Redesign the usage of Alliance Depot

    • Alliance and Player Interaction

    • Redesign the usage of Alliance Depot

      I have seen many suggestions as how to change the Alliance Depot, but one thing I think we can all agree upon is that at this point the building is COMPLETELY useless!!

      So I suggest that the Alliance Depot should change name to Alliance Center / Alliance Headquarter and then implement some features specific for an alliance. Some features that ordinary players won't have. This is a pretty long thread, so if you are up late, now is not the time to read it :)

      I suggest a community center where one can do several interactions with the ally. Just like the "Merchant" page has several functions, so should the Alliance Center have several functions. So far I have thought of 2, but more functions could easily come along.

      Trade Center

      One "office" should be called "Trade Center". At this trade center, I might put up 1 mil deut for sale. The alliance might have some internal rules as to how much I can ask for this 1 mil deut, providing that this rate is within the rules of the community. When I transfer my 1 mil deut to the trade center, I can no longer use it on my planet, but it will still be visible on probe reports and it will still be open for attacks. But I won't just be able to sell the resource for just another kind of resource, I could also claim some DM for it (rates will be for GF to determine, but I'm thinking along the lines of 1 mil metal OR 0.5 mil crystal OR 0.25 mil deut for 1.000 DM). This way players who are less fortunate can still earn some officers. And GF are not missing out on any income as someone else has already payed for the DM.

      If I were to transfer this 1 mil deut to the Alliance Trade Center, then I might ask 3 mil metal OR 1.5 mil crystal OR 3.000 DM for the trade. I can terminate the offer at any given time, should I need to transfer the resources (I might have to go off line and need to do a FS). On the other hand, the one accepting the offer just say "I'm going to pay with ..." and then accept the trade. The trade is completed instantly. As long as you have the resources to pay for the trade, you can buy as much as you want, no matter the limit of your warehouse. However: due to lack of resource or Alliance Center level (further below) I might not be able to purchase the entire portion of the resources and therefore have to only buy a portion of the offer.


      Fleet Exchange

      Another "office" of the Alliance Center should be called "Fleet Exchange". This works pretty much the same way. I might transfer 1.000 Battleships to the Fleet Exchange. This will take them out of my own fleet and I can no longer send them off to battle, but they can still be gunned down by an attacker. But those 1.000 Battleships each cost 45k metal and 15k crystal to produce. This is the price I can take for each ship as well. Here the benefit is that I might have a Nanite level high and a fleeter might not have a high Nanite factory, but he does have the resources. This way the ally as a whole can decide where to build ships. This is much more efficient for the ally as a team. And mind that SOMEONE will always have to have the ships. It is not like 1.000 ships just appear out of nowhere. They simply just transfer from one account to another. This also happens instantly, just like the trade.

      Ofc. one can only buy the ships if one has already researched the levels needed to produce the ships. Also, if I want to buy the 1.000 Battleships I can't be under attack while buying them. Otherwise this could be used as a pretty unfair ninja. Each ship has a purchase cost, this cost compared to your Alliance Center / HQ determines how much I can sell and buy at a time.


      Alliance HQ level

      The level of your Alliance Center / Alliance HQ will have an effect upon how much you can offer at a given time as well as how much you can buy at any given time. Here are my thoughts as to how much one can offer/buy per level:

      Level 1: 1 offer @ 250k resources
      Level 2: 2 offers @ 500k resources
      Level 3: 4 offers @ 1 mil resources
      Level 4: 8 offers @ 2 mil resources
      and so on...

      So in the case with the 1.000 Battleships I'd need an Alliance HQ of level 9 in order to post the offer.


      I have split up the suggestion into smaller portions in order to make it a bit easier to go through it all. The "Merchant" page has 4 functions and I would love for the Alliance HQ to have the same.

      This will completely change the way the Alliance Depot is working and that is why I'd like to change the name in the process. But what I rely like about this suggestion is how non DM players get a chance to earn some DM, however at a pretty steep price. But GF are still not missing out on any money as someone, somewhere has already bought the DM, the DM simply transfers to another account. In fact, this might even increase the usage of DM. As the purpose of the building has been completely re-designed, perhaps a change in cost is also in place? You can think about this as well when you write your comments.

      When responding to this, consider what name you like best. The Alliance Center? Or the Alliance Headquarter? I can't decide...

      If you have further questions feel free to ask them. If you have any suggestions as to how the last 2 "offices" should be used, I'm all ears as well :)
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      The post was edited 1 time, last by Molle ().

    • I forgot to mention a "cooldown" period after buying something. Withput a cooldown period there is no point in limiting how much you can buy per level. One would just buy what one can and then once more, that is not the point. So a cooldown period is in my mind needed.

      Also when under attack it is only the coordinates under attack that cannot buy, it's not the entire account.
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    • First things first I do agree that such change would definitely change the way alliances work, and I believe that this would make this game much better and more enjoyable.

      However I think that in the Fleet Exchange, movement should not be instant. The game tries to make people gather information (spy reports, phalanx scans etc). I see that you already thought of ninja defense, but I believe this should be done using similar way to deployment mission.

      I also think that the resources transfer shouldn't be instant as well, and should work similarly to regular transports, however in manner that they either can not be cancelled (e.g. to avoid situation when one wants to 'trade' but then moves back his fleet after receiving resources first and similar situations) or when trade is cancelled both sides get their things back. I also think that this should involve the right amount of ships that are required to send amount of resources etc. My idea for transport mission here is that both fleet would move at the same speed, this to avoid one getting resources first.

