Settlement Mission NPC's, all factions
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2018 5:59 am
Hello,
This ties into Elkhorn's post here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2811
This is a bit long, and I don't want to derail his thread.
So, I think the settlement NPC’s should be varied, and I would say represent all the factions, though that may take some time.
As stated, I think there are two important points. First, NPC’s my be faction-specific bestowers of quests, but universal receivers. If I have a Wreck Salvage Association NPC at Wall of Scrolls, and Dragon has a Wesbec NPC at Dragons Weyr, my NPC could give quests to her settlement and vice-versa.
Second, since it’s all player settlements, both the originator and target should get a small reward and a few points of faction standing.
And what kind of quests do NPC’s give? I think they should be varied. However, until it is fleshed out, which can come in stages, the cargo haulage would be a good default until faction specific style quests are available. The flavor text would be easy to alter and would be realistic, “[The Federation of Mining | Wesbec | CAMP | Union Passenger Transport] has business with clients in these settlements, and needs these [core samples | priority packages | sensitive assemblages | over sized luggage shipments] delivered with haste and care.”
For the more advanced ideas, the goal is to always require visiting the target settlement to finish the meeting.
For rewards, credits/XP/standing is normal, but loot crates would also be a good random addition.
== Haulage Based ==
Ashar / Wesbec / Pirate: These would be your standard cargo hauling missions. The missions could be timed. Pirate missions would definitely make sense being timed.
Valoren Freight Division: These work like the standard cargo hauling missions, but require alien cargo holds. This NPC is only available for Expanse settlements, or level 7 settlements in Human space. The target could be anywhere.
== Passenger ==
Union: This could be a challenge. The only way I could see to keep this universal, as not all settlements have Union offices is to generate transient, single-transport passengers that disappear on delivery. To have a Union NPC, your settlement must have a Union Passenger Office, but the NPC has a tourism attraction value of +25.
== Courier based ==
Courier: As per standard Courier missions. You have to acquire 50-200 units of a resource and take it to a particular settlement. You resolve the mission docked at the target settlement.
CAMP: As per standard CAMP missions. You build a few things and take them to the target settlement.
ORSA: These function as Courier missions. However, 80% of the requests are specifically for regional resources, such as Iron Ore (Messor), Ore (Toyila), or Water (Beltaine). Ten percent of the requests are for advanced ores (Tessarine Gas, Byzilliam Ore), and 10% are for dark matter ores (nebula resources). The requests for advanced and dark ores are for a smaller amount, but proportionally pay higher.
Pennyworth: Will only contract with level 5+ settlements. As Courier, but only requests Staffium resources. The target could be any settlement.
Naristro / Alien: These function as courier missions. They specifically request regional resources, manufactured resources, and salvage resources, and request larger amounts than normal courier missions. Only available for Expanse settlements or level 7 settlements. The target could be anywhere.
- Alternative: While certain Naristro collected desired goods within Expanse space, the player settlement NPC’s handle requests by “aliens” (humans) for Naristro ores and goods in an attempt to generate economic demand. These specifically target (80%) Expanse mined or extracted ores, or (20%) alien “loot” goods.
== Combat based ==
Gal Fed Combat Office: These are combat missions. You have to target X number of a specific model of ships at a target planet, then go to the target settlement to resolve the mission. The to should be in the same galaxy (both in Sphere, both in Anvil, etc.).
VP Combat Office: These are combat missions. You have to target X number of a specific model of ships at a target planet, then go to the target settlement to resolve the mission. The to should be in the same galaxy (both in Sphere, both in Anvil, etc.). However, if you don’t have at least five billion points of standing in VP, they taunt you in French and keep the doors locked, because we all know VP shops that actually sell things are really just an urban legend.
Alliance Combat Office: And we roll that grenade into the room! Yay!!! Alliance missions are based on intelligence gathering. These combat missions are about targeting a specific hostile (red) faction at a planet. Any ships of the appropriate affiliation can drop the mission loot. Targets of the correct affiliation have a chance of dropping important log information, which is conveniently stored in a mission crate shaped packaged. It follows the special loot drop mechanic for NPC quests. When you find enough log information (mission crates), you resolve the mission at the target settlement.
