Player Features and Ideas Discussion

First of, let's start with a disclaimer: the purpose of this thread will not be to look for ideas nerfing group play and teamwork. As in any MMO, teamwork should remain more beneficial than solo play. This is simply an attempt to expand options given to every player when it comes to finding their comfort zone in EVE. Also, for the purpose of this thread, the term solo play includes small groups of people playing together but more often than not, find themselves playing solo due to scheduling constraints between the involved parties.

The why: From my experience, solo play seems to peak in lowsec. With the exception of NPC null, playing strictly solo offers little to no advantage if you wish to expand your horizons further. The options are limited to the following:

- Solo PVP (with scout/booster alt, often using cloaking devices)
- Hunting faction spawns in belts
- Completing escalations

As you can see, none of these allow players to remain in 0.0 for prolonged periods of time, mostly determined by the size of the cargo hold. The only exception I would consider is "sight-seeing", but since these ships are usually fitted with covert cloaks and are quite rare, they offer little value in a MMO-PVP driven game and this discussion.

Although teamwork is encouraged, many solo players see no reason to leave highsec, and some - like me - find lowsec to be the best middle-ground. I believe playing solo should be more accessible, regardless of the area of space one wishes to play in. To push this even further, risk/reward should scale accordingly and thus, playing solo in 0.0 should naturally pay better than it's counterparts. However, being part of a team will always be more advantageous and offer greater rewards.

So without further ado, here are some ideas I think would help spread the population across all areas of space, I will keep this list updated based upon feedback and suggestions (feel free to link threads where some of these ideas have been discussed in detail):


- Improve/fix the local chat/360 scanner yes or no functions
As discussed in this thread by Mors Sanctitatis, being small should offer its own advantages in terms of detectability during a hide and seek game. In other words, trying to do more with less in favor of stealth. It seems we are going to see this applied with the upcoming ring mining feature already.

- Give an alternative for stashing ammo and loot other than outposts or POSes
Amarr ships have a significant advantage in this area. Having one central carrier acting as a base or HQ during prolonged stays is already possible. Perhaps introducing ammo bays or reducing ammo m3.

- Expanding on the escalation concept
Profitability can come with the traveling barrier rather than efficiently blitzing static plexes/missions. What if we had never-ending escalations with a time-frame for completion being close to 1-2 hours? Having the ability to travel long distances while keeping a minimum of tank and offensive capabilities would be rewarded. Being able to complete them faster would increase chances of faction spawns, etc.

I leave you with these 3 for now. Let's add more to the list.

I don't see how your three examples specifically enhance solo play. They're just ideas that will apply to anyone

The chained escalations will specifically favor groups over solo - after-all a group can get there and clear it within a short time limit easier than a solo player can.

+1 would like to see more for the solo casual player. Be ready to be trolled by the "its an mmo play with others" and James315.

Tal

awoxing ?

Just make owning/managing a POS easier to the point where a solo player can sneak in with a hauler, anchor it and live from it.
You can already do this in a wormhole but it's just not worth the effort in 0.0 or lowsec. Therefore, either make it worth the effort or decrease the amount of effort required.

Personally I think things like markets and contracts should be seperable from stations entirely. There should be no 'station-exclusive' services.

because you are playing a game, in the space of the game that is particularly meant to house large entities.

Not you

Moved from General Discussion to Features and Ideas, mainly because it is a discussion on new ideas.

Edit:

Have also removed some of the troll posts, at least the ones which didn't eventually lead to greater discussion on the topic in hand. If I missed any, please let me know.

No it isn't, there's been no content for solo casual players added for years, mission haven't been updated in years, without backup of a corp or alliance your options are very limited.

Tal

What you guys are saying is true. EVE is a multiplayer game and solo play exists; we are not debating this.

The unfortunate truth is that many players like playing solo, so what better way to attract them to the multiplayer experience than to offer them an incentive for solo play? We are not talking about making solo play immune to non-consensual pvp, far from it. We are not discussing if highsec is balanced, far from it (go discuss that in another thread). When solo play is too limited outisde of empire space, you will have a harder time convincing people to get out with a "change your playstyle" approach.

PVPers need more PVP options, PVEers need more PVE options - regardless of the area of space. There is no need to alienate one group. Having more people being able to live solo in lowsec and 0.0 will naturally boost the PVP content of these areas.

So again, what new/existing features could be introduced or improved upon which will increase incentive for solo play? Keep in mind this also includes small groups which can go long periods of time playing solo while waiting for others to log on.