Player Features and Ideas Discussion

TLDR version: New space introduced by CCP shouldn't just copy/paste the rules/gameplay from the rest of New Eden. Instead, take the opportunity to get creative and really CRAFT new space to be unique, with different rules, travel, resources, AI, etc.

The long version:

So CCP Seagull has a great vision of space exploration and colonization, and plans to give us the opportunity to discover and explore new regions of space over the next few expansions. While that in itself is a cool idea, I think CCP needs to basically take things a step further than what I suspect they are planning.

I would propose that any new areas of space that open up be looked upon as point releases to EVE itself.

By that, I mean, EVE 2.0 is probably never going to happen and that's fine, but I see absolutely no reason to just copy and paste old/bad/tired game play mechanics from the current EVE game over into any new space.

Instead, think of this as an opportunity to make EVE 2, the way you would after having 10 years of experience making EVE. At least, as much as possible. Ships are ships, that'll obviously transfer over to new space, but there's so many things that don't have to.

When Apocrypha was launched, that was almost like EVE 1.01, in that, it created an entirely new "terrain" or "flavours" of space for players to explore and find their niche in. While it was the same game, things play very differently in WHs than they do in the other flavours of space (highsec, lowsec, FW, null). FW shares most nullsec mechanics/flavour, but adds a dab of its own, so I counted it separately.

WH space is decent example of what I want to see in new flavours of space, but it didn't' take it far enough. While it had different NPC AI, resources, salvage, travel rules, ships from such, ect, lots of legacy stuff carried over too. Stuff like asteroids, PI, moons (POSs), etc. were all just copy/pasted from the current game.



For new flavours of space, why not take it to the next logical conclusion. Don't copy and paste game play from EVE as much as possible.

We don't need the same old rats, isk rewards, loot drops, etc. that the rest of the game provides, we need new and unique PvE content that focuses on different styles of game play and tactics than the rest of the game, and provides rewards unique to the new space.

We don't need the same old exploration sites that the rest of the game has, we need new and unique ones, with unique rewards.

We don't need the same old mining experience and rewards. No more Trit-Zyd minerals. Make a new mining experience, played with new modules/ships to get new resources unique to the space. Be it ring mining geared toward coop game play, or whatever, just don't' copy/paste asteroids/moon mins here.

We don't need new places to carry out PI. Use planets for a different interaction instead, if anything, that provides, again, unique rewards to the flavour space it is in. Also think very carefully about allowing nullsec outposts being allowed here. I'd rather you instead create whole new arrays of space infrastructure blessedly free of the old ****** code that EVE 1.0 is based on.

We don't need to copy/paste the moon/POS system. We don't need more sources of moon goo, and certainly NOT the same extraction method. In fact, just disallow POSs altogether, and focus instead on their replacement either in whole or add tons of mobile (and less mobile) structures that provide the infrastructure support of players.

Don't copy/paste the travel system from EVE 1.0. WH space was great for this, it added a new and unique method of travel from the rest of the game. Think along those lines. Don't just copy/paste gates, cynos/jumps, WH, etc just because its easier, invent new mechanics that enrich and diversify the experience from the rest of New Eden.

Build meaningful industries from the new resources each flavour of space has to offer, with some crossover to the rest of EVE to connect everything. T3 is a good example here. Maybe not the ships themselves, but the idea that there are new ships/modules/implants that everyone wants, but the resources to build them are only located in WH space.

Other game play mechanics don't have to be copy/pasted either. Effects in WH space was the start of this, but you don't have to stop there. There is no reason, for instance, that remote reps/assistance has to function the same way if it all.

There is no reason fleet bonuses have to work the same way/at all everywhere. Limited to squad only? Why not?

There's no reason communications have to work the same way everywhere.

Consider how different game play would be if broadcasts, keep at range, orbit, etc didn't work? Stolen shamefully from someone in the mobile structure ideas thread, but just consider how different the game would play if you had to truly manually fly your ship yourself?

This is just wormholes on steroids though...

Not necessarily. They don't HAVE to change everything, but its a great opportunity to. My examples were just that though, examples and food for thought, nothing else.

Think of the problem of "Fix Nullsec" or "Make nullsec better". What does that mean? Tens of thousands of players play there, and they have 10 thousand views on what would make it better, all based on their preferred game play and style. Its an intractable problem really, because there is no "right" solution for everyone.

So instead of fundamentally changing how nullsec works, you could create nullsec 2.0. A new kind of space that is similar but different. Leave the current nullsec design generally as is for those players who like it, and instead make a new kind of space that fills a niche for another group of players.

As one example:

How many players have quit EVE or dropped out of nullsec because they are sick of huge blobs? They may love the idea of sov, and ownership, space empires and all that, but over time the scale of the blob has gone so far that they aren't interested anymore? Why not create new regions of space with different rulesets that "tend to" cater toward that group of player? I don't mean hard code anything, but just like the mechanics of WH space "tend to" limit group size, the new space would as well. You could still claim sov, but it would tend to be smaller groups instead of huge alliances/coalitions.

However, why copy/paste the HP based sov mechanic over? Make something more suitable for the smaller entities you designed the space for, but that can scale properly for fringe areas of course.

New space is a terrible idea really. It serves no purpose other than either obsoleting old content or adding power to whichever entity grabs it first. We have many problems in the existing space that need solving first.

Spreading people out is a possibility, but I tend to think that you'll attract more people back to EVE by catering to different playstyles better. EVE's population has basically been stagnant since 2009 according to concurrancy numbers. I think EVE's playerbase has pretty much plataued, plus or minus a few thousand for those people who enjoy what EVE currently has to offer.

To grow the game, I think CCP broaden the appeal to more types of players. I don't mean dumb it down, or turn it into carebear land either.

Just reverse the argument though and play it out. We'll say that EVE is too sparsely populated already, why don't we just remove WH space so that all those folks come play with the rest of us?

Will all of the WH community continue to play EVE, or will some portion quit because their playstyle has been killed off?

Teamspeak.

Point is that any in game 'restriction' like that can be bypassed. And only serves to make people feel punished.

As I read the OP, I cannot help but that think three things:

1. He hates Eve players and wants us to suffer. Nearly all of the things the OP proposes just don't add up to a very fun game.
2. He hates Eve and wishes it was something else. Nearly all of the proposals are anti-Sandbox.
3. Nearly all of his changes would make it almost impossible to multibox, which means fewer accounts, which means less revenue for CCP.

You have no idea how fleets work do you? (hint: with a good FC making sure everyone knows their roles, it's the opposite).

If this space is linked to existing space, then how on earth would restrictions like that even work? Say I have a 250 strong CFC interceptor gang and fly into this new space. What happens? Do we all get booted out of our alliances or something?