Player Features and Ideas Discussion

I have expressed disappointment that the new Engineering Complexes are not well suited for use by small industrialists and I have read similar comments from others but I haven’t seen any proposals for what a small EC might look like so I’ll present my own ideas in the hope of getting a conversation started.


The goal is to replace the functionality of a small POS without encroaching too much on the value proposition of the Raitaru.


My vision is a fairly simple structure - closer in concept to a mobile depot than an engineering complex. It would contain a lab, a factory, a tether, fuel storage and some damage resistance - nothing else. Perhaps a packaged volume similar to a small tower - 2000 M3 range.


Storage will be provided using tethered containers, tethered ships can transfer material between their hold and the containers. Submitted jobs can specify source and destination containers. This will obviously require that ships and, in this case, containers cannot be bumped off the tether.


When deploying, you must launch for corp and any corp member with appropriate roles (Factory Manager) can use it. Anchoring should be comparable to POS - perhaps 15 minutes each for deployment and recovery.


The Lab should combine the functionality of the research and design labs with comparable bonuses; the Factory should combine the functionality of the equipment, component, drone and ammunition arrays with the current 2% ME and 25% TE bonuses. Fuel consumption should be 10 blocks/hour - same as a small POS.


Defense should also be similar to a POS requiring a wardec in highsec with balanced resists (25%?), a reasonable hitpoint pool (small POS has 10 million HP) and a single reinforcement timer.


Target pricing should be roughly half that of a Raitaru. 350-400 million range. That’s still quite a bit more than a small POS with the same functionality. If a structure this small deserves recognition we can name it after Hilen Tukoss.


Basically, that’s it. Keep it as simple as possible. I expect debate over whether it should be able to build ships but believe ships and T3 should be part of the incentive to choose the Raitaru instead.


This concept doesn’t give me any functionality I don’t already have with a small POS - I am in fact, giving up the ability to build ships, invent T3 and reprocess. The risk/reward balance is also comparable. Bonuses for using the structure and risk of attack are basically the same.


Thanks for reading.

Just deploy it next to your astrahus.

I think a small engineering complex should be seen as a disposable engineering complex, or an advanced mobile depot, as a resupply station. This means the goal of the structure is not to do anything efficiently, but rather to establish a fast cheap presence within a system.

I would see such a structure as being able to refine ore (since compressed ore is the most efficient way to transport minerals) and create ammunition, charges, drones, and some other consumable goods. Personally I don't think ships or even modules should be included, and I would be hesitant to even include ore compression, as then it may turn into a mining node instead.(although that might work too)

Flexibility is a benefit of the small POS that I don't think we can take to the new paradigm. I like the ability to online functions as needed in a POS but the Raitaru only has 3 slots for service modules - a configurable small EC would undermine its value proposition. It would also add development complexity.

True portability sounds like a factory ship - possibly a variation on the Orca although something the Thukkers are more likely to develop. I like the idea of taking my refinery/factory with me but it's a solution for a different problem. Not a POS replacement.

the astrahus and medium ec are pretty cheap to put up

Astahus about 1.3bil to put up without fittings
about 5bil fully fitted and fueled

i dont really see the need for a small pos once drilling rigs are available.

BUT ccp do need to re-think the fuel consumption of service mods

50% cut to online cost
50% cut to fuel consumption rate/hr would bring them in line with a large pos