Player Features and Ideas Discussion

So i was unsure if there was a topic already created for this, but its more of a question to the developers than anything (mostly wanting their opinion), and before i start, i dont want anyone being like "this is a stupid idea GTFO" or anything like that, i would like to keep this civil, and actual decent non-raging thread.

So my proposal/question is that instead of PLEX's giving players game time, i was thinking of giving skill points/instant levels, at a cost (to be determined by the developers), as to a players perspective and the companies, it would seem logical, as in EVE it takes a long time to get anywhere, and for new beginners, in my opinion drives them away from the game, as they realise exactly how long they are going to have to play it before they get decent/good at the game/ be able to do high level missions/good mining/manufacturing/etc. Changing the PLEX system/adding in a new skill points system would be advantageous to both the player (being able to get decent faster, and still be able to enjoy the game more), and to the developers/the company (it allows the continuing purchase of skill points (making more money), and if the PLEX system is changed, it means that players will actually have to pay for gametime) i see it as a win/win situation for everyone.

I know a common issue that the old players will have with this, as they have had to do all the training, so why should other players get it better than them, well i kinda agree, but the developers want to bring more players to the game. Another issue a lot of the old players will have with this, is that they are able to make the 500mill-ish isk that it costs to buy a PLEX, and they would complain that they will have to start paying for the game again, and to be honest, if you want to play a free game, go try a game that is intended to be free (idk but star trek online is free), because in all honesty people who arent prepared to pay the costs to play a game shouldn't be here (just my opinion).


Please feel free to comment, but again, please keep the rage away, i know there is arguments for and against, ive tried to briefly outline them.

i would prefer, instead of you being a rude and arrogant *******, to explain why its a horrible idea.

people stamp their feet and get furiously spacemad about "pay2win inmplications", "eve DEMANDS patience", "no instant gratification" etc.

meanwhile, we have the character bazaar, where you can quite easily convert plex to isk to SP and this is totally reasonable and not p2w because

Your first mistake. When in doubt, run a search. This topic has been beaten to death.
https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=94210
https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=86481
https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1098962#post1098962
https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=78809
https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=962209#post962209
https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=53185



Second mistake. You actually expect a DEV to respond. They never do... especially not in this forum subsection (the last serious DEV post here that I can remember was well over a year or two ago... and I believe it was in reference to the idea of "hive ships" and how EVE's coding would not allow multiple players in the same ship)


Don't wait. Ever. Even with lacking skills people can make a difference when banded together with others. You don't have to be "good" really... just have a plan. And yes... this is possible because:

- all skills max out at level 5. No matter how long you play the game, you cannot go beyond this limit.

- Only a certain amount of skills apply to any one ship, mod, weapon, and/or specialty at any given time. Just because a vet got Large Energy Turret to level 5 it doesn't mean that their small turret skills have gotten any better.

- Getting a skill to level 5 only adds on an extra "edge" (2% here, 5% there) at the cost of time. Many people (vets included) will sometimes opt to ignore getting certain specialty skills to level 5 because they don't see the need in having that extra 2 - 5% "edge" when they can train a number of other skills in a different area to level 4.

- Getting a skill to level 4 put you at about 80% of the effectiveness of someone who has the same skill at level 5... get all skills within a specialty to level 4 and you'll be closer to 85 - 90% (which is an easy gap to bridge with the correct ship, mod, weapon, and/or tactics).

- Skills for more "newbie friendly" ships and activities are often the easiest to train for as they have the lowest training multiplier.

- Ships are balanced against each other.
For example: A battleship can potentially instapop a frigate... but the frigate can fly very fast, making it difficult for the battleship's weapons to track, especially at very close range... then again, the battleship can deploy drones to deal with the frigate... and the frigate can shoot the drones down... however the battleship might have a Large Energy Neutralizer fitted to nuke the frigate's capacitor every 24 seconds... in which case the frigate could use a Small Nosferatu that sucks out capacitor every 3 seconds... etc. etc.

- Specialties are often balanced too. Vets don't want to do the "boring" and/or risky jobs... and lucky enough for newbies, it's easy to train into "boring" and/or risky jobs.
For example: It's relatively easy to climb into a basic T1 mining barge. But it's also boring AND risky (because you have a meager tank). If somes newbies were to attach themselves to a veteran with an Orca, they would gain security by having someone who can haul their ore safely (no more can flipping), someone who could give them bonuses (to mine more and/or make them more resistant to ganks), someone who can maybe reprocess the ore more efficiently.... and the Vet would gain access to people who are willing to perform a task that he/she might loathe.
Similar things can also be said of hauling too.


Someone appears to not understand how the PLEX system works. Basically people who have disposable income are paying the subscriptions of others in exchange for ISK. CCP still gets the same amount of money (and a little bit more) as it would had both players paid RL money and ISK is transferred through the in-game economy, not created.

In all honesty, it's a DEVIOUSLY intelligent way to combat RMT (Real Money Trading) and I'm surprised that other MMOs have not emulated it.


Weak argument. People are still paying for their subs... just in a different way... and it benefits the economy as a whole by allowing for wealth transference between players for a coveted item: time to play.

Mfume Apocal wrote:
we have the character bazaar, where you can quite easily convert plex to isk to SP and this is totally reasonable and not p2w because

I do not like the character bazaar. However, there is a market out there for it and no matter what you do, people are going to try and sell their characters in some fashion. Might as well impliment a means to do it legally and safely so people are not scammed over an item that is, at the end of the day, the property of CCP.
Another argument that can be made is that characters in the bazaar had to be trained by SOMEONE. Their value is dependent on the amount of skills they have been trained in and for how long. They aren't just "made out of thin air."

"Non agressive?" Damn. Better throw in more "GTFO" and "biomass yourself" and "idea sucks" and all that jazz next time.

...somebody had to make those characters. And for some reason they want to get rid of them.

Saving this for copy-past responses.

no.
eve is about time = skill. not money = skill.
if you f*cking i*iot would have looked through the forum for 1 minute, you would know this!

Yet another let us buy skill points thread. To be civil I'll just say no. If you want to know why, its the same reason all the other threads say no. You cannot buy time, skill points accumulate over time, thats what makes us all even. If this were allowed all the rich moon goo alliances would be maxing out all their pilots making the game yet more unbalanced towards them.

And by that equation, it already gives the OP what he wants. Money buys time (PLEX). Time buys skill points. Therefore, money buys skill points. You just get them over 30 days instead of all at once.