Science & Industry

Planetary Interaction is certainly due for an overhaul. The fact that there are only 5 skills available in order to completely master PI should be all the evidence you need. The information provided in the PI interfaces lack clarity. The controls are crude, lack precision, and require an excruciating amount of clicking. There are some who will say that all this clicking is what keeps the value of PI so high. I will retort by saying that poor game mechanics should not be the driving force in market value. More skills, more structures, and greater initial investment; these are the most effective ways to keep up the value of PI.

There is tremendous potential for enhanced gameplay with PI. Not all EVE players are interested in PvP exclusively, or even at all. Incorporating a strategy / simulator element to EVE could be very positive. The best part is that it has nothing to do with the way that EVE currently works. What players do on the planets would have very little to do with what players do in outer space. Yet a skilled PI player could grow to hold great influence in the EVE universe.

Currently, PI is considered “passive” income. Why does it need to stay that way? Is there not room in the EVE universe for other styles of gameplay?

Ideas:

A list of structures and planetary links is desperately needed. Trying to click on a link between two adjacent structures can be one of the ragiest activities in all of EVE.

Being able to toggle between m3 and units would be very nice when calculating space and link capacity.

Skills for increasing CPU and power grid efficiency for all and/or specific structure types.

Skills for increasing extractor head output, and cycle duration.

Skills for increasing processor efficiency and cycle duration

Skills required for advanced and high-tech processors

Skills for increasing storage space, launchpad storage space, POCO storage space, and planetary commodities cargo space in ships.

Skill that multiples the number of planets you can control by the skill level+1, for a total of 36 planets (requires Planetary Consolidation V, and should require an extremely large amount of SP.)

Layout templates would be AMAZING. Perhaps even a template building tool that incorporates a grid for more precise layouts. And when you are looking at a planet, the template will display planet specific stats (CPU and power grid reqs) based on planet size.

Structure fittings would be logical since everything else uses fittings. This opens the door for PI structure modules and rigs (more industrial goodness!)

Obviously we need blueprints for structures, and why do structures just appear out of thin air anyway? Shouldn’t we be building processors, storage units, extractors, etc?

Habitation modules for workers. More workers increases productivity, or perhaps effect output, efficiency, CPU usage, power grid usage, etc. Workers consume food, luxuries, and other commodities which are currently on the market yet have absolutely zero purpose. Let’s consume that stuff! (and make that stuff!)

Dare I even suggest giving capsuleers the ability to bombard PI structures from geo-synchronous orbit? This would open the door for PI defensive structures, shields, orbital defense structures, etc… This also gets the POCO owner more involved since they’re making ISK from taxes. Maybe they should take a more active interest in protecting their customers… just saying.

Finally, how about security forces (boots on the ground)? When two players are attempting to extract in the same area (within X km) they can attack with squads (think of them like carrier fighter units). This opens the door for security structures, and skills for the units.


These last two suggestions opens the door for bringing DUST back into the picture, while not requiring it. Whether anyone is playing DUST or not, PI players are still creating content for it right here in the EVE universe.


OK haters and thinkers. Fire away!

Say it ain't so...

I like the concept but there seems to be a lot of development effort. Perhaps something simpler to start.

1. Player built Command Centers. Simply replace the existing NPC stock with BPO's seeded at the same stations.

2. Advanced planetary consolidation skill. Rank 8 skill that increases the number of colonies 1 per level to a maximum of 11. Prerequisite planetary consolidation 5

3. Advanced command center upgrades. Rank 8 skill that increases CPU and Power Grid by 2% per level. Prerequisite command center upgrades 5

4. Re-purpose remote sensing skill to provide a maximum range (in jumps) for colony management. Perhaps 5 jumps per level similar to scientific networking and supply chain management.

5. Anything that could reduce then number of clicks would be a bonus!

It seems to me that this would require relatively little development effort while making PI a viable profession without needing an army of ALTs. The new structures need a LOT of PI, I doubt these upgrades will lead to oversupply.

Not to suggest the other enhancements are without merit but something quick and easy that benefits the new structure gameplay has a better chance of getting on the roadmap.

Some of the points are good; some I think are too far like habitation modules. I would also like to get a few more planets although I think 36 per toon is too much, perhaps a maximum of 9 or 10.

Since they removed NPC pocos in high sec and couple with the abysmal yields in high sec I think that area needs looking at, I don’t think that in reality having POCO in high sec has produced much in the way of conflict (CCP may have figures to disprove this) but I think that both of those things has really done is kill off high sec PI.

I would like to see more skills for PG and CPU though I think that would be handy as well as templates, and clever routing of goods, also and something that has bugged me for ages is let’s say I set up a basic factory for toxic metals, I would like all subsequent factories to be toxic metals until I change it to something else.

Obviously CCP would do whatever they feel is best, but I think if someone wants to lock up their skill que for half a year to get that many planets, let them. Who knows what kind of madness could be caused by someone generating that much activity? 36 planets is a full time job! LOL

I agree 100%. Player owned POCOs in high sec have made highsec PI utterly pointless. Who wants to wardec over a crappy garbage planet anyway?

Little things like this are very useful. The more ideas we can throw at them to mull over, the easier it will be to make some useful changes for us!

I like all of the above suggestions. Some of them are slight adjustments to ideas that others have made over the years, while others seem fresh and interesting.

I only hope CCP is reading.

One simple change I'd like to see is the ability to save a "layout" of extractor heads in a similar (but 2D) way to how you can save a layout of scan probes.

Rather than having to drag each head individually each time, you'd only have to select the saved layout you want and drag the whole layout to where you want it.

Take out the first sentence and this can generally be applied to any or most of eves specialised areas. Trading, research, manufacturing ect. It's a shame all in all as their is scope for so much more but that's not the direction CCP seems to want to follow.

How about they just get rid of all the different kinds of structures and have it all self contained.

- The command center becomes the only building and can move around the planet.

- There is a radius around it where it pulls resources from.

- You still are limited by CPU and Grid

- You can "Fit" you command center how you want.
- A mod for launch pad
- A mod for extractor (could have more than one obviously and each one can pull different resources if desired)
- A "factory" mod to make what you want.
- A "storage" mod to hold stuff.

Note: When I say "mod" I am not meaning a physical mod that you have the transport. Have them still appear out of no where like the current buildings. They could still cost isk.

Keep it fairly simple and use the ship/citadel fitting window as a template to get started.

It keeps in line the system with other systems within Eve (ships, citidels) quite nicely. And you're right Complicated-Named-Poster-above-me, it would allow for some nice ways to expand.

I enjoy the complexity of PI (routing all the goods to the correct places etc) but could see it getting old quickly as you scale up between other accounts.