Player Features and Ideas Discussion

I really like the idea of making frigates good for brief surges of warp, followed by a short resting period. I don't know if capacitor is the way to do it though, as a frigate's capacitor can regenerate from 25% to 75% often in less time than it takes to exit warp.

Perhaps being in warp could add an effect to a ship that gradually drains capacitor at a fixed rate, while progressively decreasing the ship's capacitor recharge rate--a flat decrease which goes down the same speed for frigates, will eventually force the capacitor regen to zero and thus force the ship out of warp, but will gradually return to normal once out of warp. Frigates would not be able to sustain warp for as long due to having a lower net capacitor regen rate, but since they spend less time in warp due to their higher speed, it wouldn't be so much of a problem. It would force a frigate to avoid being constantly in warp, but the frigate also would have rather short resting periods in-between warp sessions. A battleship, on the other hand, could keep warping for several minutes before capping out.

I do not agree. This game is so slow sometimes and slow warp will only make it worse. Slow warp cause you will have to wait next to the gate till you cap is recharged again. Let make game more interesting, not more boring due to "more realistic" features.

Frigates are still the kings of maneuverability they just become limited with their range, say 5 or so jumps before having to rest. This way if you're trying to chase down a frigate gang with cruisers it would become possible with the increased cap cost, but would take you a few jumps to catch them before they have to stop and wait for cap, provided you don't lose track of them. In a single system the frigates should be able to catch you fairly easily since they warp faster, but if you manage to elude them for another 4 systems or so they're not going to get you; escaping from a frigate gang is as hard as it was previously.

The same would be true with cruisers being chased by battleships, albeit over a larger distance. You also forget that I suggested that the support could "piggyback" off of the slower but more cap efficient BS warp. While I do admit that the last point you bring up isn't addressed by this, it's not something that's supposed to be addressed with this proposed change, although I do think 2AU/s is far too slow.

I think you're looking at this from the wrong angle. The people suggesting those "realistic" features don't want to make the game more boring or slower. They want to make it bigger and more complex.

Yes decreases in travel speed (direct or indirect) will make it take longer to go 20 jumps to find some action. But that's precisely the point. If you can travel 20 jumps like it's nothing, just to get some quick action, that makes the game ridiculously small (New Eden is "only" about 100 jumps end-to end).

The harder it is to travel huge distances, the harder it will be for huge sovblocks to survive on huge territories. And the size of those sovblocks is the reason you need to travel 20 jumps for action in the first place. And yes, I know this is a simplification and that travel nerfs hit the little guy as well.

As to OPs suggestion:

While I like the general idea, I don't like how you seem to want to take cap regen out of the equation. Not only would blocking cap regen during warp hit active tanked fits incredibly hard, especially if their guns also use cap, but it would also prevent you from fitting for warp sustainability in the most logical way: by fitting for cap regen.

On a side note, why do you want a fixed warp initiation cost? I can understand why you want it to ignore the planned warp distance, but it seems perfectly fine to keep basing the cost on mass as it is now.

The amounts were suggestions, they could well be based on mass or whatever but the key fact is to have the larger ships more efficient.

There are several reasons for taking cap regeneration out during warp:

• There is no possibility of warping forever.
• There is now a penalty for warping straight into an engagement.
• The rig "Warp Core Optimizer" would actually have a rather important role.
• Fits that boast a large number of cap rechargers cannot gain any cap during warp, and thus warp indefinitely.

It does have its disadvantages on certain kinds of fits like you pointed out with the active tanks, although I believe it is near negligible due to most active fits boasting an ASB or a cap booster. Definitely debatable though.

i can't help but feel since warping forever would be eliminated that the warp speeds would have to be bumped up a little to keep travel times similar to previous, slowing overall movement down isn't my intention.

Nope. All the reasons you've given for doing this are very bad. I suspect you've just come up with this idea 'cause its cool' or was it because you got your drake tackled by a frigate?

This hits new players hardest and nerfs their first real PvP experience because they are SLOWER than large ships over a long distance and cant keep up with the rest of their own fleet or chase stragglers of the enemy fleet? seriously?

Why nerf noob frig roams? Why do frigs need a range nerf at all? Why does there need to be a penalty for warping straight into a fight?

Warp costs are significant when it comes to some ships moving through some systems. But the simple ability to move should not become so tedious for sub-caps that they need to 'travel fit'.

If a cruiser fleet chases a frigate gang for several jumps the cruiser gang is going to have lower cap when engaging, and if they meet another fleet or the frigate gang has waited for them and thus regenerated most of their cap the cruisers are going to be at a significant disadvantage. It doesn't nerf frigate gangs that much; it's to make Battlships have some sort of advantage when it comes to mobility, namely endurance. Frigates still work incredibly well as a fast response craft, and don't necessarily get run down over a distance due to their bursty nature and can even possibly slip away from a chasing fleet because the hunters don't know where the frigates have gone.

As for not keeping up with the fleet there is the "piggybacking" part of the suggestion. Stragglers are going to be caught within 1 or 2 jumps, otherwise getting backup before the frigate dies is going to be hard so it's not an issue there either. The penalty for warping straight into a fight is there to reduce the strength of reinforcements very slightly, and gives the defenders an advantage possibly leading to an increased chance of someone wanting to take what would usually be an unfavorable fight ( though Worms still aren't going to get any ).

-1 for all the reasons already listed and more.

Remember that time you had that guy trapped in system. He had an agression timer so he couldn't log. That dude was warping from place to place and you kept chasing him around the system in your inty? Remember how much fun it was once you finally caught him? Good, because this change would prevent that from ever happening again.

If you can only go a handful of jumps before you need to stop and rest, you are not 'the kings of manoeuvrability'. That title would, like everything else, pass to cruisers.

Why do you think frigate gangs should be discouraged? Why do you think bigger, slower gangs should be able to catch them if they're good enough to get away?

And cruisers being chased by battleships will not g that way at all. Cruisers, especially T2 and T3 ones, have the slots and the cargohold to fit capacitor boosters, which completely undo your entire mechanic.

Why do you think literally every fleet should be T3s with cap boosters?