Suggestion For The Intel Event

[Llyssa]

What would make the most sense for the intel event is if it was done as a series of "alert" style missions...

 

An "alert" of sorts would show up, and be the first branch. As the intel was gathered at that point, it would unlock a second alert, which would have intel for a third, and so forth... if we get to the end of the chain of unlocked missions, we discover the location.

 

Each alert would remain, so players could backtrack, and scoring for the event would be trickle down--the first alert would be unlocked by default, and at 100%, so you get 10 points per mission.

 

Each successive alert would be unlocked once 10% of the points for it were gotten--so once alert #1 is 10% complete, that's when alert #2 shows up.

 

However, because of the trickling effect, alert #2 would only give 1 point for completion. Each additional 10% completion scored on alert #1 would increase the amount of points earned on a completion of alert #2, up to 10 points at 100% completion.

 

Each alert would have the same rules in the chain, so we'd have the options to press forward, or to boost the signal along the line.

 

Further, to keep the event from "dying" like the fomorian did(nothing left to do with 12 hours left), have decay--maybe 1% per hour. So, if nobody is doing alert #1 anymore, the points earned on alert #2 drop to 9 after 1 hour, and 8 after 10 hours, and so forth. Not enough to destroy the previous efforts, but enough to make sure that there's a reason to go back to fill in previous chunks of the chain, and still valid missions to play until the very end.

 

The final link in the chain(the actual new location unlock) should require 100%, which will be VERY hard unless we keep most of the chain powered.

 

Then, to be interesting, and not screw anyone over, the event *can* be failed if the data leak is closed off before we finish, BUT, it can come up again in the future, with the caveat that there will be more links in the chain--although all of the previously unlocked ones will be available again, but at their (slowed) decayed completion rate.

 

This way, even if it becomes obvioius that we're going to fail, there's still incentive to fight up to the very last second--keeping the chain available and semi-powered for next time.

 

Technically speaking, this means that we *ultimately* "can't fail", but it also means that if we botch it a few times, it will be increasingly unlikely(as the chain grows longer and longer) to ever possibly complete.

 

A secondary idea, correlating to this, would be an weekend event(supposing that we do fail), where the only thing we're fighting for is the ability to strengthen or shorten the chain(maybe find a shortcut between link 8 and link 13 or something)... so that we would suffer a punishment(that's kind of a lame weekend event reward--"next time we re-do the thing we botched, it will be easier than it should be"), but it would also allows us to redeem ourselves.

 

An added side thought would be an alert link unlocking 2 missions--the next one in the chain, and one that has a signal booster as a reward. The signal booster would only be max power on the link that unlocked with it, although it could be used for a nerfed buff on the other links as well. That way, groups could get signal boosters to increase the value of their efforts, even if the chain is relatively weak, and allowing us to "checkpoint" in a way, possibly keeping a middle link artificially high, despite decay of the previous links behind it.

 

I'm not sure how that measures up against what you guys had planned, but it would definitely get more coordinating efforts and cooperation efforts going on, and make even the newest newbies valid in their efforts--at the very least, they could work on the first few links.

[DanPaul7]

Assuming I didn't get lost somewhere amid all the talk of chains, links and alerts, it sounds good.

[Llyssa]

For clarity:

Let's say it's a chain of 5 missions:

A, B, C, D, E.

Each has a goal of 10 million points.

"A" shows up at xini at the start of the event.

It's an easy mission, and when we beat it, we get 10 points per player(so having a full team is best!)

Once we score 1 million points on "A", "B"(a slightly harder mission) shows up at Calista.

Since A has 1 million points out of 10 million, every time we beat B, we get 1 point per person.

To unlock C, we need to get 1 million points on B.

For every 1 million points we have on A, we get an extra point when beating B.

After an hour, "enemy hackers" fix flaws we created in the system, so our 1 million points on A drops to 990k. So we need to get back up to 1 million to unlock B again.

We get A up to 3 million, so now, B is unlocked, and gives 3 points per mission. We get B up to 1 million, so C(a harder mission than B) unlocks at everest, and a "signal booster mission" named Q(about as hard as C) unlocks at Mprime.

If we beat a mission at Q, we get a signal booster C pack.

