Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Or have a random name generated that only change if they are killed.

Which in return would lead to battleships with as many hardpoints as highslots less useful, as you'll likely leave one for a smartbomb. And one for a Neut.
Suddenly the pest is even better.

Probably. :)

Mind you, I think the whole approach to drones has always been problematic. If we follow reasonable design patterns like the ships do, (or at least, now do) drones should not have a singular damage type fixed by race -- they should have damage type matching their built-in weapon, which should probably match the typical damage pattern of the race that designed them. I.e. Gallente drones should be therm-kin, Caldari should be kin-therm, etc. Minmatar drones would probably employ a mix of different ammunition in their ammo feed belts, dealing a much more uniform damage type. Drones should probably not differ quite so much by speed or EHP -- they're ship-launched automatic weapon platforms, which have a fixed drone bay volume, far below that of the smallest frigate, just where would that difference go?

Fozzification of the whole set is in order, rethinking the whole system and making each drone viable for at least some common use. I just hope Fozzie does get around to it sometime soon, but seeing his previous work, I trust he'll think of something sensible when he does. :)

I have a few rebuttles to that
1. When i can shoot the turrets off of your ship then things will be fair regarding weapon systems.
2. This would actually make them make a decision between full damage or survivability.
3. Nothing is stopping that ship from destrying the host drone ship.

As a Pilot who flies an Ishkur and algos I want to +1 this.

However, when flying solo in a drone boat with active reps going, you not only have to manage your own tank and cap and dps projection, but also the damage taken by your drones if the opponent is smart bomb fit or has the intelligence to start shooting your drones.

So long as drones don't become TOO overcomplicated so that trying to pvp with them becomes even more difficult then... I'm all for this.

Good post as always Stan

Pretty much agree with everything suggested. Also lots of good points in this thread. Sig radius of drones, balancing (uselessness of too many drones), hp, etc.

However, personally I wouldn't mind suffering those other things if the UI were given priority over everything else. For me its 3 things related to the drone UI (and actually EVE's UI as a whole). Function, Form and Gameplay.

Function
The UI needs to be easier to use. Right clicking to reveal a menu to select a command is terrible. I'm sure (hope) CCP realises this. Swapping drones from one group to another should be as easy as drag and drop (at least). Also, uh, why can't I see what the damage is to my drones when they're in my drone bay?

Form
Please CCP update the look and feel of this part of the UI. Please? How far in the future are we and we're still using hidden hierarchies and menus?

Gameplay
The UI should be designed in such a way that it should be fun to use this weapon system. As Stan has suggested, more control, different ways of controlling, etc. The UI shouldn't just be practical and look pretty, it should also be fun to use.

Some of the in development art work from fanfest was really encouraging. (drone bit starts at 1:32)
EVE UI

At the very least a good start at redesigning the UI. Still too cartoony tho ; )

sorry for the English, translated automatically in google translator.

Pretty much agree with everything suggested. Also lots of good points in this thread.

However, personally i would suggest changes to drones for them to be more in line with other weapons

the drones of all races are equal, just vary the type of damage they do, as occurs in missiles.

create new sentry's of all sizes to use in frigates and cruisers.

create a new module, which occupy a hight slot, being necessary to have one for each drone. This module increases the control of drones so that they could attack anything within range of the ship.

this new module would use scripts to change the use of each drone
       
sentry's script, long range: more optimal and falloff, less damage.
sentry's script, short range: less optimal and falloff, more damage.
both make the module work as a tractor beam, to keep the drones near the ship.and repairing the drones a small amount.

script to scout drones: speed - reconfigured the drones to be faster and better tracking.
script to scout drones: damage - reconfigured the drones to give more damage and have more hp's

a script to improve logistics drones, and electronic warfare.

to change scripts had to collect the drones and there would be a delay time before launching them again.

be possible to move drones from the cargo hold to drone bay in space, and this operation would take some time. so we could keep in combat longer, after losing the drones .

drones could be recovered, gather their Recks, for example a set of five recovered, the drone bay combining the pieces still functional to one or two new drones.

so we cut drone losses, able to stay on the fight longer, the drone ships only carry drones and no other guns, more specialized.

lower drone signature drastically so that it conforms to their size, increasing their survival

the drones should have a maximum time of permanence in space, then had to be collected and sent back after 5 or 10 seconds.

Your tears are del- ... ivered in such a presentable and concise manner.

Yep, this. If drones turn to ammo, where's the uniqueness? Might as well just scrap bays and whatnot and just add "drone launchers" as high hardpoints, and drones as ammo.

Mini-fleet commander is definitely a nice idea. Though I would like to see more payoff for the hassle of micromanaging the fleet, when the guy you're fighting doesn't even need to roll his face across the keyboard - just smashing it down on F1 key is usually sufficient.

DNL - Drones Need Love
+1

Show more love, please read THIS thread too and comment! Get CCP to sort out Drones!