EVE General Discussion

Give us establishments with full social gameplay and games.

Monocle Madness has plans. /me rubs hands

Speaking of the NeX store and Incarna.

When are you guys gonna fix the underwear bug that has been in game since the Incarna expansion. I'd like to use some of the new stuff in the NeX store but until the bug is fixed my character will just look silly. http://i.imgur.com/pVHaf.png

Thank you very much!!!!!

The idea of "space" is important to EVE especially as we get into the environment of walking in stations. I know on a technical level, the concepts I'm going to portray aren't going to be completely effectual, but let's just put the thoughts out there as an expression of our vision of complete SCI FI Awesome-sauceness for EVE.

The fundamental value of "space" is that it makes the world feel large and the mind fills in the gaps. It's the first reaction you get from the rookie EVE player that **** seems so damned big. 8 Years into the game, I still get the sensation of course, but I have wrapped my noggin around most of the fundamental building blocks of EVE's aspects and the sensation, as with many vets, is diminished, but still present.

How does that change with WIS?

Well... opening up the vision to all options. The idea of finding a seedy corner of the station I'm in and even if there is no danger, but just "walking" through a "Dark alley" is a cool experience in my head. Good gameplay? Probably not, but immersive? Yes.

This is one of the reasons that I liked that EVE did not want any jogging in open social spaces.

Although many feel "restricted", the restriction simply needs to be funneled into an EXPERIENCE. Take for example a horror game. In a lot of those games you're quite literally restricted in actions, sometimes even unable to run, but the experience turns from frustration into "Fear".

The reason I LIKE the fact we can't run in WIS is because I don't run around all over the place in my real life, so why the hell would I do it in a social space? The restriction is because the average gamer has A.D.D (and I don't mean that in a negative way) and wants to get more input faster, juicier, more quickly. So, the walking is just a hindrance to getting to the "good stuff". But, the question is how do you make that into an EXPERIENCE of walking.

What can we do while walking besides slowly anticipating getting to the next destination?

To draw some parallels on why the human mind and body don't want to run constantly in the physical world :

#1 - Jogging is tiring and distracting.
#2 - Our spaces aren't designed for jogging.
#3 - Physiologically, our mind wants to preserve energy, not expend it.

These are mostly negatives as to why we don't jog. There are a few positives though :

#4 - Walking allows us to react better, more time to react to stimulus
#5 - Walking is socially more acceptable

For us points #2, #4 and #5 is the most acceptable reason to enforce walking in WIS since we want to promote a social environment.

Major issue for walking in WIS in social places is that we generally don't have a lot to say in MMO's from point A to point B to make walking more socially acceptable (#5). But, maybe this will develop when we have spaces long enough to walk around in? Will someone ever say "Let's take a walk and talk?" Is there a way to replicate the satisfaction of a leisurely walk in a virtual space with current tech?

For #4, is there anything that can happen while walking from point A to point B in a WIS session that would require me to react? Most FPMMO gamers are used to WOW land where despite the random mob, almost NOTHING will really interrupt your run from point A to B that requires interaction.

Back to the beginning :

Currently we have a CQ. Then Prototyping is focusing on Exploration gameplay, and now we the WIS minded players want a middle ground between CQ and the Exploration gameplay for social interaction.

Why?

It makes EVE more immersive. So if the end goal of Exploration gameplay is to give a REASON to step out of your pod to do things, and the social space's goal is immersion, how do we accomplish immersion?

Well, immersion is a bit tough when it comes to EVE because we're a sandbox and not a theme park. To some degree, theme parks are easier to make immersive on a superficial level. But they disintegrate after that because the players themselves never become an immersive part of the experience (they become the audience, not a dynamic). EVE does have the immersion through the players, but how will that translate to WIS?

The custom establishment system really is the only answer. But, establishments shouldn't be the only target of social spaces. But also what's in between those establishments. Alleys, walkways, (with NPCs below?) add to the experience.

