Player Features and Ideas Discussion

The interface used to scan for anomalies and other phenomena is pedantic and broken.

Why is it not possible, after launching the probes and receiving signals, to simply click on an object with a signal above, say, 75%, and have the probes automatically align for a rescan, to pick up the signal at 100%? The current system forces the player to manually position the probes' epicenter over the signal. This wouldn't be an issue, except the map is in 3D, while the player can only adjust the epicenter on a 2D plane. This means constantly adjusting the map to fit the epicenter, to account for discrepancies in depth between it and the anomaly's signal. How is this fun? Especially since you have to wait an extra 10 seconds or so for the re-scan to finish? Only to increase the signal strength from 92.3 to 100? No sane person would enjoy this. Ever.

Moreover, it's ridiculous to have probe launcher take up an entire high-energy slot. This makes a wormhole jump in a frigate more dangerous, since 1 turret + 1 other high-energy fitting = 1 remaining space for probes, meaning, in a Merlin, 1 less weapon. Probe launchers should be mid or, ideally, in a separate fitting category, so they don't force you to take a destroyer if you want to stand a chance.

While I agree that the GUI for probe scanner is a little clunky and could stand a little streamlining. i however disagree that scanning isn't fun, the real fun is in the rewards you find doing it such as relic sites and what not, as I've made quite a bit of profit from exploring wormholes. You're astrometics and scanning skills factor in how to quickly you can scan and acquisition accompanied by the type of ship you may be flying such as the minmatar Probe or Society of Concious thought's Gnosis.

Its not really ridiculous since you are operating a highly advance probe launcher that has probes that can warp to anywhere in a solar system to scan and pinpoint cosmic signatures, even ships with combat scanners. You can imagine how much power would be needed for the capability to launch a set of probes, maintain the connection and be able for them to return. Now i know as a Caldari you may not get as many hardpoints for weapons unlike as cutthroat minmatar but the idea is to be sneaky with probes not loud and obnoxious

Simply because it is easier now than it ever has been does that mean that we cannot or should not try to make it even better?
As one who spends a large percentage of their game time scanning in one capacity or another I agree with the op, we should be able to simply right click on a signature in the scan window and have options to auto move the probes to re-center on that signature and I will add that it would be nice if we could reset the scan range at the same time.

I disagree with the OP on the launcher taking up a high slot. If you cannot get enough guns / missiles on your frigate then take a destroyer, cruiser or even a T3 set up for exploration. So to be blunt no you cannot have that high slot back.

It's not an issue of hard, it's an issue of what you just said: "plush hand-holding". If the devs are already making it clear where the anomaly is, why does centering the probe cursor over it have to be such an ordeal? If auto-adjusting the probes is too unchallenging, one solution would be, if a signal is too weak, require an increase in the number of probes launched, to enlarge the scan radius. Indicate the number of extra launched probes needed, next to the anomaly signal strength, and combine the launch & scan into a single 5-second delay. This would eliminate the unintuitive cursor wrangling and keep a limit on how many sites appear within radius.

And yes, just because a system was a complete nightmare before, as opposed to a partial nightmare today, doesn't mean it can't be refined.



The current system limits gameplay opportunities for players relying on frigates, or who already have a frigate for relic salvaging, without having to strip and swap to a destroyer/cruiser.

Why stop at that, why not just say screw it all and go back to what EvE was the day it was released?



My Golem cannot use turret based weapons systems, that limits my game play opportunities so CCP needs to change that.
My shuttles cannot fit a cloak, that limits my game play opportunities so that has to be changed.
I cannot fit a micro jump drive onto my assault frigate that limits my game play opportunities so CCP needs to change that.
When I am cloaked in my stealth bomber I cannot target or shoot at you that limits my game play opportunities so CCP needs to change that.

I can go on if needed but I hope my point has been made.
Every ship in the game has some form of limits that adversely affect your game play opportunities and those limits are very much intentional and they are in fact a design feature of the game, they call that feature balance. I do not pretend to know how or why CCP choose to put the probe launcher in a high slot, what I do know is that your ship and every other frigate in the game are balanced in part around that launcher taking up a high slot. By changing that and allowing frigates to have the launcher AND that second high slot for a gun or missile launcher you would disrupt the balance an entire class of ships. So no you cannot have your second gun AND the probe launcher.

But fear not there are at least two game play opportunities that would solve your problem, they are called Astero and Tristan. Both would replace the damage lost because probe launcher with a full squad of 5 light drones and the Astero has the added advantage of giving you a scan signal strength bonus. Cannot fly these ships because alpha clone, congratulations you just ran into another of those intentional restrictions on game play opportunities so you will have to suffer with a single gun or step up to a destroyer or cruiser.

Nothing wrong with making things better, but easier is not always better. While I dont like having to manually set up probes i think that its there as some what of a deturent. The easier they make scanning the more people will do it, which will result in a drop in the isk per hour that you can making doing it. IF they did make the probes auto orientate around your selected sig then i think they would HAVE to increase the duration in which each scan occurs. Otherwise you would be able to scan an entire system in much to short a time.

There is no reason why the scanning process couldn't be fully automated given the technology we can reasonably assume for New Eden; but easier and better are not the same thing. There are players who can use combat probes to scan down an enemy ship in seconds. It's a skill and they are that good.

When I was learning to scan, someone else showed up, scanned the site I was working on and cleared it before I could get a lock. I can do better now but it took practice.

From a game design perspective, players need something to do - just sitting back and watch ISK flow into your wallet isn't much fun. Scanning is a skill that you can master with practice and you should be able to nail most sites with a couple of scans.

Yes, we should accept a bad interface because worse alternatives exist. That's the best reasoning I've ever read. Congratulations. Your gold statuette from CCP for "Most Obstinate Developer Shill" is in the mail.



1) Nobody is talking about collecting ISK for doing nothing, just the opposite. The gameplay opportunities that open up don't involve doing nothing, just reaching sites more immediately.

2) I'm not talking about combat probes.

3) Imagine the scenario you could've had if the interface wasn't so fussy and broken. Meeting up at the site the same time as the veteran, fighting over the prize. Instead, that opportunity was taken from you. Leaving you shrugging your shoulders and looking for something else to do.

4) If veterans are so fast at probing, this process would merely increase their efficiency by seconds. It would have a minor impact on what they do, other than not have to mess with positioning a cube around a 3D map on a 2D plane.

I'm more serious than you think. OP seems to think that probing is an arbitrary barrier to content. I want it to BE content.

For the record, no, I don't like the current interface. That doesn't seem to be a big part of the discussion one way or the other though.



I could live with this. It adds something back to a pretty lame system. If we could couple it with removing signatures before an initial scan I'd be great with it.