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One thing I'd like: NPC Escorts/Wingmen
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One thing that always underwhelmed me regarding typical missions is that the battles are never that large. It's usually you vs. 1-3 bad guys. Meanwhile I more enjoy DSE's and Fleet Actions, though these days they're both pretty well empty of allies.
So what I'd really like to see introduced as a mechanic and made available in UGC is the capacity to have NPC ships designated as "escorts", who join up with your ship and basically follow you around and engage in battle with you.
They might be named ships that, once destroyed, are gone, or generic "Federation Cruiser"-like ships that respawn when destroyed and rejoin you.
A mechanic such as this would allow single-player missions to involve much larger confrontations and, if you lose your ally ships, it might become more and more difficult to complete the mission--creating an inherent "fail" condition.
Basic "attack this target"-sort of commands might even make an admiral an perform the duties of an admiral....
This might be feasible on land as well, in the form of additional NPC characters that tag along, similar to how Thomas Riker's son does.
So what I'd really like to see introduced as a mechanic and made available in UGC is the capacity to have NPC ships designated as "escorts", who join up with your ship and basically follow you around and engage in battle with you.
They might be named ships that, once destroyed, are gone, or generic "Federation Cruiser"-like ships that respawn when destroyed and rejoin you.
A mechanic such as this would allow single-player missions to involve much larger confrontations and, if you lose your ally ships, it might become more and more difficult to complete the mission--creating an inherent "fail" condition.
Basic "attack this target"-sort of commands might even make an admiral an perform the duties of an admiral....
This might be feasible on land as well, in the form of additional NPC characters that tag along, similar to how Thomas Riker's son does.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Yep. My favorite official missions are those in which you have allies, even if they're just sitting there or following a scripted course. And I suspect we'll be able to duplicate that in UGC missions eventually, if not at release of the tools.
But I want to take it a notch higher.
I want to be able to have a huge battle taking place in space as a backdrop for a mission.
For instance, during a large Federation-Klingon battle you're tasked to scan outlying asteroids to check for signs of a Klingon communication relay being used by the Klingon fleet. And for safety sake you get to have two other Federation ships fly escort, to increase your chance of survival if you're attacked.
The ships making up the large battle are semi-scripted, made to generally go towards the heart of the enemy to ensure destruction, then to be replaced by other ships as they're destroyed. This avoids one side actually winning while you're conducting your mission, but keeps the battle perpetually going. And if you get to close you're pretty much dead.
The ships that escort you are either lost when they explode, or can likewise be replaced. Personally I think they shouldn't be replaced, making their survival important to the success of your mission.
Eventually you find the relay and destroy it, triggering a change to the scripting; now the Klingon fleet doesn't receive any reinforcements. Eventually they're all destroyed, and the mission is successful.
An epic battle with you coming out the hero by circumventing Klingon reinforcements.
That there is a mission I would love to make, and one I'd be very inclined to play repeatedly.
Good point, I'd forgotten about that ship. I don't think it had full impulse, though, did it? I seem to recall it falling pretty far behind... but then I didn't play it many times.