Player Features and Ideas Discussion

I'm going to go with no on this one. I don't think the right way to "fix" cloaking is to make it harder, but to make it more effort to maintain over a longer period of time. Thus some sort of fuel that's consumed on the cloaker's side, but which still allows the cloaker to maintain it for a while if he's actually active at the keyboard. The only thing I think of is broken about cloaking is how easy it is to grief carebears, and I say this as someone who's done this a bit myself. Log on, press f1, go to work/sleep/etc.

…and they are all useless (including this one) since none of them manage to explain, or even address, why such a counter is needed.

There is no problem with afk cloakers, the problem is local.

True, Cloaking is a totally carebear now! And actualy there is no way to counter it, so it is broken and need CHANGES! But not only "nerfs", but also "buffs"...

If you know that there is something inside a system there should be at last 1 way to track it Down and to combat it, even if it is a difficult way, like probing, or even more difficult, probing with a capital probe launcher or anything really specific and prohibitive (a new or specific class of ship to do it?), but there should be a way... the only way that a ship should be totally "invincibly" is when the player logs off, as there should be really no emissions from the ship, and the capsuler is sleeping with all systems turned off but the capsule...

Also, like real stealth vehicles, it should not be able to communicate the same way while stealth, so the capsuler should not be able to talk on local (broadcast), or be seen on local while cloaked...

With these 2 changes we would change the carebeer way of life of the cloakers that would need skill to evade the scanning IF detected, and the carebeer way of life of those who uses the local channel to magically gather intel from everyone inside the system!

And before some " cloker T3 carebeer that lives in WH " says that it would kill his way of life and blablabla... No it won't, you would still have the advantage of not blinking on local when you enter the system, and No one will knowns that you are there And no one will look for you, and you would still be able to do what you do, gank deffenseles ships... The only difference is that after this... if there is an corp or alliance in the system... you would need take some evasive actions and not only there...

And before some " looking in the local to run like a chicken carebeer " says that it would need someone looking the gate 23.5/7, no it won't, the cloker only vanishes from the local WHEN it is cloaked using its own cloaking device, so between the time that he enters the system (and is cloaked by the gate but appearing in the local) and he activates its own cloak device, everyone will have some seconds to see him in the local... and then after this run or try to hunt him...

I like this idea. It may be tough on WH resident's however that can spend weeks from resupply though which one can argue may or may not be fair.



Nah, Because if your sloppy, AFK, and not paying attention, there ought to be some type of tatic that will allow me to get you. This is so muc a cozy little security blanket that its too comfortable in and of itself.

Or in other words, if your flying and paying attention, then no one will ever know that your even there and your cloak is For-the-Win. But IF, and only IF, your not paying attention we should be able to have a way to find and ... reach out ... and touch you...

Yes, please stop do.

Local has a counter — it's called AFK cloaking (and vice versa). It's what keeps local from being an “I win”, and as such, it doesn't need to be “fixed”.
…and that tactic is called cloaking. So why do want to ruin it?

You still haven't explained what the problem is, and you haven't explained why it needs to be solved. You most certainly haven't explained why it's legitimate to ruin other things just to address… whatever the problem is.

Good news: it isn't.

Seeing as how it doesn't do anything on its own, no.
…then said inhabitants must agree to be terrorised, otherwise the cloak will have no effect. It doesn't win anything; they just decide to “lose” for some silly reason and then feel the need to blame others for their own abject failure.

The reason they choose to fail has nothing to do with the cloak — it has to do with local and their over-reliance on a 100% accurate, unavoidable intel tool. AFK cloaking is a counter to this tool in that it subverts the intel and renders it less than 100% reliable for determining threats. Creating a counter to that counter is the wrong way to go; if there is an issue (and there isn't) then it needs to be addressed by fixing the main mechanic — not by adding new layers of counters.

AFK cloaking is an effect of local, not of cloaks.
Addressing some perceived AFK cloaking issue means addressing local.

The suggestion in this thread does not address AFK cloaking (or, indeed, even demonstrate that there is anything that needs to be addressed), but instead breaks cloaking. It is a retarded idea that fails to solve a non-issue and instead only causes more problems.

No. It's like I'm claiming that just by having local, they have perfect knowledge of who's in the system. And they do. This is what creates the fear they're having, and if they want that fear removed, the source of it has to go.
It already is. Without any action or attention, cloaking doesn't do anything.

First off I'd like to say that I am against the Anti-cloak probe idea, however...

If such a mechanic was introduced how about making it so that the ease with which you could be probed was dependent on how many modules you had on-line at the time?

Example:
1.Cloaky scout on intel-gathering duty:

Take up position then off-line all high slot mods (except cloak), all mid slot modules and all low slots that are not representative of a structural change to your ship (i.e.. nano fibres would not need to be off-lined).
Scout has now "gone dark" and the probes would not return any signal that would indicate the presence of said scout.
In the case of worm holes, there would be no indication that there is an extra person in the hole, unless you saw them jump in. The anti-cloak probes would need to have a scan time long enough to allow a cloaked ship to "go dark" before a scan ended to allow for this type of play.

2. Hunting ship:

Cloak would keep you hidden but the presence of on-line mods would make it so that you could be probed. You would need to keep moving in order to avoid pin-point detection.
For long- term infiltration you could "go dark" yourself, however the process of on-lining mods would make it harder (almost impossible) to respond quickly to an opportunity for attacking. In the case of careless ratters you would have the time to power-up and attack, but it would not be 100% safe to do so.

It could be worked in such a way that some mods would have less of an effect on probing, while others have more. Which mods you keep on-line (to speed up your time to go "active") would be a trade-off against how easily you could be probed, and how skilled the prober would need to be to do it.

There could also be scope for new type of booster drugs that would aid an "active cloaker to remain unprobable for limited periods, how long being dependent on the duration of the drugs and how many you have with you.

Just brainstorming (or brain-farting if you prefer), but I'm still against the whole principle tbh.