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[Izual]

Edit by Izual : This suggestion is old and I thought somethings could be changed, like item multiplication replaced by an experience/reputation gain. But let's discuss about it, and I leave this post untouched.

Summary
If that suggestion is accepted, you'll be able to set up a caravan and to drive around the wasteland between two towns, making of your trip a safe-travel or a trading-trip. Everyone will notify your caravan and be able to enter it, to trade with you or... To attack you. Once the caravan is over, you arrive at your destination location safely - if not killed before, I mean. The whole thing, with a lot of details, is explained below. Let's start with the most important thing...

Why would I set up a caravan ?

• You can travel directly from your base to the tent or base of another character, friend of you.
• Your caravan cart has no weight limit, so you can transport lots of items in a single trip.
• No random encounter during this trip.
• It can be a good opportunity for you to trade with other people.
• At the end of your trip, all the items in your caravan cart (except caps) are multiplicated by 1.5 or 2.0 .

Why would I attack a caravan ?

• It can be a good challenge for you.
• You can loot the full caravan cart (by killing the caravan owner) and the caravan guards.
• It'd be a good PvP fight, if you like PvP fights of course.

How it works
Setting up a caravan
Let's make it with an example, it will be easier.
The Salvatores want to set up a goods caravan from their base to the Vault Rats base, located near Redding.

Starting point
To choose the starting point is easy : The Salvatores base, near New Reno (of course =p). So all the members of the Salvatores go into their base, with one member of the Vault Rats. Once the goods are in the caravan trunk, all that group arrows the caravan owner (The one that got the cart key). Then the caravan owner will "talk" to the caravan cart, which is already in the Salvatores base.

Destination point
Once everyone is ready, the caravan owner talks to the caravan cart. In fact, he clicks on his cart as usual, as if he wanted to leave with it. But now, the usual leaving is replaced by a little dialogue panel...

Code: [Select]

- [Leave with the cart]
- [Set up a caravan (Costs 10 water bags)]
- [Cancel]
Of course, here, we are interested with the second option. Once selected, the 10 water bags are removed from the owner's inventory. The caravan tells him that now, he will start a caravan with all the guys that arrowed him. And then, the caravan asks him where does he want to go. And THERE is the interesting point.
The caravan master, using the "say" box, can define one people that will point out on his own worldmap where the caravan has to go. So, in that case, the Salvatores caravan owner defines the Vault Robbers member, who will talk to the caravan cart and define a point on his worldmap (The Vault Robbers base). The location will be saved by the cart, and when the leader talks again to the cart, he will get a message like : "Your caravan destination is now "Scrapheap" ". It could be Necropolis, Golgotha, a Tent, the simple desert, The Depot, The Cave, etc. The caravan master confirms the destination location, and chooses a lenght.

Lenght of the travel
The caravan master will be able to choose between different lenght.

• 6 minutes : It's the minimum lenght, that guarantees quite a safe travel, since no big teams can gather their fighters in less than 6 minutes.
• 12 minutes : That travel lenght is a bit more dangerous, but when the cart reaches the destination location, all the items inside the trunk get multiplicated by 1.5 ...
• 20 minutes : That travel lenght make the caravan a dangerous operation, but when the cart reaches the destination location, all the items inside the trunk get multiplicated by 2.0 ...
• 40 minutes : Still a multiplication per 2.0 but that longest lenght is useful for the people that made a caravan only to trade with other people.

The multiplication rate is explained by the possible trades with NPC.

Once the destination point is chosen, all the caravan fellowmen arrowed on the caravan master and the lenght is chosen too, the caravan starts !

Travelling
From the caravan point of view
Once, the caravan is started, all the caravan guards, the caravan cart and the caravan master are teleported to a desert area between New Reno and Redding (Following our example with The Salvatores and Vault Robbers). They won't move until the lenght of the travel reaches 0. Their only goal during those 6, 12, 20 or 40 minutes is to trade or protect the caravan master, that has got the trunk key.

From everyone's point of view
Once the caravan starts, a countdown similar to the Town Control one appears.

