Player Features and Ideas Discussion

So after watching the "Catch a Dev" event, CCP Rise (or was it Fozzie, I forget which), noted that the event was nice in how it provoked combat across space. As the devs were hunted down by them, the players inevitably found each other, sparking battles that far outlasted the devs' presence. If the process could be automated, then similar fun could be had all the time.

The idea goes like this, borrowing from the "Silence the Informant" mission already in existence, an "informant" steals important data from some NPC corporation somewhere. The corporation then places a bounty on the informant, who, instead of hiding out in a dead space pocket, goes on a run through New Eden (perhaps trying to cross the cluster on his way to a "hideout" where he can sell the data). As he journeys, his location is relayed somehow (just as the devs were tracked through their video feeds... perhaps the stolen data has a "tracking device" embedded in it). Essentially, it becomes "winner takes all" as players (bounty hunters if you will) from throughout the game may try to interdict the informant's ship. The group that succeeds in blowing him out of the stars is appropriately rewarded.

Now unlike in the mission, the "informant" needn't be an NPC himself. A player would make a far more wily opponent. The mechanics behind this aren't terribly complicated; basically, the player would "accept" the mission of escorting (or possibly also stealing) the NPC data. At this point, that pilot accepts the role of walking target (and perhaps gains a "permanent" suspect flag for as long as he carries the data). As the "fox" in the fox hunt, if he makes it to his destination, he too may be rewarded by "selling" the data to rival NPCs.

This is rather a good idea. Hell, you might even have found a use for Deep Space Transports.