Do Something About Party Crashers and station ganking

mikeloeven · Post by **mikeloeven** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:41 pm

the difficulty curve of the game sometimes at random will skyrocket in missions due to the presence of what i refer to as Party Crashers. extra randomly spawning hostile npc's that completely destroy the players ability to complete an assignment. it would be one thing to have a reinforcement system that allowed mission npc;s to call in help in a controlled manner but at the present time there is no way to tell the difference between a mission critical enemy and a random enemy that spawned forcing you to engage in prolonged and extraordinarily difficult combat just to complete what should be a low difficulty mission.

it is bad enough that you can be shot while docked a mechanic that no other space simulator would dare to install but it is even worse to allow random npc's to interfere with contract missions. something needs to be done to control the preasance of randomly spawning enemy npcs around stations and in missions. and additionally the cost of station licenses is too high for a starting player to afford which further discourages new players from staying in the community. the game has no normal difficulty curve to help new players out and i think that overall station licenses need to be reduced to more reasonable levels. it is frankly asinine to have to pay out the ass not to be blown up while docked in a safe harbor.

frankly if i was a station manager i would not want ships shooting at my docking bay regardless of who was parked there and would call in some kind of retaliation against the hostiles attacking my clients.

[Edited on 1-21-2012 by mikeloeven]

49rTbird · Post by **49rTbird** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:51 pm

You have not given the Sim or yourself enough time to learn how to survive. If it was too easy no one would like it. This is a good Sim and takes patience. It will take some players longer to get up to speed than others but everyone CAN do it. Jump back in and ask for help if needed as it does help to have a partner or guide or teacher at times. If you see me "[UE]49rTbird" on line ask me and I will try to lend a hand.

Maarschalk · Post by **Maarschalk** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:01 pm

It depends completely what system you are in. If you are in a hostile system every one is your enemy and they will call reinforcement to get rid of you around stations! You do not expect to walk in to a hostile territory where all the shops and restaurants are owned by your enemy or people who hate you and expect not to be shot at do you?.....Do not fly into a Hornets nest if you are not prepared for it. Many veterans who have learned all the ropes and tricks find the enemy AIs(artificial Intellegence ships) to easy to handle because they are predictable. I can in one minute finish a 10 enemy contract mission using only guns. I can finish that same mission in 1/2 a minute using missiles and guns. I can finish that same mission in 10 seconds or less using only 1 specific missile!......

Star King · Post by **Star King** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 11:00 pm

Start out slow if you need help and I am just ask me to come over. I can show you how to up your rank and credits. This is really a fun and easy game. Patience my friend!

Dengar · Post by **Dengar** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 11:22 pm

From post: 125071, Topic: tid=8464, author=Maarschalk wrote:It depends completely what system you are in. If you are in a hostile system every one is your enemy and they will call reinforcement to get rid of you around stations! You do not expect to walk in to a hostile territory where all the shops and restaurants are owned by your enemy or people who hate you and expect not to be shot at do you?.....Do not fly into a Hornets nest if you are not prepared for it. Many veterans who have learned all the ropes and tricks find the enemy AIs(artificial Intellegence ships) to easy to handle because they are predictable. I can in one minute finish a 10 enemy contract mission using only guns. I can finish that same mission in 1/2 a minute using missiles and guns. I can finish that same mission in 10 seconds or less using only 1 specific missile!......

And we all know what that missile is, don't we Mr MuchTalk!

Bossk · Post by **Bossk** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 11:39 pm

From post: 125065, Topic: tid=8464, author=mikeloeven wrote:the difficulty curve of the game sometimes at random will skyrocket in missions due to the presence of what i refer to as Party Crashers. extra randomly spawning hostile npc's that completely destroy the players ability to complete an assignment. it would be one thing to have a reinforcement system that allowed mission npc;s to call in help in a controlled manner but at the present time there is no way to tell the difference between a mission critical enemy and a random enemy that spawned forcing you to engage in prolonged and extraordinarily difficult combat just to complete what should be a low difficulty mission.

it is bad enough that you can be shot while docked a mechanic that no other space simulator would dare to install but it is even worse to allow random npc's to interfere with contract missions. something needs to be done to control the preasance of randomly spawning enemy npcs around stations and in missions. and additionally the cost of station licenses is too high for a starting player to afford which further discourages new players from staying in the community. the game has no normal difficulty curve to help new players out and i think that overall station licenses need to be reduced to more reasonable levels. it is frankly asinine to have to pay out the ass not to be blown up while docked in a safe harbor.

frankly if i was a station manager i would not want ships shooting at my docking bay regardless of who was parked there and would call in some kind of retaliation against the hostiles attacking my clients.

[Edited on 1-21-2012 by mikeloeven]

If you are getting shot at sitting in the docking bay, you can "enter the station" from the inventory console. This takes you ship "inside" the station. There you are still able to carry out all the normal tasks like buying/selling/getting contracts, but you are safe and sound behind massive blast doors.

You don't need to get a station licence either to get inside the station. The only time you have to pay to get in is if you don't have the reputation and you need to pay a docking fee. This docking fee is charged each time you dock at the station, so make sure you do all you need to do before leaving otherwise you will get charged again.

Being a old had at this game, I think I only have 1 station licence. Also player built stations do not charge at all, ever!

