How long should it take to finish a beacon mission?
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Etopia
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Its not matter of time , its matter of how boring beacon will get after some month.
If you make those mission exactly same like in past,always same "maze" , just dificulty that change , then it will get boring for most player quite soon...
Make it diablo style , with "auto generated maze" for every singel mission , and even at low dificulty , what ever the time is , it will be a fun and enjoyable discover.
Dont forget , best time in entropia for many participant , is those day where they do TP run and discover the game...
entropia would gain a lot to have some special place , like beacon mission, where it is a new discover every singel time you go there.
Please beggin to stop and cut the boredomness of entropia.everything get slow , everything get long , everything get same and identical...
If you make those mission exactly same like in past,always same "maze" , just dificulty that change , then it will get boring for most player quite soon...
Make it diablo style , with "auto generated maze" for every singel mission , and even at low dificulty , what ever the time is , it will be a fun and enjoyable discover.
Dont forget , best time in entropia for many participant , is those day where they do TP run and discover the game...
entropia would gain a lot to have some special place , like beacon mission, where it is a new discover every singel time you go there.
Please beggin to stop and cut the boredomness of entropia.everything get slow , everything get long , everything get same and identical...
xaph
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Ah yes and all of Global Alliance society enjoyed them as a well oiled experienced host in machine gun style beacon missions
Back in the good old days with Dave Ozi
Onya Miles
True, I've yet to size up the complexity and physics of the revived (sic) product
kira-red
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while beacons were an interesting diversion, a few years back, I always thought that "level clearing", timers, and a "boss creature" was reminiscent of some 1990 arcade video game. I had always hoped that in a modern, immersive universe this sort of instanced mission would be a little more realistic.
in the years we've waited for the return of the beacons, it seems we'll just get, basically, what we had before.
if the process was well designed, there wouldn't be a need to have time limits outside of technical limitations. as there is probably a limit on the number of beacon missions that can be running at the same time, some master timer of about four hours would seem fair.
if robots don't loot, then it doesn't matter how long it takes to destroy them all. if the "boss" is replaced with collecting beacon keys, then the robots can respawn. beacon keys could spawn on the ground in random places much like fruit and stones. a certain number of a certain types would be required to "reprogram" the reactor, disengage the robot spawner, disable the loot box's security system (the thing that keeps them locked), and engage the self-destruct. keys might also be found on the odd robot, as loot, as well. they could be things like explosive fuses, sensor scramblers, security by-passes, etc.
by searching for keys, there would only the destruct timer. and, if the box locations are randomized to some extent, time fighting the robots is used to find the box locations, collect the necessary keys, and position the team for the destruct loot cycle.
this way, it'd be a little more like search the ship and defend yourself than "kill the boss".
also, it would be nice, when a box is opened, the contents are broadcast along with who opened the box.
in the years we've waited for the return of the beacons, it seems we'll just get, basically, what we had before.
if the process was well designed, there wouldn't be a need to have time limits outside of technical limitations. as there is probably a limit on the number of beacon missions that can be running at the same time, some master timer of about four hours would seem fair.
if robots don't loot, then it doesn't matter how long it takes to destroy them all. if the "boss" is replaced with collecting beacon keys, then the robots can respawn. beacon keys could spawn on the ground in random places much like fruit and stones. a certain number of a certain types would be required to "reprogram" the reactor, disengage the robot spawner, disable the loot box's security system (the thing that keeps them locked), and engage the self-destruct. keys might also be found on the odd robot, as loot, as well. they could be things like explosive fuses, sensor scramblers, security by-passes, etc.
by searching for keys, there would only the destruct timer. and, if the box locations are randomized to some extent, time fighting the robots is used to find the box locations, collect the necessary keys, and position the team for the destruct loot cycle.
this way, it'd be a little more like search the ship and defend yourself than "kill the boss".
also, it would be nice, when a box is opened, the contents are broadcast along with who opened the box.
combo22
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30 minutes is enough for a normal one, harder ones could take much longer, 1-2h even more maybe for "special" ones.
time shall be conected with aviablity of beacons. If they will be rare things one hour can be bot enough time of fun per peds u spend to get beacon. If they will be more comon in mining loot even 30 mins may be too much.
I think shorter time is better, u cn always do 2x beacons in one day.
Voted for 30 mins
I think shorter time is better, u cn always do 2x beacons in one day.
Voted for 30 mins
SpikeBlack
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30 minutes sounds about right for an experienced team but I've been on beacons that have taken 2-3 hours partly due to people trying to organise it and discussing each level for what felt like an eternity.
But if you're suggesting this will be the maximum time allowed then it should be EXACTLY as it was before unlimited.
I loved the maze, out of all the levels it was my favourite even though on my first beacon I completely stuffed it and missed most of the boxes. I can still draw it from memory including all the box positions.
partly due to people trying to organise it and discussing each level for what felt like an eternity.But if you're suggesting this will be the maximum time allowed then it should be EXACTLY as it was before unlimited.
I loved the maze, out of all the levels it was my favourite even though on my first beacon I completely stuffed it and missed most of the boxes. I can still draw it from memory including all the box positions.
HarryBondHole
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By far the best suggestion so far
Improvise, adapt and overcome should be the base of all new concepts in EU.
Daniel Steps
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Although not under MA's control, i hope they do consider the fact that players have to gather, gear up, have a pause because their daughter/cat/.. needs some attention in the middle of the gathering/mission, ... so 15-30 minutes is probably a good idea, longer probably is making it tough for people with a real life.
