Player Features and Ideas Discussion

[REVISED FROM ORIGINAL POST DUE TO FEEDBACK]
My original post was an attempt at simplicity and that clearly wasn't sufficient. So, I've thought up a few additions. I'm still trying to keep it simple, but it tries to address the issues from feedback.

The core of the idea:
Focus on the "cannot be trained on trial accounts" skills. These skills (for ships and modules) will be re-labeled as "restricted".
Additionally, focus on the meta-level of modules. Specifically, any module with Meta-5 or higher will also be considered "restricted".


While your account is marked as unpaid:

You cannot undock with any ship requiring any restricted skill. (Docking is allowed)
While in space, you cannot board an empty ship that uses restricted skills.
While in space, you cannot activate a ship that uses restricted skills from a POS/Capital ship maintenance bay.

While logging-in or undocking, any restricted modules are put offline (Including passive ones).
While in space, you cannot online or activate any restricted module.

(I'm very likely missing some/multiple key workaround(s) here which SHOULD be prevented as well, but the gist is that you're restricted to Tech 1 modules, Tech 1 ships, and nothing larger than cruisers, no workarounds.)

The venture, mostly as it exists now, will become a Tech-2 Mining Frigate, requiring Mining Frigate 4-5, and a "restricted" Tech 2 skill (Perhaps the T2 skill adds resistances, or drone mining yield). A Tech 1 mining frigate will be introduced, which has bonuses for mining, but appropriately balanced for F2P players.

You cannot train skills.
You cannot engage in PI.
You cannot engage in any Manufacturing, Science & Industry, Research, etc.
You cannot connect with an unpaid account on this machine if another paid account is active on your machine (Verified under current methods).
You can connect with a maximum of 3 unpaid accounts from your location (verified by connection details, such as IP and routing information).
You cannot give, or benefit from Mining Foreman bonuses in your fleet (All other bonuses ok).

Pirate bounties are capped at 1 million isk every 15 minute cycle. The rest is "taxed".
You cannot receive insurance payouts for destroyed ships.


Activities not restricted by unpaid accounts:
Piloting unrestricted ships/modules.
All market activities.
All contract activities.
Injecting skill-books (if prerequisites are met).
Docking your advanced ship after your paid-time expires. (This is contrary to my original proposal)

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Goals:
1. Address the concerns and rag-*cough*-feedback from the first several pages of this thread.
2. Lure back lapsed players. Any existing player of unlimited age or skill points can return, and play for free.
3. Encourage casual play. If you play for 1 hour a month, you can likely play for free.
4. Provide a marketable Free-2-Play method that is not restricted by time or character age.

Possible Revisions:
I'd like to provide incentive for free players to leave Hisec. My earlier proposal encouraged this, but the current version lacks in this category. Perhaps specific modules/restrictions can be released if you leave protected space? Ideas?

The new idea is a lot more complex as well, but... this is Eve, so it probably can't be helped.

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Discuss!

You seem to have forgotten about the army of marketeers and scammers who never undock.

Other than that... no. Just... no. No no no no no no no. I can't even begin to explain - I don't think anyone can begin to explain how terribly and horribly ill-conceived any sort of "Free-to-Play" idea is. Also, expect someone to say "You can play for free with PLEX" before this thread is done. Someone other than myself, I mean.

Encouraging and allowing exploits? Are you insane?

God no, ccp needs money, otherwise we can't enjoy eve. Freeplay mmos are rarely the quality of eve and have never lasted as long. Some things are worth paying for.

"Maintaining that income keeps people from interacting"

You make the assumption that the only way to make ISK is via solo activity.

As much as I hate them, I present to you ... the Highsec Incursion Community.

This is a group of drama quee- I mean.. people who have banded together into various different cliques- err, fleets that go around highsec getting into pointless fights over nothi- ...that is, they go around highsec as a group, earning hundreds of millions of ISK per hour in ships worth multiple billions of ISK. They each easily earn enough to PLEX their accounts, their alt accounts, their friends' accounts, their little sister's accounts and their dog's accounts while still being able to buy even more shinies for their shiny ships to earn even more ISK even faster.

And.. microtransactions.. no. The only way a free-to-play can get people to buy microtransactions is by pay-to-win. Do you know what will happen if CCP even thinks about touching pay-to-win with a ten-foot pole held by someone else? I do.

You're comparing EVE with games that are in no way similar to EVE and saying that EVE should do what they're doing. How exactly does that make sense?

How often does that group have to dock/undock? Will they be anywhere NEAR as effective if they have to operate without that ability? As you said yourself, those are not ships that they could conveniently use under the restrictions I propose.

Would YOU trust your multi-billion isk ship to your "friend" for him to undock and give back to you, in-space, where anybody could scan you, slip in, and push the button to board it a half second before you?

So, they'll continue exactly as they do now. Playing for free by buying PLEX, and playing as a group. AWESOME! Maybe they grow in numbers by helping free players undock. Eventually, those free players are swimming in isk, and decide they will buy a plex for the convenience of being able to undock without help.

"Free-to-play is the key. You can do anything a normal player can, it's just less convenient to do so."

No. Absolutely not. In the strongest possible terms, no. No, no, a thousand times no. Hell hath no fury like what will be witnessed if CCP even thinks of something like this. The massive rate of unsubs will be stuff of legend. The protests, the anger, the frothy-mouthed rage will make Incarna fade from memory by comparison.

You play with fire, my friend, and you know not what you do.

ALL planetary Interaction skills are restricted skills, already. Admittedly, that would require an additional rule. This is an oversight on my part, but an easily fixable one. The Rule: You can't interact with planets without paying.

Cyno's are modules, and cyno's are a restricted skill. You have to actually get those alts undocked with those modules, which I feel is mostly, if not completely, addressed by my idea.

Mining alt restrictions are already tested as being sufficient, since Mining Barge and other high end mining skills are restricted skills, and we don't see fleets of a million mining frigates running around right now.

Falcon: Tech 2 ship. Restricted skill. Already covered.

Logging off in space while in a restricted ship bypasses your checking for restrictions. This whole idea is so cumbersome and full of restrictions that I just don't know why you bothered.

Not really. You will eventually need to dock. Or get blown up. If you can stay out in space, without any of these things, good on you. Grats, you are awesome.

Ok, The things I PERSONALLY want:
1. Improve one of my favorite games?
2. Bring more friends to play that game with me?
3. I have multiple accounts. I could probably reduce that to 2 paying accounts under this scheme.

The last one I think is trivial compared to the potential to bring in lots of players.

Let me ask you this:
Would you give up the convenience of undocking in your favorite ship, just to save a few bucks each month?
I imagine your answer is no.

Some players with many accounts will pay for fewer of them (in my estimate, probably half) . But many players who previously wouldn't play, will be drawn in, and even some of those will start paying or buying plex. I think that more than makes up for it.

Uhm... how is that any different than trial accounts now?