Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Pitchforks, torches, et al on the way I know. Been playing with this idea for years and now CCP is making it a possibility. They are making the tools.


TL;DR - The EveGate burps.... approx. 60% of all Losec and Nulsec gates blow along with devastating damage to many surviving systems... we make new Gates to new systems. Shuffles the moon goo and system stats nicely, while giving the newer community the same feeling that the vets had when Nulsec was new and battleships were all the rage.

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The systems represented on the starmap are just the ones we use.... not all the systems around by any means. What if old paths were broken, and old systems forever lost to us, but new frontiers have opened that only the new Gate technology can access?

Three expansions.... names are placeholders only.

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Harbinger - Scientists discover fluctuations in the EveGate Wormhole. These cause small but increasing disruptions in Star Gates. Visual cues(static discharges etc) at Gates show pilots that not all is well. Nulsec gates seem especially prone to disruptions.

The observant will covet the more stable connections and hope to ride it out. CONCORD and the main races use all their abilities to strengthen the core system(Hisec) Gates. CCP moves all endangered un-subbed account owners' assets to secure Hisec locations.

This may put a nice stir to the pot all on its own, as alliances scramble to move their high-end assets. There just isn't enough room for all those rats on the lifeboats.

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Cataclysm - The EVEGate flares violently. Richter 10 earthquake, tsunami, and typhoon all rolled into one. For weeks... Gates blow, sub-space shock waves devastate planets, moons, and any structures nearby. Regions are cut off from the rest of New Eden without using a Jumpdrive, and they have become unreliable as well. Disaster of Biblical Proportions. Epic eye-candy but ohhh the tears. Oh yes, the supercap herd shall thin. Moon Goo is Moon Gone. Shattered is already in Thera and her sister systems.

Loss of approx. 60% total Losec/Nulsec Gates/connections in EVE. Small regional Nulsec pockets of surviving links, some singletons and trios. Some within the 5LY limit, most not.

W-space takes a hit as well. Wonky wormholes that lead to destruction. No wormholes in a system for a day or so, then seven. Mass and time variables become unreliable.

Some survivors may band together, some may fight for the stuff, some may clonejump back to Hisec.

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Rebirth - In the aftermath, old connections are lost and are no longer Gate-compatible. New potential links abound on surveys across the surviving systems. No singleton/duo/trio of systems that is outside of jump range will be left stranded if it has accounts in residence. They will get a possible Gate route or two.

Gate tech is transmitted to all surviving stations. Players, as well as CONCORD, construct connections to the "New Territories".

Star type and planet numbers and types is all a pre-Gate survey shows. Have to go there to see how many moons and what they have.

The Gold Rush days are upon us. What epic struggles and treachery await.

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There can be no Big Blue Doughnut if there is no doughnut. There is no spoon. The loss of a few supers/stations/etc will not impact the Old Ones as much as their Moon Goo losses. They still have the infinity-minus-ten isk wallets. Just not all their stuff survived, and they have to live off the wallet for a while. One cannot rent space that is not there anymore. The Young Ones see it coming and are prepared with their feet firmly in the starting blocks. Why rent when you can OWN.


While radical I know, this proposal may give CCP quite a bit of latitude on changing Moon Goo and other Nulsec attributes without arbitrarily changing existing system stats.

It allows actual wonder and the chance to discover something no bittervet has ever seen. Dotlan will lose their minds for a while, but o well.

It allows for vertical spikes in the starmap that may give more, but smaller, single/limited access areas. The small can survive in the shallows and crevices while the large own the deep and open areas.


I am not sure how much more emergent play could get without some kind of actual reset. Two months warning and preparation, six weeks of chaos, and then we are all on our way to new vistas.

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burn heretic burn... I know. But we COULD do it.

Others just wnt their ratting system to be safe

An interesting idea. Not sure what I think of it yet outside of how well prepared and organized groups can take advantage/abuse it.

I have not lived in nul since Atlas was in Omist. I have no skin in this particular game.

It is an idea that is based in mechanics and adding experiences for newer players that older players had. No ideology or politics was considered. The players make their own emergent behavior out of whatever CCP gives us regardless of whether we like it or not.

There would of course be CONCORD-built gates, possibly along the new pipes. Newer players would not need to build their own Gates everywhere.

There can never be a "reset" in the conventional way, so this is about as far as one could go while still retaining most assets.

I purposely do not add much detail as this is a community. I was looking for others' thoughts.

Thanks for the replies.

How this may help CCP's efforts -

No need for arbitrary stat changes to moons and their contents. You know that is what will happen. After DT on an expansion one day, we will find the moons have been shuffled. Loss of immersion.

