Player Features and Ideas Discussion

I read about CCP Pokethulhu's interview where he mentioned player built stargates and new galaxies, further confirming a rumor that was started earlier this year.

Personally I'm really excited about this prospect, because exploration is one of my favorite things to do in EVE and its been a while since I have discovered anything new. However I am also worried that if this new dynamic isn't introduced in the correct way it may go sour very quickly.

For example if players are able to build stargates from sov nullsec to these new regions, the big coalitions (who knows CFC may well be the only one left by that time) will just steamroll all of "new space" in weeks or months and then we'll be back to the way things are.

In my opinion, the correct way to bring these new systems into the game would be for them to be only accessible via wormhole space. This would impose a number of restrictions on how fast these new systems could be colonized, due to wormhole mass limits and the irregularity of dynamic wormholes.

Once an expedition has reached the other side, they can start building up capital ships and infrastructure, including stargates between new space systems, and outposts. In my opinion these new systems should probably also be too far away for stargates to be built between them and known space, and thus consequently outside of capital jump range from known space as well.

I think this would enable smaller alliances to gain a foothold in the sov game (at least for a while), and for new coalitions to form that will shake things up.

These are just some of my ideas regarding this issue. Please discuss.

Personally, I'm really excited for new space. But the monster that is sov needs to be fixed first. Currently, most territory belonging to a coalition entity can be completely empty, but it's still impossible to strike at due to the complex system of titan bridges that coalitions set up, allowing for rapid force projection in response to just about any threat. As soon force projection is changed so that fleets can't get fired all over the galaxy and we get a system where you need to use or lose your space, hopefully in a way that creates more value in holding smaller areas of space (I think making it so that a large sized alliance would hold a region at most, and a smaller alliance perhaps only a constellation or two would realistically limit coalitions to a few regions due to activity rates) then we can talk about adding more clusters/regions/constellations what have you. But those are just my crazy ramblings.

As for how to implement it, I cannot really see construction of stargates to the new area occurring anywhere but sov null. That said, I'd be surprised if you couldn't reach the new space through wormholes, and highsec may see some kind of passage over as well, if only for the sake of keeping the game feeling more unified. That said, I wouldn't be opposed to highsec being somewhat cut off from it, as long as an intrepid explorer could access the space through two or three jumps through wormholes. Perhaps wormholes with lowsec statics, to help facilitate explorers and possibly give more use to deep space transports which could ferry supplies over through W-space.

If you don't want the CFC to steamroll everything, get yourself a coalition and kill the CFC. You still have time, the feature isn't coming just yet.

1. I think it would be a good way to limit it initially, then throw another curveball in a later expansion where players (or empire factions) can/will build supergates or something like that, which would link old space and new space through the stargate network as well as wormhole space, once things begin to stagnate in new space.

2. Some might not, but the pioneers will and once they have managed to build up infrastructure in new space, they will have comfort and convenience there. Build it and they will come. Besides, I prefer a challenge and discovery, rather than comfort and convenience.

3. The mass limits of wormholes and depending on how irregularly dynamic wormholes form that link w-space and n-space would limit the benefit of having large logistical capabilities like big alliances have and level the playing field in terms of colonizing n-space.

4. Or smaller groups will band together with medium sized groups, form new coalitions and fend off invaders. Besides if the big blocs in nullsec decide to commit to colonizing these new regions through w-space, then they will leave their holdings in nullsec open for invasion by third parties. You can't have it all, especially if they tweak sov mechanics so that you need to be active in the systems you're holding to actually maintain sov. Or increase sov payments depending on the amount of systems you own, like a progressive tax. Something like that.

5. Almost every wormhole I visit is inhabited by someone. I think w-space would be more active if it had outposts and stargates though (which is something I don't want for w-space, but thats sort of what this new space could be like). And who knows, maybe parts of this new space is inhabited by a sixth faction that has some NPC stations as well. I really don't know what CCP is planning, I can only guess and hope for the best.




From my experience there aren't really any alliances in w-space that control large amounts of wormholes, because there's no passive income sources like moon goo and renters are difficult to have and manage in w-space. The most inhabited wormholes by far are the lower class wormholes, classes 1-3. Which have mostly small to medium sized corporations and alliances, most of which are not friendly to eachother. Infact some are even alt corps of nullsec alliances. So yeah, I don't see that as an issue.



From my knowledge nullsec has never been expanded. The only time more space has been added, as far as I know, is when wormhole space was introduced in Apocrypha.