Con Fed Combat Office: This is the pirate version of the Alliance mission. Con Fed missions are based on gathering special objects of value from friendly (green) ships of a specific faction at a planet. The correct targets have a chance of dropping the bounty items (mission crates), and when you have enough you resolve the mission at the target settlement. As always, the mission planet and target settlement should be in the same galaxy. (Can we call the crates “booty boxes”?)
== Found mission item models ==
Federation of Mining: This is based on the standard FOM “rare sample” mission. However, to complete, the ores are not jettisoned into space, but must be ferried to the target settlement. The target asteroid field and settlement should be in the same Galaxy.
Explorers League: This is a “mission crate” mechanic with the crates found exploring derelicts. The mission crates can be tied to a target location (“found only in Ethan” or “found only orbiting Grivoc”), but then must be taken to the target settlement.
Wreck Salvage Association: This would be a found mission crate during salvaging, but is tricky as wrecks are not “naturally occurring”. The easiest way to handle this would be various governments, combat groups, and safety organizations are looking for “flight telemetry and wreckage logs” (conveniently stored in mission crates), and let the player find them where every they find them, and then take the logs to the target settlement.
== no real fit ==
Astro Nav is tied to Expanse exploration, so probably no NPC.
Genesis could potentially be like CAMP, and give standing and a few Genesis points. I’m not sure if this would be worthwhile.
A.I. War Activist may also not be appropriate, but could potentially act as a Courier quests targeting AI resources.
And the point?
It would give variety in quests. Players who like to do things besides cargo hauls could find settlement NPC’s they like, and hit those. If the target settlement also gets a cut of the goods, then everyone with a settlement and any mission NPC could start to get more income and random bits of faction standing.
Varying the missions would help prevent the Settlement NPC from simply replacing normal haulage.
Thank you for your time.
This ties into Elkhorn's post here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2811
This is a bit long, and I don't want to derail his thread.
So, I think the settlement NPC’s should be varied, and I would say represent all the factions, though that may take some time.
As stated, I think there are two important points. First, NPC’s my be faction-specific bestowers of quests, but universal receivers. If I have a Wreck Salvage Association NPC at Wall of Scrolls, and Dragon has a Wesbec NPC at Dragons Weyr, my NPC could give quests to her settlement and vice-versa.
Second, since it’s all player settlements, both the originator and target should get a small reward and a few points of faction standing.
And what kind of quests do NPC’s give? I think they should be varied. However, until it is fleshed out, which can come in stages, the cargo haulage would be a good default until faction specific style quests are available. The flavor text would be easy to alter and would be realistic, “[The Federation of Mining | Wesbec | CAMP | Union Passenger Transport] has business with clients in these settlements, and needs these [core samples | priority packages | sensitive assemblages | over sized luggage shipments] delivered with haste and care.”
For the more advanced ideas, the goal is to always require visiting the target settlement to finish the meeting.
For rewards, credits/XP/standing is normal, but loot crates would also be a good random addition.
== Haulage Based ==
Ashar / Wesbec / Pirate: These would be your standard cargo hauling missions. The missions could be timed. Pirate missions would definitely make sense being timed.
Valoren Freight Division: These work like the standard cargo hauling missions, but require alien cargo holds. This NPC is only available for Expanse settlements, or level 7 settlements in Human space. The target could be anywhere.
== Passenger ==
Union: This could be a challenge. The only way I could see to keep this universal, as not all settlements have Union offices is to generate transient, single-transport passengers that disappear on delivery. To have a Union NPC, your settlement must have a Union Passenger Office, but the NPC has a tourism attraction value of +25.
== Courier based ==
Courier: As per standard Courier missions. You have to acquire 50-200 units of a resource and take it to a particular settlement. You resolve the mission docked at the target settlement.
