Dynamic Planets, Invasions, and Factions

[rhoenix]

As my third followup today to the whining I posted in the General Discussion forum a few days ago, in this post I'll focus on making Planetary maps more interesting.

1. Faction Motivation:

To begin with, the major factions affecting a given planet have to be identified.  A good template, I think, is to have one Tenno-friendly faction, and at least one enemy faction.  Both of them will try to accomplish goals against neutral territory and against one another, reset weekly. 

For example, the friendly faction can be attempting to free prisoners, steal supplies, build up defenses, build up trade with other planetary factions (see below), or disrupt enemy plans in some way. 

For an enemy faction, it could be attempting to recapture territory, create a troop processing center (which will then increase enemy spawns across the planet), assault friendly holdings, create a resupply depot (which will then increase ship traffic, and extend their reach), or perform research (which can then be stolen or disrupted, or both).

Each goal they embark on will have daily successive stages to it (one per day through the week), which on their own (e.g. without Tenno intervention) has a percentage chance of success.  Tenno choosing to intervene, of course, changes the formula just as drastically as one would expect.  An enemy faction can progress in their goal as long as they don't receive a total of three failures during the week - friendly factions have a max of four failures before it ends, being plucky underdogs and all.

Success of a given goal can, and should, alter happenings on that planet from then on, until an event comes up to have that item destroyed.  This can mean, for instance, more enemy troops on all missions on that planet, if they managed to build a troop processing center.  It can mean more ships arriving to drop off enemy troops and shoot at you, if they got a resupply base built.  On the other side of the coin, friendly factions can create new items of research, lower enemy level on planetary mission nodes, reduce Eximus spawns, establish trade routes with other friendly factions (which the Tenno get a small cut of, as long as they help defend the supply convoys too), and so on.

 

2. Turning Motivation into Dirty Deeds Done Expensively:

As for the number of actual mission nodes on a planet, the various mission types currently seen now will be used as a pool to draw from for dynamic levels, related to the goals of given factions.  As this implies, the mission nodes will therefore change from week to week, as certain places receive more attention, and others less.  Each mission will have a specific goal that relates to the larger goals by one of the factions present.  As an example, the current mission may be a Spy mission, where a friendly faction wants data lifted from an enemy installation.  It may be a Sabotage mission, where those Grineer drills we destroy on Mercury now actually prevent the Grineer from proceeding.

 

3. Mission deployment options:

Now, another fun wrinkle.  If a player has an Archwing, Railjack, or Necromech, allow the player to deploy to the mission via one of those insertion methods instead of the usual Orbiter.  Choosing one of the methods may not always be available even if you have them unlocked (the base internals may not have enough room for a Necromech, or the base is planetside, preventing direct Railjack insertion), but presuming they are, it will add a first stage to the mission according to the insertion type.

For example, if a player chooses to deploy to a mission via Archwing, then a sky-based or space-based mission will be first, with the goal of accomplishing something for the next stage of the actual mission.  This can likely be destroying satellite coverage of the area, scrambling enemy comms, or even blowing up the space station above the mission area.

 

4. Longer-term Effects:

As hinted at above, successful enemy faction goals can result in higher level troops in planetary mission areas, more Eximus units, more ships showing up, and the like. 

It can also result in another enemy faction incurring on another's territory (like the Corpus, Grineer, and Infested kind of do now), which may or may not interest the friendly factions.  Vox Solaris may not complain overmuch about Grineer messing up Corpus plans, but one can be sure they'd be very very concerned if the Infested came calling, or if Eidolons showed up.

For friendly factions however, this also opens up the chance of joint research with another faction, which can lead to very interesting weapon variants available for the Tenno, new Gear items, or blueprints for rare items.  The research must then be invested in to reach completion, but once finished the Tenno also reap the rewards of investing time & resources into friendly factions.  This research can also take the form of alternates of existing Nightmare or Corrupted mods, or the rare event mods people like (e.g. the Hunter mods set, which includes Hunter Munitions).

However, this also requires materiel shipment back and forth between the colonies, which then results (usually) in the shipment convoy being attacked while its launching, en route, or when its landing.  There is a chance of the faction fighting off this attack successfully on their own, but of course Tennoy deploying via Railjacks & Archwings will help turn the tide.  The friendly faction will also be happier with you if you step in to defend their shipments.

 

5. Conclusion.  This is meant to create the effects of more dynamic happenings within the Origin System (and a similar template can be followed for Tau or other solar systems later on, as well). The intent was to help the planetary maps feel more like the various factions are constantly doing things on their own, and helping the system feel more vibrant and alive.  Please let me know your thoughts.

6. Tie-in: This is also meant to tie into my Giant Monsters idea, as them being around would definitely be reason for factions to shore up defenses, and the Charging the Keep idea, for an example of a Dungeon found in enemy faction territory.