The typical argument is going to be that if I can do it in my ship, why do I want to step out of my ship to do it? Takes longer, etc, etc. Well, psychologically, it only takes a few small perks to make people change that opinion. It becomes a judgement call for the person. If I do my trading while in the Stock Market establishment then I get 1% less taxes. Will everyone care? No. Some will, some won't. But now you have a reason. That's all that's really needed.

EVE social spaces to me should really feel like integrated bazaars. Tight spaces with establishments saddled by each other. The idea of huge over-arching space like a mall is a concept of modern architecture that is rapidly and quickly changing (read: New Urbanism).

Making tight easily navigated, easily traversed spaces for social and environmental reasons is the real way of "human" sized experiences. Walking becomes less of a hassle in tighter spaces, and the "Grandness" of bigger space can be alluded to in other ways.

This should be how EVEs Social spaces feel >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3ow78NdvQ0

Maybe with less rain and crazy effects. But tight spaces, lots of things happening at every corner without the need for huge expanses. If you want a private space, then i recommend you buy an establishment or find an establishment that caters to private space.

I know the idea of a VIP space was a pivotal one for keeping the capsuleers separate from the "everyday", but I don't think the idea of VIP should be "huge and massive space" to not want to walk around in.

Indeed. Although it would be amusing to put out a bi-monocle ( spectacle ) at double the price of the old monocles just for the troll of it.

But seriously, yes, we felt that this kind of pricing made much more sense, and we see it in how the items are selling now, that once the price was brought down and we added interesting designs, people are buying them. We'd like to put out more distinctive stuff, like the full body rubber female suits seen on Singularity, and a full body female leather strap catsuit, both which are important work attire for any serious capsuleer. If the clothes we're putting out now at lower prices sell well, we are very likely to kick off the manufacturing pipeline again, where we were planning to do more exotic ( cyberpunk, pirate etc ) clothes, than the more plain business and military clothes we have now.

Ways to bring the prototyping gameplay and the social gameplay together through the EVE FIS is as follows :

I'm dubbing Exploration Prototyping :: LFS (Looking for Stuff)

#1 - Players can fabricate fake implants that look identical to the ones they find in LFS. These implants can only be identified by players in person. Meaning that people sitting in a ship might risk buying fake implants if they don't get out and verify the goods. Opens up a whole new market section really. And give something for the scammers to do besides just spam Jita local constantly. (Ok, this might lead to more spamming, but at least it will be more INTERESTING spamming).

#2 - Unsubbed, un-PLEXed players can still log in to EVE and Walk around but can't fly around, they can be picked up by players and taken to LFS sites to do content by players in ships that don't want to do LFS content but still want the goods. Providing a work force, and still pivoting on FIS content as the hinge for anyone who doesn't have their Pilots License Extended. Would allow for ways for players to earn ISK to earn PLEX to do Flying content >> More money for CCP.

#3 - Allow booster products to be found in LFS sites also. Convert this back into the Black Market Establishment idea you had before, and generating more reasons to enforce WIS stuff through LFS into the FIS experience.

#4 - Allow Dust514 weapons blueprints to be found in LFS that can be sold to bunnies. Let bunnies get on WIS and purchase the stuff on station = more people on WIS.

#5 - Allow the new POS system to allow for "Space bars" and "Space captain's quarters" that are isolated establishments in space that you can dock and trade for goods/implants. There is no "Station Market" to buy off the space market (to stay hidden from stations and null sec holders), so that means you have to dock to purchase and know that the hidden shady hide out is already there ahead of time (or find it luckily through scanning).

I spent some of my ultra-valuable Free Aurum just to make sure you'd get that message

This can't be the real DMC. The real DMC gets annoyed when people call him names & would never stoop so low.

you mean the opposite? This thread is like 90% support, what are you smoking?

Referring to the playerbase as a whole.

And I got the good stuff. Want some?