Wishlist for NPC Crews, and NPC faction members

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by michaelhartman89, Nov 17, 2017.

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Rapport: Should there be a system added for reputation with NPCs of NPC Factions? If So what?

  1. Decision Making - Good vs Evil

  2. Yes we Like you, No we don't like you

  3. Both

  4. No

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  1. H.P. Strangelove

    H.P. Strangelove Captain

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    Yeah they need to swap up the outfits. They're obviously placeholder though.

    The military NPCs look fine, but the civilians....dockers and business casual looks so out of place. Like something out of the sims.
     
    #101
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  2. IndigoWyrd

    IndigoWyrd Rear Admiral

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    I'm keen on the NPC Decorations we have, and I would certainly like to see them serve some functional purpose.

    Security Guard NPC's stand around with their weapons. It would be great if they could be assigned a patrol route to wander, and engaged hostiles and pests within range. Of course, they'd also need more than 1 HP, and perhaps be able to make use of medical devices when injured.

    Other Crew NPC's could serve as Signal sources. The Tactical Officer, for example, could be tied to retractable turrets, activating them when hostiles are within weapons range, and deactivating them when no hostiles are in range. They could also improve the accuracy of any turret assigned to them.

    Just a few examples.
     
    #102
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  3. Emperor Johnny

    Emperor Johnny Commander

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    It would be really cool if upon each death you had to lose an NPC crew member.

    Also, upon losing your last crew member you would be force spawned back at your home base in PVE land or on your starter world, ect...
     
    #103
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  4. IndigoWyrd

    IndigoWyrd Rear Admiral

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    I’d like to see a bit more done with reputation as well. Got great standings with the Talons? Perhaps have Talon hunting parties turn up around your base to offer food items and chase off pests.

    Got great standing with Polaris? Maybe have a periodic visitor turn up to offer up some resources like ores or intermediate parts.

    Got great standing with the Zirax for some reason? Perhaps the could send a few drones to patrol your airspace.

    Of course with great standings should come demands too. Talons might request medicines or aid pushing Zirax out of their territory.

    Polaris might request that you craft certain parts for them.

    Zirax May ask you to participate in raids, and of course, succeed and survive.

    Failing these tasks should have a negative impact in relations, while success means maintaining your bond.
     
    #104
  5. Bollen

    Bollen Captain

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    Nice....!
     
    #105
  6. Fenra369

    Fenra369 Commander

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    I *really* want more focus to go into AI development. Right now they are just scripted dummies which are unable to think for themselves. The new patch was a good start, but it has a long way to go before we can say the AI here is fully functional. No, I'm not asking for a neural net or super sophisticated stuff, just more behaviors and ability to adapt based on the situation.

    The most basic example: A troop transport should be smart enough to not suicide into a base unless the base has massive burst dps. Flying into the radius of 5 miniguns blindly is not AI, it's just a script. It should be smart enough to disengage if it's outmatched (dropping troops from outside), or at least let drones soak up hits. Me and others playtesting have a very easy time of dealing with these base attacks.
     
    #106
  7. Nerd01

    Nerd01 Commander

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    I really want npc pilots that I can give cheap sv's to escort my crafts. I also want npc soldiers I can deploy against zirax raids. Of course, numbers of the zirax troops in raids have to be pumped up. At least for higher difficulties.
     
