do it when a sector blackholes.

2. Yes

3. Doubt it, though player side clients might delay like they do in a raid.

4. Yes, but this is a lot of work and would require a server restart or to run for a week at a time.

 

 

Regarding worrying about cheating - its something a developer has to take into account.  If a system can be gamed or exploited it is guaranteed an MMO community will discover and use the hell out of it until it is fixed (usually).  I know it sucks to think that way but it is a reality development has to face.

[Kamchakk1952]

1. Yes, we do it when a sector blackholes.

2. Yes

3. Doubt it, though player side clients might delay like they do in a raid.

4. Yes, but this is a lot of work and would require a server restart or to run for a week at a time.

 

 

Regarding worrying about cheating - its something a developer has to take into account.  If a system can be gamed or exploited it is guaranteed an MMO community will discover and use the hell out of it until it is fixed (usually).  I know it sucks to think that way but it is a reality development has to face.

Thank you again Stanig for the answers and comments. Going by your answers I have written up a revised idea / suggestion so in the words of the immortal John Cleese "and now ... for something completely different";

 

Contest Location would have to be either
Niff Cloud or Varens Girdle, they both have the following qualifications;
a .They have no Station.
b. Closing the gates to the sector would not disrupt or block travel to any other sector.
I don't see another sector that has both qualifications.

** I am thinking right now, Niff Cloud would be the best sector, this is open to discussion.

I do not want to create a lot of work with this contest, the idea originally was to have something fun to do that would not "make work" for the [DEVS]. If changing the raw ores to another level requires a lot of work then we will make the goal of the contest fit the sector's available ore.
** Niff Cloud has level 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 raws ... not so mauch 5 and 9 but thats not a problem.

 

** The contest goal is going to be a little more like doing mini-missions rather than just going out and getting as much in your hold as possible and it would work like this;

1. The goal is to collect "mission complete tokens" (yes I know this makes work, but maybe in the long run it saves work, bear with me)
2. To earn a mission complete token the pilot would harvest a trade window's worth of ores in a specific manner. The trade window would need to contain the following.
Slot1    5 Same Name Level 6 Raw
Slot2    5 Same Name Level 7 Raw
Slot3    5 Same Name Level 8 Raw
Slot4    5 Same Name (but not the same as the first 10) Level 6 Raw
Slot5    5 Same Name (but not the same as the first 10) Level 7 Raw
Slot6    5 Same Name (but not the same as the first 10) Level 8 Raw

( The actual name of the raw is unimportant as long as it is a stack of five )

NOTE - The quantity is 5 and if that seems low, idea is not to have every pilot earn just one token but many. The winners will be the pilots that have accumulated the most tokens.

Ok, I mentioned that this "token" idea may actually save some work and here is why I say that;
    The pilots can now come to the judges each time they have collected the 30 raws in groups stated above.
    No counting is needed, they would open a trade window, the judge just needs to confirm visually that there are 6 slots filled with the raws in stacks of five.
    The judge then simply puts a mission complete token in the trade window and completes the trade.
Now that I am thinking about it further, maybe the token doesn't have to be a special item just for the contest, it just has to be something already in game that we can be pretty sure no one is carrying in their hold already.
Pilots would be told that the raw materials that they turn in for tokens will NOT be returned. Since the judges won't have access to vaults in space, the fastest way for them to keep room in their holds is to dump what they are given.

So in summary for the contest duration
We would close the gate to Niff.
The entire contest would take place outside in space, no stations.
I suggest the staging and judging point be at the Professor, that is a safe place and easy to manuver to.
I think the work required to count and verify what was mined would be greatly reduced.

To choose the winners, we could Broadcast a message something like "Will any pilots with 10 or more tokens please come foward" then choose and verify of that lot who has the most tokens.
If there is a tie, and there probably will be, we could then do a count of the raws in the holds of the pilots who tied as a tie breaker.

[rhobix]

I like the idea, but I would suggest making this mission based. It could work something like this:
A mission NPC give one of several mission from a pool of missions on a rotating (or random) schedule. The missions would change say every 42 hours making 4 contests per week suitable for differen time zones. The missions would expire after something like 24 hours to prevent players from "saving" missions between contests.
To make it simple, the missions in the pool could all have the same steps, but require different ores to be mined. The steps could look something like this:
1. Welcome to the Intergalactic Mining Championship! Today you will be required to mine [Ore 1], [Ore 2] and [Ore 3]. Please leave the station to start the competition. (Mission progresses upon leaving the station).
2. Mine 25 [Ore 1]. (Mission keeps track of number of ores mined)
3. Mine 25 [Ore 2]. (Mission keeps track of number of ores mined)
4. Mine 25 [Ore 3]. (Mission keeps track of number of ores mined)
5. Return to [mission NPC] to collect your reward.

The rewards would be dynamic. The first player to turn in a mission each cycle would get the best reward. Rewards would then decline in desireability. After say turn in number 10 it would only award moderately useful items, like a common loot only item of a value suitable to the effort involved, so the missions could be made repeatable.
It would also be good if the mission NPC could send contest announcements to general chat or something so everyone knows when a new round begins and when all the good rewards have been collected.
I'm not sure how much functionallity would have to be added to the mission system to make this possible, but in the long run, it could be less work than making each event staff driven.
As per previous suggestions, taking the mission could give the player a unique trade goods item, like "Intergalactic Mining Championship Pilot Badge", that would have to be returned at 100% quality when completing the mission to prevent wormhole use.

The number of ores required could be tailored to achieve the desired contest duration, and may also have to be adjusted for each mission in the pool based on the availability of the ore required.
Having the mission keep track of the number of ores mined would also open up for the possibility to let the miners keep their ore. I know I would be reluctant to give up useful ore like Aesirium or Balderium just for the sake of a competition.

[Kamchakk1952]

Thanks Knix, for the post and suggestions, I'll read it over a few more times but sounds like a good way to do the competition also. Have been on a vacation, so am away for a lilttle while, but I am still excited to get something like this going.

Glad there is interest in this, kinda makes it worth doing. :)

 

Waves