Player Features and Ideas Discussion

These ideas are good, but they're not the first time they've been suggested or recommended and have been often repeated and sponsored by the EVE Community.

If CCP decides to listen today, then so be it.

I think Eve devs may be ahead of you. I saw a Scan Distortion device (2x) on a deadspace gate while missioning the other day. I thought it was something they had implemented, however, after maintenance the devices we're gone from new missions I was running. I now suspect Devs were testing this device. It was a collidable object and you could attack it like any mission bunker. I did attack but nothing dropped. Also within the mission deadspace the target container was both cloaked and shielded like a POS. The shield generator however could be located and destroyed.. once that happened the shield dropped and you could get to the container.

If Devs are introducing this scan disruptor device, that may be just what we need to slip into 0.0 and mission/sites etc.

Worth reading!

I think this the best thread in EvE-O forums. OP you are genius 11/10
If ever implemented it would make the game much more interesting for everyone I think. Moreover, bots would produce oceans of tears.

Some storyline events about CONCORD should come through. Changes after :
- CONCORD goes rogue. Becomes a business establishment;
- CONCORD doesn't give local intel for free anymore;
- By default all capsuleers are paying (fixed amount per each jump through gates) CONCORD in order not be shown in local, although it's possible to switch (through settings) to pay CONCORD in order to be visible in local (sellers, scammers etc..);
- Above mentioned fee is used provide relative safety when operating in hi-sec (same GCC mechanics as now).
- It is possible to buy intel from CONCORD (in their stations only) in order to find someone specific.

I would like to see a ship dedicated to being able to tracking down cloaked ships, a T2 destroyer for example, so it has abilities to track down the "subs".

maybe some kind of actual ship equipment (Hi slot) to ping so ships do not automatically gain the ability, like on this planet where subs are invisible to ships unless they have sonar or are currently being fire on but without the ability to locate them directly. For example module spews out an approx range and angle off ship but not a location so you can tell if the cloaked ship is moving rather than just afk.
This with a dedicated line of destroyers to actively hunt down cloaked ships.

Very good and nice ideas, I like some more than others but if those were the game mechanics it would be awesome, it goes pretty close to what I thought EVE was when started to play, just to be disappointed about the way it is.

If things were this way I would leave carebearing and become a recon pilot, scanning is what I most like of this game.

Thanks for those great ideas, it's sad you are leaving the game.

I'm a w-space dweller who flies around cloaked 90% of the time, and I love doing so. But I agree that cloaking can be overpowered. For balance, there ought to be SOME way for them to detect me, at least when I am on-grid. I would envision a module that is "aimed" similar to dscan, but detects cloaked ships. They are not decloaked, but their presence is detected. It would, by default, have a relatively small cone of detection, say 20 degrees or so, that could be improved with a skill. And the special cloaked-detector ship would get a bonus that might get it up to a high value, maybe even full 360 degree coverage.

With regard to the original post -- awesome ideas. I think that early in the thread someone mentioned that current mechanics discourage people from heading into null as a solo or small gang because they know that getting blobbed is inevitable. Whether or not that is actually true, it is exactly my perception, and the main reason I avoid null. I like small gang/solo. I hate big fleets. And my perception (perhaps I am wrong) is that nullsec pvp is 90% blob warfare.

Cloaking also allows to take a break, and depending on what space you are or players present in the system it might be the only way to make a pause in the game, sometimes we need to take care of something in RL, kids, phone call or any other thing.

If some change is gonna be applied to cloaking this should also be considered.

Thats pretty simple actually, make cloaks require some fuel, the burn rate of fuel is based on your ship's velocity up to some maximum along a logarithmic curve so that if you are sitting still, a full load of fuel (full as in the modules "ammo") would last say 5-6 hours, if warping all over the system, fuel would last 20-30 minutes. Then make the module be shut off to reload, and require something like 45 seconds to reload, that way a reasonably good scan prober has a chance to lock you down.

To the OP's ideas, I like them immensely.

I few ideas to add to them though:

1. Terrain. I would add a bunch more of it. Large gas clouds, debris fields, comets, etc. I fell the right number of "terrain" features other than planets should be above 40 in any given system (too many for a gang to blindly warp to all of them looking for people). All of them should be discoverable by using a system scanner. The system scanner can be activated and take time to scan in an outward spiral, covering approximately 1AU per 10-20 seconds (modifiable by skills). So for example, if you want to hide, you can activate your scanner, and in a large system, it might take half an hour or more to scan the whole thing, after you have scanned, all of the terrain are now warp able objects that you can bookmark. This way, preparation will give you an advantage but that advantage can be overtaken by patience if your enemy is willing to sit and scan long enough. Into these terrain features, you should be able to either hide your ships, or hide your POS (the new POSes that will be anchor able anywhere). In addition to this, collections of bookmarks should be able to be created from scanning these sites so that explorers could map systems and sell the bookmarks on the market. Over time, the positions of different terrain features should drift, making old bookmarks (older than 2-3 weeks) no longer good enough. But each time you warp to a bookmark, it automatically corrects for spatial drift, so if you "live" in a gas cloud, you don't have to manually update the bookmark all the time.

2. Local. I would make local chat optional as it is in W-hole space, however, I would also separate the local count from local chat and add a new piece of information to the UI that indicates the total signature size of all active ships in that system that are detectable by your sensors. This should include ships that are cloaked. So, if your sensors say that there is a total of about 800m of signature right when you jump through, you know there are people active, as your sensors either get closer, or activate the active sensors, you might be able to tell that those 800m's are from 4 signatures. After that, it works as described. This way, an experienced pilot will still be able to tell when people are in the system and would have a decent idea of how many etc, but not WHO they are or what they are flying unless they work for it.

3. Strategic Intel. I think this could easily be done in two ways, first as a bribe to CONCORD to get the stats that you can currently get through the map, but the bribe would be some set amount for intel on a system, constellation, or region that is fairly cheap, but scaled by size (maybe 25,000 for a system, 100,000 for a constellation and 1 mil for a region...just as a rough swag). The bribes would be good for a 24 hour period or so. In addition, players should be able to deploy a variety of strategic scanners that are able to provide the same kinds of stats as long as the scanner probe/structure is not destroyed. Players should also be able to "sell" their intel for less than CONCORD charges via contracts. Some sensors should be able to report on gate traffic to include ship types and times. This way, being a scout recon becomes a profession able to make you money in Eve. For better quality intel (like ship types and times, an active scanner that actually scans ships as they jump in and provides fitting/cargo information) would be much more valuable, but require scanners that are much easier to identify and destroy, making them good for Alliances defending space, or scouts in deep behind enemy lines. Such intel could be contracted for millions of isk/hour if so desired.