There could be more space, even though not ALL of it will ALWAYs have an access point.(more on this later)

Emergent behavior, such as the creation of Jita, could be greatly encouraged. New paths make for new hubs.
When CCP addresses an issue, it tends to be either with an oversized Nerf/Buff stick, or with a series of half-measures that folks work around almost instantly. This idea would require TIME. Actual physical presence and effort on the part of players over the course of weeks/months.

With minor marketing and word of mouth, this could boost subscriptions, at least in the short- to mid-term. Who wouldn't want to be around for something of this magnitude? To watch a moon shatter? To witness a Gate explosion? To die in a subspace shockwave and have your clone wake with epic FRAPs and screenies? To be the FIRST to see a new planet? Twelve years and a newb could experience something before anyone else. While I do not... some people DO just want to watch the world burn... and I bet they would pay good isk to watch. Once CCP has them on the hook, well some will stay. EVE can be gaming crack.

Isk could be spent instead of constantly accruing. T2 will go through the roof for a short time. Assets lost would need to be replaced. The markets in all possible surviving pockets could be a sight to see for fluctuations. There is no Divine Right of Ever-Increasing Profits.

This could allow the introduction of new mechanics and attributes with at least a plausible backstory reason. The "changed properties" of space post-cataclysm could spackle over almost anything CCP could choose to do.
Incorporating a Natural Disaster of this magnitude every 4-5 years could keep the community fresher and a little less calcified. Shake the etch-a-sketch and let us draw some new lines. It is supposed to be our galaxy to explore... so let us.

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On to actual mechanics. For a few weeks it is not spreadsheets in space. It is being online to WATCH what is happening and be mindful of your surroundings as they change under your feet. I move from a speculative tone to a present declaritive along the way because I got tired of putting in "would", "should", and "could" everywhere.

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Harbinger - Five weeks - Everyone would of course know it is coming. CCP would NOT drop a nuke on our heads. Harbinger gives tools, skills, information, etc to help pilots and entities prepare.

Physical witnesses to New Eden system and the EVEGate should get a nice eye-candy treat, before they die, during Harbinger. Pulses that coincide with gate disruptions for maybe 50K grid-wide damage. The old DD code is out there I am sure.

Current SOV dies, if possible a few weeks in rather than at the start for immersion/backstory/fanfic purposes. CCP can rebuild it... they have the technology. CONCORD has more critical concerns than to watch over Nul at the moment. Put in place a version of no sov as possibly envisioned by Remove SOV Thread. Numbers and activity keep systems running while the inhabitants discover whether or not they will even have the option of remaining. The questions surrounding SCAAs etc in a no sov environment would become temporarily moot, as who wants to build a super they will have to run like the wind in? And still maybe lose.

Hi, Lo, and Nul Gates begins to show visual signs of disruption. Any Gate showing these signs will "misbehave". Exiting ships could be given large exit velocities in random directions. Exits could be well outside current parameters. Any number of non-lethal things come to mind. Example - Getting an Obelisk down from 1800 m/sec may be fun.

As Harbinger progresses(after daily DT), these effects decrease in Hisec, as the NPC races and factions strengthen Gates(cool eye-candy constructions and frameworks). Conversely, Losec and Nulsec Gates suffer more frequent and violent disruptions, as CONCORD told you in the first place you were on your own. You knew the job was dangerous when you took it. Losec gets some assistance in Gate strengthening from major factions along critical pipes and regions. Maybe give Providence some help.

W-space(i do not exempt myself or other negsec bretheren) feels the effects in altered wormhole attributes and timing/placement/etc. As Harbinger progesses, wormholes may collapse upon first ship entry. Sleepers awaken... which means EVE Survival Guide means nothing now. The numbers of sleepers in sites trends upward as Harbinger progresses, but they drop less valuable loot per ship on average. Sleepers attack Thera stations. Station-camped by a hundred sleepers. Worth a PLEX to watch that from a cloaker.

Space-time/subspace/insert sci-fi term here disruptions affect Moon and PI output. Quakes in other words. Damage to surface infrastructure reduces output in random fits and starts that accelerate over time in direct relation to that system's Gate disruptions.

As Harbinger draws to a close, it will become obvious which Gates are in the greatest danger of collapse. The lifeboat region lines will have been drawn. Not neccesarily along current regional lines either. The EVE equivalant of putting two male betas in a fishbowl. No matter how meta your game is, there is only so much to go around; unless you want to just ride it out, which is a distinct possibility if it truly is the big blue doughnut. Not for me to judge.
The markets will have gone insane by now. Emerge, emerge, emerge; you behaviour you. It is, after all, The End of The World As We Know It. Throw that spreadsheet out the window, who knows what tomorrow may bring?

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Rebirth - The payoff for the pain. After the EVEGate subsides, and new readings can safely be taken, it turns out that many old connections are no longer viable. However, many new potential routes have opened up all accross the galaxy. CONCORD, assisted by and competing with players, begins the process of establishing these new connections.

Mechanics - It is based on routes and Gates. there are three types of routes. Potential, Active and Permitted. There are two types of Gates. CONCORD and player-owned. Potential Routes will generate randomly throughout the duration of Rebirth after each DT, on timers to give all timezones a chance.

EXAMPLE - A system may have up to seven Potential routes but local subspace anomolies may only Permit up to three Active routes.

Therefore, choices must be made.

Day 1 - CONCORD will immediately begin to supply gates along new pipes. Call it a one-hour construction animation that pilots may observe and report to others. Gate construction is on a timer, so Gates are constructed at a steady rate throughout the day. Everyone gets a chance to see a new Gate born.

CONCORD keeps a steady production of Gates going. Once they fill in the blanks of Hisec and Losec, they are coming for Nul.

This is where we get to bring back two old tools. System Scanning Arrays, and the Deep Space probes that go along with them.

System Scanning will reveal Potential Gate Routes, as well as keep tabs on all wormhole formation(this matters for later). If the target system has never been seen before, then the star type and number of planets is all that long-range telescopes can discern.

One new Module is required. The HyperSpace Anchor(of course a placeholder name). It is fitted to a Freighter, Jump freighter, Orca, Rorqual, Carrier or Supercarrier. It allows the ship to go through a new player-owned Gate to the target system without a matching gate to "catch" it. These ships carry the Gate egg to the target system, and locate a proper place for anchoring and onlining the new connection.
An un-connected Gate COUNTS as Active towards the Permitted total of BOTH systems. The strategic variations are not lost on me. This could be used in an aggressive or blockade function. Envelopment is a possibility. Think I am a carebear-lover now?
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DISCUSSION POINT -
A) At least ONE connecting Gate must be constructed in a system before any more can be used to continue explorations.

OR

B) "Leapfrogging" is allowed where system scans may be accomplished immediately upon entering a target system, and new Gates may be constructed leading out before the last connector is done.
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Gate construction is alowed by any entity capable of holding the grid long enough to anchor and online. Gate number is allowed up to the system's Permitted level of gates, judged by "Online" start. EXAMPLE - Four gates are being attempted in a system with three permitted routes. The last Gate to attempt go Online will fail.

CONCORD will attempt to continue expansion, unless players fill all Permitted slots. They may pick crap systems or lock into an enemy's pipe.

CONCORD will NOT add more than one set of CONCORD-owned connections to any Nulsec systems unless all other options are exhausted. They attempt to make pipes first, then fill in. They make the main lines, we make the side roads.

CONCORD will construct Gates to any blockaded system or combination of same, over-riding Permissions if needed, after more than a set time(discuss). Permitted routes are set by their conservative post-apocalyptic minds. they can be exceeded BY CONCORD at need.

CONCORD Gates cannot be destroyed. Until the next cataclysm. Four years and ticking.

Player-owned Gate access is scaled by IHUB level. 0 is free for all. 1 allows small toll based on non-blue standings only. 2-4 allow progessively more leeway in toll. Level 5 is up for discussion on how restrictive an entity should be allowed to be with something that can be popped and replaced, or moved. Lock us out and we will burn it down.

Gates have very high resists to facilitate repairs. High EHP to negate YOLO pops. 36 hour Reinforcement, which limits travel in ways to be discussed.

Pop a Gate and its connector blows in a Cataclysm-like way. New Permitted Route becomes immediately(?) available.

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Consequences - Just a very few of the ones I can think of. Lord knows how many there are.

The Starmap - There will be systems that have no connections. Some will have limited stats. Some will have out of date stats, if connection is lost.

Seeding - Make a Gate connection. Throw in the colonists and all their stuff(read renters/alts/etc). Blow the Gates. Use Jump Freighters. Most efficient use of Permitted Routes. Doesn't mean someone won't come in a back door someday as Potential Routes open up.

Increased utility of JumpDrives even with fatigue. There may be a very few old systems that do not have Potential Routes, but have people and stuff in them. Imagine the premium that could be charged to evacuate all that. And the loot pinatas that those JFs would be.

Agent Missions - Everything from rescue to exploration to security to courier. Level 6 Jump missions.

W-space - Could be the ONLY way to get to some Kspace systems until/unless a new connection is made. All "destroyed" or "lost" systems would disappear from starmap and wormhole generation list. Thera gets a traffic boost possibly.