I want to collect suggestions on how we can give some tools to small players to either defend better or attack better. Even against a much stronger opponent.

Right now, a small player is prone to a big player who can pop all his moons and eat his fleet. The weaker player can do few things right now.

Based in this scenario, we want:
-A list of ALL current options a small player has.
-A list of proposed options a small player should get up to a point that a strong player will need to think twice before playing hatefully against him.

Take in mind that these tools will also be used to similar users so they need to be balanced somehow. It can be tweaks or whatever.

PLEASE USE TITLES for each SUGGESTION

Example list of suggestions (personal , they come as I write, quote my post to get the code below ):

• Graviton Missiles
For every developed (ie lunar base at least level 3) moon lost to a stronger player, you are granted a graviton missile at your homeworld. These undestructuble,untargetable,unmovable missiles can be used against the same enemy anywhere in the universe to conduct massive damage. (Perhaps even destroy mines and/or buildings - 1 level each time).
• Zorg Defence technology
For every X points of defense lost, you earn a level. Every level increases defence regeneration.
• Brave new world technology
->For every missed expedition, you earn research points. At X points you earn a level. Every level increases your success rates and winnings. ->Not available to top 10 strongest players (they are busy ruling existing world, not searching for new ones)
• Harpies
->Every player get to choose whether they can build RIPs or Harpies. They can only produce only one ship type and they can possess only one ship type between the two. ->Harpies catch fleet in air (as it flies) and conduct damage to ships included. They have relative long construction time but their cost is minimal. ->Can only be used to fleets travelling to or returning from one of your planets. ->Perhaps it can only target RIPs, 1 harpie for 1 rip if caught on air. Details can be defined later.
• New moon destroy formula
->A new formula, more riskier but with less rips involved so moon pop will not be only possible with huge amount of RIPS but also possible with few rips (still risky though). In this way, dozens of players will be able to destroy moons instead of several.

There you go, my list of ideas that could make a strong player shiver a bit. In about 10 minutes. What's yours? State time you used too

(EDIT: I improved my (personal - not official) suggestions a bit. They do not look as allien now).

For a play this game is hard if they never played a game like this one so I think what would help
1) a legend of zorg helps by a pop up to tell the player what first to build then what next by running throughout the one that in the help one.
2) increase the help of the zorg legend to help with research up to unlocking small/large cargos EPS.
3) at each stage of help a reward like half or full cost for the next stage for unlocking ships give a few has a reward.
4)be given at the start one small cargo ten light fighteror battle ships.
No one raid them for 7 days of no activity

* Phalanx Virus Defense
->If you are being attacked and you have the necessary technology, you can employ a burst of viral transmissions to your attackers which distorts the arrival/departure times of your fleet if viewed on Phalanx. The higher the technology the greater the variance (in seconds). This technology has a recharge time and can be employed on the fleet screen only. Also it can only be employed if you are online.
-> Requires a new tech: Phalanx Virus Defense, (Details can be decided if playerbase is interested).

A couple of things here for you Zorg...

1. Will these be permanent additions to only new players, all players, etc...?
2. How will anybody, including the new players who do not even understand the game yet... Operate the new tech/weapon/defensive items added on without having some sort of "Legend" or tutorial of a sort?
3. I agree with mickylove on the legend. Add a tutorial for new and even experienced players. One tutorial is for those under the attack protection level and another one is unlocked for those over that level...Because there are still players out there over 10k/100k that have no clue how to play and sometimes you find them even asking how to join an alliance. This should be covered.
4. I am indifferent about new things being added in such as the ones above. Will they work to the power of the new player or to the power of those with resources and fast build/research times? If they work for small players then keep it that way but add in something new for the big players to compete against the other big players. For example... Add on 1 more attack towards bashing allowed on players once past the noob protection which would allow us to earn more off of each hit.
5. Make a different/new ship that allows players to build it from the beginning. It has like 500 storage capacity and costs 50 of each resource. Virtually no W/S/A but it has that small cargo giving players a chance to raid instantaneously rather than dropping all of their resources into research and not buildings having them wondering why their resource production is so slow. (Yes, players do not understand that building up mines increases their production and that it is worth the small chunk, over time...Which points you back to number 3.)

New moon destroy formula
->A new formula, more riskier but with less rips involved so moon pop will not be only possible with huge amount of RIPS but also possible with few rips (still risky though). In this way, dozens of players will be able to destroy moons instead of several.

this will render some safe moons no longer safe.... ie moons over 9.9 at the moment!...
making FS even more risky

Good on you zorg!!! I love these ideas.
Currently the only options for smaller players to retaliate against larger players (in a serious fashion ) :
- IPMS If you store up enough res you can remove some of the other players defense.
-Suicide rips, removes 'soft ' defense. The larger then shell, the greater the impact (ACS Attack increases effectivness )
-ACS suicide lunnies. 1-2 of these on acs attack can be used to cost effectively remove solar sats, decimating mine out put if the other player relies heavily on sats.

And that's about it, however these options are not available to smaller players who havnt unlocked them.
That's where the above idears come into place. Some sort of 'sucide ' ship / structure / function like the grav missiles etc.
Or even the ability to set certain fleet / structures on overheat.
The time till they blow could be set, or on some variable.
While overheating they ships / structure. Cannot be interacted with. When they blow any fleet attacking within a few seconds of the 'blow ' are damaged, at rates much higher than the ships would have otherwise been able to damage.
This means players can sacrifice fleet/ structure to deal large ammounts of damage to the attacker ( maybe ignoring attacker shields ) but at the cost of the selected fleet / structure

Also another idea could be mines. Cheap to build, they act like solar sats, stationery and non interactive.
Types could be seeker, homing and singularity mines (elite mines, could cost rubies, )
each has rf against certain ships. They can be destroyed in battle and form a df but deal very high damage to attacking fleets.
Could help with newbies establishing defense, but not so op larger players can make insane shells of them, e.g the amount allowed per planet determined by planet size or structure lvl.

All these options seem to level the playing field a bit for new players.

The whinging and moaning from certain players/alliances, they are not new players. Just more experienced players who moan because they get caught out.

The options for new players, agreed, some of those ideas seem good. But to keep it more simple, why not increase newb protection to 250k, 500k or even 1 million points?

Give them a starter fleet, 100 bs, 250 large cargoes, 5 colony ships?

All these things are simpler. They get a head start, learn to play. They can still take on each other. There would be no need for all these extra ideas. All this has been suggested before, and ignored.

Only problem with a starter fleet is that it'd be easy to abuse.

How?