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Ideas for Drone Improvement, 7/19/2013 ECM Drone Sepration
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Verminus
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#61 - 2012-10-23 00:27:32 UTC
Omnathious Deninard wrote:
Cearain wrote:
Just give drones a speed and tracking boost.

done.


This only solves 1 issue of tracking problems, not damage problems, survivability problems, or the desire to use drones in pvp
Edit: combat drones in pvp that is



Increase base dmg for all drones by say 15%
Decrease their sig radius by 50% - harder to lock, track and hit but still can be destroyed.
Blodhgarm Dethahal
8 Sins of Man
Stray Dogs.
#62 - 2012-10-23 15:12:03 UTC
Can we Overload Drones? Big smile

Have them take damage until they hit hull.. at which point they become incapacitated but recoverable.
Zyella Stormborn
Green Seekers
#63 - 2012-11-01 17:25:21 UTC  |  Edited by: Zyella Stormborn
Verminus wrote:
Omnathious Deninard wrote:
Cearain wrote:
Just give drones a speed and tracking boost.

done.


This only solves 1 issue of tracking problems, not damage problems, survivability problems, or the desire to use drones in pvp
Edit: combat drones in pvp that is



Increase base dmg for all drones by say 15%
Decrease their sig radius by 50% - harder to lock, track and hit but still can be destroyed.




Love some of the ideas I have seen.

Decrease Drone Sig radius (by 25-50%, based on balance). They are supposed to be tiny fast ships, hard to target but not overly hard to kill when you manage hit them. This is a great idea.

Increase drones COMBAT speed Once they get into combat range they slow down, and MWD frigates in particular, but even some cruisers just about outrun them, causing a jerking motion that breaks their pattern constantly. In combat they need to be faster, which makes tracking on them harder, as well as letting them keep up with ships (they are little unmanned drones, after all).

Increase drone tracking speed This is a bigger issue for the larger drones, but even the small drones have issues when in orbit around frigates.

Balance racial drone damage / damage mod Balance the damage, damage multiplier, firing rate, so that after all the factors are in play, the drones have the same applied DPS. There needs to be actual reaons to use say, the Amarr drones.

Balance drone speed / tank Give faster drones more signature, and a little less tank, so they balance out with slower drones. Make the MWD speed on ALL drones the same for travel time to target.

Increase MWD speed Increase drone TRAVEL speed so that they all can reach targets faster. Currently it takes too long (large drones this is a particular problem) to reach the target and / or return to ship.

Put in a setting for auto return Put an option in the drone window for drones to attempt return to drone bay automatically if a) you go to warp out. Or b) the drone shields are gone and it is into armor. This will help a tiny bit with the current micro-management that goes on with drones.

There is of course a ton of things that drone AI and UI needs, but this is just ideas for the drones themselves.

Great thread, hope CCP reads it and has similar thoughts on the matter

~Z


P.S.: Has there been any official response or notes by the Devs for if / when / what plans are in place for drones?

There is a special Hell for people like that, Right next to child molestors, and people that talk in the theater. ~Firefly
Jame Jarl Retief
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#64 - 2012-11-01 18:55:56 UTC  |  Edited by: Jame Jarl Retief
I like many/most ideas in this thread. Though many/most of them are in no way new. Most of this stuff has been suggested already, many times, over the last 3 years or so.

Zyella Stormborn wrote:
P.S.: Has there been any official response or notes by the Devs for if / when / what plans are in place for drones?


I too would love to see some kind of timeline. At the FanFest I was very excited to hear about drone UI overhaul and when they showed a mock-up. Since then, it's been pretty much quiet as far as I know, except for a mention or two in the minutes. My guess is next expansion, probably, at the earliest. If at all. CCP has a really sad history of treating drones as junk. It started when they began to hand out drone bays and bandwidth like candy to so many ships. Turned drones into a tertiary support system of sorts.
A8ina
Red.Leaf's Tavern
#65 - 2012-11-03 04:18:01 UTC
you did allots of work RollBig smile
First Main
Main's Moon Mining
#66 - 2012-11-13 09:47:56 UTC
I like the ideas in this thread! would be good to see if CCP could implement them for the next expansion (post-retribution)
Harvey James
The Sengoku Legacy
#67 - 2012-11-13 11:02:56 UTC
btw how do you add a link at the bottom of your page?

T3's need to be versatile so no rigs are necessary ... they should not have OP dps and tank

ABC's should be T2, remove drone assist, separate HAM's and Torps range, -3 HS for droneboats

Nerf web strength, Make the blaster Eagle worth using
Omnathious Deninard
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#68 - 2012-11-13 13:15:36 UTC
Harvey James wrote:
btw how do you add a link at the bottom of your page?

