The way a sentinel works now...

If it's manned, and it's a corp ship, and it's in a sector
with corp planets, it gets 4x the defense bonus. That
carries some risk (getting torped, getting killed) but
protects all of the planets in the sector. Naturally it
means you're online and can also do stuff like getting
refilled.

The proposal is to make the sentinel a "hidden" ship.
You can't see it, you can't attack it, until you go to
land. Then it appears to defend that one planet and
that one planet alone. It would have to be manned,
allowing unmanned sentinels to protect planets means
there's no risk at all. That's the opposite end of the
problem spectrum. We're aiming for a good balance.

From Tholian Sentinel description:

Young corporations in need of planetary defense should consider the
Sentinel. With its new planetary combat guidance system, this ship's
normal combat odds of 1:1 shoot up to 4:1 when defending a corporate
planet. When an enemy ship enters a sector containing a Sentinel set in
defense of a corporate planet, the hostile vessel must first destroy the
Sentinel and all of its fighters before it may land and attempt any action
toward the planet. Remember: The Sentinel was designed primarily for
Planetary defense, if used for offensive purposes its combat odds are 1:1.

I'm sure this is really just semantics. When I hear "sector defense", I think fighters and mines. No ship is "sector defense" because you can enter a sector when there's a ship there. If you couldn't enter the sector when a Sentinel was there, that would be "sector defense". The Sentinel is planetary defense. But the real debate isn't over that terminology. It's over whether the Sentinel is meant to defend a single planet or any planet in the sector. I will definitely grant that, as implemented, the Sentinel has always defended all planets in a sector. But I also think that this has created some issues with how the Sentinel can be used, so that proposed changes (associating a Sentinel with a particular planet for defense, and allowing the Sentinel to defend the planet even when unmanned) would allow the ship to be used more consistently with the intent, and not abused.

Interestingly, I looked back at the v2 code and the Sentinel appears to get 4:1 odds when attacked whether or not there's a planet in the sector and whether or not it's manned. The unmanned bonus seems to have been by design, but the 4:1 odds even without a planet is clearly a bug, as the code applies the 4x modifier to any Sentinel in one place, but then sets the 4:1 odds directly elsewhere for a ship that's guarding a planet. So the implementation of the Sentinel has been messed up from the start. In fixing it, I want to look at how best to provide defense of planets during early development, and to avoid such things as popping planets into an enemy sector in order to get the 4x bonus in a battle, and whatever other creative ways people can use the Sentinel. If the only requirement for the 4x bonus is that you have a Corp planet in the sector, it's too open-ended. The only way to guarantee that it's being used to defend a planet is to engage it only when landing.

I understand what everyone is saying about the Sentinel. That's enough debate for me on this. I'm moving on.

That's the reason that I suggested that theolian odds only apply to planets with a level 1 cit or higher. However now that I think of it, why can't theolian odds only apply to planets with X amount of colonists on it? That way it would still protect 0 level planets but not allow the better odds over crap planets.

Ok 2 things here :

SG wrote:

Seems kewl , its a ship that defends and wont allow you to attack it or allow you to land .. thats a powerful ship .. but I'de make it so you had to be in it or else it can be abused.

Sing wrote :

The original classic can be implemented , but the server would have to go to timed 1 node mode.
This would eliminate most bot type scripts. But I think the few who really want this can still buy their own private server to play on.

Most any fix/changes to the game will be met with more scripts to work by these
new rules that would be set in the software.
So those who don't like the way the game is now , will not like it better later
unless there is a way to set nodes per game , and that too might hinder game play
because back in the day , people would wait hours to sit online for their time.
Maybe to draw paper maps .. who remembers that .. lol

Good luck with your ideas J.P. the game is yours to do with.
For those who don't like it .. you still can find an older copy of TWGS somewhere I'm sure.

my 2¢

But you are not looking at it from the viewpoint of people who play the alien cap games. Most of what I've read apply to turn games w/o aliens very well, but it doesn't address those that enjoy the alien cashing game. A blue can't compete against a red cashing, unless the alien cashing/capping exists.

               / Promethius / Enigma / Wolfen /

"A man who has no skills can be taught, a man who has no honor has nothing."

Perhaps some things are best left as they are.

You can always use a mobile planet to alien cash with. I realize there would be some risk involved by doing that, but any form of cashing has it's own risks. Alien cashing is something that is edit specific and there are many ways to make an edit blue friendly other than alien cashing and alien farming.

Who are you to tell people how they can't cash? If
a sysop wants to allow it, then that's that.

I agree with thrawn, some things are best left the
way they are.

Who are you to tell me what I can suggest and what I can't? I think it's best left to JP to decide.

That's the reason that I suggested that theolian odds only apply to planets with a level 1 cit or higher. However now that I think of it, why can't theolian odds only apply to planets with X amount of colonists on it? That way it would still protect 0 level planets but not allow the better odds over crap planets.

I'm a sysop who gives a d*mn, that's who.

You can decide what you want to do on your
server. You have no right to decide what I do
on mine.

People use the lv0 protection for legitimate
purposes.

I'm not deciding anything. I'm making suggestions to JP on what I think will work best. You are free to do the same, but you have no right "in this forum" to downplay my suggestions. I have EVERY right to suggest what I think is best. NOW. I'll repost my original suggestion.

That's the reason that I suggested that theolian odds only apply to planets with a level 1 cit or higher. However now that I think of it, why can't theolian odds only apply to planets with X amount of colonists on it? That way it would still protect 0 level planets but not allow the better odds over crap planets.

Except some of your suggestions come at the expense
of others.



I'll explain it then. People like to be able to pop planets
and use the gbonus to waste other people's figs. That's
a valid tactic, it should remain one. If you require anything,
then that prevents that tactic and makes several very
popular edits (the most popular edits in the game, bar
none) unplayable or less fun.

Making the funnest edits in the game, the most popular
edits by a light year, less fun... not a good way to make
players happy.

On your server, you can make the gbonus planets hold
no gtorps. That gives you the ability to control or limit
this tactic on your server. Expecting every other server
to conform to your personal dislikes tho... that's fascism.

That's the reason that I suggested that theolian odds only apply to planets with a level 1 cit or higher. However now that I think of it, why can't theolian odds only apply to planets with X amount of colonists on it? That way it would still protect 0 level planets but not allow the better odds over crap planets.