I wanted to discuss the specifics of this feature.

I know the proposal was for a limit on Corp fig limits. When scripts impose such a limit, is there a limit on non-corped players as well? Or would a non-corped player be allowed to deploy into any number of sectors?

I could see making this a limit on either player or Corp, depending on whether you're in a Corp. But then I have a question about how to deal with a player with maxed fig deployments joining a Corp with maxed fig deployments. That's just messy. I suppose there could be one limit on personal figs and another on Corp figs. Then a corp of 5 could have a total figged sector count of 5*N+M where N is the player's limit and M is the Corp limit, but managing such a grid would be troublesome.

Any thoughts on that?

I'm leaning toward tracking figged sector count per player and per Corp, then disallowing deployments above the specified threshold. I think having the ability to do this, it would be preferable over the once-per-day cleanup that current scripts use. One thing to consider is whether it would be better to allow deployments to exceed the limit temporarily, or, on the other hand, it would be best to make this a rigid cap.

There's also the problem of people teaming up and not creating a corp to take advantage of higher allowed fig levels.

Since these limits have been tried by T0yman and V'ger, I think we have a good indication of how it will work and what kinds of issues there may be. Have there been issues with people trying to circumvent the limit like this? Am I overthinking the feature?

I only had it happen once that a player merged with a corp and they had way over 500.... once he joined that players fig's added in and the script went on a mass deletion process until that corp/play grouping was back at the maximum allowable of 500. The fear of losing a gate with several millions was usually enough of a threat that staying under 500 was never an issue after one corp took the hit.
Since my script normally only ran once a day, if 2 corps merged or a player joined a corp they knew approximately the time it would run so they had that amount of time to fix the issue. There are ways to cheat around any rule, but typically players police themselves pretty good. Plus I normally had the same players each time so they all knew each other and they worried more about scoring and capping the bonus planets than gridwars.
I would like to see this implemented with a couple options if it is doable.
1. Corp/Players are limited to a combined XXX sectors and once hit can no longer drop figs.
2. Corp/Players are limited to a combined XXX sectors and randomly +/- throughout the day figs are deleted.
3. Corp/Players are limited to a combined XXX sectors runs once a day at extern or any set time and deletes the overage.

NOTE: If a player attempts to join a corp that their combined fig count would put them over the figs allowed they would have to correct the issue prior to joining forces. This stops people from joining and dropping to circumvent the fig count.

Might be a few more but this is all I have for now.

The second option is the only one that seems problematic. I don't currently have a 24/7 management of games. The process of checking for figs over limit would have to be done in player sessions, and there could be long gaps between players being online, causing the game to do a lot of processing to catch up. If it's done at the point of dropping figs, it's a small, manageable test. If it's done all at extern, it's done at a time when long processes are expected. If I had a process running like an alien server, that's processing for each game 24/7, I could do the second option, and that's something I'd like to add some day, but for now it's not viable.

I'd be more inclined to let it run at extern and randomly wipe out parts of their grid.

My reasoning for that is they can have their grid, but can they keep it?
Someone will need to be on at extern to make sure their gate sectors are cleared out so they don't lose millions of figs like T0yman mentioned.
That would also give other corps the incentive to invade near extern hoping that sector figs of the base they are invading get removed when extern runs.

I can see this getting really interesting quick. You can grid the heck out of things, but you will run the risk of losing what you value most at extern.
The risk vs reward should balance things out, no?

That seems to be doing more to add a new element of chance to the game, rather than accomplish what JP is trying to accomplish, in my mind. And while I don't disagree that it might be interesting, I don't think this game needs more randomized "lottery"ish elements to it, I think it needs less. Deep space doesn't need tidying every night--only the MSL's do (speaking from the standpoint that the game's logic presents.)

I am more for the idea of limiting the fig grid to x sectors in realtime.

MHO...

I can certainly have a warning as you drop figs over limit, but then randomly thin out your fig deployments at extern. And I don't have to make it purely random. I can sort on fig count and remove the smallest first until you get down to the limit.