    #107
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2019
  8. nikolkasyx

    nikolkasyx Ensign

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    Hello. I really like the project and I would like to share some thoughts. I like to play in a single company, and everything is not bad, but ... After a short time it becomes very boring, despite the fact that even at this stage of development you can play the game more time. Moreover, the promotion of the game in Steam directly depends on the number of players in it.
    I would like the enemy bases to become smaller, but they would become larger. Better let it be on the planet 2-3 bases, but large. What would their capture of the enemy base is really a test. Many identical small bases, bored immediately. And since I wrote about the enemy’s bases, the reward from these enemy bases seems very rich and, as a result, useless. Due to the fact that there are many rewards, there are many enemy bases, it loses its value. Let it be few, but one that cannot be done on the planet. And ore, as a bonus so as not to mine it. And that’s all. Why do I need what I can do myself? I understand that creating smart NPS is difficult and requires a lot of resources. Therefore, quality can be replaced by quantity. Now the attack on my base looks like ... It doesn't look like it. I don’t pay attention to her at all. Why can not you make a lot of drones and a lot of landing? It is not necessary to make them strong, it is necessary to make many of them so that they fulfill quantity, quality.
    And since we are talking about the planet ... Flying into space, this is a very serious test. But not here. Here I can fly into space almost immediately. I believe that flying into space should be a test and achievement. Why should I build a large and thoughtful base?

    If there are large enemy bases, then the attack on them I will need to prepare well. To do this, I will need to build large ships. Large ships will require more time to spend collecting resources and thinking about their construction. More time to build a ship and gather resources will require a smarter base, because otherwise drones will destroy it. I can make up for the lack of resources at friendly NPCs through trade.
    All this does not require the introduction of changes in the game, it is simply a change in the balance of what already exists. But significantly increase the interest!

    And here, the question will be - why should I destroy the enemy? Why build your base and ships? Tolerate constant enemy attacks? Now, this is practically pointless. Because the next stage of development is a flight into space. But in this game, flying into space is a disaster ... Even in Space Engineers it is much more complicated! Is it really impossible to make at least the same hydrogen engines that require large fuel tanks and a balanced design? I understand that such steps require changes in game logic, but I believe that flying into space is not a walk in the park.

    Thank you for attention. No more strength to endure.
     
    #108
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  9. Thundercraft

    Thundercraft Captain

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    Suggestion:

    Now that the Talon faction will, after relations become bad enough, attack a player's base: How about having some Talon ride into battle against you on top of a large beast? Is there any reason why Talon shouldn't be seen riding on the back of, say, a Lizard Mule or Triceratops, aside from the extra coding (and, perhaps, animations)? Wouldn't it be fitting to have them riding a beast, considering their reverence for nature and simpler lifestyle?

    Imagine players or their base defending against a large Talon attack, with them primarily shooting at the large beasts. But even after the large beasts are dropped, the Talon riding them would be able to 'jump off' and continue their assault.
     
    #109
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  10. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

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    Basically, you're asking for Talon=Dino docking, right ?
     
    #110
  11. Thundercraft

    Thundercraft Captain

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    (shrugs) Basically. Though, I wouldn't necessarily limit them to just riding dinosaurs.

    (Are you referring to ARK: Survival? I'm not familiar with ARK. Though, I have played another survival game where players can tame and ride alien animals.)

    BTW: I noticed that "Taming and Breeding Animals" is listed in one of the polls in the OP, which players voted on. I would assume, then, that the devs want to eventually add this. And I'm wondering: If they plan to add that much, are they planning to eventually allow players to ride animals?

    Personally, I wouldn't care much about players riding animals, since it's easy enough to build and ride vehicles. But allowing the Talon to ride animals when they attack players should make them more formidable. Also, IMO, that would make the Talon much cooler.
     
    #111
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  12. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

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    Who knows... it could be easier to ride than the motorbike !

    I was more referring to the docking problems with SV=HV...
     
    #112
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  13. piddlefoot

    piddlefoot Rear Admiral

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    At this stage, it would be nice to see AI with smarts like in Farcry 5 for military tactics.
    To fix the base raid problems of Zirax just rushing a base like zombies that ignoring incoming fire.
     
    #113
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  14. DuLux

    DuLux Captain

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    Wow NICE

    Well they don't need AI at all for that. Would be cheaper to implement dumb running away! And surely do-able.
     
    #114
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  15. Bollen

    Bollen Captain

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    Whoa!!! Can you imagine how incredible this game would be if it had those suggestions??? It would add the whole "empire building" that this game is so suited to... +1, +1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1,+1!
     
