Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Reposted from Here.

A couple of the small things I'd like to CCP for are the little audio cues that have fairly recently been added. Specifically the ore hold full 'ding'. [So useful!]

One of my fellow Unistas jokingly said, "the first time I heard it I damn near [had to scoop out my drawers]. I thought I had been podded while looking at a spreadsheet." (quote edited for content)

It gave me an idea, though, and one I thought I'd pass on after shopping it around other Unistas for feedback.

Something which I feel would add valuable content to the game, and fits in nicely with the Upwell developments in Citadels and other structures, is a small deployable passive threat-detection sensor array. I had the idea when I first heard the above-mentioned audio cue, and there is a real-world parallel currently in use along the US-Canada border.

The idea is, you have a deployable about the same size and dimensions (volume) as a Mobile Depot. It doesn't store anything. It has no combat value. It's easy to blow up, but not overly expensive to replace. However, it ties into your ship's sensor and communications arrays and provides an audio cue.

That's all it does. It creates an audio cue.

However, what it creates the audio cue for is what's important.

It has two settings: war targets, and criminals. You set it for the one, or the other.

I call it the Portable Threat Sensing Depot (or PTSD for short).

You deploy it in a system, like a choke point, set it for which detection you're looking for, and then you leave. You're able to receive from it to a maximum range determined by your 'Remote Sensing' skill.

Then, if that selected type of threat enters the system (or perhaps the maximum scan range in AU of the deployable) it sends an audio cue. Maybe an alarm, or a tone. It also doesn't tell you if they're docked up, or in space. It just emits the tone when they're there. One tone for the YES/NO value of "is this thing present?"

That's it.

It doesn't tell you where it came from if you have more than one deployed. Just that one of your beacons, somewhere, has detected a threat (if you have more than one deployed).

Applications:

• AFK Mining
• Hi-Sec PVP
• Trap Baiting
• Perimeter Defense in Sov-Null

The deployable is just as easy to scan down as a mobile depot, can be destroyed, etc.

The Pirate faction version of this device should have the added benefit of being able to enter the name of a specific character, and if that character's ship signature enters the scan radius, it emits the audio cue. This is specifically for bounty-hunting.

I'm open to feedback.

Yup. **** players that pay attention.

jesus no.

You already have a 100% risk free threat detector. It's called local chat.

Thanks for posting this here, JD.

Having thought about this for a bit, I'd have to say it would rather depend on the range of these depots to make the case for or against.

I wouldn't have a problem with these if it only replicated what could be seen in local already. That would make these rather useless in WH-space, which is fine actually.

If these were to have a range of X-KM, but still required the pilot to stay in the same system to get the information, then their use would be regulated to AFK mining...with no music.

However, if the range were measured in system gate-jumps away modified by a skill, then they start having a real use.
Or maybe a set number of jumps as a range, but the skill determines how many you can have active?

Either way, if these could send information over multiple systems, then they could be used to help mercenaries track a target's whereabouts and even direction of travel as they move from system to system pinging the depots all the while.

Perimeter defense would make more sense if you consider the perimeter to be border systems.... how it's actually used IRL :)

However, I balk at the audio tone. I mean, who plays EvE with the sound on anyway .
Instead, have a brief pop-up message, maybe with a notification notice, of which depot pinged. That's it. Same thing as the tone, but if a pilot is truly AFK it won't help, but it will get their notice easier than something coming into local should you have that covered up with another window.

Use these around a system you're mining in, and bam... an early defense network. Once again, if the pilot is truly AFK, then this early warning will not help.

There are other issues to any version of this idea (would the depot beep for a second target if the first is still there, and would you know you've been pinged?), but I think if designed with a multi-system strategy in mind, then they would be a interesting tool for pilots to have.

--Gadget

Uhm, this really isn't the place to be having a political conersation. That said, we didn't put in the motion sensors on the border. US Department of Homeland Security did that, and the motion was chaired by Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester.

Moving on...

Thank you, Gadget. You're on the same wavelength as me here.

Are you sure of that? 'Cause every other part of your OP sounds an awful lot like a troll post.

For one, PTSD? That's what you called it? That's actually kind of insulting and borderline offensive in all honesty.

As the exact kind of guy that particular sell is aimed at i still dont like it for enabeling extra safe afkness.
Keep it visual and on screen.
If you run more clients than you have tje hardware to reasonably manage thats on you, no one is being penalised here.
I managed to scout myself about and hunt people with one monitor for a year before buying a second.

People already have this ability. Players routinely check DotLan and other out of game tools to see which systems have had recent conflict. It's simple intelligence, and there's a big enough of a demand for those tools that people are building them, and using them daily. What I suggest is just to bring those tools in-game and bring them closer to real time.

Realistically, you're right. There would be many situations where the notifications from the deployable would become spam. Which would be one of the downsides, along with having to replace them. However, used effectively and actively I think it would be a useful tool. I really just put the idea up here to see the response, but with one exception everything I've seen so far has been less than positive.

Thanks for your feedback.

Why do you say that? I typically run three clients on a laptop 90% of the time without issue.