RocketBoy

Season 2 Holonet: Missions Currently in active development, the Missions system would be a new addition to Factions, one designed to offer the fun Star Wars experience of adventures on a far-away world. Missions are a special build activity any player can partake in, some of which serve up story opportunities, while others have gameplay benefits. The Missions system has two types so far—Bounty Hunter and Scouting—but would extrapolate easily to all kinds of mission types. Based off the gameplay feature from Factions episode 8, Missions require multiple builds which have to pass a certain score to move to the next stage. Bounty Missions: Builds: 2, Score Threshold: 5+ Players choose from a list of active bounties, which detail a target and their last known location. The Phase 1 build features your character tracking the target. If that build scores more than 5, you move to do your Phase 2 build, showing your character engaging your quarry. If you score 5+, you successfully capture your bounty and complete the Bounty mission. The XP scored on your second build will be given to you as IP to place on any system accessible to your faction. Scouting Missions: Builds: 4, Score Threshold 10+* A more direct take from Episode 8, your Phase 1 build is on an accessible planet, and features your team preparing for the mission. If you score 10+, you move onto the exploration phase. In Phase 2, the player can put three builds on the target planet: they must collectively score 10+, as well as match or exceed any IP another Faction has on the system already. No IP is gained from Phase 2 of a Scouting mission, but a successful scouting mission reveals all VP and Assets in the target system. As said before, Missions could be adapted to any number of professions or situations, and again, it's in development, so pitch in with your feedback and ideas. What do you think about Missions?

@Samppu Thanks for all the thoughtful feedback! I'm stoked to see you get involved, you clearly have a head for strategy games (and I appreciate pulling from board games). Balance is definitely a tricky subject. Typically when new players joined the Factions Discord, everyone (Bjorn included) encouraged them to join smaller factions, but at the end of day the point of the game is having fun and building what you want to build, so it's better if everyone has freedom to go where they want. Because it ultimately comes down to the skill of the builders and how much time they have to build, it's very difficult to artificially introduce a handicap that really works. That said, I really like your idea about maintenance costs. It's important that the game stay as simple and streamlined as possible. With Season 2 especially, accessibility is one of the big things we're focusing on. Late in the game, Alliances provided a kind of organic balancing factor. A few of the smaller factions joined forces against the Empire, and while it didn't make a huge difference in the end, it certainly helped players feel more encouraged about their chances and brought out some great teamwork. We're considering codifying that for Season 2, so that smaller Factions with their own motives can form "super-factions" by way of alliances, and have a fighting chance against other, larger factions. At the end of the day, unlike most games, not every single faction is going to stand a chance of winning the overall game. In story, that makes sense: the Mining Guild, Colony Worlds, and Imperial Remnant don't have the same odds of taking control of the galaxy. Star Wars is often about small, rag tag groups working together against a large Empire, so in that sense (story), things naturally worked themselves out. But in the game, everyone still has plenty of opportunity to accomplish their own personal goals, and goals for their Faction. I personally think it's important to emphasize goals besides winning the overall game (or season). My Faction, next season, won't be focusing on winning or collecting VP as much as growing a Jedi Order. We've discussed how to mechanically introduce Faction Goals into the game rules, but nothing is set in stone so far. Thank you for your engagement!

Season 2 Holonet: Assets Another addition to Season 2 will be Assets. Assets are one-time-use bonuses that can be applied to your Factions' builds, and will become more common as we try to make LTCs less frequent. Informally broken down into two categories: Special Assets are things like one-use Wayfinders to inaccessible systems, shortcuts to establishing Space Stations (and potentially blockades), and in-roads to specific subregions on the map. Boost Assets are one-time-use 2x score multipliers you can apply to a build. Boost Assets are (at the time being) specific to certain themes of builds: one might only be applied to a starfighter build, an agricultural build, or a microscale build. (This should incentivize variety and trying new things.) Assets will be earned by discovering and claiming them when you take control of a system. The idea is that the kinds of Assets you find will depend on the kind of planet on which you find them. The design intentions behind Assets are to give the game a new kind of reward that offers a substantial bonus and a new strategic factor, but doesn't dramatically imbalance the game. They'll also encourage good building; you'll want to score as well as possible before you double that score. LTCs got a little wild toward the end of Season 1, and I think that put pressure on people (it did on me!). We'd like to do LTCs less often, so Assets can assume their role. We're open to ideas for new kinds of Assets! Share your thoughts or questions. The document below is for adding Asset ideas, as well as contributing to the Galactic Gazette; a way of tracking which planets belong to what categories, and which planets deserve to reward Factions with VP. There are backups, but please treat the document nicely! https://docs.google.com/document/d/11agssd6Y6hkZUoRCyMXBgDKIWwmsqM84g2IuQw_XxXM/edit?usp=drivesdk

