True Light Operating Systems (Culmination of many fresh suggestions - dont bash)

[HJ®]

Lets play with this idea a bit..Try and tweak in a few old ideas with some new ones...

True Light Operating System, or TLOS for short, is the OS given with the computer True Light designates us.

The main purpose for TLOS is to allow a user to run a PC. If your TLOS is not running, your computer can not start any outbound connections. Running a TLOS allows you nearly full control of a server if activated remotely.

The TLOS Expires once every 168 hours (once per week) and from there must be restarted, or it can be started remotely. Gold members' Localhost TLOS do not expire. It takes 336 hours (2 weeks) to activate a TLOS remotely, but can be activated locally instantly. If you successfully activate a TLOS remotely, you gain control of the server - to the point where you can upgrade hardware, but not change IP/server name - until the owner of the server can change IP or format the HDD and run the TLOS locally or the 168 hours later when it expires again.. Remotehost TLOS activations expire weekly as well. If your TLOS is not running, a localhost Format HDD is instant but wipes the server completely - knocking it back to base hardware. This allows players the option of a "fresh start" after seeing their PCs have been used, or they could simply Change IP and take advantage of it at any point in time. It's a big risk for anyone who wants to use a remote PC for research or storage or the like.

This will allow us to keep closer tabs on who is active and who isn't, as well as keeping other players on their toes. It will also allow us an incredibly vast expansion of resources - When you have a TLOS running remotely, you can upgrade the hardware on the remote server. This will allow players to ACTUALLY claim servers - with TLOS programs. It'll also be a nice surprise if one of these inactive players decide to come back to the game - and may want to make them stay, IF they change IP instead of formatting.

The TLOS must - ALWAYS - be your highest level running program, or your computer will not function properly. Your BW will randomly change, and your PC will give you false readings as to your hardware levels and running program used resources, etc.

Here's the trick: You can research a TLOS remotely so long as it is not running, allowing for nearly full control of the server. Remote TLOS research can only be stopped by the original owner of the server, or the user researching the file.

It can not be encrypted, hidden or deleted off any PC. It can not be stopped remotely but can be shut down locally (effectively allowing players to "shut down" their pcs before going to bed at night or the like - This will let you know in the morning if you've been hacked if someone is trying to activate your TLOS, which can easily be stopped, then you start your TLOS, and you are safe for a week).

If a TLOS is not running, all remote actions may still be done to a PC.

So there it is. It probably needs a lot of work but I think that'd be a great help to the game.

What do you think?

MORE SUGGESTIONS LOWER
MORE SUGGESTIONS LOWER
MORE SUGGESTIONS LOWER

[Araeus]

Interesting... so each server has the OS already there, so you could pretty much go "inactive" and let someone do all the researching on your TLOS for you?

That sounds fun.  Maybe a new server, edit it to look like an inactive player, and let someone "find" it and claim it and start upgrading it, then step in and bump them out, thank them for all their help and change the IP.

Would the actual owner be able to kill the remote TLOS early or would they have to wait for the time out?  Would you be able to start a claim while it's already runnning (like starting a second AV or something, stagger them so they finish in such a way that you don't have to lose connection and wait)

This could lead to interesting customizations if expanded.  Maybe you custom research your TLOS to more efficiently use CPU (slightly reduces CPU requirements of programs) or something.

Can the TLOS be downloaded?  How big is it?

EDIT:

Also, what about HOS, OOS, IOS? (Hakuza OS, Omnicron OS, Icarus OS)

Maybe each OS gives you a slightly different boost.  Also, if you complete a mission accepted from a server that belonged to the OS you are currently running you gain a small boost?  Maybe claiming a Hakuza server with a OOS instead of a HOS causes some sort of inefficiency?

[HJ®]

The way I had thought it out would be so that if a player had gone inactive, his resources (and ultimately HP server BW) could be used up in a positive way, but if that player decided to come back he could regain control of his TLOS easily. We don't want anyone to literally be able to do NOTHING.