    #115
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  16. michaelhartman89

    michaelhartman89 Rear Admiral

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    I know man, it would surpass X4, Avorion Stellaris, Space Engineers, Dual universe and all the other planned or current games!!!
     
    #116
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2020
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  17. michaelhartman89

    michaelhartman89 Rear Admiral

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    Just think how awesome it would be to raid each other's vessels on servers and interrupt trade routes, destroy their fleets. Not to mention full scale fleet battles against other players. Instead of a 1v1, it could possibly be up to 5v5(with only 2 players). Sure server owners could set limits on player owned fleets if they have a lot of players, but in single player the sky is the limit and you could just keep pumping them out and owning more territory while pushing the local factions out!!!
     
    #117
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  18. michaelhartman89

    michaelhartman89 Rear Admiral

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    Surprise Everyone!!
    I have an idea Finally:D


    NPC Fleets:

    These are comprised of npc companions you employ. Each ship requires a minimum of 2 crew members to operate and if needed, defend itself.

    Simply assign the minimum amount of crew and select a destination. The player will be able to check the status of these vessels via a console on their bridge in a top down view of the playfield. NPC ships would have a simple registry on the console where they can be given individual orders easily or grouped together, according to the player's needs. This system would function like an RTS with an overhead view of the ship(s) and hovering over the icon would reflect the vessels current orders.

    All player controlled fleets are able to receive basic commands from the command ship:



      • Attack
      • Defend
      • Patrol
      • Hold Area

    Civilian:

    They will avoid enemy patrols automatically and will have specific orders set by the player to retreat if they encounter danger. These vessels have minimal defenses

    Military:

    A combat unit which can be an escort or an active Attacking or Defensive Force. Military units can be used to patrol the players sector or be commanded in real-time combat alongside the Command Ship (Player) in fleet configuration to fight alongside the command ship.

    Civilian Class and required crew:




      • Mining Vessel (2-3)
      • Freighter (3-4)
    Military Classes and required crew:



      • Patrol Vessel (2-4)
      • Frigate (5-10)
      • Battle Cruiser (10+)
    Crew classes:



      • Captain: Needed to command 4 or more crewmembers
      • Pilot: Required for all vessels
      • Weapons Officer: Required for 6+ Turret gunners
      • Turret gunner: Required for each manned turret
      • Engineer: Needed to operate warp drive
      • Technician: Needed to operate Mining laser. Are able to slowly repair to blueprint if damaged.
    * Each NPC Class contributes to the overall effectiveness of the vessel. Each NPC has a skill level that will increase as they gain levels.

    Vessel Descriptions:


    Mining Vessel:
    Once the Mining Vessel is sent to the destination, they will collect 3 selected resources at the rate of a T2 Auto miner.

    Freighter:

    Unit may travel to a set point between 2 or more trade stations in real-time trading resources.
    From there they can click to assign new coordinates and control which resources they want the freighter to collect.

    Patrol Vessel:

    This Vessel is commonly used as an escort vessel. Local vessel which does not have a warp drive.

    Frigate:

    Medium range Military Vessel small enough to not require a Weapons Officer. Used for Military Excursions, Escorts and Support ships in Fleets.

    Battle Cruiser:
    Top of the line when it comes to defense or attack. These vessels are manned by all classes of crew members. A Battle Cruiser is required to form a defense fleet of more than 3 ships. It serves as the flagship of the fleet if the Command Ship is not present.

    https://empyriononline.com/threads/npc-fleet-control.95088/
     
    #118
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2020
  19. Israel

    Israel Commander

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    I approve this message. :)

    Great ideas Micheal! :cool:
     
    #119
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  20. michaelhartman89

    michaelhartman89 Rear Admiral

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    Great to hear that, I have been trying to figure out a way the companions would be useful. Ofcourse I would love for them to travel alongside me in combat like kotor, but if that's to difficult to code, surely the devs could add something like this with existing mechanics.
     
    #120
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