The destination and starting areas are selected easily. Around New Reno is a border, if the Salvatores base is inside this border, they belong to New Reno area and the message will display "Starting from New Reno...". Same for the destination area.
From now, the fighters can gather themselves, and the traders reach the caravan location.

Getting inside the caravan's location
On the worldmap, a long location will appear (here, in blue), randomly chosen, between Redding and New Reno.

Clicking anywhere on this location (while above, of course) will lead you to enter to the caravan's location. So traders can enter it to trade, fighters can enter it to attack the caravan and trying to get the key of the car trunk, etc.

Travelling end
When the countdown reaches 0, the caravan cart, the caravan master and his initial followers, if they are still on the map (even dead, but not respawned yet), are teleported to the destination location, the items gets multiplicated (If lenght >6 minutes) and that blue path on the map disappears.

That's all.

Conclusion
Well, as a conclusion... This caravan idea would make the trade between players possible, and also make the raiders a reality. Crafters, traders, roleplayers, fighters, everyone has a good reason to like it ! =) (Except Xoen, because he hasn't found his cow yet).
I think I forgot nothing, hmm, well, I'll answer your questions and so on.
Help the wasteland... Help the caravans !

[Deon]

This looks like an interesting gameplay mechanic. I vote for it .

P.S. But you will have to give me my fokin cow first.

[Wipe]

HM! This can be good source of loot/cash for lockpickers... oh yeah! Caravan full of stuff, even guarded by players, can be easy target. Just need few players to attack your caravan and some fast evil-smiling lockpicker. When you fight, i take your caravan with all inside

But this multiply thing + unlimited weight of trunk isn't good idea imho - it will be abused easily by bigger gangs / players which plays when server is empty. If we multiply items, we will see minuguns everywhere, just like before wipe and economy changes. Let's leave weight as it is now, and maybe make option to lead more carts (2/3?).

**running to workbench and starts crafting lockpicks**

[Rejfyl]

I like the idea. There is currently only a little sense in making caravans trip. There should be a prize for making them. I vote for yes!:)

[Izual]

Hmm, yeah, but abusing that feature could be hard. Even the biggest gangs haven't tons of minigun, and multiplication - if the travel is a success, I mean - is only 1.5 . Buti t has to be discussed of course.
Plus, setting up a caravan would have a cost. Here, I just said 10 waterbags, but it can be 50, or costs caps.

For the lockpickers, yeah, why not. It can be a good opportunity, but it may be easier to kill the caravan master and stealing his key. In my opninion, players will be scared enough of lockpickers to guard the cart heavily and not letting anyone coming close of it. They can even stand right on the hex needed to lockpick the cart. And making a good diversion isn't that easy, but, once again, it's another possibility. So, good point.

[skejwen]

Hmm, yeah, but abusing that feature could be hard. Even the biggest gangs haven't tons of minigun, and multiplication - if the travel is a success, I mean - is only 1.5 . Buti t has to be discussed of course.
Plus, setting up a caravan would have a cost. Here, I just said 10 waterbags, but it can be 50, or costs caps.

Meh just put there 300 miniguns and 100 combat armours... and pufff... 150 minis and 50 combat armours for little effort in no time (comparing to crafting cooldowns).

About those items which would be multiplied - its focking all way long from point A to B? Or what? Magically spawned from nothing? Its bad idea and if you know players you would expect that they would hardly exploit such feature (i.e. putting those 300 minis and 100 CA, and guarding it with 50+ people, so no one would be able to take caravan down).

Btw. I dont like idea of transporting goods from one player base to another.

[Reconite]

HM! This can be good source of loot/cash for lockpickers... oh yeah! Caravan full of stuff, even guarded by players, can be easy target. Just need few players to attack your caravan and some fast evil-smiling lockpicker. When you fight, i take your caravan with all inside

But this multiply thing + unlimited weight of trunk isn't good idea imho - it will be abused easily by bigger gangs / players which plays when server is empty. If we multiply items, we will see minuguns everywhere, just like before wipe and economy changes. Let's leave weight as it is now, and maybe make option to lead more carts (2/3?).