In addition to Thorindude's points, I think this would be just one more feature that puts unwanted emphasis on extern, when that's something I'd like to get away from. There are already several rules in the game that can be ignored throughout the day, then fixed at extern, then immediately ignored again. To me, the advantage of being able to overextend your fig deployments temporarily is outweighed by the added advantage of playing at extern, an undesirable side-effect.

I'd really like to do this in realtime, as dropped, and I'd also like to add other options to remove the dependence on extern of other rules.

Rule = Rule , break the rules and take the chance. Random is the only way to enforce that it will be followed. What threat is there if you only going to remove single figs? People need to learn to be responsible. I just don't believe in this kindler gentler crap, that's what is ruining our society....bleh
I have another script that if it catches you in a sector near Dock with a planet it repo's the planet. Sector is clearly marked only had it happen a couple times and people understood why we have the rule in place.

I agree with T0yman that it should be random.
Risk vs reward. No only will people risk having their base figs wiped out, they will also have to balance the need to regrid vs using their turns to cash or colo. If I am in a low turn game, do I really want to waste all those turns to regrid the whole universe only to lose my millions of figs at base at extern?

Extern has always been an integral part of the game.
A decade ago, we had to make sure that we were on at extern, and got rescue corpies that got towed and hunt down enemy players that were as well. It is the easiest way to predict when people would be on.

I have to agree with Oso and T0y. If it is going to remove figs from a sector, it should be done by random sector. People can, and will, grid all over the place if they do not have to worry about their gates. But if they do have to worry about their gates, then they have to prioritize and tactically think about where to place their grid.

Just because extern has always been a part of the game doesn't make it a good part. I'm starting to wake up to something, thanks to Vid, and that's the realization that people who seriously play this game don't care if it's a PITA. But most people do. For any game to seriously have a chance of appealing to any but the most hard-core, it can't expect you to be online at 12 am or later every night. Back in the day, it wasn't possible to do in realtime some of the things that extern does. Now it is. If I can provide an option to patrol the MSLs in realtime, crack down on Corps who break the alignment rules, etc, I think that would be a great improvement. But as usual, it would only be an option.

Now, back to the question of whether to handle the fig deployment penalty in realtime or at extern. Though I can see the value of doing it at extern and making it a random event, I'm still not comfortable with creating yet another rule that can be ignored by players with the right scripts and ability to play at midnight. Players could break the rule throughout the day, then get online at midnight, run a few scripts to clean things up, wait for extern to finish, then redeploy their figs beyond the limit. This kind of activity around extern is a flaw in the game. So I'm reluctant to do that. And if I had the ability to manage games with a 24/7 extern process, I could enforce the rule every hour or something like that so you have a short time to break the rule before being penalized, but you can't just break it 23 hours of the day and comply 1 hour of the day. But I don't have that ability (yet). So that leaves either realtime enforcement or once-per-day enforcement, and I have to favor realtime for the stated reasons.

T0yman, in your experience, do players ignore the rule throughout the day, then bring their deployments into compliance with the rule at extern? If not, then why not? We see this with figging the MSLs, and with running mixed-alignment corps, so why not this? I can see where it might not be worthwhile in turn limited games, but in unlim games, I don't see any penalty for breaking this rule, as long as you're careful about it.

I know you asked this to T0yman, but I can give you my mentality-
I wouldn't bother bringing my deployments into compliance, I'd just make sure I didn't lose any base sector figs when things are revoked.
The same applies for overloading planets. If I think I'm going to be invaded during the day, I would put all the planets in the sector that I can and then move them out right before extern. Would that change as well to a random time during the day?

Why not check it when a player trys to deploy a fig?

I know that this would currently require a lengthy process of counting all the deployed figs from the sector data, but you could add a field to each player and corp that just hold the current number of deployed figs and update this field every time figs are deployed, picked up, or destroyed.

If a player tries to join a corp that would result in too many figs, he could simply be told that he cannot join until he reduces his fig count.