Assembly Hall

So if Incarna and walking around in stations is going to be a permanent addition to the game, then CCP needs to go all out and give us players machinima tools. We all loved the Clear Skies trilogy movies. Even gamers who don't play EvE appreciate them, but the director had to rely on Half Life 2 graphics and animations to fulfill the non ship part of the movies.

Now that we have Incarna, we have actual characters. CCP needs to go all out and give us the tools for us players to create our own movies and clips. CCP, let Incarna really shine by giving players some creative control.

As it sits now, Incarna seems to lack any sense of focus or direction. We get the impression that it's more of a gimmick or an excuse to create a micro transaction business model rather than an actual part of the game.

You know, call me crazy, but I'd rather CCP work on actual game content then waste time with movie-making tools.

I wanted Incana with sov wars inside massive stations. Not captain quarters. I wanted to be able to leave my ship and gun-up in station. I wanted to fight reds or war decs inside massive stations. I wanted a real time MMORPG element with 2k other payers in real time in Jita 4 4.

The problem with CCP implementing my wish is a limitation of current computer technology. CCP can't tweak EVE to let it run a single instance Jita 4 4 station with 1,500 to 2,000 players in real time and in the same station. This was the real problem with developing Incana in EVE's existing platform.

CCP decided to develop FPS avatar content to run on a separate platform, in the form of the PS3, and on a separate instance; on a planet surface, rather than in existing space stations with existing EVE characters.

CCP took this bold decision because of the insurmountable technology issues of making a reasonable FPS with 2k players. I don't think you can have a game like that with 2k players while maintaining >20FPS even with WOW graphics let alone WOD graphics.

What's the point in being able to walk around in station if you can't interact with the other 1,500+ people in the station. Allowing us to walk out of an empty captain's quarter and into an empty station or a station with only NPCs to interact with...what's the point of that? Why even bother spending resources on that? I'm glad CCP spent resource on a workable FP avatar model like Dust than expanding CQ into walking around empty station.

Uh, I don't think Incarna was ever intended to be an FPS. Space stations are delicate enclosed artificial ecosystems, like aquariums, you don't let people run around with weapons that can poke holes in them. Jita 4-4 is a military owned space station, no way would the Caldari Navy let civilians run around with guns. If you want to shoot people in the Eve universe you'll have to play Dust.

Incarna is a social simulator, like Second Life in Space (but without furries or flying dongs). Boring for dedicated PVPers, but a goldmine for social players and roleplayers. Apparently roleplayers already have "tavern" channels where they all pretend they are in a room together, Incarna just throws them a bone. More subscriptions is better for all of us, even if some of the new players are playing the game the "wrong" way. On the upside, not needing combat mechanics means it should be relatively easy to get a basic multi-player version functional. They just need to code a few basic social animations appropriate to the setting (please not the macarena) , a couple simple table top games like Space Poker and Space Chess so players have something to do, and figure out a way to have more than one avatar in a room without melting graphics cards.

1000 avatars potentially all being the the same corridor together is probably unfeasible for the first iteration. Instead of having the door open to "the station" the door can open to an elevator. You enter and select a destination, if the destination is "full" (or the owner doesn't want you) then you don't get to go there. I'm sure fire codes and environmental regulations on a space station are quite strict, so there will be no problem coming up with a lore reason why hundreds of people aren't allowed in the same room. If all the public establishments are full, your buddy can at least invite you to come to his CQ and watch space TV together. Even as few as a dozen people in a room would provide something for social players to latch on to, and give people a reason to buy expensive shoes. It could be like The Sims, but in space. People love The Sims.

Hint : that's exactly what it is.

Dear Anela,

You can't have Sims in space with the EVE server.

The most people you can have in The Sims is about 40 in one room/instance.

EVE is built on a single server, EVE is not built with on an instanced platform.

Just imagine the lagg in Jita if CCP tried to build a Sims in space allowing 40 people per room with incarna's graphics! You would get a FPS of 0.000000001!

IF CCP did allow sperate servers to run "room" instances for 40 people at a time say, a portion of your corp, then what would they do with this? CCP would not be able to integrate this in real time into the main EVE server becasue of lagg.

Regards,

Astor

eh? why ever not? its a totally separate environment- no need to interact with the server running the rest of the system.

Mind you time dilation might be interesting, you could pop into station for a cuppa, and emerge after half an hour having only missed 3 seconds of fighting