Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Before you ask, no, this post is not about AFK cloaking, nerfing cloaking, or a rant about how something cloaky got the drop on me.

This is a post about how to better get the drop on someone when you're flying a cloaky.

As you all know, some time ago CCP introduced the CrimeWatch system, a safety mechanism that actually blocks you from violating certain safety measures. If activating a module or perfrorming an action would have violated your selected safety settings, the client prevents that activity and highlights the appropriate area of the screen with a yellow or red background to let you know that your safety settings won't allow you to perform that action.

Currently, if you are cloaked and attempt to perform any action that is prohibited by cloaking, the action fails and you get a message telling you that you are unable to perform that action. The client forces you to manually decloak before performing the action. What I'd like to propose is taking the logic behind CrimeWatch and apply it to cloaking. Your "Cloak Safety" settings can either be "on" or "off". Cloak Safety "on" would have the client behave exactly as it does now, but with the addition of a CrimeWatch-esque color (purple or blue maybe?) to the prohibited actions when mousing over them indicating that they are disabled because you are cloaked. But with your Cloak Safety "off", instead of prohibiting those actions and requiring you to decloak manually, performing one of those actions would automatically decloak you.

This would provide an interesting twist to cloaked gameplay: it would become easier for cloaked ships to rapidly engage targets if they disable their safety, but it would also leave cloaked ships with their safety off more vulnerable to being casually decloaked by unintentionally performing a prohibited action.

Given the interesting game play possibilities, and the fact that it fits in line with existing CrimeWatch mechanics, I think CCP should implement CloakWatch.

Thoughts?

yes, +1

I like the idea of player error being a factor in using a cloak. It might even get the people screaming for a cloak nerf to shut their mouths for a while (hopefully). +1

I like that idea for the interface. The current CrimeWatch button is something applicable to players all the time, whereas CloakWatch isn't.

You mean like it used to be?

Back in the glory days when bomber gangs decloaked themselves when they warped on top of each other

Yeah, that was funny.

But they cried, they screamed and now they can no longer decloak themselves anymore

Oh and I miss that Aura used to yell at you because you ar cloaked..

thank goodness.

I like it. I can see many accidents occurring, due to pilots activating modules at inappropriate times.

And we need this because it is so incredibly difficult to assign a hot key to your cloak and then train yourself to always press that key first when you want to do something.

You say this wold add to the chance for player error by activating a module, I say it will change nothing because smart stealth pilots will leave the safety active and simply train themselves to use a proper procedure that is just as simple and has none of the negatives associated with it.

Currently you cannot begin to lock a target unless it will complete after your calibration timer is up. Under your proposal, would attempting to activate a module on a hostile ship count as an activation when the game doesn't allow you to actually activate it, or even begin locking?

If it does, would the game remember your action, and begin to lock the target and engage the module when your timer is up, or as soon as it is able to begin locking? How would subsequent actions after the initial engagement action influence this? Does it forget your attempt to lock if you activate other modules, or keep it queued up for you?

If it doesn't, would this even count as a module activation? Technically you've taken no action, despite attempting to activate a module, because the game won't allow you to begin locking, which means the module doesn't activate.

As far as ships exempt from sensor recalibration go, it's a great idea. Things get a little more complicated beyond that though.

+1 just for this.

I'd give another +1 if I could for the idea.