[HJ®]

Other mega-corp OS's could be added, and that could even tie in to the suggestions a while ago about mega-corp alignment.

[HJ®]

Every server would have a TLOS already - in fact maybe even a separate page for each servers TLOS files - and could be researched remotely.

Yes this would allow players to go inactive for a long period of time (say a month or so) and other players could use their servers or even upgrade them for them.

To prevent abuse there may have to be caps on what can be upgraded remotely.

[HJ®]

This could lead to interesting customizations if expanded.  Maybe you custom research your TLOS to more efficiently use CPU (slightly reduces CPU requirements of programs) or something.

Can the TLOS be downloaded?  How big is it?

Custom researching a TLOS would be AWESOME. Perhaps even take it a step further.

Patch Virii. You can install patches to TLOS's to give them positive or negative effects. Totally jack up and customize your server - it will NEVER be the same as someone elses with all kinds of different patches (Say each OS would allow you to patch it 10 times before it is either complete or you must wait for it to expire/restart it to re-patch it a different way). That's the end-game depth I'm looking for. Totally patch up someone's computer with different patch virii that make it run in different ways, while completely customizing my servers so they are never the same as anyone elses - or patched in a certain way like a group specific set of patches.

Also it gives players a MAJOR reason to buy gold as you wouldnt want your totally patched up OS to expire and have to repatch it weekly.

Examples of Patch Virii:

+CPU Patch: gives the server the OS is installed on 500 MHz of CPU - costs more than normal - this could be the effective anti-abuse tactic for siremi: Don't let players upgrade hardware on server's they have captured, instead let them patch them 10 times, and restart the TLOS. This would allow a cap on upgrades (every 2 weeks you would only be able to add 5000 MHz CPU as you can only patch your OS 10 times and would have to restart the OS which takes 2 weeks)
-CPU Patch
+RAM Patch
-RAM Patch
etc etc for hardware

the - patches are there so you can quickly and easily bomb a server, but only 10 times/2 weeks with the cap on patches + expiry.

and then you could get "special" patches - the ones you want to customize with:

Download Accelerator Patch: your downloads run 10% faster - this will allow Public FTP servers to run much more effectively

Opposite file listed above.

a patch that allows your HDD to run up +5% more capacity that it's cap - allowing for repository servers and the like, or just a quick HDD patch if you need that tiny bit of HDD room.

Opposite file listed above, takes up 5% of the HDD.

Patches that automatically delete logs if you have a log deleter running - it will delete at the log deleters level

Patches that automatically detect when a person has cracked your server - with our without an admin login

Patches that allow you to delete or undelete ALL of the logs on a server instantly - if you have a running deleter/undeleter (Will not uncover logs deleted with a deleter version higher than the deleter)

Patch that does not allow your IP to be pinged

Patch that does not allow your files to be deleted (Unless the person trying to delete them has a deleter patch with a version higher than your delete blocker patch)

Patch that automatically collects any virii that were activated from that server still tied to it every so many hours depending on the patch version. - this will allow players to steal virii profits that have been sitting on inactive servers for weeks and weeks or make it so that some players never have to collect again.

Patch that automatically completes a task if you assign it, when it is completed

Connection patch, allows you to change IP without losing any active virii connections (Localhost only)

Anti-Virus patch, which automatically begins disinfecting any virii installed on the gateway so long as there is an adequate AV on the gateway.

And then there's always malicious patches, so we can really have some fun:

Malware overload/logic patch, effectively a 0.05 malware overload/logic bomb that attacks the hardware/software 24/7 (leaves no logs)

Malware combo patch, read above, combined.

IP Database patch, adds all IP database IPs of the owner of the server

[HJ®]

I would really like to see Emi's input on this. I hope he likes it.

[Araeus]

Exactly.  Customization is what really makes games like this interesting.

I've been trying to figure out how to take the stuff I've seen in other games and convert it to here.  Skill systems, custom hardware.

So let me get this straight, you add 10 CPU patches.  The TLOS restarts.  Those 10 patches are now... permanent?  gone?

