Player Features and Ideas Discussion

CCP has made an aspect of the game that took practice and experience to master into a mockery of its former self. There's no involvement in probing anymore. You no longer have to *understand* the logic behind the probe formations. I can probe one handed. Probes recall instantly. Automatic recall on session change. Sigs are thrust into your face without even a button press. Probes don't even represent physical objects in space anymore, except via d-scan, so you can just pop and recloak in the middle of them (you're still stupid if you sit there). Everything feels automated. Summarily, mistakes are no longer punished with the harshness that makes EVE what it is. With so much ease to it CCP should have just added a 'select signature and begin locking cycle' and removed probes from the game entirely, only everyone in d-scan range should just be notified that someone just scanned (the only possible reason probes still exist on d-scan).

I loved scanning because it was something *tangible* and *challenging.* To see this reduced to a shadow of that fun and mentally rewarding activity is not only disappointing, but now so frustrating Trying out the changes to scanning well over a month ago on SISI made me immediately worried that CCP was placing the bar too low, but I was going to wait to see if I adjusted to the changes... my feelings have only intensified since then, and I feel I missed my chance to ask for a meaningful review. I guess the overarching question is, "What does my practice and experience with the old probing system grant me with the new one?"

Is there some compromise that exists?

This. Probing basically sucked before, you mastered a poorly designed system. The new system still takes time and effort, it just isn't unwieldy to use anymore.

I don't mean to be rude but this is the worst attitude I can imagine toward the game. Hard work should be rewarded... what I said about totally automating the system is meant to sound so ridiculous that it's disgusting.

From a wormholer's perspective, what's not interesting about having to coordinate the movement of probes to get a lock on a target? It's the solar system map with scan sphere overlay. It requires situational awareness about where the probes are on D-Scan, trying to lock down the target with speed so that you're not detected by who's in system, or racing someone else to a signature in an activity where mistakes with the scanning process are costly, precious seconds.

Oversimplification. So easy even a caveman can do it. It's so easy it's not even fun. The grittiness of the old system and need for manual re-positioning feels like something that's a part of EVE. Automation is something out of a different game. Can't you just feel that creep of easy mode?