Competition / Festive Events

[Coops]

OK here's your chance to amaze me, blow me away with your creativity and plain wacky ideas...

I'm looking for suggestions for Festive Events. We have a lot fo the annual ones nailed down, for instance the next one on the calendar will be Halloween, then Guy Fawkes, then Christmas....

Burt what about those down times between those and my Coops challenges....

I'll take serious suggestions on the back of a postcard (or jot them down here)...

Give them some thought, they have to be achievable (by me) and fun for ALL players not just those with the deepest pockets or those who sit apon the largest pile of resources. Collections, hand in's competitive things, or simply something I've never considered before...

All suggestions read and considered...

We may even name the Event AFTER YOU

Coops

[Coops]

bumpy... bumpy... bumpy...

[Elkhorn]

Sorry. I've been trying to flesh out how this would work. Scavenger hunt. This would actually be Three separate hunts (actually more as explained below).
A player goes to the Scavenger Hunt Center. He selects the galaxy he wants to hunt in (Sphere, Verec Per, or Furnace). At that time the players individual scavenger hunt clues are loaded into the collection points of various planets/stations. The player is given his initial clue and sets of in search of the next clue. (Clues can be based on certain system characteristics (i.e. go to the system with three asteroid fields and a fuel depot. Your next clue is at the station there.). Individual Captains can get prizes at certain stages of the hunt and there can be server wide presents or the infamous coops goodie bag for completion of x number of hunts.
I realize this would take a lot of front end work and don't know if it would be possible or not.
I left out the expanse because I don't know how many Captains have explored it completely.
Clues could be based on planet bios as well.
Thoughts?
Elkhorn

[Darakhoranon]

Maybe something similar to the genesis planet collection?

E.g. there is a "Planetkiller Asteroid!"-event in Kelsey and the players have to gather/donate large amounts of raw resources, crafted items, loot found during exploration, etc. in order to prevent a catastrophic impact. There is a time limit, of course. A rather challenging one...

If the event is completed successfully, the whole system improves - increased law ratings, additional Ashar/Wesbec/whatever missions available, more options on each planet/SB, something more complicated (e.g. one of the "dead" planets becomes a kind of "planetary exploration training area"). This growth could/should be added over time - partly because of the workload, but also because it would make the system (and the whole game) feel more "alive"...
If the event is NOT completed, however, the opposite happens - law ratings drop, planetary populations decline, offices close, etc.

Thus, the players would have an actual stake in the outcome - getting free stuff is all well and good, but if you could actually CHANGE THE UNIVERSE...

[Darakhoranon]

Or maybe some way to TEMPORARILY make certain activities more profitable...

E.g. if the players reach a certain goal during "Ashar week" (I'd take a look at the challenge goals for Ashar to determine a reasonable target number that is realistic but still sufficiently challenging to keep things interesting), Ashar payouts are increased for the following four weeks - +40% in week 1, +30% in week 2, etc. (numbers chosen only to explain what I mean, of course). Alternatively, if stage 1 is completed, +10% payout for 1 week, if stage 2 is completed, +20% in week one AND +10% in week 2.

Similar events for the other common activities.

[Kaloseidos]

I was of the same mind as Elkhorn. I love scavenger hunts. My thoughts were just a bit different.

ok, you get your first clue. go to where it says, and a pop up tells you what you need and how long you have to find it in this system (yes! a timer!). this opens up that object, or whatever you need to find, for you and anyone in that system (oh gosh, not social, halp!!) for that time period. With your scavenge comes the clue for the next place to look. I love all the pop culture references, so Id base clues on that, but Im a goof so take that as that I think this is fairly simple, since most of it is already done in game (like the pop ups) and wouldn't be too much extra coding, plus, it could be small or larger (simple to more involved) and not need to have to be tweaked horribly to do so.

[Morzorak]

The Great Galactic Race! Set out markers in various systems, you have to fly to the markers in order. As you get to each marker you are registered. Make it to all of them in order, win a prize. To keep it fair (fuel differences) either offer re-fueling at the markers, or have the race over a longer duration.

Also like the Olympic torch, you could have a relay. Each captain can only carry the torch so far before another captain has to get the torch and carry it part way. Set it up so it goes through several galaxies. The captains will have to work together.

[Darakhoranon]

Since a request for Expanse Settlement Universities came up in another thread:

Maybe there could be an event to "convince the Naristro to deepen the ties", and depending on how well the event goes (i.e. how many challenges are completed), we unlock additional buildings for Expanse Settlements? E.g. 1/3 of the goals reached -> small university, 2/3 -> medium, 3/3 ->large. With the last 3rd of the goals being REALLY challenging, of course...

And for those of us who don't have an Expanse Settlement (and don't plan on getting one), maybe we could get some kind of bonus to our reputation with our alien friends? Or maybe some kind of weaker/smaller hybrid equipment (e.g. a special small alien passenger cabin)?