Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Cloaking - The hunt. (edits to follow)

Cloaking as it currently stands, is a wonderful and dreadful (to one's enemies) technique to cause paranoia and in many situatons, cripple economic activity or at the very least seriously hinder it. All it takes is one cloaky camper to disrupt a busy system.

However, as great as cloaking is, there really is no serious counter to this and this presents a problem to balance (which in itself is always a process). This proposal seeks to keep cloaking, but enhance the experience as a whole and add a deadly new element to it: Scanning and counter scanning. I would like the emphasis be: an added thrill and challenge in Eve when it comes to cloaking. Not break it. Not punish cloakers. Not take cloaking away. The idea should enhance a great part of the game and really bring out ...

The Hunt for Red Cloaked Bomber

I propose a new scanning method, which while needing refining in specifics, makes cloaking more exciting and dangerous, but hopefully also presents a challenge to Scanner pilots as well. It must make the cloaker work to stay hidden, and those trying to find the cloaker won't be out of harms way either. I like to think of those submarine movies where its hunter becoming the hunted, but the skilled hunter can still punch back or get away.

New Probes:

New specific cloak scanning class probe, which requires 4 things:
1) A new class of scan probe. It takes time to scan down, I would say 1-3 minutes (time needs refining) to complete and any interruption -due to the high technology of cloaking, and the newness of this new tech- clears this scan.

2) At minimum, 3 people to activate and scan at once together to find the cloaker. This timing mechanic may require a new feature of 'sensor linking' which once pilots are in position they may click this option to 'link' scanners.

3) Like a cyno but without the cool-down, while scanning, the ships cannot move. They can use weapons and hardeners but they can't move until the module is turned off. Signal boosters will have no effect on this module (and shouldn't). IF any one of the 3 stops scanning, the signal is lost. This prevents -in theory- simply module spamming to get away from a scan gone wrong, warping away, and just picking up where was left off, otherwise it would be unfair to the cloaker to be totally unable to stop being found.

4. While scanning you CANNOT activate a cloak yourself - this would interfere with the scanning process and or render any previous covert scans, useless. This scanning data is not stable and is a fluid process. Cloaking while scanning like this would give the benefit too far to the scanners while leaving the cloaked ship at a distinct disadvantage.

Scanners:

This means Scanners are knowingly putting their ships in harms way to hunt the cloaked ship. I think some restrictions should be in place, such as:

1. Not being able to scan while near:
A. By or inside of a POS
B. By a station
C. Or by a gate (0 km)

2. Scanners must be in different locations in the system (x AU from one another) but in the same gang.

3. The moment the module is stopped they can move again, but if any one of them deactivates the module and moves before the scan has completed, they lose signal. In-game story-wise, perhaps these structures which are full of electronics, somehow interfere with the scan (a story can be made), but the purpose of this is not to sit safely inside a pos and just merely scan away while the cloaker is losing his or her mind.

4. If the cloaker attacks them while they are scanning, this 'red flags' the attacker, causing the scan to get closer to a complete lock onto their signal (so not de-cloaking, but bumping the scan up to say 70-85% complete scan which gives the scanners much less scanning to do as their scanning has identified the ships type through this special scanning. It's a calculated risk by the scanners to sit and scan, and the cloaker to engage or deploy counter probes and stay more safely hidden. If the cloaker engages, they must be made to work harder and deploy MORE counter-measures* to undo the damage to their stealth.

When the scan is COMPLETED, the cloaker loses their cloak no matter where in the system they are. Cannot cloak for x amount of time, otherwise the whole process is a waste of time. Cloak disabled for x minutes. The scanners and cloaked ship are notified that this has happened, but the scanners still do not yet have the complete location of the previously cloaked ship. This means the scanners must still work to find where the ship is, and the cloaker is now able to be found but can still fly around. It takes their cloak away temporarily, and makes them vulnerable to attack. This mechanic is tricky. It may require showing the cloaker how 'close' they are to being found on their scanners. Or alert them of a scan in progress. This does need discussion.

I am up for discussion on this as well, but it seems wise that a cloaked 'signal' is found from a list of signals available to scan. A de-cloak in this manner should de-cloak that one target, much like when you scan to find a specific target. I do not believe it would be wise to have a system wide de-cloak for all cloaked objects as this would be a bit over the top.

You COULD do a system wide 'pulse' that degrades all cloaks, requires multiple pulses, and requires the cloaker to 're-enforce' their cloak by deploying counter-measures depending on the type of pulse used (requires a non-afk pilot), but this may be too broad and overpowered of a technique to be fair. Unless this was a deployable module that could be easily destroyed.

ill be honest, TL:DR.

in null admit it.. you already can make mountains more isk for little risk if your in the middle of your alliance space,
even Lowsec isk makers have more risk and perhaps highsec "pro" mission runners in their multi billion isk mission machines from gankers and AWOXers....

all this said...

i do however like the submarine reference and perhaps a "sonar" like modual which dosnt tell distance just rough direction so its like a minigame for you bored nullsec people to "hunt" the afk cloaker by triangulating their position, possably used with ceptors with a Mini jump drive or something?

I guess searching for this thread, was a little too hard?

Also I don't see any mention of the mechanic, that actually makes cloaking a none covert system at the moment.

I dont know, it seems to be way too complicated for EVE to be honest. Something simple like deployable module that warns person from certain radius (1 AU, 2AU ect) of incoming warp to your location. Stealthed or not. But to be honest, there has to be risk in EVE and someone dropping fleet on your rear is just part of EVE. Everytime I decloak to hack Data sites I take risk of being engaged, so I have two options. Do not decloak and leave if someone is on local, or take that risk. That means if you do your PvE activities in null you also take risk of going out when some unknown guy is in local.

Would be plenty ok with that IF.. IF local was removed

#4--if cloaker attacks: you have to de-cloak to attack people. A targeted ship cannot cloak, so you know who it is, their ship type, and where they are. If you right-click someone in fleet with you, there's the option to "warp to member". Have extra people in fleet NOT in these "ASW" ships ready to pounce, and collect killmail while restoring peace & serenity to your corner of New Eden.
Note this is not a new tactic, I believe more "l33t" personages than I refer to it as "baiting".

Lastly this is a very overwrought and needlessly complex solution to a relatively minor problem, that will no doubt have all manner of unintended consequences, er I mean "emergent gameplay" associated if implemented. Therefore it's safe to assume CCP already has devs working on something similar this very moment.

Why not? People sit in POS shields all day long.
Why this line between docked and undocked? Should not I be able to destroy your ship when you are docked also?
Should I be able to take a shot at your bomber because you took a bio break? Should I be able to destroy your POS and your POS-protected ship when you go to take out the trash?

Thread locked as duplicate.


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