You have to paste the link into your signature.

If you don't follow the rules, neither will I.
Hakan MacTrew
Konrakas Forged
Solyaris Chtonium
#69 - 2012-11-13 13:28:50 UTC  |  Edited by: Hakan MacTrew
Here's an idea I want to put out there.

What about modular drones?

2 hull types per size, combat and attack. Combat drones do more damage, stronger utility and have more ehp. Attack drones have more speed, range and tracking.
They can be outfitted with 1 of 4 damage types or a utility function.

All of this is chosen when a stack of hulls are assembled, with a popup menu. You can choose how many to assemble and what systems to add at this point. Think of them as scripted drone hulls.

How about that?

This way you could customise drones to a specific need. No one damage type would have advantages over another, but none would be inferior either.

The racial skills can add dps to specific damage types and allow usage of racial ewar types and utilities.

Friends
Iris Bravemount
Golden Grinding Gears
#70 - 2012-11-13 13:42:10 UTC
You might want to comment on this.

https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=172062&find=unread

"I will not hesitate when the test of Faith finds me, for only the strongest conviction will open the gates of paradise. My Faith in you is absolute; my sword is Yours, My God, and Your will guides me now and for all eternity." - Paladin's Creed
Harvey James
The Sengoku Legacy
#71 - 2012-11-13 14:04:07 UTC  |  Edited by: Harvey James
Omnathious Deninard wrote:
Harvey James wrote:
btw how do you add a link at the bottom of your page?

You have to paste the link into your signature.


signature? how? yey!! i figured it out thanks for the help

T3's need to be versatile so no rigs are necessary ... they should not have OP dps and tank

ABC's should be T2, remove drone assist, separate HAM's and Torps range, -3 HS for droneboats

Nerf web strength, Make the blaster Eagle worth using
HydroSan
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#72 - 2012-11-13 14:33:42 UTC
Drones are really weak. If ccp is serious about making drones a weapon system on equal footing with the missiles and guns. Many changes will need to be made. I don't agree with everything you've posted ,but the devs have a ton of work ahead of them if they intend on getting drones to where they need to be. The indroduction of DDAs was a great first step.
Hakan MacTrew
Konrakas Forged
Solyaris Chtonium
#73 - 2012-11-13 15:46:11 UTC  |  Edited by: Hakan MacTrew
They are weak. Drone boats don't compare to other ships of the line as yet.

Hakan MacTrew wrote:
Here's an idea I want to put out there.

What about modular drones?

2 hull types per size, combat and attack. Combat drones do more damage, stronger utility and have more ehp. Attack drones have more speed, range and tracking.
They can be outfitted with 1 of 4 damage types or a utility function.

All of this is chosen when a stack of hulls are assembled, with a popup menu. You can choose how many to assemble and what systems to add at this point. Think of them as scripted drone hulls.

How about that?

This way you could customise drones to a specific need. No one damage type would have advantages over another, but none would be inferior either.

The racial skills can add dps to specific damage types and allow usage of racial ewar types and utilities.


No opinions on this at all then?

Also, forgot to mention earlier, I'm totally for a rig allowing a larger drone bay.

It would also be good to be able to see what sort of condition each drone is in while its in a bay. to avoid launching damaged drones instead of ones that are fully intact. Possibly also a method of repairing drones while they are in said bay, maybe with nanite paste.

Friends
Omnathious Deninard
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#74 - 2012-11-13 15:58:25 UTC
The modular drone idea has come up before, and it is a really cool idea, they would have to be balanced in such a way that they done make current T2 drones useless. If there were a way to balance them while not making them exclusive then i would be all for it.

If you don't follow the rules, neither will I.
Blodhgarm Dethahal
8 Sins of Man
Stray Dogs.
#75 - 2012-11-13 16:14:06 UTC
Hakan MacTrew wrote:

It would also be good to be able to see what sort of condition each drone is in while its in a bay. to avoid launching damaged drones instead of ones that are fully intact. Possibly also a method of repairing drones while they are in said bay, maybe with nanite paste.


Nanite Repair Paste to rep drones doesn't seem worth it unless it is absolutely next to nothing. One Unit of repair paste costs 15-18k last I checked. If you want to rep drones just use an RR on it or rep in station. It would be better in my opinion to have drones regenerate HP while in the bay rather than using a consumable to repair them.
Hakan MacTrew
Konrakas Forged
Solyaris Chtonium
#76 - 2012-11-13 16:17:31 UTC
Im suggesting a complete overhaul of drones. Replace the current ones with modular ones, (both T1 and T2. I dont know about Fighters and Bombers,as I have no experience with them.)

