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IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0020713AI War 2Gameplay IdeaFeb 22, 2022 9:37 pm
ReporterAvenger1649 Assigned ToChris_McElligottPark  
Status closedResolutionno change required 
Product Version0.805 Mercs, Hacks, and, Drones, Oh My 
Summary0020713: Permanent Mercs
DescriptionSince almost all mercenary fleets inevitably leave after a set time period (usually 10 minutes) and are almost always capped at Mark II, I think it limits their use, especially in the late game where the AI forces are at tech level IV or V and can just steamroll them easily.

I'd like to suggest a "permanent" mercenary group, that cost more Metal and Hacking Points (say 5x more Metal and 20x more Hacking Points) but will have no time limit and will rebuild/repopulate their fleet if parts of it are destroyed in engagements with AI forces or enemy Minor Factions.

I'm not sure how that would take place exactly, but I would suggest taking advantage of existing game options;

1.) Have the Mercenaries build an Outpost (like the Marauders use) or Space Dock with accompanying turrets on the planet they are hired on that will produce fleet ships for them.
2.) The Mercs use a Mobile Space Dock and take it with them under protection from their own Mercenary Flagship (since some groups do have those)
3.) The Mercs use the "Gryn" constructor Ark instead as the centrepiece of their fleet (obviously it would be capped at Mark I or II, with possible stat reductions for balancing purposes. Obviously this might require an income of some sort to supply this reconstruction of their fleet but I think something can be worked out. Perhaps the same kind of passive Metal income/Metal storage that the Macrophage Teliums get?
TagsNo tags attached.

Activities

ZeusAlmighty

Oct 30, 2018 1:20 pm

manager   ~0050382

Nice thing about mercenaries is they can have their own summon conditions, so it would be very doable to add mercenaries that act more like permanent recruits.

Keep in mind that mercenaries scale with AIP, so at the late game you can get a TON of ships from a mercenary that in the early game was pretty meh. This actually makes mercenaries extremely powerful when pushing the AI Homeworld, since by then you will have accumulated the most AIP at this point.

BadgerBadger

Oct 30, 2018 2:53 pm

manager   ~0050383

Friendly Marauders are already kinda like this

RocketAssistedPuffin

Oct 30, 2018 3:04 pm

reporter   ~0050384

I was thinking that. They sorta have that style in general.

Avenger1649, you could make some permanent mercenary groups, using the existing ones as a source of how-to and the like, and those could go into the game proper if you like? That's how some of them originally got in, before I was a volunteer.

There are a lot of units that don't currently show up in any mercenaries. You can also make slight variants of existing units (like a Super Pulsar Tank), just nothing that'd require new models/icons just yet, though. If you have ideas in general I can probably whip them up quickly, when I feel like it. I might actually make a Pulsar Tank mercenary group...that one'd probably get use!

ZeusAlmighty

Oct 30, 2018 4:12 pm

manager   ~0050385

A tank mercenary group sounds great

Avenger1649

Oct 31, 2018 4:40 am

reporter   ~0050394

At this point, friendly marauders are kind of unpredictable, and they stack far too much on friendly worlds. They DO attack AI worlds, but in my experience they take way too long to stack up, and they can get pretty much unstoppable and it can sort of ruin a game.

Don't get me wrong, I like friendly Marauders as much as the next player, but their willingness to destroy AI vital infrastructure really drives the AIP through the roof, which gets under my skin a bit. In the original Fleet Command, barring a few exceptions like Risk Analysers and Spire Civilian Leaders, you were fully in control of AIP and could esentially choose how much you gained by being selective in the planets you took over.

Plus, I've personally not found the level scaling to be that great, even summoning mercenaries at the endgame makes them not as powerful as the AI fleets, they'll usually get wiped anyway regardless of level scaling.

I just wanted players to have another option for allies, not everyone will enable Marauders as their allies all the time. Plus, it gives them more reason to hack the Mercenary beacons, right now it seems like a bit of a waste of time.

Chris_McElligottPark

Feb 22, 2022 9:37 pm

administrator   ~0064736

Lots of changes to outguard in the last four years, and they're a lot more useful now. Thanks!

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Oct 30, 2018 12:59 pm Avenger1649 New Issue
Oct 30, 2018 1:20 pm ZeusAlmighty Note Added: 0050382
Oct 30, 2018 2:53 pm BadgerBadger Note Added: 0050383
Oct 30, 2018 3:04 pm RocketAssistedPuffin Note Added: 0050384
Oct 30, 2018 4:12 pm ZeusAlmighty Note Added: 0050385
Oct 31, 2018 4:40 am Avenger1649 Note Added: 0050394
Feb 22, 2022 9:37 pm Chris_McElligottPark Assigned To => Chris_McElligottPark
Feb 22, 2022 9:37 pm Chris_McElligottPark Status new => closed
Feb 22, 2022 9:37 pm Chris_McElligottPark Resolution open => no change required
Feb 22, 2022 9:37 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0064736