Player Features and Ideas Discussion

I KNOW! You're probably already upset because of the title alone, but I urge you to at least hear me out. There's a lot of information that may seem like it's unrelated to macros, but it all comes together in the end.

Most players agree that macros are the worst and detract from any MMO, but it is my belief that this is not true in a game about future possibilities in space travel.

Does anyone really believe that macro drones wouldn't be available if we had a space fairing civilization right now?

While you're out there mining maybe you'll have 20 minutes to watch this: http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

Take that idea and apply it to EVE.

If we're already fighting something that would benefit us in the real future what hope is there?

Right now EVE has to replenish it's asteroid fields because the physically real resources aren't yet powerful enough to expand the virtual universe at a rate that could sustain the community. Once the servers become powerful enough the universe can be expanded and asteroid refreshes should become void because that's not how things really work. But then the question of "how will we get our (insert ore)" will have to be addressed.

Two things should be done: Recycling and Deep Space Macro Mining

Recycling is the easiest and most beneficial supplement to refresh resources. It should almost always be necessary to melt down your old ships to make new ones unless you can sell them for enough ISK to pay for a large portion of a new ship of your liking.

Yes, prices of ships will be driven up. Yes, this creates shortages and in-game problems. Yes, hoarding will be a problem. Yes, there will be balance. Gone are the days where everyone has a fleet of ships in their frequently visited stations.

Now, the dreaded macro mining..

This should be an in-game skill LET ME EXPLAIN! Basic drones have basic functions. Ok what does that mean? It means that when you first start out with civilian drones you learn the basics of each. A basic mining drone will only have the ability to seek out certain ore types and only have shield and armor based defense. Each drone will have drag and drop command functions that resemble google's app inventor coding style and text based coding should be available for those that prefer it. Once programmed the drones leave and the code cannot be modified until they return or link to a station. The "code" which will be GUI based will be simple for lower levels and more complex for high level mining.

For example

If Dense Veldspar is within 10,000 km

Then

Mine Repeatedly

Else if

Concentrated Veldspar is within 10,000 km

Then

Mine Repeatedly

Else if

Veldspar is within 10,000 km

Then

Mine Repeatedly

Else

Return to drone transport

This is basic mining code, no defense, no attack, level 1. Obviously, if you want to pursue macro mining it will be a challenge because eventually you'll have to deal with defense and attack protocols to protect your investment. You'll have to code war drones to either automatically defend your miners or automatically attack anyone within a certain radius of your operation. At some point there should be drone warning protocols where they communicate with each other to prevent or instigate drone skirmishes. The better your coding the better off your operation is. If this seems too hard for you then you don't deserve to be in space because these are basic skills that are needed now irl let alone in a future civilization. This is an opportunity to engage people who never would have liked coding because they never felt rewarded for it. Yes, new people should get a fair shot, but veterans should also be rewarded for having the knowledge to code drone fleets. The fleets would be limited to size of the drone transport ships.

BUT I DON'T LIKE CODING AND NEVER WILL
So go live in isolation in the deep space mining fields with your veldspar OR buy pre-programmed drones that players make. Obviously, you'll have to have a skill trained to use more advanced drones.

The reason why deep space macro mining will be necessary is because eventually the resources will be so far away that organic material cannot be transported that fast or far until "research" catches up to create deep space gates that propel a player and their ship, lets say, 10 stargate distances. These Megagates will be few and far between because they'll be expensive and corps will have to pay for them and they'll have to be redirected once resources at the other end are used up.


tldr; summary

The market in this game is just too stable! Refresh resources are always abundant and we learn nothing about how to solve shortage problems.

Refresh resources should only be available to new players to teach them the ropes.

Recycling and deep space macro mining provide the balance for removing refresh resources.

Macro mining is an in game skill that uses realistic coding to get things done.

Pre-coded macro mining drones should be available on the market for those who don't like to code for themselves.

Drone transport ships that can travel vast distances will take your drones to the deep asteroid fields. These ships travel in a way that organic matter (you) cannot until in game research produces a megagate that can get you there safely.

I'm sure there are some holes that need to be filled. If you don't like the idea because something is missing please fix the hole with an idea of your own instead of just saying this won't work because you don't like change. Read all of my post before making suggestions the tldr; is really a summary

Not necessarily. It doesn't matter how great your drone coding is because they have limited defense and offense capabilities which means anyone with a mining rig and a turret can claim a drone infested field fairly easily. It's just that your corp would have to invest time and money to produce a megagate to get you there. NPC megagates and refresh fields should only be available for NPC missions. Also, the drone transports should have a smaller ore cargo hold than mining rigs so that they have to return far more often which gives balance to the player miners. There should be an option to rent megagates for corps that cannot afford it and tolls should be collected for non-corp players who wish to use the gates. This is just one suggestion. Please add or change any of it, but don't just say it won't work because it's not the same. Thanks for your input