EVE General Discussion

CCP Seagull asked us to consider a few things during fanfest. I have thought about it for a while... in fact, I have thought about these questions for over a year. I have an answer for her.

Yes.

Yes, I want to build Stargates that go to new, exciting places where emergent gameplay and communities can form.

Yes, I want to discover new systems with special high-level exploration skills and equipment (jump probes).

Yes, I want these new systems to be claimable and I want capsuleer Alliances to be able to found their own actual empires in these new regions of space.

Yes, I want these new systems to be a mix of WH and 0.0 mechanics.

Yes, I want these capsuleer empires to be conquerable by other capsuleers empires.

Yes, I want the entrances and exits of these new empires to be secret, but probe-able and hackable.

Yes, I want modern Empire hisec to shrink.

Yes, I want emergent communities to start taking it's place.

Yes, I want secret, probe-able stargates to be added in Empire and LowSec space that lead to areas between current known systems - areas of beauty and wonder, red giants, rogue planets, black holes, the derelict remnants of ancient communities.

Yes, I want a new faction of ships, stations, and POS - Capsuleer.

Yes, I want them to be balanced with current faction ships and yes, I want them to be customizable for Corporation and Alliance level.

CCP - You do an amazing job. Recent expansions have shown that if you give us the tools, we will use them. Give us these new tools to build beautiful, amazing things.

Yes, I want those things too.

If the very limited "exploration" content in the Odyssey patch(?) is the gateway to achieving those things and those things are delivered very soon (tm), then I will accept the Odyssey upgrade(?) as a stepping stone toward that future. Otherwise the "exploration" content in Odyssey is simply disappointing.

This thread is going places.

If all of those things happen as you have described it, null sec will become even more pointless than it already is.

Edit: Just to clarify capsuleer built Star gates are a great idea, so long as they are destructible. I'd also like to point out that Seagul didn't say half of those things. Don't put words in CCPs mouth thanking them for saying they'll do it, because when they don't do it, you'll only be on the forum bitching about it.

What would be the point of a dozen star gates linking Jita to systems around the place, if Jita 4-4 couldn't carry all the traffic?

I would think it would only be able to connect in non high/low sec space.

Also Jita needs its current connections reduced.

The key to the whole concept is the development of new mechanics to develop both space and the communities that live there in new ways.

New places, new environments, new POS's and Outposts, new gates, and most importantly new ways to customize and make them unique to please your own personal, corporate, and alliance tastes.

Can you imagine it guys?

A capsuleer undocks in a ship that took over a month to train into, and cost over a billion ISK - just for the hull. The special sensor equipment and probes cost hundreds of millions more. This ship must be protected because, not only is it expensive, but what it's looking for can only be found in LowSec - for now.

The ship launches specialized scan probes that have a max range of 4AU, and the capsuleer begins his tedious scan of the system. These probes are far more sensitive than any probe built by the empire, and are designed for one thing and one thing alone: to detect subtle "ripples" in the fabric of spacetime that could indicate a micro-wormhole. A wormhole that was too small to be detected before and which scientists doubt can be used for travel.

Unless you build the right kind of stargate.

Once a microwormhole is found, construction of a Stargate can begin. It takes weeks of building at a POS, but once complete, it can be anchored and provide sufficient power to launch dozens of Industrial haulers filled Stargate components to the other end of the wormhole so that a companion gate can be anchored. Anchoring takes several hours, but once complete, the capsuleers now having a working Stargate big enough to allow small ships - industrial haulers and cruisers - through. This Stargate is a "prime connection point", and once constructed, is indestructible like the other Stargates.

They have reached a new frontier. It's a mix of WH and 0.0 - here, members of the alliance/corporation are the only ones who show up in Local. But anyone else is hidden, and could be waiting, poised to strike. There are no stations to dock in for safety, no asteroid belts... lots of things must be scanned down and bookmarked, including locations for new wormholes wherein new Stargates could be built, Stargates that reach systems closer by, capable of accommodating Freighters and Battleships.

New Stargates are built, as are Outposts. NPC agents move into these stations - there's lots of stuff to do out here. There are... other inhabitants of this new world. Inhabitants that threaten the capsuleer communities that form here, that use new technologies not seen before. It's unknown whether they are even human, but the technologies salvaged from them allow the construction of a new class of ships....

Ships invented by capsuleers....

It would be a new line of ships. Versatile ships that can easily switch weapon platforms; one ship may get a bonus to rails and guided missiles, another ship may get a bonus to blasters and rockets, another to lasers and drones... this new line of ships will be available to capsuleers regardless of the current weapon platforms they are specialized for. And the ships will require technology that can only be found on these new frontiers...

(This is just a random spattering of ideas floating around in my head)

(And yes, the other fellow - I know this is a mix of existing 0.0 and WH mechanics - that's the point.)

I think CCP is going to do something like this.

I think it's our job to tell them what we'd like to see.

I think they want us to.

I think that's why CCP Seagull posed that series of questions to us.

I think she was probing for feedback.

I think the next few expansions of EVE Online are going to focus on a newly discovered area of space that capsuleers can move into and make their "home" - a place free from the empires, which are losing their control.

I think we will see very interesting emergent gameplay and very tight communities form - communities native to EVE, not outside communities like reddit and SA.

I appreciate that you'd like this and you'd like CCP to know that. I still, however, think you're missing the point.

Capsuleers don't move into new areas of space.

Gigantic nullsec alliances swallow new areas of space whole and indigestible.... becasue it's there.

If a capsuleer wants a "home" there, then they have to join that alliance. Just making a "home" anywhere outside of high-sec (or maybe some wormholes) is like a hummingbird building a nest in path of an oncoming tornado and thinking pure thoughts so the tornado will stop getting closer.

I have no aversion to new content. It's a really nice fantasy. Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with wishing that "capsuleers" or even tiny little upstart alliances could conquer a little area of undeveloped and worthwhile space to build a nice home in.... but I have bad news for you...

EVE online is not like living in teletubby land. Outside of high-sec it's a full-on, non-stop, chains, guns, knives and dirty tricks gang brawl. The "home" you want doesn't exist aside from someone bigger and better equipped to fight for it not wanting it too. I'm sorry to give you bad news but that the plain and simple truth as straight as I can give it to you and I doubt that anything CCP can do to expand content that doesn't make high-sec bigger will just create more of the same.



There is already a lot of this, especially in nullsec. But don't take my word for it. Do a tour in a nullsec alliance and see for yourself.