Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Alright. Command ships. Useful? yes. important? not really. Are they used to command fleets? nope. lets change that.

As the name suggests, command ships (for those who dont know, these are T2 Battlecruisers) should be ships that fleet commanders use to command their fleets. however, because of the expense and the lack of features that aid FCs command fights, no one really uses them. So, heres a list that i think would be awesome, and give a unique and desired roll to these ships.

Boosting fleets is cool and all, but it can be a bit unfair, as the ship can sit WAAAAY off grid to boost fleets. So, heres an idea that could get them to appear on grid. If they are on grid, they gain the ability to either

A) choose 1 ally instead of all allies, and give more potent boosts to that friendly, or
B) Choose a smaller list of allies and give them more potent boosts.

I think that this would give Command ships far more love and desire, and it also gets them on grid.

Secondly. Fleet commanding. as the name suggests, it should be a ship that an FC sits in to command a fight.

So, to aid the FC, when in a command ship, and you are the designated FC, you have access to a screen that gives a list of friendly and hostile ships, player names, and a 3D, 360 degree map of the battlefield. Other information could be included, but this is bare essentials. FCs may use this map, when they are boosting off grid, to command their fleet from a distance, like Commanders nowadays do. This could help the commander focus more on the fight, and less keeping himself alive. Yes, people some people prefer to be on the battlefield to FC, and thats fine, but i can guaruntee some people would rather command from a distance.

Thoughs? additions?

TL;DR: give command ships the ability to focus boosts while on grid, and give FCs in command ships a tactical overlay of the battlefield as to facilitate the action of commanding a fleet from off grid.

lol



Uhm no.



Yeah but afaik that will change as soon as their new engine thingy becomes available. Killing off-grid boosts WILL happen sooner or later.

I don't recall the thread of comment offhand (sorry), but my understanding is that it was currently unfeasible due to technical aspects.

Watch list shows health bars when subjects are on grid, and doesn't show them when offgrid.

Pretty sure its possible. It's just another CCP shenanigan.

"If" is probably a very big "if" at this point. Realistically, I don't think it's worth the undertaking (which would be at the expense of other crucial areas of EVE that need addressing). A better solution (and I don't want to go too off-track) might be to scale back or change the effects of links in general so that off-grid boosting as pros/cons. For example:

• Information Warfare links penalize fleets with an enlarged signature radius
• Skirmish Warfare Links penalize fleets with a drop in warp speed (and Evasive Maneuvers links no longer grant a reduction in signature radius, but a bonus to inertia)
• Armored Warfare and Siege Warfare links should also have a fleet penalty


What he said.

It's a matter of complexity.

A watchlist is a simple check-recheck, relay information within a given distance ("the grid") with no real effect on what ships do or how they perform.
AoE warfare links would have to check within a certain distance, calculate application from linker's skills and fit, calculate bonuses to be applied to recipient fleet member's fit, apply bonuses, recheck and recalculate and reapply, rinse and repeat.

(NOTE: this is guesstimated speculation based on what I understand of EVE's architecture though... I honestly have no idea what the problem is beyond Fozzie once saying "it creates 10% TiDi in a 20 man fight")

The only thing that can be confirmed is that it is an optimization issue regarding the old code... which the DEVs are (and have been) working on.

AOE Links isn't a new concept.
It's a performance restriction.

Oh yeah. I forgot to point these things out too.

"Command Ship" is a misnomer. The ships should actually be called "Fleet Support Battlecruisers."


It's the same way "suicide ganking" is not really suicide... because... technically you don't actually die.
Or how "Recon Ships" (T2 cruisers) are not actually for reconnaissance... they are "Electronic Warfare Cruisers."
Or how "Tech 3 Destroyers" are not actually destroyers... they are "Advanced Light Cruisers." (this is going to set off a fuse somewhere ).



Also... I would much prefer the Fleet Commander to be in the thick of things rather than sitting back and twiddling his/her thumbs. If I am going to die a horrible death... so if the FC. No backseat commanding.

you cant make the guy sit in the commandship and actually FC as anyone on comms can FC and adding more data on a crowded screen wont help them as they look at ship types and call hits.