Completion of the territorial warfare system is nearing, so it's time to start preparing for the release. It would probably be a good idea to explain how everything's going to work in detail.
The territorial warfare system will launch with the new upgrade tree system. Initially the plan was to also totally remove chaining and ranked warring in preparation for this, but I think we can probably keep both for now until they're also replaced.
We'll be removing all current 'Special abilities' (I.e. Steadfast) from factions and refunding the respect. Then leaders will be able to assign (not spend) this new 'total respect' to upgrades within the upgrade tree. When completing an upgrade within the upgrade tree, it won't remove your faction's respect, that respect will just be assigned to that particular upgrade. If you lose respect, you will lose the upgrades it was assigned to. With this change, 'Respect' becomes a proper life bar which doesn't drop when making upgrades (this is important for future updates).
The new upgrade tree consists of 47 individually upgradable specials (compared to the current 10), but there's a catch: Many upgrades will require your faction to meet challenges before you can assign respect to them. For example, increasing maximum nerve will require your faction to achieve different increments of 'Criminal offences' together. Upgrading additional maximum nerve from 9 to 10 will require your faction to achieve a total of 30,000 criminal offences (5,000 more than going from 8 to 9). These faction-wide statistics will only begin recording when the upgrade tree is released, so it may take a bit of time before factions can assign all of their newly refunded respect. We estimate most factions will be able to achieve at least the same value of upgrades as their previous 'special abilities' within a short amount of time.
The new upgrade tree features almost infinite progression. Your faction will not only have to earn respect together, they'll have to work together to accomplish challenges too. Other than the basic core upgrades, factions will be able to unlock up to 6 specializations (of which 8 are available). The FORTITUDE branch for example will open up access to Medical cooldown, Reviving, Hospital time, Life regeneration & Medical effectiveness upgrades. The VORACITY branch can increase booster cooldown and Candy / Alcohol / Energy drink effects. The EXCURSION branch can increase Travel items, Hunting gain, Cayman interest and make Rehab cheaper.
Within the core of the upgrade tree, there will be a territory upgrade. By unlocking the first increment, it will allow your faction to take over a single city block, subsequent upgrades will allow your to hold up to 40 city blocks - but this is no small feat. A faction which can control 20 territory blocks will need to have held 19 individual blocks for at least 3 days, and assigned a massive amount of respect to the upgrades.
Once leaders have unlocked the territory upgrade, they'll be able to go to the city map and claim a territory - taking over an unclaimed city block or warring for one. Either way, factions must start in sector 7 (the outskirts of the city). From this starting location, they'll be able to move or spread inwards towards the city center. Every individual block held will generate new respect every day, the amount of respect given depends on the block's size, density and which sector it's in. We intend on the biggest / strongest factions warring in the center of the city, while weaker / smaller factions keep out of their way in the other districts.
Upon release of territory warfare, sectors 1 to 6 will be closed. This is a kind of staged release of the system. Factions will only be able to claim and war in sector 7 initially, then when sector 6 opens up later, they'll be able to move or spread inwards e.t.c. This ensures that factions can't just instantly move to the center of the map on the first day, factions will most likely be warring within the first week in order to maintain prime positions within sector 7 until sector 6 is opened.
Wars within the territorial warfare system will be totally different from the current ranked wars. Faction members from either faction will need to assault or defend the territory. Joining the war (by assaulting or defending) uses 25 energy, and instantly begins earning score for the faction (1 per second). During this status, any member can be knocked out of the war if they go to jail, hospital or travel, and will need to rejoin when they're available again. Both factions can have up to 10 members in the war at a time, the first faction to achieve the required score will win and either take control of the territory or retain ownership. The aim is to keep as many members of your faction on the territory as possible, while keeping few members of the opposing faction on it.
We expect this new warring system will start off pretty simple initially, but we'll add improvements / diversity to it over time. For example, increasing score gain during peak times and decreasing it during off-peak times, or increasing the score required or maximum member capacity based on the size of the territory involved. All future additions require data & feedback that we won't have until the system is released.
Once all sectors are open, phase two of the territorial warfare update will be a system called 'Influence'. Factions within proximity of certain city map areas will begin to influence them, providing a special bonus. For example, influencing Big Al's might give the faction a daily income based on how much money was spent there, or special weapons / ammunition. If there are 6 city blocks surrounding the area, your faction will have to control all 6 to receive 100% of the special bonus.
We want to take baby steps here, both with territorial warfare and the upgrade trees. Release the updates in their simplest forms, review the data for potential issues / assess feedback, then make improvements. They're not going to be perfect from day one, but we'll certainly keep going until we feel we've reached that goal.
We would like to do a final beta test with the full territorial warring system before release, with a few real factions. We'll be posting a thread in the Bulletin board soon to give faction leaders the ability to apply their faction for participation.
Thanks.