Skill Discussions

I'm happy with the current skill queue and SP mechanism as it stands, it is great that as long as you manage the queue correctly you will keep garnering skills.

I would like and additional mechanic though whereby a character gains additional SP in skills that they use in game. So for instance a character is learning gunnery and will take 10 days to complete. However they are constantly running missions or in combat over the next week and could gain additional SP above the basic learning rate. This would represent the benefit of actual use of a skill above and beyond it's theory or simulator training, reducing the overall training time to 8-9 days depending on how active the player is in those 10 days.

This shouldn't be a large boost, but should have a worthwhile effect in shortening the training time on any given used skill. This bonus should only paply when a skill is in active use though (i.e. a pilot has to be logged in and has to actually do something to make the skill applicable). Mining skills would not be a good candidate unless there is some way to prgramatically limit it so that bot characters cannot benefit.

This would give those who use their characters on a day to day basis an advantage compared to char bazaar type characters too as an active char will always gain skills faster than one locked in a vat somewhere.

NOTE: I would limit this to the main character (as defined in MCT terms) only. Alts should not benefit from this, just the most active character.

No.

Would also abuse this.

Maybe a features and ideas discussion...

It wouldn't be by grinding as it is governed by your in game actions that you would already be carrying out, it would be a bonus on top of your normal learning from actually doing things in game that affect the world around you. Hence why I thought to keep the benefit low but noticeable.

That way the active mission runners, haulers, combat types would gain from experience, the afk types would not.. At least that was how I tried to balance the proposal.

With this idea the casual player is not penalized in training terms, they train as normal, the more active players simply gain a bonus in trianing time on the skills they are currently using.

Note: This is the only MMO i've ever played and only been here 3 moths or so, it is entirely possible (and probable) that I'm missing things that others have already thought through. Doesn't mean I shouldn't try to come up with ways for it to work though :)

I see an example of the mechanics as follows:

A player is in combat (PvP or PvE, doesn't matter which), they target another ship at a range obove the usual weapon range but within the optimal due to long range gunnery skill at lvl III. This would mean testing to hit against Gunnery, Long Range Gunnery, Motion Tracking etc etc. Every skill that is currently trained to lvl I or higher and is used in the test to hit would have a chance to gain more SP (I would calulate the SP gain after docking to minimise server load).

The guy is in a frenetic dual in a fleet action, and ends up locking and relocking mutliple targets, therefore gains many chances at bonus SP. In contrast the afk player who sets up a sentry ship, prods the rats and walks away as his drones eat and the MTU tractors would get 1 chance to increase whatever skills where used in the prodding to gain aggro. Similarly using salvage drones afk would not gain any extra chances at skill increase either.

I'm from a more traditional RPG background so am used to characters gaining increase in skills from using them., It would be nice for the practical use of skills to have some benefit here too (as long as it can't be abused).

The game is based around a CONSTANT SP gain. It is a rate of gain that has been established for 10+ years. That makes it fair for every player that pays for his sub. There have been improvements, with a skill queue, attributes, and implants, so you can maximize training. But again, this is universal for all paying customers.

What your asking for, is a system that would reward YOUR play style, but not reward other players if their play style is different.
Maybe a guy LIKES to use drone ships for missions.
Maybe a guy likes to spin his ship in station and chat on some nights
Maybe a guy is a station trader and never undocks.

As mentioned, You would encourage grinders to grind. Cheaters to cheat. Exploits, etc.

I'm suggesting a system that would reward anybody actively using a skill (and only by a small amount, so grinding would be pointless).

The drone guy who likes using drone ships? (I'm one of them) He would gain on his drone skills through *active* use i.e. 'engage target' etc. AFK drone use on the other hand shouldn't earn sany chance of eatra SP as it is not interactive, the drones do the work so the pilot is effectively swinging in his space hammock learning nothing extra.

Spin your ship around the station is fine, but what skills does that use? no additional chance of SP as you aren't using any skills.

The station trader? He gains the chance of additional SP with his trades as his skills must be tested each time.

I'm proposing a means for actual use of a skill (i.e. when it is tested in code to determine an outcome) should also have the chance for the character to learn something extra from the skills use. This does not punish those who are idle for whatever reason as they are still learning at the base standard rate you describe, but those who are affecting the environment some way be it through combat, trade, PI, anything else using skills could be rewarded for doing something that actually affects the game world.

This. Although hundreds may be a small exaggeration... dozens is probably more accurate. Do some searching in the Features and Ideas forum and it shouldn't be hard to find some, along with a very large list of reasons why most players think this would be a bad idea.

Fair enough :) better to have a stable mechanic if it's already been tried ( of course there is no point raising an idea if you aren't prepared to defend it). I actually was thinking of this as a mechanic to reflect true learning rather than to reward players for being online (since the benefit is limited by the skill cap anyway) but if its already been tried this thread shall sink and be seen no more :D

You would only have got one chance at bonus ps as you only invoked the code that calculates targeting once, My idea was based on being rewarded for actiual actions (i.e. insert a tick counter into the code that logs each use of a skill in determining an output).

In your example you just left your ship undocked for 24 hrs for 1 chance at extra sp on the few skills used in the initial targeting/firing.

To be clear about my proposal:

Only actions that require pilot intervention (easily determined as the skills are used in code for calculations) would gain you a chance at extra SP per use.
The benefits are limited since it would cut training time by about 10% (or whatever would be deemed a useful benefit) for an averagely active player.
Naturally limited in effect as skills can only be trained so high, therefore little or no point grinding for the extra gain. Even if you are grinding you are doing *something* in the game world, generating isk/providing goods or minerals/providing another target in space.

could people abuse this for the 10% reduction in skill training? probably. Would it be worth the extensive effort to do so? I doubt it.

It would have benefited those training into any new area at any time though. New character just starting? get into that interceptor a little faster as you run those missions. Old char looking for a new career path for something interesting to do? Cut the skill grind that little bit whilst you learn the new career.

I didn't get chance to search the forums for previous threads on this as I was bored in work and throwing an idea around. Apologies for this already been done to death..

Your idea would turn Eve Online into Bot Online