EVE General Discussion

I want to point out something from Sugar's post...

Highsec is the most complex space in EVE. It is the one that allows more different ways of playing, with more mechanics involved (remember when Crimewatch was overhauled? That's a 100% highsec system, and a pretty complex one). Wardecs are another highsec system, and complex too.

Highsec is not lacking complexity. Nor haves an excess of complexity so needs being "trimmed down".

Just happens that all that complexity serves not to retain players who play in unorthodox ways. Who play alone. Who PvE. Who never log in for more than a couple hours, and maybe it's the only time they log in in a week.

What retains people? Multiplaying?

Why playing alone does not retain them? Sandboxes used to be the ultimate lonely boy toy. Yet here we have a sandbox that fails to retain lone players.

What retains people? PvP?

Why PvE doesn't retains people? Why PvE doesn't creates any conflict, any competition, any way to interact with other players either to cooperate or to compete?

I'd rather give the PvE solo casual players a set of tools so they can generate content as easily as PvPrs.

Maybe something as simple as player A finishes a mission and that triggers an anomaly with a "rescue party" so a younger pilot can come and crush the poor NPCs a little more. Make the spawn dynamic and based (obscurely) on how the main targets where shot down (order, incoming damage, repairs taken.... make it really obcure so it can't be gamed easily).

Or well, just take my overly complex idea of chess in space with NPC agents as collectible cards, automatically spawned point-based misisons and the quest for whatever.

Highsec should be a place where players want to stay. Not be forced to stay, but WANT to stay. Now it's a space admirably effective in driving players away from a sub par EVE experience.

Why? Because it's their ancestral home and must be protected against the forces of darkness?

If so, make the correct obeisance to James CCCXV, First of Her Name, and get bumping.

Seeing the usual flood of "ideas" that would really only benefit a handful of players, and with the thinnest possible veils of justification hoping to conceal the usual massive self-interest of "EVE should be played my way". Try again, kiddies.

In response to the original post.

I do believe that High sec is as balanced as it ever going to get.

All the arguments on the forums cancel each other out f.e.:

Wardecs are too cheap vs. War decs have been nerfed and can be dodged.
Ganking should be banned vs. ganking has been nerfed and created content.

The only thing that seems to have some sort of consensus is high sec incursions, but then again I have no knowledge of the mechanics or payout - just going from the forums here.

The cry for more content comes from players who haven't even done 1% of what is possible in this universe, the fault is not with the Devs and the content but with the players perception.

I personally would like to see a transition from high to low to null sec and WH for new players and old ones finally trying to be part of the eve community.

At the moment we have high, low, null and WH space , each follow their own rules and have different mechanics I like to think that making the transition from one to the next easier might reduced the entry requirements to these activities and encourage more players to join in. The current philosophy seems to be min/max one profession and then go to the forums to ask for more complexity to their game style. I think encouraging them to discover all of EvE before they settle into their preferred activity will make all the beautiful things in eve more used and their own actions/preferences put into perspective.

Just an idea : An agent would give you a cheap t1 destroyer & fit and tell you to go to low sec and kill x amounts of belt rats or scout an anomaly or scan a signature and do it or something similar - would you consider doing it?
If only a few do it and discover a new play style the retention rate would go up.

Give them training wheels or free stuff but change their perception and approach to this game.

tl:dr:

Eve is a complex game as it is, adding more complexity makes it even harder for new players to get any kind of grip on the mechanics. Content is there, but everyone seems to focus only on one thing and therefore not really experience the opportunities already present.

Nah, he didn't say CONCORD. He said faction police.

As someone with an low security status because of lowsec pvp, I don't enter highsec very often. It's just too much of a hassle to continually be on the move if not docked.

So at times like when our Alliance is wardecced, it makes it difficult to come to highsec even to assist some newer members that are still operating there.

If Faction Police didn't chase anymore, Kaarous is exactly right, it would provide more opportunities for player-player interaction in ways that would bring enjoyment for many people.

CCP should implement a system like the other MMO's have, where if your gear is lacking or your level is lower, the game automatically buffs your stats up to the same as the other guy, for a fair PVP fight. So basically, in the case of EVE, you can fly an Ibis, but it'll have the DPS and ewar capabilities of, let's say, a properly fitted T3 cruiser, or you fly your hauler on autopilot but if there are battlecruisers in the vicinity your hauler gains the defenses of a BC or even battleship.

I'll bring my speedy Garmur and camp a gate, looking for WTs.

With my alt, I shall wardec my Garmur and park a battleship on grid with it.

Viola! My Garmur has a giant tank.

not to mention BS level dps. and your bs will be fast and have long points like the garmur!

no way to abuse this stuff at all

I'm the one who wrote the blog that spawned the thread so I guess I'll chime in with the original goal.

I stepped back from the whats and whos of ganking and this space and that space and this nerf and that buff and simply wanted to know what is the development that people are looking for in high sec when they say 'high sec has been ignored'.

A lot of changes that have come across effect all areas of space. But I will then see, "high sec has been ignored" or "when will it be time for high sec to get attention."

I'd like to know what that attention is supposed to be. What is that development? What are high sec players waiting for CCP to produce for them? What is Eve Online: High Sec the Expansion supposed to be about? Its theme? Its content?

When I first ran for the CSM I had a very clear idea of needs and problem areas in low sec. Over the last year and a half I learned more of them in low and in other areas of the game. Yet, I don't seem to understand those pain points for high sec. At least not by what people tell me. I have no hate for high sec. I've never picked up a 'nerf high sec' pitchfork or worn a complimentary 'burn high sec to the ground' t-shirt.

I also addressed missions in my original wall of text because missions are a very common request. However, thanks to decisions at Eve's birth, missions require a lot of time and energy. The PvE team has been working on the AI which will soon bring up roving NPCs and head into NPC events and interactions. The idea expressed was not to remove PvE but to take future PvE into a more dynamic phase that uses the new tools built. This leaves the old mission content for those that like the old mission content and introduces new content that will not just stagnate because you still do it 100 times.

That stagnation is a problem with missions. Or is it? That's been a very mixed point as well. Adding another room or redoing the text will entertain you for how long? Unfortunately, the PvE team is one group of developers and when we are asking them to focus on things to improve Eve that fact does not go away. I'd love us to have infinity number of developers allowing us to have infinity dreams, but we don't. People will not want to hear that but I'm dealing with the reality of the situation and seeking potential pathways for the future.

It may be that people want missions. I've been dazed by the response and I've told the PvE team that I will be gathering the data and seeing what is said. Maybe that data will say people want missions over anything else.

The arguments over what high sec is, its place in Eve, and the evolution of the sandbox and game society are all fascinating. There is a constant push and pull when it comes to this topic and what people should or should not be doing. Thank you for the in depth discussions.