One of the comments that has been made by several individuals is that there should be more to attract attention and set goals. A reason for larger strategy than shooting the next titan over the ridge.

The goal of this thread is to generate ideas that might answer the following questions (they don’t have to be good answers, I don't expect 99% of them to be worth more than laughter);
Why do I care more about this hill than that one over there?
Why does it matter how much of the map I have seen?
What do I do now that my enemy is obliterated/retired/recovering somewhere I can’t find?
Why do I care about shooting one more titan that’s identical to the last one fielded in this unmoving line?
Why am I defending this point instead of moving my breeders somewhere safe and far away?

reposted from elsewhere, synthasis of other's ideas

desired;
1) want focus
2) want people to claim space

idea;
I like the "plant flags" idea- what if we "plant flags" in a non-moving non-core manner.
Each flag grants a radius of "control" equal to its view (adjustments for overlap- say the first to view has precedence unless a titan moves through that hex, at which point the last titan to move through the hex gives precedence).
Each hex so controlled adds to the clan's max total tech, though all clans have a minimum "total tech" even without any flags.
flags do not count against tech limits.

other random limiters might include;
cannot plant flags within any other flag's control (scan) area or "weapon" range.
flags have only 1 system (a computer), no engens (regardless of this limit, they cannot be allowed to move), no weapons, no shields, no spawn.
non-paying players can plant a limited number of flags while paying players can plant unlimited flags OR non-paying players get a reduced benefit from each flag (meaning they can compete at equal levels, they just have to capture and hold more terraine to do so).


benefits;
gives goal(s) aside from "kill the next titan."
gives centrality and weakens a clan if a flag is "taken," but not so much they cannot recover.
creates a subsantial reason to claim, keep, and fight for (unshared) territory.

Create a neutral clan. Create “titans” with permanent invulnerability named Ball (probably with a 1-3 digit numeric identifier). These Balls take no action on their own, however they move when struck by fire (direct, assuming direct and indirect is implemented). They move away from the firer one hex per point of damage that would be dealt.
The “goal” with a Ball is to put it into a Trans-gate. A titan which achieves this might gain (significant but not game-breaking) extra experience or some other benefit. To (try) and prevent abuse trans gates might “destroy” balls (which “spawn” in a random other location) on a percentage chance or the trans-gate might have a greater effect on balls than standard Titans.

Variations;
- respect terrain, moving over hills and mountains costs extra movement as normal.
- roll downhill, if the hex in which a ball exists has a lower hex next to it, it will make limited movement of its own.
+ moving downhill might ignore terrain even if balls normally respect it.
- balls have timers, when the timer runs out it self destructs.
+ self destruct annihilating Biomass in it’s own and each adjacent hex (hot potato).
+ self destruct dealing (significant) damage to those around it (hot potato).

King of the Hill
Self-spawning “locations” appear at the top of mountains which are completely surrounded by other mountains (limited by region and frequency as trans-gates). When such locations appear they have a number above them, a titan which rests on this location and does not move gains that much experience for the turn regardless of other actions. Each shot fired into that hex has a % chance of reducing the number.

Other locations of note might also be good.
A location that only appears in a valley which has a closed ring of mountains within a specific radius and only appears in one location at a time, encourages rampant Biomass growth in the area, heals any titan which passes over it, and fills the spawning chambers of any titan that passes over it. However it begins a (short) count down to vanishing as soon as it is scanned by any titan, it will re-spawn when that version vanishes but cannot spawn in the same region twice in a row.
A location that appears at random counting upward (from one). The number on the counter is the radius around it in which biomass does not grow, half that radius biomass withers, further rings suffer (1/{number of rings passed-2}) attacks at a weapon tech of 10+(counter value). Each point of damage inflicted on the location reduces the counter by 1. Reducing it to 0 or less destroys it. As a limiter (if one is needed), each turn there might be a % chance equal to the locations current value that it’s growth will stop or, if stopped, begin to shrink. This is a good reason to defend an area that doesn’t have one against invaders, or to move from an area that does (invading someone else’s land). Making it less an “objective” than a “motivator.” It’s also a “quest” location in the sense that some individuals are going to want to stop it and have to put work and resources into that, making it both motivator and objective. An individual that overcomes one should receive a significant bonus.
A location where a titan sitting upon it doubles their scan range.
A location from which a titan can move to any (previously scanned) point on the map, regardless of movement requirement (unlimited movement).
A (limited time) location upon which a titan is invulnerable. Maybe the titan is moved (like the ball) instead of damaged.
A location to which titans which cross it are returned after a given number of turns. Less an objective than an annoyance (though it could be useful to smart defenders).
A location which activates another NTO (Non-Titan Object) or location, or allows another such item to be “created.”

Take a “ball” and instead of being a single mini-game, give each an area effects (like some of the items for the Entrenchment idea on the titan variation thread). Alternately, make these items perform some other function such as being open, moveable “wormhole” ends or some other useful ability. Possibly have items which, if placed adjacent, have some other effect (but likely have no base effects of their own).

Make points and Ranking Points matter;
At the end of each tourney the lowest scorer in each bracket has a number of points of damage distributed randomly among their titan equal to the highest current tourney score in that bracket. This would probably be too frustrating for new players, would serve to kick people while they are down, and could feed into a vicious (and bitterness-making) cycle of restarts for an unsuccessful or new player.

A player may declare one of their currently active titans to be a Leader. This titan receives improved tech, and other allied titans nearby also receive benefits. Leaders do not receive experience. However, those who successfully wound a Leader receive significantly increased experience. A player may only declare a new Leader if the previous one self-destructs. A destroyed leader prevents declaration of a new leader for a tourney.

If a clan is the oldest in their game and the next oldest clan is no more than (half, three quarters?) their age, they may choose to self destruct and leave a mark on the game world. Perhaps a permanent wormhole on the site of their last titan which leads to a custom designed isle in the chaos sea, perhaps some other permanent location or NTO.