[TexMurphy]

I was wondering is the map layout gonna be the same or is it gonna change?

Personally Id like to see it changed.

What Id like to see is a map where the faction sectors are in the center of the map and the unreg sectors are surounding faction space. Hyperial and Aman should be reg sectors in the unreg area around the TRI sectors.

This allows for expansion of the TRI space out into space. It makes adding new uncharted sectors much easier.

What this does require (old map design requires this as well but not as much) is more incentives to go to unreg space. Such incentives could imho be:

*taxfree trading in unreg making it more lucrative to have POS trade stations in unreg.

*forceing pirates, smuglers and other "lowlifes" to home in unreg as they arnt welcome in reg space

*Making hyperial a player faction which is a "lowlifes" faction but has plenty of resources in its reg space. This will create trade routs from hype to tri that have to go through unreg.

*Possbility to regulate reg space through the usage of beacons and missions generated to conqure unreg space. Beacon jammers to turn beacons grey and pirate missions to deregulate space.

I think this would make much more sence from a map perspective then the current regulated around unreg.

Tex

[alphabet]

Originally Posted by TexMurphy

I was wondering is the map layout gonna be the same or is it gonna change?

Personally Id like to see it changed.

What Id like to see is a map where the faction sectors are in the center of the map and the unreg sectors are surounding faction space. Hyperial and Aman should be reg sectors in the unreg area around the TRI sectors.

This allows for expansion of the TRI space out into space. It makes adding new uncharted sectors much easier.

What this does require (old map design requires this as well but not as much) is more incentives to go to unreg space. Such incentives could imho be:

*taxfree trading in unreg making it more lucrative to have POS trade stations in unreg.

*forceing pirates, smuglers and other "lowlifes" to home in unreg as they arnt welcome in reg space

*Making hyperial a player faction which is a "lowlifes" faction but has plenty of resources in its reg space. This will create trade routs from hype to tri that have to go through unreg.

*Possbility to regulate reg space through the usage of beacons and missions generated to conqure unreg space. Beacon jammers to turn beacons grey and pirate missions to deregulate space.

I think this would make much more sence from a map perspective then the current regulated around unreg.

Tex

Great idea. I also would like the TRI space to fluctuating either due to war or conquest. Being able to expand territories would bring a lot of great RP in both strategic and tactical operations of the faction.

I would like to expand a little further on your idea Tex and suggest that Flux space not be on a separate map. It should be a real barrier to unreg/reg space that when crossed it you are litteraly in the bugs back yard. The deeper you go into flux space the more challenging it becomes.

Earth&Beyond had a really neat sector in it that actually showed a boundry between their NPC space and regulated space. It had outposts along the boundry as well. It was pretty damn cool.

[sentinels]

i agree with all said above and would like to add:

- TRI/Factions can claim unreg sectors. this can be based on the number of times a beacon has been claimed by a faction over a period of time. this allows for players to actually influence the game, the RP for their faction as well as how the universe expands.

- that being said, swarms should exist in out-lying sectors and the system should be able to identify which sectors have been defeated most often. at that point, either a new jumpgate is created in the sector to link to a new, uncharted outlying sector. this will allow the game to expand and gives players new challenges.


of course, none of this should be automatic. i would say these new sectors are added only at every patch, or just prior. perhaps every other month or every two months or so?

[Ambrosius]

I prefer Jump's idea with unreg BOTH between faction-controlled area as well as on the outer fringes.

[Wild_Bill]

Absolutely use Jump's idea as a basic diagram and add in the other ideas as well. Core sectors with a LOT of sectors between, and around, them. Outposts on the boundaries with regulated space and unregulated space. Plenty of unreg between factions. Heck, Conflux Space could be in the center between all the faction space so it would put pressure on the factions pretty much equally. Claimable sectors in unreg that can be "brought into the Empire". Unregulated or unexplored sectors should also surround faction space/ sectors, not merely separate them.

What if, when you start, your "map" only shows the known, civilized space of your own faction and no one else's? Perhaps we know there's something else out there from our NPC trader friends, just not necessarily what or where or how far. Haven't we all played RPG's where we had to "physically" go some place before our maps would show it, or "buy maps" to find new territory? As our levels go up, we could buy new maps based on what explorers have discovered. Or perhaps the DSS could provide these maps? All we would see would be Anomalies. Jump through them and see where you end up. Then build a gate to the newly discovered sector. Would that not be a good thing in the new Jumpgate Evolution?

If we are all starting out as lvl 0's, then we can slowly but surely push our way, and our factions flags, out towards other factions territory interacting with the flux, NPC's and other faction's pilots as we do so. Discovering new sectors as we go and reporting our finds back to Core faction Headquarters. This gives a real exploring RP to the game it currently lacks. It gives real purpose to the fighters and flux hunters. Haulers and miners at first can work in the "safer" areas of the Core stations, then as new TRI Stations are established (FM's anyone?), new trade routes can be forged and new territories opened. As to the miners, remember the gold rush into the Black Hills of the American West? And the Sioux and other tribes who killed them?