It's already too easy to get miniguns from caravans compared to crafting - 1 minute for 4 miniguns from a caravan, 3 hour cooldown to craft 1 minigun (+ using mats). Crafting and PvE loot needs to be rebalanced a lot.

[Hayabusa]

its great idea and hope in will be in game fast 

[skejwen]

its great idea and hope in will be in game fast 

I hope that it will go where it supposed to be: "cafe of broken dreams"

[Reconite]

I hope that it will go where it supposed to be: "cafe of broken dreams"

Because of this?

Btw. I dont like idea of transporting goods from one player base to another.

I'd have to agree with you on this point.

[Izual]

Meh just put there 300 miniguns and 100 combat armours... and pufff... 150 minis and 50 combat armours for little effort in no time (comparing to crafting cooldowns).

Well, absolutely no gang has 300 miniguns and 100 combat armors, and you pretty know it. Screenshot or it doesn't happen =P Gangs have, at the maximum, 50 of each.
And even if it was the case, you say they just have to make a good defence with 50 players. I'd firstly say no defence is perfect, and there's always a way to get in it - for example, I personnally fought a lot on TLA to takeover SAD guarded by 50 evil russians, and there's always a way, really - but then, what. They are 50, and they win 25 miniguns ? So what, 5 for each gang ?...Tremendous ! And there is always the risk to lose everything. And setting up caravans costs a bit. That's what I wanted to say.

Btw. I dont like idea of transporting goods from one player base to another.

I really don't see why. It improves interactions between players. Any argument ?

[skejwen]

Well, absolutely no gang has 300 miniguns and 100 combat armors, and you pretty know it. Screenshot or it doesn't happen =P Gangs have, at the maximum, 50 of each.
And even if it was the case, you say they just have to make a good defence with 50 players. I'd firstly say no defence is perfect, and there's always a way to get in it - for example, I personnally fought a lot on TLA to takeover SAD guarded by 50 evil russians, and there's always a way, really - but then, what. They are 50, and they win 25 miniguns ? So what, 5 for each gang ?...Tremendous ! And there is always the risk to lose everything. And setting up caravans costs a bit. That's what I wanted to say.

If such feature would be implemented (which is not going to happen, I bet my left hand on it... eeer... devs you like my left hand? right? ) there would be more than we could imagine. Making an example from TLA is totally missed. TLA has completely different economic (eaaaasy to obtain hight tech stuff), combat (ooouch... Im gonna do another coffee before my ap will regenerate) and playerbase (Hi! Im centaur 13!... Nice to meet you! Im centaur 576!)...

I really don't see why. It improves interactions between players. Any argument ?

Yup - only one: Doesnt a group of players (lets call them gang, which is not correct from mechanics point of view) can have more than one base? That would really improve interactions between them

[Izual]

I disagree, to takeover Sierra is the same thing (speaking of base strategy) on TLA and on 2238. But that was only an example. I just said there's no way to defend a place perfectly, and I'm sure you agree =p

I didn't understand your argument for bases =/ My english skill's bad, I guess.

[skejwen]

I disagree, to takeover Sierra is the same thing (speaking of base strategy) on TLA and on 2238. But that was only an example. I just said there's no way to defend a place perfectly, and I'm sure you agree =p

There is no strategy at Sierra which could beat numbers... And Im sure that  you will agree...

I didn't understand your argument for bases =/ My english skill's bad, I guess.

Lets say there is group of players... let name them... hmmm... "Cajuns". They want to have more than one base... Its possible? And considering your idea... it would be possible to transport "goods" from CajunsA to CajunsB?

[Izual]

There is no strategy at Sierra which could beat numbers... And Im sure that  you will agree...

I got two. The first one works with bombs. The other one, I participated in it in person in late August 2009 : 40 players were guarding SAD, around the entrance grid (CA, Rocket Launcher, all that stuff). We were approximately the same number. As I remember, 15 entered the main entrance, and got shot. The rest spawned using a car, in SAD's parking. At the other map's edge. And we won. So there's always a way ;p

For the Base to Base thing :
It's already possible without taking risks. My suggestion would add an optional feature that would put risk into that operation.