EVE General Discussion

I think they pretty much have to credit people the SP. Best case scenario if you don't is you end up with some people who *just* finished whatever default skill plan CCP cooks up that are very angry. Worst case, they don't get brought up to par and even angrier.

On the other hand, doing it like Learning back in the day and saying "We've just given everybody Skills A-Z. If you had them already, here's the SP back to put somewhere else." You'll still get some people going "Grr, newbies destroying my EvE!", but on the whole very few people are going to get angry over free SP.

That's a given under Malcanis' Law.

Spread over core fitting plus frigate and weapons appropriate to race, but why industrials or cruisers?
What would be good is the ability to use web, point, AB, MWD, hardner/resistance amp, shield booster/armour repairer. Preferably the two weapons systems associated with the race (laser/drone, hybrid/missile, hybrid/drone, projectile/missile). Anything else?

Just for the record, back in the early days people were just as good at making excuses for not engaging in PVP combat as they are today.

The 5 skill level cap still keeps experience points from being a restriction, simply specialize in one thing at a time.

Manufacturing (among other things) ensures that limited play time need not limit the amount of ISK you can earn to fund ships for PVP combat.

The only limitation there is to engaging in PVP is the same one that has been there since day one.

A lack of self confidence.

Why does it need to be lvl 3 skills? Isn't the idea to enable them to try things then decide where to go?
So why not a whole bunch of lvl 1 skills.

As for manufacturing.... the cost bar of getting into it will keep it from being practical for most people. T1 production margins are super tight if not negative profit. T2 requires a lot of dedicated skills.
And start up BPO costs.

I'd say that player retention is massive assuming it's the right type of player, why try and "retain" the type you can't ever please for any longer period of time.

The training time isn't anywhere near the main limiting factor in this.

Which is pretty much like every f2p. And I don't see how any suggestion here would not point EVE into the direction of an f2p. f2p = we don't want to PAY for both WoW and your game. All I see is burning wreckage.

Around 2008 everyone started with quite a bit of skills (frigate 4 iirc, good gunnery and whatnot), it didn't magically transform PVE solo farmers into contributing members of the sandbox. You can't change people, you can only awake folks who had been lulled into submission by all the ****** grind MMOs they played but really are "good EVE material".

A true newbie needs time to get used to the game, its UI and learn a thing or two about combat. Giving him some extra SP doesn't help with that nor will it solve any problems and the people who couldn't be bothered with having to learn and skill up a bit in the process are, by definition, the wrong type of EVE players to begin with. If they're that impatient and unwilling to dig a little bit deeper into the game then there's really no point, you won't ever be able to hold their attention for any meaningful amount of time.


:somewhat related rant:

CCP should stop wasting effort on the type of player EVE can never actually please and instead focus on the group of players who WANT the game as it was intended. Who have been loyal for years (even though they've been let down by CCP's lack of focus for the past half decade). It would grow slower but also be more stable to a point where you won't have to hire 100 new people because you have visions of grandeur, only to have to fire them again a few years down the line while having achieved nothing.

I'm VERY sure, but it is just a hunch, that the drop in PCU is because of a drop in alt use (for various reasons) and in bots, NOT a drop in actual players. More accounts does not necessarily mean more players. Newbies are not helped with free SP, they are helped with a better NPE that is more involving and explains the whole sandboxy thing better.