      My other suggestion is to allow trading of the items in inventory such as krakens or boosters, either for other items, or for resources. This is because sometimes I get items that I completely not require and I believe I wont use them at all in near future, and would rather get something that is useful to me.

      Overall I think this suggestion may require still some work from community, but If this would be accepted then this would be super useful.
    • I agree with you: this idea still needs a lot of work before it can be implemented. Also, I cannot believe that I did not think about the Item trade. It's brilliant!

      Whether or not trades will be instant, then this will add a new kind of player to the existing fleeters and miners. The new kind of players could be called "Builders". And their jobs is of cause to build fleet for the ally.

      I suggested a cooldown period because a limet to the buildings level would otherwise not make sense. With wour suggestion, the trade it self is the cooldown period.

      Further more. I'd like to make DM a method of payment for all services in the Alliance Center / HQ. this is in an effort to even out the differences between DM players and those who can't affort it. But I don't know how to do that with the item trade. Items has much different values for different players. A 30 min cut for one person is just a few useless ships and for others it's half a fleet. So perhaps the value of items should depend upon the player buying them??

      I truly don't know. Like you said: still needs a lot of work!
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    • Molle wrote:

      But I won't just be able to sell the resource for just another kind of resource, I could also claim some DM for it (rates will be for GF to determine, but I'm thinking along the lines of 1 mil metal OR 0.5 mil crystal OR 0.25 mil deut for 1.000 DM). This way players who are less fortunate can still earn some officers. And GF are not missing out on any income as someone else has already payed for the DM.
      I'm not sure that this idea is good, because could start a new kind of multyaccount .......... searching od DM in expedition that then will be transfered for "real" account ; i'm not thinking only a violation of rule about multyaccount, but also i think a players that will use their friends for this mission ......... personally i don't like users that start an account in an universe only in function to help a friend, and so sound only as a part of an other account.

      Molle wrote:

      The trade is completed instantly.
      I don't like this, because in this way it should be used to save instantly resource while you are under attack (and you are not online or you have not fleets to move it ) .......... I prefer other solutions:
      1) a place similar at forum where you write offers/request and then you privatly organize exchange with normal way
      2) a special planet (one for ally) where you can move resources, and where ally can build defence and/or use defense acs. This planet can be attacked by other players (externally at ally).
      You put resources in trade in this planet. To move resource from player to planet you use normal cargo. Instead to move resource from planet to player is instantly (so no problem with no existing cargos over planet).
      So if player A want to trade metal, it will put their request in special form and resource will travel to ally's planet. When player B will accept trade, it will send resource to ally's planet; when resource will arrive, instantly A will receive them in his planet and same B.
      I should permit internally at ally a ratio exchange a few different with what permit rules of ogame (for example +- 25%) using ally's planet.
      Maybe every hour or another interval, a part of the resources deposited on the planet could turn into defenses.

      Molle wrote:

      Another "office" of the Alliance Center should be called "Fleet Exchange".

      Molle wrote:

      This also happens instantly, just like the trade.
      I don't like, for the same motive that in this way it could be used to save ships under attack.

    • I like the idea ONLY for Centre Commercial for the alliance but I do not like the idea of buying it with resources (these resources should not go to the player there would be cases of pushing) so the idea could only be implemented with exchanges of the same range Bronze items with bronze, exchanges of silver items with silver and exchanges of gold items with gold.
      Exchanges limited for player every a day for "x" quantity.
      It could be implemented directly by adding a page in import / export.
    • After Vakus' post I sort of realized that instant trades wasn't a good idea.

      But I don't see how it can be a push? One will receive exactly the same resources for each sold ship as one spend on it. Ahh, after reading your post again and again I think I know what you mean. You are talking about exchanging items, right? Well, paying for items is tricky, I discovered that myself. Perhaps item trades are only possible for other items (of same category) and not for resources...

      I'm hoping to create an Alliance Depot that alliances would actually use. Otherwise I rather see the building gone. I mean "use it or lose it". I think the fleet exchange could be an interesting notion for ally's to work with.
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    • I may have another suggestion for this idea, for resource trading. Maybe it could be done in way that there is new mission type for fleet called 'trading mission'. It would work in following manner:
      1. The seller defines ratios at Alliance Depot e.g. 3:2:1. He/she also may only allow payment with specific resource, e.g. metal, and decides what sales e.g. deuterium.
      2. The buyer sends x cargo ships, where x is the amount needed to fit sending and receiving amount of resources that buyer wants to buy (e.g. I want to buy 10k deuterium, so I need to pay 30k metal while assuming 3:1 ratio, so i need 30k cargo space overall)
      3. When the trading fleet arrives, the resources are exchanged - the fleet gives 30k metal to the seller, and automatically receives 10k deuterium. In case the seller doesn't have 10k deuterium, the fleet then:
        a) Doesn't take, and give anything - it returns to buyer with all the resources that he/she sent
        b) The fleet takes of resource as much as it can, and gives the according amount of payment using previously defined ratio.
      4. The fleet returns to the buyer's planet with 10k deuterium
      If this would be done in this manner, I believe that this would solve some problems of trusting the other player, where he may never send the resources, etc.
      This I also believe would make trading between alliances much more easy. I also think that fleet selling could be done in similar manner, but this would seem a bit more complicated.