With 1 million points on B, if we beat a mission at C, we get 1 point. If we beat a mission at C with a signal booster from Q, we get +100% points per signal booster--so if we have 4 players that went to Q, we'd get 5 points--our base score of 1+400% of 1 in signal booster points.

This means we don't have to work as hard on B--just keep it open(above 1 million), and we get points--BUT, if we boost it up above 1 million, to say 3 million, we'd get 3 points for beating C, PLUS 3 points per signal booster--up to 15 points(3 base score+400% of 3).

This means, at maximum value, beating C with 10 million points on B, and 4 signal boosters in group, would grant 50 points.

You could *also* beat mission A or B using a signal booster from Q, but it's not meant for them, so you'd get +1 point per person, no matter how many points your base score is. This means your maximum at A will always be 14(10 base+4 signal booster), and your maximum at B will be 14(10 base+4 signal booster) IF we have 10 million points at A.

All of that being said, if we score 1 million points on C, we then unlock D(slightly harder than C) at Venera.

The rules for D are similar to B--it needs points on C to gain score, and the base is variable on how high the score on C is, but signal boosters only give +1 point to your final score.

If we get 1 million points on D, we unlock E(harder mission than D), and signal booster R(a mission as hard as E).

The rules for E are similar to C--it needs points on D to gain score, and the base is variable on how high D is, and if you have the signal booster from R, you get +100% points per person carrying it.

However, if you beat E carrying the signal booster from Q, or if you beat C carrying the signal booster from R, it only counts as regular signal boost of +1.

Now, if we can get 10 million points on E, we discover the grineer colonies, and victory is ours!

However, let's say we botch it. We get 3 million points on E, and then we accidentally let D close, because C falls below 1 million points. By the time we get C back up above 1 million, D has fallen under 1 million, and by the time we get D back above 1 million, time's up! They've closed the leak!

Well, now that it's not a threat, the "enemy hackers" are reassigned for the most part, so the decay rate changes, from 1% per hour, to 1% per day. All of the missions disappear, just like any other weekend event.

We lose out on the content, and we have some added penalty like +1 spinner on every hacking puzzle, per level of difficulty(so a difficulty 5 mission has 5 extra spinners!) for a while, because of the improved security measures we triggered.

After a few weeks, we manage to re-open A again, and we have our score from last time, minus the 1% per day that we lost in between. At the start of the event, the decay rate goes back to 1% per hour--they're on to us!
When we unlock the other missions, they're in a similar state--the place we left off at last event, minus 1% per day that passed since it ended, minus an additional 1% per hour since this event started.

The event is basically the same, except, to compensate for the fact this is a second attempt, the data is more secure.

They've added security checkpoints F and G.

Now, when we get 1 million points on E, it unlocks F(which is just like B and D), and when we get 1 million points on F, it unlocks G(which is just like C and E) and S(which is a signal boost for G).

G is now the new target place, and we need 10 million points on G to get to the grineer colonies.

If we succeed, that's the end of it, and we crash their system with a horrible virus(we don't need it now), sending everything back to "normal".

If we fail, we get new penalties, on top of our old ones--maybe something like a "panic button" added to consoles, so they only need to be touched by enemies (instead of operated) to activate alert and lock-out mode.

Now, it's entirely possible this becomes a catastrophic run-away failure, something that shows up regularly to make our lives hell, so after failing a few times(I'd say no more than 3, but it depends on how long it takes for the chain to become "too big to fail"(when a weekend shows us getting a net negative progress)), we just do the super virus anyway, clearing all of the points we ever gathered, but resetting everything down to 0.

The penalty for the reset should be something simple, like extra shielding on enemies(they're more cautious now), but ONLY that, since all of the other accumulated penalties are now clean(our virus wrecked the system!)

At that point, if the mission shows up again, it's like we never did it before, and all of the rules and penalties will be earned, again, as if we never ever played it.

If this is too hard for us, it becomes a somewhat annoying feature that we can just give up on.(And I suppose DE could just take it out of the game).

If we beat it, then the hack system can be used for unlocking other future updates(the system being cleaned).

That way, there's a challenge, it takes teamwork and cooperation, and community involvement. We can fail, and it will be horrific if we do, but we also get chances at redemption, with our previous work being rewarded.

 

I hope that helps explain it all better?