CAMP: As per standard CAMP missions. You build a few things and take them to the target settlement.
ORSA: These function as Courier missions. However, 80% of the requests are specifically for regional resources, such as Iron Ore (Messor), Ore (Toyila), or Water (Beltaine). Ten percent of the requests are for advanced ores (Tessarine Gas, Byzilliam Ore), and 10% are for dark matter ores (nebula resources). The requests for advanced and dark ores are for a smaller amount, but proportionally pay higher.
Pennyworth: Will only contract with level 5+ settlements. As Courier, but only requests Staffium resources. The target could be any settlement.
Naristro / Alien: These function as courier missions. They specifically request regional resources, manufactured resources, and salvage resources, and request larger amounts than normal courier missions. Only available for Expanse settlements or level 7 settlements. The target could be anywhere.
- Alternative: While certain Naristro collected desired goods within Expanse space, the player settlement NPC’s handle requests by “aliens” (humans) for Naristro ores and goods in an attempt to generate economic demand. These specifically target (80%) Expanse mined or extracted ores, or (20%) alien “loot” goods.
== Combat based ==
Gal Fed Combat Office: These are combat missions. You have to target X number of a specific model of ships at a target planet, then go to the target settlement to resolve the mission. The to should be in the same galaxy (both in Sphere, both in Anvil, etc.).
VP Combat Office: These are combat missions. You have to target X number of a specific model of ships at a target planet, then go to the target settlement to resolve the mission. The to should be in the same galaxy (both in Sphere, both in Anvil, etc.). However, if you don’t have at least five billion points of standing in VP, they taunt you in French and keep the doors locked, because we all know VP shops that actually sell things are really just an urban legend.
Alliance Combat Office: And we roll that grenade into the room! Yay!!! Alliance missions are based on intelligence gathering. These combat missions are about targeting a specific hostile (red) faction at a planet. Any ships of the appropriate affiliation can drop the mission loot. Targets of the correct affiliation have a chance of dropping important log information, which is conveniently stored in a mission crate shaped packaged. It follows the special loot drop mechanic for NPC quests. When you find enough log information (mission crates), you resolve the mission at the target settlement.
Con Fed Combat Office: This is the pirate version of the Alliance mission. Con Fed missions are based on gathering special objects of value from friendly (green) ships of a specific faction at a planet. The correct targets have a chance of dropping the bounty items (mission crates), and when you have enough you resolve the mission at the target settlement. As always, the mission planet and target settlement should be in the same galaxy. (Can we call the crates “booty boxes”?)
== Found mission item models ==
Federation of Mining: This is based on the standard FOM “rare sample” mission. However, to complete, the ores are not jettisoned into space, but must be ferried to the target settlement. The target asteroid field and settlement should be in the same Galaxy.
Explorers League: This is a “mission crate” mechanic with the crates found exploring derelicts. The mission crates can be tied to a target location (“found only in Ethan” or “found only orbiting Grivoc”), but then must be taken to the target settlement.
Wreck Salvage Association: This would be a found mission crate during salvaging, but is tricky as wrecks are not “naturally occurring”. The easiest way to handle this would be various governments, combat groups, and safety organizations are looking for “flight telemetry and wreckage logs” (conveniently stored in mission crates), and let the player find them where every they find them, and then take the logs to the target settlement.
== no real fit ==
Astro Nav is tied to Expanse exploration, so probably no NPC.
Genesis could potentially be like CAMP, and give standing and a few Genesis points. I’m not sure if this would be worthwhile.
A.I. War Activist may also not be appropriate, but could potentially act as a Courier quests targeting AI resources.
And the point?
It would give variety in quests. Players who like to do things besides cargo hauls could find settlement NPC’s they like, and hit those. If the target settlement also gets a cut of the goods, then everyone with a settlement and any mission NPC could start to get more income and random bits of faction standing.
Varying the missions would help prevent the Settlement NPC from simply replacing normal haulage.
Thank you for your time.