Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Here is the basic gist of my idea. You should probably read the paragraphs below anyways.

• Being a criminal in Hisec is a much more serious issue compared to right now. You are banned from using their stargates or docking at any of their stations.
• In the deep space surrounding almost every system in Hisec, is a concealed pirate base with a stargate. If you're a criminal or have sufficient standings with the pirate faction that control the deep-space outpost, you may use the stargate to traverse Hisec via the deep-space pirate network. At each deep-space outpost, is a massive acceleration gate that flings a pilot into the Hisec system the outpost lurks nearby.
• This essentially means that for criminals and pirates, Hisec has entirely different routes and hubs, as the pirate stargates may not necessarily match with the empire's stargate system. Getting from point A to point B for a criminal would be an entirely different experience compared to a law abiding citizen.
• Deep space is pretty much nullsec. You can cyno in a Titan for all it matters, but it can't take the acceleration gate into the system proper.
• Many new and interesting items are added to the game, so new and interesting in fact, the empires banned them from their space. Good thing smugglers can now get that stuff to their clients via the deep-space gate system!
• Deep space is also the secret to the pirates' incredibly strong presence in the drug market. The outposts are often located near the static gas site, filled with an endless amount of cheap, low quality gas.
• Drugs get rebalanced. The above essentially is meant to get the supply of cheap, effective drugs into the market, so that the average pilot will have a reason and the ability to buy it. Lowsec and Nullsec gas sites will provide stronger drugs, far surpassing the gas clouds in deep space.

Underneath the shining veneer of stability and control High Security Space has is, doubtless, a seedy underbelly, from which drugs, murders, pirates, smugglers, and bounty hunters alike all originate from. EVE is a harsh, cold universe, but I feel as if we don't get to feel enough of that in Hisec, where we only get to see what the empires want us to see.

First and foremost, for any of the following to make sense, once a person becomes a criminal, they are then barred from entering Hisec via stargate or even docking up at any station there.

So what I propose is for the creation of a "Shadow Hisec," of sorts. In the deep space surrounding most, if not all Hisec systems is, of course, interstellar space. In that interstellar space, or deep-space, lurks the worst aspects of society, its rejects, foulest of the foul. They're part of Empire Space, but at the same time, not. An outpost or two, bearing no allegiance to except that of hard, cold ISK, lie lurking there. A stargate, acceleration gate, possibly a bar and brothel or two, all float about nearby, their neon signs flashing riotously in the gloom, as they have no sun to illuminate them. Effectively operated by the various criminal aspects of EVE society, they are a mixing pot for, again, pirates, murderers, smugglers, and bounty hunters.

Here, people who have either displeased the empires or otherwise partake in activities not approved of by the empires can dock up, sit down, stab another patron in the throat, and continue with their drink without the bartender batting an eye. You can also, by the by, use the stargate conveniently located nearby to jump to another deep-space outpost near yet another Hisec system, or even use the massive acceleration gate pointed at the local star to go burn and pillage as you please.

So what does that mean? It means that for a person wanting to avoid the gaze and guns of the law, they have the option of traversing a shadow stargate system. The gates that let a person travel outpost to outpost won't necessarily correlate with the gates inside the system proper. For example, the deep-space gate near Jita could lead all the way to the deep-space gate near Amarr. It in effect, creates a new way for a person willing to deal with pirates and the such to traverse Hisec while they otherwise couldn't.

Deep space is actually not as empty as Empire authorities would like you to believe. The deep-space outposts weren't built for the heck of it. They are more often than not, situated nearby a massive Ladar/Gas site and the occasional Relic and Data site floating about. This is the source of the pirates' drug operations. While they do continue to harvest from the gas sites found out in Lowsec and Nullsec, these static clouds are a nigh endless source of cheap, low quality gas that the junkies can't get enough of. Once the gas is harvested, the local drug lords wouldn't mind you making some homebrew in their reaction chambers... for a price, of course. And once the drugs are all cleaned up and ready to be shipped, your friendly local smuggler will gladly send it off to your closest trade hub, via the deep-space stargate system, where Customs Officers can't take a peek into your cargo hold, where all the dewy eyed new players can get their hands on cheap, effective drugs.

Of course, since this is a place where the light of the sun won't even reach the ragged and rough inhabitants, the light of justice is similarly weak. No CONCORD, no cyno jamming (you can bring your Titan there to show off, but you can use the acceleration gate to get to the system proper), no restrictions on bombing or bubbles.

All in all, I think it could make for some interesting gameplay.

And if that's too much as well, TL;DR:
Being a criminal gets you banned from using Hisec stargates Pirates control the deep-space nearby Hisec systems. If they like you, you can use their stargates there to get around. Piracy, guns, explosions, pew pew.

Not a bad idea to introduce something other than ganking to the current "pirate career".

Interesting idea. Think it needs some balance passes. Possible some systems the criminal stargates do not reach. Instead of a ban on gates, it could be the gate guns lock up and open fire on people with very negative standings. But then people with negative standings just take their pods to the stations where their gank ship is waiting for them.

Maybe pirate faction based gates, so you need hi standing with the pirate nation and a negative security and pay a fee (in isk or items)

About the only ideas I like are the pirate gate in a deep space pocket that concord cannot intervene in and the fact that criminals cannot use gates or dock. The whole being able to jump in caps though I'm going to have to say a big no to simply because the boosts a titan does and the whole gas thing no because its to easy.

For all intents and purposes, deep space is a system unto itself. It just doesn't orbit around a star. Boosts won't have the strength to reach the system proper.

As for the gas a drugs, I will admit static gas sites is a bit much, but I would like to see drugs enter wider use, and a large, cheap supply of low quality gas would do it. In a sense, it's part of a much larger drug rebalance/overhaul I hope to see accompanying this Jesus Feature.

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This isn't like adding a whole new region in Nullsec. Deep space inhabitants are still part of the Hisec dynamic. That's the appeal of deep space. You're part of Hisec, yet, not at the same time. Interaction between the two, deep space and Hisec, would be nearly constant. Think of it like a layer of lowsec that lies underneath Hisec where a person can flit back and forth between the two layers at will. I for one, think that deep space would only increase the amount of player interaction (forced or not) in Hisec, as it allows for greater ease of pirates, thieves and gankers to prey on their targets.

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Also, concerning all the calls for checks on balance and the such, I am aware that this idea requires some testing and breaking. I'm just here to deliver a skeletal idea for them to read, consider, and build upon if they so wish. I can pull arbitrary numbers and propose various scenarios all day, but ultimately it is up to CCP and their QA team to decide what happens, what can happen, and how it will affect the game.