At least for outposts, the idea was that the drill could only be damaged during a battle, which would at least protect against most of the griefing. It could be repaired at any time. The only way for an attacker to damage the drill without contest is by winning a round and spending the entire time that the defenders are regrouping to hit the drill. This could be an incentive for the defenders to regroup and get back into battle quickly.
I believe that it would be petition-able for repeated war declarations as that could be considered griefing. Back in the day, you could petition someone who made a false declaration as a distraction from the real outpost battle, which is at least an order of magnitude less offensive.
If the attackers won the attack phase, they would temporarily have control over the outpost and thus unable to damage the drill further. They could begin to repair it if they liked =)
As noticed, this would open up many possibilities. Begin with periodic maintenance costs, some arbitrary amount per hour or day. The maintenance costs stay the same for a damaged drill even though the output is reduced. If the guild treasury runs out of money, the drill starts to become damaged.
Next, increase the costs of building a new drill. Instead of building a new drill when outposts change hands, don't destroy the existing one; that never made sense anyway. The new owners can repair the damage, begin paying maintenance, and operate the drill that is present. If the new owners want a different drill they would need to replace it. The current low costs mean that little thought needs to be given when picking a drill because it's cheap enough to change whenever.
Destructable buildings at outposts and events could be a stepping stone for future possibilities. But the code would need to be in the game before thinking of grander plans, such as settlement construction in any new region that may happen to open up -- assist your chosen civ in establishing footholds in wild frontier-land while fighting off the Kitin and other predators, or anything else. And having drills degrade without paid maintenance would be useful right now.
I believe that it would be petition-able for repeated war declarations as that could be considered griefing. Back in the day, you could petition someone who made a false declaration as a distraction from the real outpost battle, which is at least an order of magnitude less offensive.
If the attackers won the attack phase, they would temporarily have control over the outpost and thus unable to damage the drill further. They could begin to repair it if they liked =)
As noticed, this would open up many possibilities. Begin with periodic maintenance costs, some arbitrary amount per hour or day. The maintenance costs stay the same for a damaged drill even though the output is reduced. If the guild treasury runs out of money, the drill starts to become damaged.
Next, increase the costs of building a new drill. Instead of building a new drill when outposts change hands, don't destroy the existing one; that never made sense anyway. The new owners can repair the damage, begin paying maintenance, and operate the drill that is present. If the new owners want a different drill they would need to replace it. The current low costs mean that little thought needs to be given when picking a drill because it's cheap enough to change whenever.
Destructable buildings at outposts and events could be a stepping stone for future possibilities. But the code would need to be in the game before thinking of grander plans, such as settlement construction in any new region that may happen to open up -- assist your chosen civ in establishing footholds in wild frontier-land while fighting off the Kitin and other predators, or anything else. And having drills degrade without paid maintenance would be useful right now.