I apologize, but this will be huge: I have to disagree with 1 000 000 caps bases,... The visibility on world map + "safe zones" in the base with possibility of break lvl.1 zone, if owner of base will not maintain "gate system" properly brings many opportunities and entertaining elements, that could be reason why to play 5 months after wipe.
In general, current base system is obsolete and it is not challenging. Our PvP gang has only basic cave for 3 eras. It is cheap, it has everything you need (workbench, still and computer), we use front place to putting all stuff on ground => it is very fast to reequip yourself. Even if gang name would be transferable, we absolutely dont need to move to other (bigger) type of base, the abandon vault is useless now. So i think that base system and hierarchy could be reworked.
I understand that the visibility on world map is problem, because we dont want thousands of bases on world map. Question is,
why there are so many bases?1) Even small group, or lonely player with more than one alt needs to buy base, if he needs to share stuff he collects.
2) You need workbench for crafting almost every stuff, even weak one.
3) You have very limited possibility to choose location where your base will be placed. Some bases are at very distant locations and are useless (even my beloved vault).
4) PvP gangs build new bases for newbies
5) There is not exist base challenging element, that will create connection between gamg members and the base.
6) There is not base erasing feature.
==> if you would find solution for that problem and you would implement it, you will significantly
reduce the number of existing gangs/bases and you will help server to reduce the huge database. If you will find solution, that will
encourage roleplaying, it will be excelent way how to improve gameplay.
My
little suggestions in this way:
ad 1) Make
tent visible to other players: craft map item, use map in the tent, you will "write location tent" by this, than you can give this map to anybody, and if he will use map on world map, he will see tent location and map item will be consumed => many players, they want only to share their own stuff acroos their own chars will dont have reason why to build base
ad 2) this could help n.1, if you are trader, you dont need to craft hi-tech stuff.. you need low level stuff or you can trade it at bazaar or in NPC traders =>also big reducement of base numbers
ad 3)
Choose base location (in limits that devs will set): Little story: "After wipe, we collect money for cheapest base (question of prestige to be first gang who can capture the city). We always choose cave base and sometimes we totaly dislike location because it is far away from TC cities, or from cities with NPC traders (NCR, San Fran,..) or even worse, it is in the middle of the raiders zone. Because of this, we had severaly abandon our previus base and using "friends" ability, we had remowed our PvP base to somewhere else, but we used previous one for crafters." Third era we had base one very good place, i think that nobody will place base on that place, but for us it was a dream. I also know, that french players have their own favourite base place, very different from our place. So i dont think that everyone will try to place base on one spot. Also, there could be kind of restrictions.
ad 4)
Make special place for newbies in base: as a gang with continuosly existence, we often accept new members. Problem is that we dont trust them (we had bad experience with Doc Spad,..) so at first, we need to test them. Because of that, we always have another, rookie base. It is always almost empty, because newbies after few days of leveling and exping lacks of ingame contact with us. You know, we offer them basic stuff, place to craft, but only few of them qualificate to real PvP players, because most of them gone.
So if you look at TLA base, there are several buildings in lvl.1 (security) sector, only one lvl.2 sector (main building) and one lvl.3 sector (armory). => make from building on lvl.1 another lvl.2 security building, make lvl.3 sector accesible only for high ranks (old members). Newbies would be on one base with us, but they could not steal stuff from our armory. We will be in contact with them, we can enjoy common "stress before action", "euphory after win" or "sadness after loss". I think that this could significantly raise the number of playes who will stay with us and with other gang members.
ad 5)
Challenge elements: we bough cave and thats all. No new challenge. Even if there would be, after few weeks of activity, base is full of stuff and completely transfer is impossible. So i suggest make bases upgradable, there will be no need to abandon upgraded base, because it takes a lot of work. Also, it could be reason why to still play, to upgrade your base with something new. I know that there can not exist dynamic maps, but there are ways how to make static maps more dynamic:
a) imagine map (like in TLA) or vault (2238), that could have some parts, levels, rooms unaccesible (simply door lock and computer will not response), until you will enable that parts of your base via quests.
I.e.: Vault
permanent upgrades: => horizontal: if you buy it, only few of rooms would be accesible, until you will not upgrade your generator, so you will make continuosly (via quests, repair, sicence skill, some special el. parts,..) make accesible more and more rooms. Once you will achieve this upgrades, you will have it forever accesible.
=> vertical: you can repair your elevator (if you have enough power) and use it.. another rooms you will have to use there
example of permanent upgrades: new rooms for common stuff, personal rooms that you can lock by numeric code, still, workbench (lvl 1-3), brahmin pen, ..
temporary upgrades. once you will enable acces to rooms where you have any interactive elements (medical station, repair station, nuka cola automat, 5mm ammunition assembly line
, hydroponics fiber tank, ..) you will be able to get benefit from this, but you will need maintain this elements (MFC, SECells, water, repairing, sometimes new parts if it is broken), or you will not be able to use them
examples of temporary upgrades:
medical station: you can get full HP restoration there, even if you are weak
repair station: will help you to repair stuff (boost to your repair skill)
nuka automat (not generator): if you fill it with enough nukas, you will only push it and nuka will drop out
5mm ammo assembly line: +100 percent of this kind of ammo you will get from needed resources (but it will be very el. energy resource-consuming=> more MFC nad SECells)
hydoponics: plant your own (even small number) fibers in the base for basic armors
brahmin pen: support it with more water and you will double outcome of brahmins (=>leathers)
b) or you can have one base, in every corner of that base map could be a
green exit grid that could connect your base with another location. Until you will buy "upgrade", that place would be empty, after purchasing it could be replace with fiber fields, brahmin pens,...
c) back to vault.. if you dont enough repair every doors at low levels (whrere are temporary elements located), you can expect r
at/molerat/mutated molerat or even death claw invasion6) As i showed you, base could be more or less dynamic even in current state. There could be relation to base, but there will always exist players who left the game and abandon base. And this could be ideal
opportunity for scavengers, thiefes,..
Imagine situaion: In TLA base, you need to use computer to open doors if you want to move from different lvl security areas. So every day you have to use computer, even if you dont add new members. So why not to erase base after 14 days without computer use. But erase mode could be roleplaying too. After those 14 days, player who is not member could use science/lockpick/dynamite to break thru that doors, he could take what he want (base is abandoned) and he could erase base if he i.e. detonate main computer/or use science on it (self destructing mechanism,..) whatever, he will take some kind of "base electronic part" and if he brings this to some NPC, he could get money reward. After destroying computer, base will be erased after you left this base map. Simply, roleplay, it could clear database. And imagine this in current situation, where we have hundrets of bases. Also nice exploration element Gatling.
