EVE General Discussion

I will not talk about what should be done, as i've spent too many time building up no less than three detailed and complex plans for it. Four, if we account for a early idea that would be a fail and was born from insufficent awarenes/knowledge of the game.

Here is what I *think* that CCP will do, why, and how will it destroy the game.

The Hallelujah Plan which starts with Rubicon haves a two-fold premise:

- capsuleers move away from existing space and into new greener lands
- capsuleers erode the grasp of civilization and make empires thumble under their pressure

In terms of game content, that translates as "a different zero security space with mechanics original and unlike the existing nullsec/wormholes" and "less security in high security space".

The purpose of the later is to adress several serious issues:

- most players dwell in hisec
- player retention of hisec content is low
- high player retention occurs in nullsec/WH content
- demand for low/null/WH content is minoritary
- transition rate from hisec to rest of the space is too random and minoritary
- there is a psychological barrier that keeps high security players from moving elsewhere

Well then, if the player will not go to where player retention is, the only way to fix that is to move player retention to where the players are.

If what retains players are mass PvP, multiplayer operations and corporate buddies, and hisec only provides PvE, casual content and solo content, then it's obvious that those elements must be moved to high security space.

And here comes Rubicon. More PvP, multiplayer operations, and the strong necessity to associate with other players, that is high-value content, is going to hisec.

What could be wrong? The Hallelujah Plan is going to deliver high-retention content right on the doorstep of hiseccers, thus removing the barrier -they won't need to "go there" to meet the dragons and monsters and learn that they're really enjoyable if you fight them along your friends, as the lucky low/null/wh minority learned on their own, wwithout CCP intercession.

What could go wrong?, shall I ask again.

Well, maybe a little detail could go wrong. Maybe, just maybe, hisec players stay in hisec because they want that kind of content, or even worst, they actively dislike/hate/avoid the other content.

If that happened, it would be the players' fault, of course. And then they should better be looking for other games, which likely would do once their beloved hisec was spoiled by the rest of the game.

But that's unlikely to happen. Because CCP has carefuly researched its player base. They know perfectly who pays them and why. They also have one member at the CSM (out of 14, that's serious business) who can instruct them on it, and anyway CCP is well known for actively engaging its players. EVE has never been about what CCP wants to do, but about what the players want.

As much as American foreign policy often regards foreigners as American-who-still-don't-know-that-they-want-to-be-American, CCP, brainchild of another frontier pioneer culture, know that there is a nullseccer struggling to break the shackles of hisec inside every hiseccer, and so CCP is coming to their rescue by delivering the real deal on their doorstep. And it will work just great, because hiseccers, as aliens, never are serious when they pretend to like the sh*t they're doing.

Ain't that right, CCP Seagull?

Well, for one, it would be rather dangerous to base any kind of change on the uncertain assumption that most players dwell in highsec…

I'm rather hoping that CCP will return highsec back the way it was in the early days when there was no Concord protection.

At present there are a lot of suicide ganks in highsec, I would suggest that the removal of Concord would make miners and indy pilots safer as they could then either buy mercs to guard them (or have an internal pvp wing) that will shoot any bastard that comes within 200k of them (unless blue).

This would also re-link the connection between industry and combat and give meaning to both sides of the game.

No doubt there would be a lot of whining at the beginning but on balance being able to actively protect a mining fleet or mission runner in highsec would be a great advantage, as at present all they can do is die or run. The trade hubs might be a problem but if they were player owned as well then the holding corp would have an interest in policing the area.

It also makes sense in terms of the game storyline which CCP seem to have lost interest in, so having player corporations take over from NPC empires would be in keeping.

I'll just get my flameproof underwear on

What do you base that on? The numbers on character distribution have for a long time indicated that larger and larger portions find their way out into low and null.

It's called "doing 1 + 1". If CCP did not go balls out into "restoring The Old Order" is because they have the demographics that show them they shouldn't do it.

why on earth would you take character distribution seriously in a game where you get a base of three, anyway?

i totally don't whore on highsec incursions with my alt, bro. 100% legit.

I disagree because in effect that is already the current situation, carebears are currently cannon fodder for highsec gankers, all removing Concord does is allow them to be proactive in protecting themselves

In case you did not notice, CCP is not an abstract entity.
At the end of the month they have to pay their employees (and they have quite a bad fame about their low wages) and at the end of the quarter they have to report the earnings to the stakeholders.

Doing something affecting "only about 1/3 of the players" would result in a TERRIBLE blunder.
In case you did not notice, CCP is not navigating in good waters as is, they are paying a lot of adverse factors, even some no other game company had to (i.e. CCP silently allowed botting for years, removing those thousands of subs added to the other losses).

Look what happened due to something *minor* compared to turning hi sec into non hi sec: the Incarna flop. CCP had to fire a sizable amount of workers.
Look what's going to happen due to the long predicted DUST flow: more layoffs. And the vamps game is not coming anytime soon. And what CCP has put as assets in their balance statements are goodwill, that is hot air.

Be less shallow when you talk over the heads of RL employees. Just to bring some more pixellated fun to you, they are going to have their lives affected.

yeah, i was probably thinking thrashers. hulkageddon V seems so quaint in this days and age.

i even lost an untanked retty to T1 200mm autocannon. a papery husk of a ship it was in those days.

I do not know if this is goons propaganda, you trying to troll or if you are really that delusional about the hisec population.
Kind enough to enlighten me ?