Can you research patches up?  Maybe a higher level CPU patch gives a boost of 550, then 600?  Patches must be equal or lower to the level of the TLOS obviously.

Edit: It's time for sleep, I will have to pick up this discussion tomorrow.

[HJ®]

The hardware boost/destroy patches would reset, all the others would be permanent (but removable?) i dont know........ I don't know, maybe the patches would stay on the OS until it was researched again.

and yeah, there would be higher version and lower version patches. a higher version download accelerator patch for example - could increase 20% instead of 10% and a user would only have to use 1 patch slot instead of two.

And say if your TLOS was version 10.0, the max version patch you'd be able to put on it would be 1.0. It would make sense if the patches actually increased the TLOS version level.

This would allow players to constantly keep tweaking their OS and noone's will ever be the same.

[HJ®]

Now obviously a LOT of ideas are going to have to be touched up upon or altered in a way - these are pretty much jot notes, after all.

[Araeus]

Double posting this here as with the alignment thread because they overlap:

I was just thinking about this last night, I'm glad HJ mentioned it on the new thread.  I think this combined with the OS option would work out well, if you are working for Truelight you would be running a TLOS, which would work as a key to allow you admin access to all TL servers.  If you leave truelight you lose your TLOS and get some sort of basic OS like everyone starts with, maybe a GOS (Gateway Operating System).

I would also suggests some sort of reputation system, like you can infect a server of your faction but you take a huge reputation hit, if you drop below a certain point you are kicked out and they take out some anti-hacker missions against you.  The lower your reputation for an organization, the more likely you are to generate an anti-hacker mission when surfing their servers.  The higher reputation you are with a faction, you get a bonus to payouts.

Joining a faction would give you an instant bonus, then a daily bonus each day.  If you are running a TLOS you have a daily bonus to TL, but a small daily hit to all three mega-corp reps.  If you are running a mega-corp OS, you gain a bonus to that corp, and a daily hit from TL.  Finishing a mission from an org would give you a rep bonus, disinfecting a virii on an org secret would give you a bonus, stuff like that.

Edit:  Also, as an added bonus, if you crack a player with an enemy OS (if you have TL anyone with a mega corp OS has an "enemy" OS, as a mega corp TLOS would be "enemy") you could transmit their IP to your organization, which gives a certain % chance that they will get an anti-hacker mission spawning against them from your org, as well as giving you a rep bonus to all the factions that are "enemy" to that faction.  Example, if you are Hakuza and hack a Truelight, you transmit their IP and gain a bonus to all three mega corps rep because none of them like Truelight, and maybe a slightly larger bonus to Hakuza because they are your benefactor.

[J.GreenThumb]

*Jaw Drops*

SirEmi, please add this to HP. This is what HP needs to jump up a level in PBBG (Persistent Browser Based Game). The thought of customization and operating systems is amazing. This is what I have been waiting for, for the longest time.

+ Infinity Support.

[Seb]

What it needs is for research to go AT LEAST .2 instead of .06, it will act as if it had gone up .06 (slower benefits) but it will make it much easier to keep as your top software!
It could also be a hardware/software, you can upgrade it as a hardware, but it would be an instant research, and it would go up by w/e (you had a .1 TLOS, you now have a .99 TLOS, each TLOS would have a seperate tab, and you could make the patches there. They are the researchs for the TLOS, patches. They could make your gateway much more adept at w/e you patch it at. (cracking, downloading, uploading, increasing stats [discounts!!], etc.

[Araeus]

Or, in addition to normal research you could install patches that would automatically boost your OS by a certain version.

[Raistlin]

*Jaw Drops*

SirEmi, please add this to HP. This is what HP needs to jump up a level in PBBG (Persistent Browser Based Game). The thought of customization and operating systems is amazing. This is what I have been waiting for, for the longest time.

+ Infinity Support.

Is this actually persistent, though? I mean, doesn't "Persistent" imply a lack of resets? ;)