Hello all,
so I've been brainstorming ideas lately, I tend to do that when I play Entropia Universe, and I've come upon an idea that I think would greatly enhance the game and the ingame economy in various ways. That idea is the companion system.
Now of course, this being Entropia, such ideas must be so fleshed out that they compliment all other gameplay systems and they do not affect the economy in a negative way. So hear me out.
One of the things about missions and NPCs that always bothered me was their rigidity. They may tell a confined story, but they are not overly dynamic, nor do the NPCs have much meaningful dialogue. They are usually avenues for players to spend money. This is fine of course, as the real cash economy places gameplay restrictions on Mindark as a developer, since they must make sure missions place no burden/advantage on the player from a financial perspective. A solution to this rigidity would be better characterisations, more meaningful NPCs, think of the great gaming personalities from other scifi videogames such as Mass effect. Think of a companion that travels alongside you and partakes in your adventures, and who evolves and becomes stronger the same way you do. The MMO Star Wars: The old Republic does this exact same thing. It gives you a wide array of companions to choose from, each with their own respective missions, personalities, strengths/weaknesses.
How could such a system work in Entropia Universe, complex as it is, and what other benefits are there to gain from implementing a personal companion system to the game?
Well, for one, it's just incredibly cool having a fully customisable companion by your side. I would love to have a spacefaring smuggler like Han Solo, a witty detective like Garrus Vakarian fight alongside me.
And, perhaps more importantly, they would bring about a big economic boost to the game, as players from all professions would be able to benefit. How, you ask? Well, this is how:
1. Each player is able to recruit several companions to the game, and to have one companion travel with you at a time. (they have no collision, and they teleport to your location if they get stuck/are too far away)
2. Each companion comes with his own inventory/equipment interface and Skill/Profession set.
3. The player is able to change companion equipment at will(outside of combat).
4. The companion earns skill the same way a player does, by using their equipment, performing a task, fighting by your side.
5. The player can assign different behaviour modes, such as attack my target, defend.
In order to make sure a companion does not outperform a decent low to mid level player, companions cannot use regular weapons, but rather companion only weapons.
6. Companion weapons can be craftable (L) weapons and rare UL weapons which can be unlocked through mayhem rewards/special rare loot drops.
7. Companion weapons will never deal more than 30 dmg/second in order to limit their dmg output (that number can be adjusted).
8. Companions cannot aggro the target, the target will always target the companions owner, therefore companions do no require armor, nor do they grant an unfair advantage in terms of armor decay, or any kind of kiting possibility.
This would allow for crafters to find a new avenue for revenue with new Limited Blueprints for companion weapons.
Now onto companion missions.
9. Each companion comes with a particular perk ( they can use a specific weapon, for example, or they grant some interesting buff). These can be unlocked by completing the respective Companion Mission, which would also be an opportunity to tell a cool story.
10. These missions can be found all over the universe and can span several planets/space stations.
There are additional ideas floating in my head currently, such as allowing companions to heal you in a limited fashion.
Of course, the player would have to purchase ammunition/pay the value of the companion weapon, with them having a competitive, perhaps even unmatched efficiency ( due to their lower damage output).
Another idea I'm having with regard to the damage output would be to have it be a percentage of the player's damage, something like 15% for example, or to have them work similarly to the amplifier system, with the companion's weapon only able to deal a maximum of 50% of the player's maximum damage.
An implementation of this system would boost the economy, with hunters scrambling to collect all companions and their respective perks, crafters looking for the new blueprints and crafting the companion weapons, and ubers and more advanced players looking to max out their dmg/efficiency. Companions can also be used to offset a particular deficiency in your avatar. You've only ever used laser rifles? Well, why don't you use a companion that can use pyrokinesis?
And of course, we also have roleplayers like me that like to have a customisable Han Solo by their side. You could also have them spawn as crew members inside your ship you can interact with, or alternatively some kind of instanced hub. It would be much easier to develop fleshed out dialogue through companions, since you know a large amount of the playerbase will own them, you can really focus your attention on them. Also, if Mindark has any plans to expand features in space, companions could interact with such features/complement them as a space crew.
Anyway, I would really love to hear your thoughts/suggestions on this idea.
EDIT:
I should add that there should be zones such as busy towns/TP's like Boreas where companions should be disabled (similarly to the way vehicles are disabled) to make sure they are not overly crowded. If you enter such a zone, the companion will simply fade out of existence and reappear when you leave it.