Davies Davies
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-> The entire Beacon mission should take long as the team themself decides.
I am quite sure any new feature will be stupid expensive and full of buggs so it should be repeatable during the first few weeks/months of release.
If there is any countdown timer , would be best to limited to a specific event/feature , which can be initiated by the player themself.
The amount of count down time should always be tested by a team of several average players + 1 player with zero experiences
( without room for at least 1 new player.... good luck with finding suckers who will buy the deeds lol )
I am quite sure any new feature will be stupid expensive and full of buggs so it should be repeatable during the first few weeks/months of release.
If there is any countdown timer , would be best to limited to a specific event/feature , which can be initiated by the player themself.
The amount of count down time should always be tested by a team of several average players + 1 player with zero experiences
( without room for at least 1 new player.... good luck with finding suckers who will buy the deeds lol )
Xavier Target
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What on calypso are you people talking about?!?!?! What the snablesnot is a beacon?
Jimmy B
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I'd say 45 min is a nice length. That gives you 15min to gear up and get the team organised and you're done in an hour.
Too much longer and it'd get hard to ensure everyone in the team can stay online long enough. Too much shorter and too high a proportion of the time would be spent organising the team.
Too much longer and it'd get hard to ensure everyone in the team can stay online long enough. Too much shorter and too high a proportion of the time would be spent organising the team.
AlphaGeek
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StrongMinded
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I´m voting for 45 - 60 minutes depending on the lvl of beacon ( if they are still done the same way ).
I would also suggest a revive on the ship in case of accidental deaths, CTD´s etc. or the possibility to beam a dead person back up somehow.. The resurrect chips are way to rare and way to expensive atm.
Loot on the bots on the way to the boss would be nice and please remove the wall hack drones shooting you from wherever they wanted in the maze.. ^^
Btw, i thought that the 5 minute timer didn´t start until you killed the boss but maybe we were always faster then the timer... I remember when us HU did beacons we always stayed away from the boss + 2 drones left or right and then planned the box opening before killing the last ones.
//SM
I would also suggest a revive on the ship in case of accidental deaths, CTD´s etc. or the possibility to beam a dead person back up somehow.. The resurrect chips are way to rare and way to expensive atm.
Loot on the bots on the way to the boss would be nice and please remove the wall hack drones shooting you from wherever they wanted in the maze.. ^^
Btw, i thought that the 5 minute timer didn´t start until you killed the boss but maybe we were always faster then the timer... I remember when us HU did beacons we always stayed away from the boss + 2 drones left or right and then planned the box opening before killing the last ones.
//SM
AlphaGeek
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The autodestruct would trigger when any one of these conditions were met:
Ship commander killed
-or-
2 deputy commanders at far end of command deck killed
-or-
Raiding party time onboard exceeds... I think it was 50 minutes.
At that point the autodestruct would engage. The timer ran 10 minutes with an initial announcement of the timer start, and minute by minute announcements starting at 5 minutes to detonation.
StrongMinded
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Right... I also remember me and Crazy always having to loot the bottom lvl boxes because of our agility lvl... =)
Guess that´s no use anymore after the running nerfs...
AlphaGeek
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There is still a huge difference between someone with high agility and someone with low agility...
StrongMinded
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I´m feeling a lot slower nowadays compared to the old days though. =)
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Considering we can't even sit or lie down anymore we should have really well-trained legs
SpikeBlack
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whoever drew that didn't spend much time on the maze as it's wrong
one question though, what happens if we get disconnected during one? In the old ones we could log back in and carry on (had to do this many times
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We totally need a 24 hour survival mode beacon! 
xWandererx
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My vote is 45 - 60 mins. Get in as fast as possible hit em hard, loot an leave. Longer times would start becoming Dungeons or Quests...........plenty of them around and any amount & "type" Could be made....... 
malasuerte
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We totally need a 24 hour survival mode beacon!
survival mode? like last man standing gets the goodies?
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Nah, just that you have to survive for 24 hours
Else it would be too easy to exploit
As a target mission length, they should take 45 minutes to complete. 45 minutes of fighting that is.
If you want suggestions for what kinda timer. NONE.
People are paying for the beacon, paying for the kills, with no loot until the end. There should be no time limit to finish and loot when you have payed up front. Rush rush rush is no fun, let people take their time and enjoy it if they want to.
A technical time limit to kill dead instances is fine, but it needs to be large enough to not interfere with the gaming experience, so say 3 hours if the target time is 45 minutes. An auto destruct after the boxes have been looted is fine as well.
Of course im going under the assumption that they will be like the old beacons with no loot per kill, no loot at all unless you loot boxes, and a timer at the end. Which is dumb in the first place, but i digress...
If you want suggestions for what kinda timer. NONE.
People are paying for the beacon, paying for the kills, with no loot until the end. There should be no time limit to finish and loot when you have payed up front. Rush rush rush is no fun, let people take their time and enjoy it if they want to.
A technical time limit to kill dead instances is fine, but it needs to be large enough to not interfere with the gaming experience, so say 3 hours if the target time is 45 minutes. An auto destruct after the boxes have been looted is fine as well.
Of course im going under the assumption that they will be like the old beacons with no loot per kill, no loot at all unless you loot boxes, and a timer at the end. Which is dumb in the first place, but i digress...