T2 Combat Drone would have marginally better speed, tracking and range with a bit more damage and EHP.
T2 Attack Drones would have marginally better damage and EHP with a bit more speed, tracking and range.

I also suggest that should this be implemented, that all drones and blueprints should be swapped out:


  • Amarr Drones become appropriate sized Attack Hulls, with EM damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Attack Hulls and another for EM damage 'modules'.

  • Caldari Drones become appropriate sized Combat Hulls, with kinetic damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Combat Hulls and another for kinetic damage 'modules'.

  • Gallente Drones become appropriate sized Combat Hulls, with thermal damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Combat Hulls and another for thermal damage 'modules'.

  • Minmatar Drones become appropriate sized Attack Hulls, with explosive damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Attack Hulls and another for explosive damage 'modules'.

Friends
Omnathious Deninard
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#77 - 2012-11-13 17:17:03 UTC
Blodhgarm Dethahal wrote:
Hakan MacTrew wrote:

It would also be good to be able to see what sort of condition each drone is in while its in a bay. to avoid launching damaged drones instead of ones that are fully intact. Possibly also a method of repairing drones while they are in said bay, maybe with nanite paste.


Nanite Repair Paste to rep drones doesn't seem worth it unless it is absolutely next to nothing. One Unit of repair paste costs 15-18k last I checked. If you want to rep drones just use an RR on it or rep in station. It would be better in my opinion to have drones regenerate HP while in the bay rather than using a consumable to repair them.

The benefit of being able to use nanite repair paset is the ability to launch your second set of drones and repair your first set ant the same time.

It would be nice to see a dev comment about the ideas in here.

If you don't follow the rules, neither will I.
Omnathious Deninard
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#78 - 2012-11-13 22:32:21 UTC
It would be nice for a UI improvement to be able to Drag and Drop drone groups to the quickbar for rapid deployment and returning of different types of drones.

If you don't follow the rules, neither will I.
First Main
Main's Moon Mining
#79 - 2012-11-14 13:08:44 UTC
Hakan MacTrew wrote:
Im suggesting a complete overhaul of drones. Replace the current ones with modular ones, (both T1 and T2. I dont know about Fighters and Bombers,as I have no experience with them.)

T2 Combat Drone would have marginally better speed, tracking and range with a bit more damage and EHP.
T2 Attack Drones would have marginally better damage and EHP with a bit more speed, tracking and range.

I also suggest that should this be implemented, that all drones and blueprints should be swapped out:


  • Amarr Drones become appropriate sized Attack Hulls, with EM damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Attack Hulls and another for EM damage 'modules'.

  • Caldari Drones become appropriate sized Combat Hulls, with kinetic damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Combat Hulls and another for kinetic damage 'modules'.

  • Gallente Drones become appropriate sized Combat Hulls, with thermal damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Combat Hulls and another for thermal damage 'modules'.

  • Minmatar Drones become appropriate sized Attack Hulls, with explosive damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Attack Hulls and another for explosive damage 'modules'.



Why not make T3 drones? they could be modular like the T3 ships, i would also be up for T3 guns as well
Blodhgarm Dethahal
8 Sins of Man
Stray Dogs.
#80 - 2012-11-14 16:07:50 UTC
First Main wrote:
Hakan MacTrew wrote:
Im suggesting a complete overhaul of drones. Replace the current ones with modular ones, (both T1 and T2. I dont know about Fighters and Bombers,as I have no experience with them.)

T2 Combat Drone would have marginally better speed, tracking and range with a bit more damage and EHP.
T2 Attack Drones would have marginally better damage and EHP with a bit more speed, tracking and range.

I also suggest that should this be implemented, that all drones and blueprints should be swapped out:


  • Amarr Drones become appropriate sized Attack Hulls, with EM damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Attack Hulls and another for EM damage 'modules'.

  • Caldari Drones become appropriate sized Combat Hulls, with kinetic damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Combat Hulls and another for kinetic damage 'modules'.

  • Gallente Drones become appropriate sized Combat Hulls, with thermal damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Combat Hulls and another for thermal damage 'modules'.

  • Minmatar Drones become appropriate sized Attack Hulls, with explosive damage 'modules'. Their BPOs and BPCs should be split to become a BPO for the appropriate sized Attack Hulls and another for explosive damage 'modules'.



Why not make T3 drones? they could be modular like the T3 ships, i would also be up for T3 guns as well


Confirming I want more things my Sleeper Salvage can build so their prices raise Big smile