Well, I admit I'm not yet fully versed in the intricacies of the nexus world battles, but there are a few suggestions I'd like to make based on what I've seen so far. Some of these are leftovers from what I wanted before I left, because I think nexus worlds are intended to be the key selling point of aethercraft and yet it really doesn't seem to work that way.

1. Limit the use of flashpoints. Example: Change flashpoints to destroyable physical objects, such as buoys.
Instant teleportation is a very handy feature, but just like with ordinary characters, it needs to have restrictions. If flash points could be destroyed (for equal power as to create), it would be more likely that key regions like the nexus worlds, prime docks and so on would actually involve strategic aethership interactions, rather than points between jumps. A combateer skill to block all fusioning in or out of a large region for a few years might be an alternative. If implemented, I'd suggest fusioning should be moved down the commander skill list as its function becomes more like teleport, than cubix. Also, a delay on fusioning should exist, if not already added.

(I much prefer destroying objects as opposed to dampening fields to block all fusioning, because it shouldn't require a crew to sit still in aetherspace for hours, nor be too easy to constantly block all docks from fusioning)

Much better idea to come below!

2. Adjust damage from absolute to relative, to allow smaller ships more functionality.
At the moment, I think having a single large ship gives too much of an advantage over those who can only afford a number of smaller ones. The main difference here is hull strength, so I'd suggest two linked changes. First, a turret blast should do more percentage damage than constant. As in, instead of doing 350 hull damage, it should do 50 damage + 5% max hull. Starburst diamonuts perhaps increasing the constant amount. Small ships will still go down in fewer blasts, but the difference is not as massive.

3. Rebalance the differences in ship speeds so that they are not as vast.
Secondly, as a balancing adjustment the difference in speed between large and small ships should be greatly reduced. Not only would this mean that battles between ships of different sizes are more interesting for longer (because they stay in the same vicinity for longer), but also that larger ships do not become quite as awful for more routine tasks like travel and transport.

4. Extend nexus worlds into aetherspace, moreso than merely a point entry.
If aetherspace combat is ever going to be more than just blocking ground troops being delivered, there needs to be more integration between aetherspace and normal environments.

One way that I would suggest this -could- be done is by making each construct room a 'ship' entity in aetherspace. You would still be able to walk into and out of the room like normal from elsewhere on the bubble and those exits would always be visible, but it would show as a '#' in aetherspace and be individually targettable. (Although probably for visualization sake it might be easier to have exits like the faethorn archways rather than just plain links.) These constructs would be moveable around the nexus world dock in aetherspace to within a certain distance, and they could be used in much the same way as a ship. Perhaps it would even be possible for one each of the command and empath stations to be locked by defenders on the nexus world, which then control the various constructs remotely. Perhaps individual defenders could enter into little (weak) pods as has been suggested previously ).

They could still be attacked by colossi on the ground to do direct damage, but the primary battle could occur in aetherspace.

5. Improve aethership communication.
Although the original idea for emphasising the distance between aetherspace is a good one, in reality it makes spending any length of time in aetherspace or the worlds terribly isolating, and for a game that is defined by communication I think this does more damage than good. I would suggest that the empath skill of channel be reworked so that once a ship is hailed and a channel open, all crew members can hear both ship channels. (SHIPTP could be introduced if a private channel is still thought of as necessary.) Also, an empath should be able to GRID RELAY at any planar dock so that the people aboard that ship will not be cut off from normal channels while in the aetherspace plane that corresponds to that dock. The relay should last until a new one is made, just like channels last. Their talk might appear like

(Serenwilde): Elryn says: "Incoming ship!"

Screech should also be changed so that while active, no relays will work in the spacial vicinity of that ship, effectively blocking off enemy crews from communicating with their city/commune. It would not block ship channels or synchronizations. At the moment, screech is a pointless skill.


Anyway, just some thoughts to ponder. Is this completely unworkable? Any better ideas or more additions?

