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My solution is to drop each faction in turn and then conduct an active player census at the end of 104 drops. This is the first value above one hundred that yields a whole integer quotient when divided by thirteen factions .
Initially I had wanted a fixed rotating order, but I realized that is not needed. For the initial pre-census phase each faction would have an attack quota of eight filled by the largest faction currently in the queue. The system would operate on first come, first serve basis.
Lets say there is a eight man of Kurita, a six man of Steiner and a five man of Nova Cat looking to form up a twelve man on attack. The first group to reach twelve with any majoritarian combination of valid factions would be placed on that faction's voted for attack world. Regardless whether that battle is a win or loss it would count toward the limit of eight. Groups split 50/50 would either alternate or be randomly chosen.
Once a faction reaches its quota limit it would no longer be eligible for attack, but could be shared with other factions of the same techbase for both attack or defense as in the current setup.
The one caveat I would place is that shared players should not be able to attack worlds of their own nationality. You would instead wait in a separate queue ready to fill in groups on any other I.S., Clan, or Clan vs. I.S. front. If a faction that maxes out its quota refrains from dropping further prior to the census, it risks having fewer attack opportunities once reapportionment occurs.
Other changes I propose for this system is the daily check for planetary control but no reset unlike what we have currently. This is very much needed as the number of planets would make resolution in eight hour combat window impossible.
I would also make it possible to declare war on multiple fronts. Why would you want to do this you say? A Kurita player could alter the ratio of attacks made against Clan opponents by declaring war on Steiner, FRR and Davion. The downside is of course that your rate of potential planet capture is much reduced, but I feel the increased agency and variety of gameplay are well worth it. Unless you only drop a premade of twelve, with no other same sized twelve mans prior to the quota limit you will be guaranteed to fight opponents of the opposing techbase, you are simply altering the ratio of that combat.
Lastly I would eliminate contract bonuses based on population. They are pointless with my census system. Make merc contracts -+50% based on percentage of controlled territory based on initial map star count. That forms a self-balancing system as a losing faction will find its ranks swollen by mercs and the loyalists will have more opportunities for rapid planetary conquest on any valid front regardless whether the opponents are Clan or I.S. through a higher quota value.
Do you see any obvious problems or flaws to this proposal? At current player count how long would it take to reach the first census threshold of eight drops for each of the thirteen factions? When counting active players, rate of participation should be a factor in some form. You want to incentivize drops after the quota limit.
Edited by Spheroid, 20 June 2018 - 11:48 AM.