 

 

[rhoenix]

As a summary, this is my idea of how to add more nuance and character to each of the factions by expanding on the idea of Invasions, as well as allowing for some in-game storytelling.  Getting to see how each of the factions acts on what they want and believe goes a long way toward telling more about them as people.

The Syndicates are an example of different factions acting in the solar system, but beyond hunting for medallions not much is shown about what they want, or what they're working toward.  Same with the planetary factions, for that matter.

Being able to see this from enemy factions would help bring to life their motivations, and the means by which they try to achieve them.

[rhoenix]

To expand on this, I'll use Venus as an example.  When showing mission completion success rates, this is if a Tenno does not intervene - if they do not, then the mission will be attempted in the background, with success or failure showing on the next daily refresh, along with new options.  If the Tenno does intervene and take the mission, they will be asked to complete additional missions to resolve the mission chain.

Successful missions gain a new resource named Supply, which is used as a threshold for certain missions to trigger.  Note that there are missions to steal or destroy Supply available to more than just friendly factions, though this cannot reduce a given faction below gained Faction levels.  Faction levels are a rough way to approximate how much a given faction has progressed in its goals.

Success or failure on a mission change will create a permanent change for levels on that planet, until altered further (thank you, Varth Dader)

FACTION: VOX SOLARIS

By default, Vox Solaris has a 35% of succeeding on a given mission.  They seek to gain independence first and foremost, and whether or not they succeed in this they constantly attempt to expand operations, and undermine Corpus business.

Long Term Goal#1:  Gain Independence

Requires 50 Supply to trigger.

1. Harden Defenses:

Creates one three-stage bounty mission per day until the end of the week.  At least two of the missions of a given chain must be successful for that day's mission to be considered a success, requires two successful mission chains for that week to progress.

2. Unite the Factions:

Creates one three-stage bounty mission per day until the end of the week, as you help various folk "settle their differences." At least two of the missions of a given chain must be successful for that day's mission to be considered a success, requires two successful mission chains for that week to progress.

3. Declare Independence (requires 100 total Supply)

If successful, will makes Fortuna an independent city, able to gain rep with other friendly Factions (such as the Entrati on Deimos). Creates one three-stage bounty mission per day until the end of the week.  At least two of the missions of a given chain must be successful for that day's mission to be considered a success, requires two successful mission chains for that week to progress.

 

Long Term Goal#2: Expand Intelligence Operations

1. Explore Surveillance Options (Satellite Network, Corpus Moles, Expand Spy Network, Bug Facilities, Blackmail Officers)

One of these will be attempted per day; must succeed on two of the five to progress.  If a Tenno chooses one of the mission options, it will then be considered a success for the event chain, and the Tenno will be asked to perform another if there isn't already another success. 

Satellite Network would spawn a variation of a Mobile Defense mission to prepare and launch each rocket carrying the satellite into orbit, Corpus Moles would spawn a Survival mission lasting at least 10 minutes (as the Tenno make a giant distraction while some Corpus personnel are "replaced"), Expand Spy Network would spawn a Sabotage mission to create a situation in which Vox Solaris personnel can implant themselves, Bug Facilities would spawn a Spy mission, and Blackmail Officers would spawn an Exterminate mission where the Tenno reduce some Corpus overhead.

 

2. Expand Corpus Surveillance Network

Requires two of the five of #1 to be successful to progress to this stage.  Each of these will be three mission chains with a different effect if successful.

2a. Support Ye Sneaky Muckers:  Hardens and expands spy network.  If successful, will increase base mission chance success by +5%.

2b. Infiltrate Corpus Networks: Implants worms and other bugs in Corpus networks.  If successful, will increase base mission chance by +5%.

2c. Upgrade the Bugs: Upgrades the bugs used in Corpus facilities to gather intel.  If successful, will lower Corpus mission success chance by -5%

2d. Shakedown Officers: Puts pressure on blackmailed Corpus officers.  If successful, will lower Corpus mission success chance by 5%.

 

 

After a given Long Term Goal is complete, it will then be replaced by another one.  Other potential ones for Vox Solaris, presuming they gain independence, would be to establish treaties with other factions (research and trade both), and missions to expand their settlement in various ways, some of which can benefit the Tenno - especially if they take part.  This is also another opportunity for rep to come into play, as it can affect a given faction's rewards when you help them with missions.

Corpus faction missions, by contrast, will attempt to sabotage Vox Solaris efforts in various ways.  If their events are successful, they'd be able to increase base enemy level on missions in Venus, increase the amount of Eximus units spawning per mission, and even destroy Vox Solaris held Supply.

Anyway - this was meant as a quick outline of how certain goals for a given faction can spawn mission chains.  They are meant to be self-spawning, and self-accounting for the factions, as the missions will be attempted whether or not the Tenno participate.