My mind is blown. I appreciate your word about dead characters, but I trust that you've got plans that make it worth it.

Season 2 Holonet: Victory Points (VP) One of the big changes in Season 2 is that holocrons are out, and Victory Points are in. Instead of 7 (then 20) holocrons hidden throughout the galaxy, the system the GMs are currently working on has 50 key planets around the galaxy that, depending on their importance and strategic value, grant between 1-3 Victory Points (VP). The benefits to this? It will be much easier for Factions to get VP than it was to get holocrons, meaning you get to "win" more often. They're also more plentiful, so you won't be struggling over only a few planets (unless you want to). Holocrons also didn't make much sense in terms of the game story: they were a McGuffin, and they served their purpose. On the other hand, VP Systems follow a strategic logic: big, wealthy systems like Coruscant and Corellia give the most points (3), populous systems like Lothal and Ord Mantell give you 2, and less powerful worlds like Dantooine and Batuu give you 1. We're working, and will want your help, to make sure every corner of the galaxy offers a chance to score points, though anyone who's watched Star Wars knows the Core Worlds are richer than the Outer Rim. You can help make it as balanced as possible by contributing your thoughts and ideas. We're also assigning Types to these planets, to further outline what kind of benefit you're getting. This doesn't (currently) have a mechanical function in gameplay, but it helps differentiate worlds that are useful for their farmlands and worlds that have productive shipyards. It's flavor, story content for those who want insight into the kinds of worlds they control. We're planning to open up a shared document where people can contribute ideas for VP worlds: how much VP they would grant, and what Types they would classify as. We've also considered giving Factions the option to earn VP in other ways, like taking control of a specific set of planets, or even accomplishing custom, Faction-created goals. We can talk more about that later on.

Welcome to the end of Episode IX: Dark Before Dawn, and with it, the end of Star Wars Factions: Season 1. Thank you for participating, you have been a part of making Factions what it is. Epilogue | Aftermath of the Outer Rim Sieges Letter from the GMs Final Summary and Results Season 2

Perfect.

I love this so much. So clean, the minifigs are great (like that Scout Guard-looking dude, like from Mando S2). The whole atmosphere is perfect. Great use of space. I'm looking forward to see more of your stuff. Are you in the Discord?

I love the people...stick fighting? That's a fun detail, they have great expressions. That's always so tricky with minifigs!

Sign me up, I have to get my hands on Jedi Bob or I'll burn down the city of Billund (Also, legitimately great build, I love to see it. Thanks for keeping the fun, wacky, Lego humor side of Factions thriving)

That water's BOILIN (the height variety in the ground is nicely done!)

Eeeexcellent textures here. Would love to see a full photo of it. Nice work.

I agree with this! But good stuff, I know you were kind of shooting the breeze with this one, if I remember the WIPs. It turned out good!

*This entry has earned 20 XP* WAR IN THE OUTER RIM The Triumvirate has besieged a number of remote worlds, their most brazen attack yet. The New Republic must respond, but lacks the military strength to oppose the Remnant alone: the call for aid goes out across the galaxy, and the Freedom Fighters answer. Warriors from the Confederacy of Free Systems, Freedom Fighters, and New Republic commandos battle alongside each other on the wind-blown farmlands of Telos IV. Jun Kanda--former-Jedi Knight, former-bounty hunter, and current hero--leads them all bravely into the fray. STORY The Reflections of Admiral Yima BATTLE PHOTOS BUILD PHOTOS MINIFIGS Thanks for looking!

Really great stuff! That tank is something else.