Player Features and Ideas Discussion

This thread is for people to discuss what options there are to deal with AFK cloaking. Most threads of this nature get instantly filled up by the guys stating that they want local removed. While this is valid, there is currently another thread designed to discuss this, where all other ideas instantly get trolled by people stating "local has to be removed, waah".

So this thread is simple. It's here to disucss ideas to remove AFK cloaking that do NOT involve the removal of local.

ISDs, I'd like to request that this not get merged with Tecko Pech's thread, as that is a discussion about the removal of local, not about the removal of AFK cloaking, so this is not a duplicate. I'd also like to ask you to help keep this thread on track by removing any discussion of removing local as off topic, since It's clearly stated here that this thread is not to discuss that.

Now the idea I support for removing the ability to AFK cloak is to implement an AFK timer that warps you to deadspace (like logging off) without actually logging you off, makes you unscannable and marks you as AFK in local. Upon returning to your keyboard, you get e-warped back to where you were. This would have minimal impact on active players and any client interaction would prevent you getting warped out.

Please discuss below your thoughts on what ideas you think would be best of dealing with AFK cloakers.

Hey guys, I made this thread thats really the same as the rest but I'm going to ask ISD not to put it in the "same as the rest" pile because I feel like I'm a snow flake.

Theres even a gigantic thread for it.

So here let me help:


1) they wont be adding an AFK time out feature to EVE, people have been asking for it for years, and theres never been any traction, if I want to sit still and stare at the prettiness of EVE space without touching my computer at all for 20 hours that is my right as a paying subscriber.

2) the local discussion which you brush aside and say 'we're not talking about that here' is tied into the AFK cloaker discussion permanently, you can't simply dismiss it out of hand because it doesn't fit your narrative. If Local weren't there you'd never know the guy was in your system. If you feel threatened by a guy just standing around then i feel bad for you in public places.

3) ISD won't listen, this will get locked and or shuffled in with the rest because thats exactly what it deserves to have happen, you're not putting through any new or unique ideas, you're rehashing things that have been suggested a dozen times before (theres even a list).

4) The ability to wage psychological warfare in EVE is a legitimate tactic, you don't get to tag that person so you know he's safe and thus ruin that entire meta.

Sorry, work it out boss, is he there, or isn't he, I guess you'll h ave to work with other people to sort that out.

I'll actually bite on this one.

The interaction between local's member list and people who may or may not be active and are also not blue to the residents, results in a stale mate which, while relatively balanced, is boring.

The issue is that players that are not at their PC are able to present themselves as a threat 24/7. I am a believer that in order to play the game you should actually have to play the game. If not, then they should just replace us all with AI and we can just log in once a week to see what our AI did.

It is impossible to address AFK cloaking without addressing local chat, one exists because the other is there.

At the most basic level, if local did not exist neither would AFK cloaking.

Well no, it's not at all impossible. There are several ideas that address the issue without touching local.
What you really mean is it's your preference to discuss local, which is fine, however this thread is not for that. The other thread is. This one is to discuss alternative solutions.

HEHEHEHE. AFK without local. Well seeing as the only reason you know the AFK cloaky is there is because of local. Ofcourse local needs to come into the argument somewhere.


Now as far as methods to deal with AFK cloaking.

First, mine at gravmetrics, not regular belts. They'll have to pop probes if they're gonna find your miners at all. And then there you have an early warning system to them attacking miners. You might fail though, they may have scanned down that site earlier. But risk/reward. Perhaps you could make sure your miners have a webber with them so they can warp out quick


Edit. Wow I've been out of game a while, so WTF you don't need probes to get to ore sites anymore. Well thats effed. Guess you win this 1 cloakys, Still can aboid ship death against a bomber pretty easy. Like really, just have a cane loaded with med artys and sebos and down the bomber before he can get a second volley off.


Second, when doing anoms/plexes, don't sit on warpin. Move around all the time. MJDs are a wonderful addition to the game, embrace them. What your afraid of a bomber or 2 downing your precious ratting battleship? I dunno, I'm pretty sure most of the ships I fly would be hard pressed to be taken out by a bomber in the time it takes a friend of mine to arrive in a rifter to eat the bomber. Also light drones are nice. As far as hot drops. With 1 cloaker, how can they hot drop you? Theyd need to decloak and pop their cyno, to do anything. And if they are running their cyno, then they definitely aren't scramming you.

Third, PVP. Well seeing as any good group will have a handful of cloakers spread around their area to look for attackers/ scout for targets ANYWAYS, quit your whining.


Seriously, its always AFK cloakers. They pose 0 immediate threat to players who pay attention. Sorry, you can't AFK mine for hours if theres 1 in your system. But even then, switch from your hulk to a Covenator, or the 1 laser ones with the huge tank. The few mil to replace a t1 mining barge are pennys to the cost of your whole mining fleet hiding because theres 1 person in system, somewhere.
And what, so they can provide intel to a roving gang? Maybe you should get a better intel network amongst yourselves and your neighbors so you can see these gangs coming. Then when you see local spike with nonblues, then you go into hiding. Quit whining about people who aren't even there/are usually alts to someone else sitting in a system ratting

I'm going to point out that while the things listed in this post most certainly require effort, they also require effort on the part of the hunter to counter. It doesn't take much effort to cloak in a system, but neither does it take much to undock and shoot rats in a belt.

Recheck my above post, I edited it. Didn't realize that in the modern game you didnt need to probe for gravmetrics.

Still, for all the so-called "effort" It takes an awful lot more effort on the part of a cloaky, to actually deal any material damage then it does for a nullsec corp to counter the possible damage that a bomber can deal.

I'd heavily argue that. Remember we are not just talking about bombers. The new SOE ships are combat able and covops T3s can be deadly. It's unlikely a bomber would be the thing you'd worry about encountering.