Re: warp drive based navigation
s_m_w wrote:
Sounds interesting. It's quite silly that the entire universe is mapped within hours after a reset. If exploration actually requires some sort of effort and strategy, it would be a lot more rewarding
exactly. this removes the requirement for teams to be able to share maps, since the function would be replaced by them sharing among teammates the names of sectors, which would each be small enough for individual players to map them without it being a frustrating waste of time.
it also means that knowing the names of your enemy's sectors can influence the outcomes of wars, it gives an advantage to small, close knit teams who can keep secrets.
it also means that as time passes, wars come become less and less "stable" as each side learns more and more about their enemy, where their territories are, how well those territories are defended, and as resources run dry in the well defended galaxies, teams are forced to move, meaning teams can no longer rely on their bases, long term wars of attrition would become less about opportunities/mistakes and more about actual "war" and battles.
you could also add in completely new features, for example if you're at war with a team, and you kill one of its members, you get a black box with the names of the last 2 sectors they jumped to, meaning that small PvP encounters actually matter.
it also means that by learning an enemy's "habits" in the kinds of sectors they search (they might stick to a formula, or pick sectors based on things they can remember like their favourite band's songs, or hometown) you can gain a temporary advantage over them. just like in real war, knowing the "patterns" the enemy follows can help you fight them.