Related (and Elryn-approved) idea that would solve several issues with the obnoxiousness of aetherspace!

Replace flashpoints with "wormholes." Or gnomeholes or gorgogholes or whatever.

These function like rifts. They take 15 minutes to create and 30 to destroy. A trans commander can form one by pointing a really long aetherspace channel at someone a long way away (the other person doesn't have to be trans commander or it would be a huge bitch to set one up.) Either a gifted or so combatant or just anyone (I don't really care) could destroy it. Unlike riftmaking, the ships could still do stuff (like blow up monsters.) That or the monster AI would have to be coded to stay out of the general vicinity of any aetherbubbles.

I want to try and explain what I'm suggesting with the nexus worlds a bit better, because I don't think I was very clear.

The construct items that exist now would become extensions to the Nexus World that go out into aetherspace, not just items. As in, they exist in little miniature bubbles that float around the main Nexus World, each linked to the city or commune nexus through that. Conceptually, for example:



In aetherspace though, you would see each mini-bubble as an 'entity' moving around the Nexus World dock,

Bombarding a construct would work similar to how you attack other ships, you'd have to get in range of the little construct bubble, then bombard it continuously.

The differences here are that defenders could 'use' their nexus world to try and protect their constructs without necessarily having to jump in their own ships to fight (although this would of course be ideal).

Commander defenders could order their construct bubbles to move around the local region from the main nexus world. They lock into a commander station there, and use steer commands. This means that an attacking ship with only one or two crewmembers aboard may have a lot of difficulty tracking the target, or doing much damage. Maybe some of the other spec commander commands could work, but probably movement is the main one. They might also coordinate communication with pods.

Empath defenders could redistribute power between different constructs so as to reduce damage on one that is being heavily attacked (and conversely enhance damage on another that isn't). Maybe spec empaths could also use this station to heal damaged pods.

Combateer and other defenders could join in by using pods - little temporary ships. These could be created at the nexus world dock for say, 5 energy each, and hold one occupant. Inside the one room ship would be a single turret station, but it would also allow the STEER and LAUNCH/DOCK commands. So seeing an enemy fleet is attacking and we don't have many ships to spare, I'd run up to the dock, get someone to make me a pod, jump inside and take off. I could then move around the local area of the nexus world with my pod, and also use some TURRET commands to target enemy ships. Unfortunately, the blasts would be much weaker than a standard turret, and the hull strength would be only 800 or so. Still, with enough defenders these pods could harass a single ship away, or keep them from doing too much damage to a construct until a defender's ship can arrive.

All other mechanisms would remain - you can still reach each minibubble by ground (ie, ENTER ARCHWAY on the main nexus world), and with colossi. So if you don't want to attack with ships, you can try launching a ground assault. But this way if you do attack with a ship, the defenders have options and tools to get involved, and to make it a bit more interesting.

As for how easily it is to damage a construct with a ship, and when it is possible to do so, I'm sure that can be tweaked as needed.

Would people be interested in joining in these kinds of battles?

Post the question to the following answer!

Q: ?
A: All posts above summed up in one sentence for the lazy people!

Q: What would make Ashteru a happy little boy?


In one sentence - Making aetherspace a viable, useful and accessible mechanism of combat, with the same balance and attention to skill as ordinary ground-based combat, here bringing nexus world conflict out into aetherspace like a big battlestar galactica, pew-pew-pew romp.

That sounds cool! I like! Pew pew pew!

Oh, another benefit of coding the pods would be to allow newbies to see aetherspace!

"Those dastardly gnomes are getting support from that cursed facility of theirs, and we need to put a stop to it! Newbo, go to the highest peak of Smoke Mountain and steal one of their supply pods, then fetch me those supplies from their aetherbase to the west!"

Newbo gets a little pod (which can only steer and shoot), dodges a few easy aetherbeasts that appear, and gets to see how aetherships work in a protected little pocket of aetherspace.

Problem solvered!