Missions & Complexes

It cuts down on the frustration of getting low- / zero-value cans.

All in all, I think it's a mechanic that promotes planning and preparation, and offers players more choices.

If you go into PvP unprepared and with a poor fit, you might occasionally win against another person like yourself, but the vast bulk of the time, you'll lose. Similarly with industry, if you go in with poor research and poor understanding, you're going to lose ISK in the majority of cases.

I think having cargo scanners work on cans is similar. To fit one, you're sacrificing something else. Be it a Data Analyzer, a shield mod, a dual prop, a scanning array, or something else entirely, it's a sacrifice you're making to increase your ISK efficiency by blowing up low-value cans that we don't want. I think the cargo scanning mechanic should stay for that reason.

On the other hand, it increases frustration when running into a site that a person has cherry-picked, but that is, in my own experiences, much less common than running into a pile of carbon.

Thank you, CCP RedDawn, for your attention to exploration!!

Some general thoughts on what I've read so far here:

• I love the hacking mini game but it gets pretty repetitive after you've done a bajillion sites, and is pretty easy to do quickly if one knows to follow the numbers and focus on central nodes in clusters. Long term, it would be neat to have (at least) two styles of hacking mini-games--one for Relics, one for Data--that involve differing skills (for example, a memory and matching minigame in addition to the existing minesweeper-esque minigame we have now). That would be more interesting and serve to help differentiate them.
• I suggested the idea that scanning a can with a cargo scanner have a (small) chance of blowing it up because :defenses: in Chance's thread and would still love to see that happen.
• Would be nice if partially looted cans sensed the intrusion and self-destructed after some random time interval (with no or minor damage to any nearby ship).

Re CCP RedDawn's list of improvements:

• Love the change of Ghost sites to Cosmic Sigs...they are valuable enough that it should take *some* effort to potentially profit even if just from hacking the cans in them til the NPCs show up.
• I always fit both Relic and Data analyzers so forcing use of one or the other doesn't bother me, but also not opposed to the idea of one module that is scripted for either Relic or Data hacking. If that were ever to happen, I would want my time invested in training to use T2 analyzers comped somehow or applied in some useful way...dare I suggest T2 scripts?
• It wouldn't bother me if hacking site income was mainly geared toward what is considered good income from a new player's perspective (rather than what a more experienced player would consider "good"). It might mean that more experienced players would then choose to do harder exploration sites and thus faction hacking site exploration as a starting career would possibly tend to be the domain of newer players (or lazy, risk-averse folks such as myself).
• Drops that have no apparent use (even as collectibles) or value to build are irksome. Glad to see it's on your radar to address this stuff to the degree that makes sense.
• I wish collectible trinkets (similar to the cute stuff we get for Christmas some years but with relevant Faction flavor/humor) would drop once in awhile. I love fun little surprises. Or who knows...maybe stuff that is somehow tied to the lore and currently active story arcs?

BPC Module - Never understood why Target Spectrum Breaker was ship class limited to Battleship, Marauders and Black Ops (never used on any that I can see). One would think by logical extension of BLOPS you might be able to fit it to a Blockade Runner, but no. Nor can you put it on a Deep Space Transport where they might make sense to fit. Others as mentioned suffer needed module revision.

BPC Rig - Odd rig example, Capital Gravity Capacitor Upgrade II - really? Is there a ship, even on the Far Horizon, that would conceivably ever get fitted with this ?? Maybe in future these can instead be Citadel Rig or Module drops at much improved ME/TE to adequately reward over normal acquisition process.

SKILL - Encryption Method skill books could be removed entirely and there would be adequate supply for years to come. Jury Rigging skill book in exploration sites? Really? Please remove. Launcher and Electronic Superiority Rigging will soon be similar.

Books that drop should be a level up from where a decent scanner character is expected to be, so that it either feeds their evolution or pocket book, At the very least, make it a random from the entire Skill book table instead of the narrow range we have now. Loots must have A purpose. Blueprints should have a likelihood of game use in the present sense.

Datacores are ok if a bit meagre in quantity.

To some degree, ANY RANDOM drops added to Data Sites would be more amusing (if not profitable). Outlandishly odd example would be unrefined Processed Moon Materials (they're 1m3 already but absolutely no market, refine it sell intermediate, table would pull from exampled moons in system). Very rarely Ship Skins. Sometimes Special Edition Apparel.

Exploration has the element of leading to and connecting with All the other parts of the game.

Not every aspect of 'Exploration' in the game needs to be geared towards potential ship destruction by PVE forces (there's some aspect of risk through PVP intervention). It first needs to be Amusing and generally worth taking the time to do. As you add risk factors you have to allow that not every player is quadruple screened and can't see anything BUT the hacking interface.



Thank you for taking on an otherwise thankless job as a personal project and giving it real eyes and ears.

As many has said - the loot value of data sites are ... well lets say, they provide little or no incentive to doing them to keep it civil - so very good you are looking into changing that and specializing content between the two site types.
Also, some variation in mini-game would be appreciated, other than some cans spam inhibitors in a quantity that kills any hacking in the starting clicks.

Also, an idea I've had for a long time could maybe be integrated in this context - leading to skillbooks and tool for researching T2 modules into T3 modules (the technology set is called T3, the skillset is called research, why should it be limited to ship hulls). These could maybe drop only in wormhole space data sites. Which would significantly increase the value of data sites in wormholes.

It is a (sometimes indirect) PVP tactic. Using PVP in a broad term meaning anything that forces players to compete with each other rather than the simplest form of ships shooting other ships.

As a new player I find it a little difficult to comment as I don't have a lot of experience. I would tend to agree with what Mynxee and Resra Tenjin have said. I've been working data sites mostly so the changes are welcome.

Well, Cosmic Signatures have Combat sites as well. Since Besieged sites are basically classified as Combat sites I see no reason not to add them to Cosmic Signatures other than the fact that PvP'ers can get some easy targets with them as Cosmic Anomalies. If Besieged sites were moved to Cosmic Signatures they would probably get a lot more usage since most veteran explorers ignore Cosmic Anomalies.

As a long time high skilled explorer, I currently bypass most Cosmic Anomalies due to the fact it's easy killmail collection for PvP'ers. At least with Cosmic Signatures explorers can get a small advance notice from D-scan showing probes in the general area.


DMC

That used to be the case, as Decryptors used to be racial. When Industry was simplified in Crius, they were homogenized, which is why all regions drop the same ones now. I'm not sure if different regions drop different Datacores, but those were rebalanced as well, so it's a fairly moot point. The rare drop loot used for building Storyline items will still be racial however.

If it's a choice between a cargo scanner or the ability to pvp with a little inconvenience with the cans, the choice is very easy for me. The question was, what do I think of them on covops. I think they don't fit for me. I appreciate them giving people a little edge with deciding which cans to take and which to leave, but I don't think the cans are fairly balanced as long as there is a chance to get literally nothing out of the most valuable ones.

I'd be happy if the lowest reward was on the level of maybe 50k isk or something. Pocket change, but at least something.

Fairness is the ultimate key to this kind of thing, it should not exclude newer players but still have an equal chance of damaging or destroying a veteran player.

A counter argument to placing an alarm system inside the hacking UI is something like that does give older players an advantage over a newer player in the same site.

My thought was something outside the hacking UI that would require interaction to evade or overcome. Whether that be destroying an object or disable through another needed instance of hacking. Or if the player is careful or fast at hacking they may be able to completely ignore and rush the site.