Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Problem: Terrible mission (i.e. quest and story line) content.

Revolutionary Sandbox Solution: An integrated system of Player written and created missions.


It will come as no news to most EVE players that the missioning system and story-line integration of EVE online sucks.

It's clear that creating good compelling missions with connected story-lines in the EVE universe is a low priority for CCP.

As a gamer to whom story line and immersion into story is very important, my opinion of EVE crashed precipitously when I first noticed that missions in this game are not only highly repetitive but provide no sense of having accomplished anything. Particularly when you get the quite literally *exact* same missions from the *exact* same NPCs doing the *exact* same "very important", yet clearly only required once, thing over-and-over.

Rarely, if ever, are you sent on grand journeys anywhere beyond the local group of systems you are in, or complete missions that seem to have permanent and lasting results or consequences (even if they have meaning only to your character).

In a universe as large and extensive as the EVE universe it's extremely immersion breaking to have such a limited, repetitive, and boring NPC missioning system.

Of course creating good story content can be a very time consuming thing to do. Particularly for anything where they need to maintain coherence with canonized lore.

A way is needed to create significantly more and varied missioning content, without having to hire numerous new CCP employees.

Who is in the perfect position to create this content? For free! Given this is supposed to be a grand sandbox game with player driven happenings, why not provide a system by which the EVE players can themselves create mission content.

Yes implementing this system itself would be a significant undertaking. It could be a quite intricate and deep system. But once it's available, tons of new mission content could be created by the players, with player created characters and stories. From very simply missions to highly detailed complex and interwoven stories (if ambitious players are so inclined to write such content).

Before you poo-poo the idea, there are solutions to every problem one might imagine with such a system. And do imagine them, so that they can be addressed.

I'm envisioning a system where you can have your character or NPCs that you can create/employ, who would exist at various stations or other locations that would be able to dole out missions to other players. From repeatable missions to one time story-line missions. These missions could span the entire gamut of activities in EVE, though granted some (like combat missions) would be a bit more difficult to implement. They could be confined to low or null security space, but I don't see why it wouldn't also be possible for high-security space as well.

Along with this system would need to be means by which the player community can not only rate the missions (so players know which missions are best written and executed), but also be able to report inappropriate mission content, and even report lore violations in a mission. There could be a series of star ratings for various aspects of missions that players could submit ratings for.

If needed CCP could even require mission content to be submitted for approval before appearing in game. Though perhaps there might be a way for trusted veteran mission writers to by-pass this requirement.

A system like this would be revolutionary in the realm of Sandbox MMO's (as far as I know). And I think would breath a whole new breath of fresh air into the game for many more years into the future. What better way to even more-so make the EVE universe the players' world.

Of course CCP could and would still create canonized lore (stories and content). But they might even incorporate some of the more popular and highly rated player created narratives into the official canon.

This is just an overview of this idea. A lot more hashing out of the many details of it needs to be done.

At any rate, I for one would find such a system to be extraordinarily remarkable in an MMO game. And given the appalling state of the current mission system and content, it would be very welcome.

I'm talking about pre-canned missions that players would pick up from NPCs (perhaps a representation of the writer's toons(s) ), that include characters and stories.

From fairly simplistic missions to entire long series of missions that weave a story. Ideally utilizing any and all of the sorts of activities players can engage in EVE.

Not.... "Okay corp. We're going out on a fleet roam this Wednesday at noon GMT". That's a mission. Well... yeah that's a 'mission', but it's not what I'm talking about.

This is about creating more player-driven detail in this sandbox that is EVE Online. It would be great to open up this aspect of the game to its players.

So are you of the opinion that CCP should just get rid of mission text altogether (let alone missions that are a series of strung together story missions)?

If missions stay in EVE at all they should simply say things like "Harvest 10k units of Veldspar and return them here". "Kill the pirates at X location to collect a bounty"??

The system I'm describing in a way *IS* about being and living the story. What good is a story if nobody else knows about it, can read it, participate in it, and experience it.

Yes, we do all these various things in EVE, but there is no narrative behind it. A system like the one I'm envisioning would allow for such narratives to be written if one were so inclined. We the players can build the characters and stories, places, and worlds of the EVE universe.

There are too many words for me to read here but i have to say i agree...

Is that so?

Well then apparently I've used the wrong search terms.

I'd not seen or been able to find any such proposals.

I can see it now. Make everything spawn within 5k and start smartbombing.

No wait. Everything spawns 100km and burns into Sentry drones fire.

Hmm. How about All rats are battleships and they spam torpedos on a golem.

Nah thats too difficult and won't be abused.

I'm sure it won't be abused, right?

No it´s not.

I can´t see why missions are such a big part of an sandbox system. I thought the sandbox part is the thing where you suppose to do what you wanna, not talk to an npc to grind npc´s.

-1

There you go. somebody probably already posted this but wth. See Debs Forum rule #1 ^_^

If that's what somebody in that sandbox wants to do, you could of course try to stop him.

Well, not if the market regulates the access to those missions.
If supply is restricted and everyone can see the mission in billboard or something, but only the guy who pays the most (betting system) gets access to it, hard missions will be cheaper and highly rewarding no effort missions will be nearly cost-inefficient.
if the maker of missions would have to pay for all the missions and keep these items stocked, while he gains the profit from the auction, this would balance itself out automatically.