What if you, or your squad, built a POS on the border. After it became successful, perhaps the government could buy out your interests (turning your POS into a TRI Station with factories, etc) and then you could go further into unreg to establish more bases/POS's? Sort of like on the American frontier. Individuals went first; then groups established forts or communities as the area was "pacified", the finally "civilization" takes over, law and order is established and eventually these frontiers become part of new states. It could work.

Perhaps no POS's at all. Perhaps a FM that would start out with something similar to our current POS that would gradually be built up into TRI faction stations. "Octavia requires you to build a new Station in Outpost Sector for the good of the Empire" and there you go. Looking back now, I think POS's, as much as I love mine, were a mistake. More storage at Faction stations, or better yet, storage at any and all faction stations would be better. Perhaps traders could even purchase or rent storage space on other faction stations? Or not.

So when we start out, there is ONLY faction equipment available. Once trade is established, then the hunt for the new "best" can begin. OR will the NPC 'bots rule that all out? Will we emerge into what will only be slightly different than what we have, but with more traffic... or will we "boldly go where no one has gone before"?

Perhaps the NPC's could have stations in unreg. There could be NPC traders etc from whom other faction equipment could be purchased until folks get enough levels or credits to make trading journeys of their own?

There is SO much GOOD sci-fi out there to base this game on or borrow ideas from. JumpGate Evolution could be a stew formed of many meats, vegetables and spices. Could the factions be entirely different races rather than merely modified versions of humanity? And if it is going to be done, why limit it to only 3 or even 5 playable factions or races? The NPCs could be literally anything!Think of the works of Heinlein, Drake, Weber, Norton, Anderson, McCaffrey and all the others as well and draw from that.

Why just rewarm the tired old bland pottage we've all eaten so much of?

[alphabet]

Wild_Bill, I think I luff you.

This is the kind of out of the box thinking Ive been spewing in so many posts. Forget the way the old Jumpgate did it. Take what worked and move forward.

Great post!

[Radi]

Things I would want to see:

-bunch of new sectors but maybe a couple old one's (not too many though)

-conflux space: did we conquer it, establish beach head or just got pushed out of it?

-Aman: more stations, or maybe more wreckage

-Hyperial: expanding faction trying to regain former glory.

-nebulas, dust fields, asteroid belts, huge wreckage sites.

-neutral stations: smuglers, pirates, mercs, new Alien life forms

-dark sectors (same that we had promised for EP2)

-black hole :P



Map should be different than it is now. Maybe even different position of factions (Oct empire lost most of it's territory to smugglers and pirates, Hyperial raiding quant sectors, sols strugling with conflux etc)

I think more interesting to see is dynamic transformation of sectors. For example pirates raiding station would left it crippled, and after a while factions abandons it and becomes a new center for criminals. Conflux taking over a sector and building hives and extracting resources (they need materials too right and awesome feeling to kill couple helpless flux miners. ).


Main problem with Jumpgate Classic is that we had enough of space in sectors but nothing was there (anything interesting was within 100K from the gates). It was mainly due to limit of travel time and content.


Remember Pulsar roid myth? Something close to that would be awesome.

[ventura]

Maps which are more three dimensional, more interconnected and the ability to jump to multiple sectors from a single gate.

[Raz]

Maps which are more three dimensional

Disagree. My monitor is 2D.

Ever look at EVE's map? Sure, it's pretty, but trying to read it is damned impossible.

If we're going to talk physical changes to the map, let's be careful, guys. Jumpgate may not have had huge amounts of people but the PvP did work well among those that did it. Changing the place drastically also runs the risk of killing the nostalgia. Going back to the old Quantar Core and flying through Omni V and such is what's going to make me so damned ecstatic when this comes out.

If anything, the sectors themselves should be enriched, not the map itself. The map itself was actually pretty well designed.

Also: I don't like putting unreg around all the factions, because it basically means you don't have safety at your back. Repelling invasions was always a prime objective in Jumpgate because you knew where they could come from, and killing them let yout quickly place effective blockades to stop it from happening again.

Jumpgate's map had a nice chokepoint system, I think.

[alphabet]

That was true for EP1 Raz. But POS killed the chokepoints of the factions.

[Raz]

That was true for EP1 Raz. But POS killed the chokepoints of the factions.

Agreed. This needs to be looked at as part of the game's design while being built, I think.

[Viper2c]

I have looked at the EVE map, since I play it currently, and I have no problem reading it.

I could suggest something similar for Jumpgate Evolution, but without the extra 3000 systems in it.


At least until the number of online players necessitates it.


Viper2c
Lampshade
Tazor