Articulus Stronghold Suggestions (Thread)

[MasterArticulus]

Hi once again! Tonight I had the idea of starting a post of my own to start using the reply thread below to list off different ideas I have for Strongholds. If you like an idea, and want to indicate some support for it, to use the react emojis to show some love! ❤️

Strongholds have been one of my main passions in the game since I first started with the tiny little apartment on Coruscant. Since then, I've become the proud owner and decorator of every stronghold in the game, save only the one on Mek-Sha. My collection of both common and rare decorations is growing by the day, allowing me a kind of creative freedom to create spaces that are dynamic, engaging and realistic in how they are arranged, just like spaces you may come across in the game itself.

Featured Stronghold: Copero
My most recent stronghold is the Copero Mountain Villa, which I've fashioned into an Alliance themed Intelligence and Security Agency Retreat, with an emphasis on civil class and prestige. Complete with a small cafe to greet guests in the entrance, and an underground marketplace with hundreds of items to copy, this is the prime location for high profile intelligence specialists to disappear for a while, and recover their wits among like minded individuals.  Follow this link to my own website for more details and images, or visit "Djedi's VIP Lounge" in the public listings on the Starforge Server to check it out!

East Wing: Dark Side
The East Wing Guest Room is purposed to be a foyer dedicated to Bogan, The Sith and the Empire. When you are visiting, we caution guests not to step too close to the gate on the floor, for security reasons. The Eastern Exterior and Suite is purposed to be our Armoury, complete with a test firing range, and fully stocked with weapons stands, racks, cargos and other displays.  In the Eastern Lookout above, our best view is reserved for our Alliance Commander's Quarters. With the finest bedding, electro locked safe cabinet, security network access and private dining area, we expect these accommodations to serve our commanders with the best standards in comfort and security.

West Wing: Light Side
The West Wing Guest Room is purposed to be a foyer dedicated to Ashla, The Jedi and the Republic. Here we feature a ceremonial torch, to represent the flames of passion we all share for the freedoms we enjoy and uphold together.  The Western Exterior and Suite is purposed to be our Intelligence and Security Data Storage Vault, which is connected to our Alliance Intelligence Network. Knowledge is Power, and the greatest asset we have for establishing and maintaining peace and diplomacy. The West Wing Lookout is reserved for our Voss Ambassadors, as their wisdom and accurate visions have proven to be both practical and insightful in preventing security threats before they take place. It's just a matter of interpretation through quiet contemplation, which we hope our space will provide. 

Edited May 10 by MasterArticulus
Adding some emojis to the title headings.

[MasterArticulus]

Key Activated Security Doors!?
For the first idea for you all to consider, which is the one that prompted me to start this thread, was this... now imagine this.

What if it was made so that ONLY Public Stronghold visitors with keys ( perhaps Silver+ ) are able to open the Doorway Decorations (Carrick and Vaiken) I wonder how hard it would be to add that as a feature, for it would make it so that publicly listed strongholds can have both public AND private or restricted areas, in the same lodging.  And when you do not have the key, and you click the door control, a message appears in quotations saying something along the lines of "Access denied. Security Clearance Required" so that you can place either a Personnel or Companion NPC deco at the door as a guard, bouncer or other now semi-interactive NPC. Those Gatekeeper Droid wall decorations also come to mind as a good choice.

NOTE: In the most extreme sense of the idea.... which would likely be the hardest to program, but the coolest to play around with, would be where the stronghold / door decoration owner could select and indicate which doors require which level of key ( Bronze / Silver / Gold) in order to access certain doors. "That is where the fun begins!" - imagine... you need a bronze key to enter the private section. Then an additional silver key to access a VIP area....etc. You could have bronze, silver, and gold designated areas to your stronghold. ( See example Image I photo-shopped below )

Doorway Decorations could have 4 states:

1. no key required - doorway can be opened by anyone.
2. bronze key required - doorway can only be opened by bronze key holders, and owner
3. silver key required - doorway can only be opened by silver key holders, and owner
4. gold key required - doorway can only be opened by owner

It might be a big ask, but it could be something like when the stronghold owner is in decoration mode, and is placing the Doorway decoration, an additional field appears in the door decoration controls, with 3 check boxes for the owner to indicate which level of key is required to open that specifically placed door decoration.

Just imagine the kinds of interactivity you could build into strongholds for either when you are logged in to give a guided tour, or away when some random public visitors stumble upon your digs? Imagine if someone is impressed enough by your public areas, that they seek you or one of your key-holders out to try and gain access to the private areas? You could get friends and other players to earn keys from you in some way... like designing your own achievements or challenges in game for them to get the key... or something simple like "You'll need to run a mission with me first!!" 

Let your minds run wild for a minute to consider the possibilities that could come of it.... it would essentially create a way for players to produce "Player Generated Missions" - which could lightly take some of the pressure off of developers to produce more missions, maps, story content....etc. Guilds could use keys to hand out to the different ranks within their guilds, to give special access to officer areas and restricted sections of their flagships and strongholds.

PS: This would also be a great opportunity to fix the Carrick Station Doorway decos, so that players can no longer walk straight through the door without opening it, like the Vaiken Station Doorway decos are. Thanks!

Edited May 11 by MasterArticulus
fixed a couple typos, adjusted for better wording, and added example pictures