Also, regarding random NPC's. There are no "mission critical targets" unless you are on an escort, spy, delivery or Ace contracts. If you mission calls for the destruction of 7 hostile craft and when you arrive there are 12 and they are all of the same affiliation, then just shoot the 1st 7 you can. No need to find the "correct" 7. It may appear that they are random arrivals, but they could have been just outside your radar range when you arrived and as the battle moves, more pop into range and call for help.

[Edited on 1-21-2012 by Bossk]

Dengar · Post by **Dengar** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 11:50 pm

Spawning AIs in a contract does, imho, adds to the fun. It makes the whole thing more random. After all this is space and its not always a friendly place. Even here in real life you get bad people trying to upset your life. A lorry driver risks getting hijacked during his/her delivery contract!

Its one on the things that makes Evochron what it is - interesting.

Hope you enjoy the game and see you out there sometime.

Viper · Post by **Viper** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 1:16 am

From post: 125065, Topic: tid=8464, author=mikeloeven wrote:the difficulty curve of the game sometimes at random will skyrocket in missions due to the presence of what i refer to as Party Crashers. extra randomly spawning hostile npc's that completely destroy the players ability to complete an assignment. it would be one thing to have a reinforcement system that allowed mission npc;s to call in help in a controlled manner but at the present time there is no way to tell the difference between a mission critical enemy and a random enemy that spawned forcing you to engage in prolonged and extraordinarily difficult combat just to complete what should be a low difficulty mission.

it is bad enough that you can be shot while docked a mechanic that no other space simulator would dare to install but it is even worse to allow random npc's to interfere with contract missions. something needs to be done to control the preasance of randomly spawning enemy npcs around stations and in missions. and additionally the cost of station licenses is too high for a starting player to afford which further discourages new players from staying in the community. the game has no normal difficulty curve to help new players out and i think that overall station licenses need to be reduced to more reasonable levels. it is frankly asinine to have to pay out the ass not to be blown up while docked in a safe harbor.

frankly if i was a station manager i would not want ships shooting at my docking bay regardless of who was parked there and would call in some kind of retaliation against the hostiles attacking my clients.

[Edited on 1-21-2012 by mikeloeven]

Reading your post I can't escape the impression that you might not have given yourself enough time to really get a good impression of the game, and have taken the frustration of not (yet) being able to successfully accomplish your goals (quickly enough) to your post. It's quite a lot of non-constructive words just to express how unsatisfied you are with just a very few features from the game. Unjustified in my eyes, you're jumping the gun here a little bit.

However I have had my moments of blind frustration as well when I started playing, so let me give you some feedback.

If you think about it, the 'Party Crashers' are a perfectly realistic element of the game. If you are hostile to a certain faction and are engaged in a contract which involves fighting ships from the same faction, you can expect these ships to radio for help. The same thing happens if you're just flying around in hostile space, and a hostile ship spots you. He will report your location to a nearby base, which in turn will dispatch ships to intercept you. The same thing would happen in real life, and does also happen during missions, certainly when the mission is taking you a bit longer to complete. It get even better if you accidentally shoot one of the ships assisting you, turning them red as well. They will then turn hostile on you and they might call for reinforcements as well.
And although all this does make the mission more complicated, you cannot expect the realism of this game to be temporarily deactivated just so you can finish your mission at your own convenience. It's totally unrealistic. Evochron Mercenary is a realistic space simulation, not an arcade game.

The 'random spawning of party crashers', as you describe it, is not a random, uncontrolled thing, it is a well thought out, carefully balanced and very realistic feature of this game.

And think about it; if you would have been able to finish your missions the first time round, even (and certainly!) as a new player to the game, you would be bored by this time tomorrow.

Same logic goes for hostile ships firing at you while you're docked.

Contrary to what you now may think, the prices for station licenses are not too high. When you progress in the game a little more, you will be able to turn huge profits thanks to one of those licenses, and the 'expensive' license you bought will pay for itself in one or two runs. Something that can be earned back in just two runs is really not expensive in my book. At this point in your progress it may seem like a lot of money, but like has been said: give yourself some time.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your ventures and if any other questions arise, don't hesitate to ask for advice.

Flying Brick · Post by **Flying Brick** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 3:36 am

Hi mikeloeven, and welcome!
The other guys have already addressed your issues better than I could have done it - I fully agree with them that you should give the game a little more patience!
Yes, it's true, combat can be a bit challenging in the beginning, but if you consider the other advice offered by the previous posters, it should make things easier.

Try flying in systems where your reputation is good or fair, and avoid hostile ones in the beginning, as was pointed out. If your rep is good/fair, there should be very few reds around, or even none at all.

You don't really need station licenses, like the others have said. And while they may seem expensive to you now, please take my word for it that later on you'll realize that money is really really plentiful in EM, and you will be able to easily afford anything you want.

I also have only one station license, no more. You can build your own stations, where you are automatically given a license. And like the others have said, just "enter" the station and you should be safe. Occasionally, you might get shot while you're docked and not "inside" the station, but to me this happens extremely, extremely rarely (and I am talking about hostile systems).

Give the game a chance - its initial steep learning curve as far as combat is concerned is a big part of what keeps it interesting after you're able to bash the reds faster than they can figure out what hit them!