EVE General Discussion

As the theme of Retribution seems to be that "actions have consequence", I started thinking about how that might be applied beyond the Crimewatch system. While I generally think this has been a net positive, and has added more nuance to the game it seems like the premise could be expanded. Namely with regard to CONCORD.

Positive standings with all NPC corps and factions give bonuses or rewards , with the exception of CONCORD. As security status is essentially your standing with CONCORD, it seems that you should be rewarded or penalized in accordance with your standing.

I suggest removing the current system of limiting which systems you have access to based on your security status, and replacing it with a variable response time from CONCORD.

Keeping the same base response times based on system security, I would use character security status as a modifier. I'm sure others will have different opinion on how much the modifier should affect the response, but as an example lets keep it simple.

For positive sec status, (1-(SS/10))* base response time for system. In a 0.6 system and a character with 3.0 security status this would equate to (1-(3/10))*10= 7 seconds. Thus Concord arrives 3 seconds sooner

For negative sec status (1+(SS/10))*base system response time. In a .06 system and character with 3.0 security status this would equate to (1+(3/10))*10=13 seconds

While this only equates to a few seconds here and there, they can be precious indeed if you find yourself either participating in, or victim of a suicide gank in HS. I can't claim to be experienced in the least in pvp or ganking, but this seems to benefit both those who toe the CONCORD line, as well as those looking for more targets in HS. It also makes logical sense for CONCORD to respond faster to those that have helped them out in the past(ratting), and respond slower to people who have been (in there eyes)troublemakers.

And i'm sure there will be those that feel this will disproportionately help out carebears in HS, to whom I invite to propose your own formula for a variable CONCORD response. This is by no means the only solution, but it does seem that a variable response time not only makes sense in the general scheme of the game, but also with the Actions/Consequences theme of Retribution.

I always buy the Fraternal Order of Police stickers for my car, and wave at policemen for the bonus faction points. I'm sure this means they'll come to my house quicker if I'm ever robbed. You do have to remember to give the secret password to the 911 operators though, so you'll get expedited service.

Yeah, that seems entirely realistic, doesn't it?

What would be more "realistic" would be concord timers based on the "gankers" sec status. But there is enough consequence for gankers. They lose their ship

I think CONCORD should respond like a Junior High School principal does to any fight and punish both involved parties. CONCORD should simply warp in and WTFPWNBBQ both the would be aggressor and the victim. The aggressor gets BBQD for violation of rules, the victim gets BBQD for allowing the situation to get that far in the first place. All problems solved.

You forgot the part where the parent corps would also get WTFBBQPWND for not raising them any better than that. And the lawsuit that would be filed on CONCORD for WTFBBQPWNing them too hard.

How about a more protective start with a greater downward slope of CONCORD power with a change in sec status for empire systems.
Get rid of static .1-1.0sec throughout the game. .1-1.0 is now simply "Empire". CONCORD security is player based. The higher the weekly average population of a system within empire the higher the security. The longer a system is quiet, the lower it becomes. Spawns within quieter systems are more dense and rare.

"High security" CONCORD planetary beam attack.
"Mid security" CONCORD ships respond in current .5 speed and are like the currently omnipotent power web, jam and scrams.
"low security" CONCORD is powerful faction ships but can be jammed and tanked and blown up.
"The fringe" Turrets only, Keep ramp-up damage. high tank, slow rep. Respawns at downtime when destroyed.

Basically any non trade hub due to population will become High, the "roads" between these hubs become Medium, several jumps away from the roads become low. Past that the fringe.
PvP acts against population counts. Thus why I say non-trade hubs would be High sec. Due to constant podings, ganks and war Trade hubs like Jita will struggle to maintain the highest security rating.

As players attempt to move around for better resources, sec status will become higher, safer, and less profitable tell they get the gusto to move again.

Protected secs become much narrower.
Wild fringe, the current lowsec become much larger and profitable and not simply a road between nul and high. The roads leading to nul are more protected, tell you hit the gate owned by that block that is. Leads pirates camping a much larger swath of less traveled roads, or fighting nul at the block gates.

Empire Local chat is available to those of positive sec status and positive standing within that empire.
Those with positive sec but negative empire standing, or negative sec status and positive empire standing will have delayed local.
Those both in negative sec status and negative empire standing will have no local.

In nul Local is part of the gate network, now controlled by those billboards no one paid attention to in empire.
Player owned billboards now network hubs are built like pocos but at gates. They give Local access to those that own it and at these billboards they can choose who in their contacts can also see this local as well. Like poco tax, a fee for local use can be made to blues, reds, and neutrals to access the local within the system as well. The more gates a system has, the more redundant, or shared local service that system can have by installing a network hub at each. They are tanked and timed much like pocos, but perhaps cheaper, at least in parts, to create. The launch of such a change can have SCOPE owned network hubs offering Local to all at every gate.

How is this more realistic?
Also, you can't really call losing a ship a consequence; they're losing their ship but getting enough ISK in return to buy another one. If anything they're upgrading.

I don't have to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnjK5EVsIfI

If it were RL you should just be able to pay CONCORD to not attack for a certain amount of time

Yes it does, actually.

Do you know what the difference in police response times are between Detroit and Grosse Point? Or to put it an easier example that doesn't require you to pull out a map: Do you know what the difference in police response times are between poor neighborhoods and rich ones? Answer: A LOT. People with more money get better police service. You can complain all you want but that is exactly how reality works.

Reminds me of this one time back when I was a kid... I was out partying with some friends and we ended up riding to the club with this lunatic who was trying to impress my friend by showing off his awesome (drunk) driving skills (hey I was like 19, we were all dumb at that age, ok?) in his fancy sports car. Turns out it was his dad's fancy sports car and that's what saved our butts when the cops finally stopped him for driving through people's front yards (no joke).

Cop stops us, he opens the door and a beer can falls out. The guy's breath could have caught on fire from ten feet away. He can't get his story straight two times in a row. Cop looks at us, looks at the car, looks around to front, shines his light down for a minute, then comes back and says - I shat you not - "Ok looks like your lost, so just follow us and we'll lead you to this club you're going to." Which they did.

When we got there we were all stunned into complete disbelief. The driver then explained: "You know those FOP stickers you can buy for like $20?" We said "Yeah." He said "We'll they make other stuff too depending on how much you donate. See that?" He points to his FOP license plate on the front of his car. "That the $500 FOP license plate."

So yeah, I can totally see CONCORD playing favorites. It would be entirely realistic for them to favor high security people over low security people. You know why? Concealed Weapons Permits. Huh, you say? It's common knowledge that it's a good idea to get a CCW even if you don't own a gun because showing it to cops tells them "Hey, I'm a law abiding citizen who is on your side." It slants them to be more predisposed in your favor.

If you've got a high security standing that means that at some point you've killed a lot of pirates. And I mean a lot of pirates. That tells CONCORD that you're on their side. So some reciprocity for sucking up to CONCORD is not out of order, I think.

If that's still out of the question then just do it the old fashioned way: Let players simply bribe CONCORD to get faster reaction speeds. Let them make monthly ISK donations to the "Fraternal Order of CONCORD Pilots" in exchange for better response times and bigger ships responding.

Because that is exactly how the real world works.