EDIT 2:
I've also thought of craftable costumes unique to each companion for the tailors out there. It would stimulate the economy further.
so I've been brainstorming ideas lately, I tend to do that when I play Entropia Universe, and I've come upon an idea that I think would greatly enhance the game and the ingame economy in various ways. That idea is the companion system.
Now of course, this being Entropia, such ideas must be so fleshed out that they compliment all other gameplay systems and they do not affect the economy in a negative way. So hear me out.
One of the things about missions and NPCs that always bothered me was their rigidity. They may tell a confined story, but they are not overly dynamic, nor do the NPCs have much meaningful dialogue. They are usually avenues for players to spend money. This is fine of course, as the real cash economy places gameplay restrictions on Mindark as a developer, since they must make sure missions place no burden/advantage on the player from a financial perspective. A solution to this rigidity would be better characterisations, more meaningful NPCs, think of the great gaming personalities from other scifi videogames such as Mass effect. Think of a companion that travels alongside you and partakes in your adventures, and who evolves and becomes stronger the same way you do. The MMO Star Wars: The old Republic does this exact same thing. It gives you a wide array of companions to choose from, each with their own respective missions, personalities, strengths/weaknesses.
How could such a system work in Entropia Universe, complex as it is, and what other benefits are there to gain from implementing a personal companion system to the game?
Well, for one, it's just incredibly cool having a fully customisable companion by your side. I would love to have a spacefaring smuggler like Han Solo, a witty detective like Garrus Vakarian fight alongside me.
And, perhaps more importantly, they would bring about a big economic boost to the game, as players from all professions would be able to benefit. How, you ask? Well, this is how:
1. Each player is able to recruit several companions to the game, and to have one companion travel with you at a time. (they have no collision, and they teleport to your location if they get stuck/are too far away)
2. Each companion comes with his own inventory/equipment interface and Skill/Profession set.
3. The player is able to change companion equipment at will(outside of combat).
4. The companion earns skill the same way a player does, by using their equipment, performing a task, fighting by your side.
5. The player can assign different behaviour modes, such as attack my target, defend.
In order to make sure a companion does not outperform a decent low to mid level player, companions cannot use regular weapons, but rather companion only weapons.
6. Companion weapons can be craftable (L) weapons and rare UL weapons which can be unlocked through mayhem rewards/special rare loot drops.
7. Companion weapons will never deal more than 30 dmg/second in order to limit their dmg output (that number can be adjusted).
8. Companions cannot aggro the target, the target will always target the companions owner, therefore companions do no require armor, nor do they grant an unfair advantage in terms of armor decay, or any kind of kiting possibility.
This would allow for crafters to find a new avenue for revenue with new Limited Blueprints for companion weapons.
Now onto companion missions.
9. Each companion comes with a particular perk ( they can use a specific weapon, for example, or they grant some interesting buff). These can be unlocked by completing the respective Companion Mission, which would also be an opportunity to tell a cool story.
10. These missions can be found all over the universe and can span several planets/space stations.
There are additional ideas floating in my head currently, such as allowing companions to heal you in a limited fashion.
Of course, the player would have to purchase ammunition/pay the value of the companion weapon, with them having a competitive, perhaps even unmatched efficiency ( due to their lower damage output).
Another idea I'm having with regard to the damage output would be to have it be a percentage of the player's damage, something like 15% for example, or to have them work similarly to the amplifier system, with the companion's weapon only able to deal a maximum of 50% of the player's maximum damage.
An implementation of this system would boost the economy, with hunters scrambling to collect all companions and their respective perks, crafters looking for the new blueprints and crafting the companion weapons, and ubers and more advanced players looking to max out their dmg/efficiency. Companions can also be used to offset a particular deficiency in your avatar. You've only ever used laser rifles? Well, why don't you use a companion that can use pyrokinesis?
And of course, we also have roleplayers like me that like to have a customisable Han Solo by their side. You could also have them spawn as crew members inside your ship you can interact with, or alternatively some kind of instanced hub. It would be much easier to develop fleshed out dialogue through companions, since you know a large amount of the playerbase will own them, you can really focus your attention on them. Also, if Mindark has any plans to expand features in space, companions could interact with such features/complement them as a space crew.
Anyway, I would really love to hear your thoughts/suggestions on this idea.
EDIT:
I should add that there should be zones such as busy towns/TP's like Boreas where companions should be disabled (similarly to the way vehicles are disabled) to make sure they are not overly crowded. If you enter such a zone, the companion will simply fade out of existence and reappear when you leave it.
EDIT 2:
I've also thought of craftable costumes unique to each companion for the tailors out there. It would stimulate the economy further.
Last edited:
