Player Features and Ideas Discussion

You might find the link in my signature worth reading, the first one, about eliminating AFK influence.

Your response is a circular argument and the reason it is illogical. You are saying it is not the inactivity of the cloak but that of the PvE when the inactivity of the cloak (as literally defined by the topic, which is AFK Cloaking) is the 'activity' (or lack thereof) that is meant to alter the activity of another.

The further argument that nothing should be done if local remains unchanged means that you believe mechanics that encourage inactivity are good game design, which they are not.

The point is that IF local is not going to ever go away, what then should cloaking mechanics (including being able to be probed) look like in order to both maintain balance AND promote in-game activity (AFK by definition is not activity in-game).

Regardless of the outcome of the local debate, there would only follow two outcomes: Local intel exists innately | Local intel does not exist innately.

This discussion should then posit solutions to each scenario as they relate to cloaking mechanics, not forever circularly argue the aforementioned debate of which desired state should exist for local.

If local is innate as it is today your argument is clear - if local remains unchanged nothing about cloaking mechanics should change.
Raised issue with that argument is this -> AFK cloaking by definition is player inactivity and thus bad for the game and poor game design. What are the mechanics solutions that would encourage player activity assuming local will not be changed for whatever reason.

If local is not innate then claoky mechanics are either fine the way they are, or are unbalanced.
Arguments that they are imbalanced are -> assets in space while logged in should be fair game and the state of invulnerability either needs to be maintained (have a cost) and/or the asset should be detectable by some means (probing)

AFK Cloaking is by definition inactivity.

In the context of this thread, it is rather the strategy involved as a whole.

If we are to use dry definitions, then it is only fair to say noone is threatened by your definition of AFK cloaking, as clearly the player is not present at all to threaten with.

They may as well be logged out, for all the risk they can actually deliver.
Not much controversy there.

Using your dry definition of AFK Cloaking, there is no issue, it is completely fine as it is.

Often I would have a support ship, such as an orca, on a different system while I mined ore.
That orca was cloaked, so I did not need to worry about it.
This took place in sov null space.

As I was not at the keyboard, or paying attention at all, to the orca, I was AFK cloaking.

Working as intended.

And yet the ship enjoying the protection of those POS shields, is quite plainly not vulnerable.

Sure, you might have been the person who placed that POS, but equally possible is that you joined the alliance that holds it, and were simply given permission to use it for safety.

So, the concept that the POS cost anything is meaningless to you.

Whether you are cloaked, and they cannot find you, or behind POS shields and they cannot touch you, the results are effectively the same. Your ship has little to no chance of being successfully attacked.

The only conclusion I can come to after reading this is that we need to nerf highsec.

*Snip* Removed off-topic part of the post. ISD Ezwal.


we are talking about the disruption that an AFK cloaky player does in a system with the intention of and no other reanon than to cause that disruption.

This is mainly where the players in system knows he is afk but cannot go about their daily activites because of it .

i.e for those of you talking about POSes and locsl channels etc this is not the point of the tread.

It is in fact about 1 player disrupting the activities of dozens by parking a toon in a system sometimes for weeks mainly in industrial hubs which disrupt the activities of that hub while it is in system.

and i mean logging it in after down time eash day and heading off to work to bed etc.... this activity needs to be stamped out of the game....

There have been a few ideas as too discourage this behaviour but the idea of the new sleeper NPC's able to scan decloak and shoot them is a wonderfull idea as on sisi atm they chase you all over system shooting you it will be a great addition to the game and discorage AFKERS and bots.

as for afk links the sleeper's mechanics atm will seek them down and shoot them

Just like it is in wormholes?