The Potential for Warp Inhibitors - Various ways to implement

Disclaimer: I copy pasted this from our faction discord, I have no idea why its decided to make some paragraphs bold and I cannot seem to change it!

Viable warp scramble options:

Mass Effect (no not the shitty x-box game): Cannot warp within X distance from planets/moons. From an RP standpoint, many games which feature warp/FTL have it in their cannon that large objects such as planets throw off the navigational computations required to calculate the jump.

If possible, consider setting this variable to be unique to each playfield (Blackhole sector would have farther distance)


Possibly -more- viable would be the inverse:
Dark Matter Effect:

Warp drives -only- work within X distance of a planet - in Empyrion, this makes sense because if your fighting/chasing somebody in space then usually you get farther and farther from the center of the playfield. It is probably a significant fight that has gone on for a couple minutes with an exchange of fire. (a bad fight to end in a warp out)

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In either of the above scenarios, consider the placement of the supergates as well. Ideally the supergates would be set up in a way which forces players to spend at least a short flight before jumping again.
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Jump Nodes:
Very Large Areas which work similar to Supergates with an important catch!:
Jump drives do not work outside of jump nodes. In a RP sense, many Sci-fis have it in their cannon that FTL is only safely possible between one system and another in a few small areas in which gravity and mass align in a “Jump Node” Nodes could be marked by admin structures which show up on the map at any distance to aid players in finding them.


Mass disruption:

Cannot jump when within X distance of another non-allied BA/CV. In a lore sense, the presence of a large mass with a capital class electronics signature is enough to disrupt your jump field or FTL navigation computers from being able to use your warp drive.


Inertial Lock:
If possible, increase the minimum speed to enter warp to 90-100m/s. In addition, if possible, force the player to fly straight toward their jump target for 5-10 seconds while maintaining this speed. If this is not possible, spoof this effect by delaying a players warp for 10-15 seconds after they activate warp.


Another tilt on the “Mass Effect” line of Warp Scramble:
Must be within X distance of the center of the playfield. Playfields would again be built with their warp in points and supergate locations in consideration of this mod

Hey! I liked Mass Effect. Unless, that is, you’re referring to the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th ones.

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nr 2 was the best budd

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I have another idea that could work:

A warp interdiction device. A Capital Vessel device that prevents warp in an area around it while active. It would need to have some significant limitations and drawbacks though, like: costly to build, large fuel consumption, eats pentaxid, very large size (I’m thinking bigger and heavier than a warp drive), and shuts off after x minutes (we’ll say 3 given the slowness of CV combat) regardless of fuel, call it a heat buildup mechanic. You could also have an initial charge time of something like 1-2 minutes from when the player toggles it on to when the field is active. This means you have a chance to warp out quickly if you don’t want to fight and prevents trying to prolong the effect by toggling it on and off.

The good thing about this is it doesn’t create any additional complications or annoyances in your regular travel. It also doesn’t flat out prevent you from escaping forever which is a big potential problem with the “mass disruption” idea. With the right balance it could be a great addition I think.

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