Crime & Punishment

I know you've been waiting. So here is a small preview. Will edit more of them as I get more downtime.

~revenant~

Hyperdunking for fleets(friends) - https://www.reddit.com/r/Eve/comments/3ql6m2/hyperdunking_for_fleet_with_philipa_and_friends/

Isn't this what nullsec/lowsec combat is all about too? Pings going out for people to log on to kill a tackled super? Seems like standard Eve game play to me so I am not sure why you think highsec capital killing should be any different.

But if it is bumping that is sticking in your craw, then as noted in this thread already, bumping is getting a counter in the MJD T2 destroyers.

You did the right thing. But CCP is the only one who can look at the logs and make a decision that someone has broken the rules. It is quite plausible that the character in question was tagged-up to zero security status before being deleted. With the well-known prohibition on recycling alts, I would be surprised if any ganker knowingly broke such regulations. But even if they did, they still could have received a warning or a short first-offense ban you would have no knowledge of.

Why should CCP prevent new players joining the game from engaging in criminal gameplay? It is one of the selling features of the game. It seems strange to not allow new players to engage in basic gameplay that CCP intends to exist in the game.

Recycling/abusing trial accounts is already verboten. If you suspect someone is doing that routinely, filing a petition is just a couple clicks away. I am also sure there are automated checks done by CCP to detect such behaviour. There is no need to wall off intended gameplay from new players who may find they really enjoy playing the criminal in New Eden. We are trying to boost retention numbers, remember?

I am not sure what you are complaining about. Are you upset that one player can tackle a capital and then call for assistance to kill it? Do you plan to limit capital kills to only players that were online at the time of the initial tackle? Do you think pinging people to log into the game to join a kill is OP and needs to be nerfed somehow?

Bumping is a form of tackling. Freighters are vulnerable to it in highsec and CONCORD does not retaliate against it. Why do you seem to have such an issue understanding these concepts? Thems the rules of the game.

I am 90% sure that the T2 dessies are being put in the game primarily as a counter to freighter bumping so of course they will be usable in highsec. They will only work on fleet members, and probably require an active action by them, but they will work in highsec.

You are months away from having your counter, so perhaps you can restrain your moaning over the legal tactic of bump-tackling until then. If am I wrong and you cannot use them in highsec, then feel free to renew your campaign to have the game changed in your favour by advocating for an additional counter to bumping at that time.

Criminal behaviour in highsec is intended gameplay. Players are fully expected to initiate illegal aggression in highsec if they are willing to pay the price of their ship. CCP spent many developer-hours coding the Crimewatch mechanics and implementing CONCORD and security status to allow players to do so.

The idea of playing as a criminal is an intriguing one, not present in most other games, and one that more new players should be encourage to try. If CCP Rise's Fanfest presentation is to be believed, criminal gameplay is likely to retain more players than letting players bore themselves out of the game mining alone for 30 days or running uninspired solo missions.

And what does any of this have to do with possible Hyperdunking changes?

See I knew there was a reason why I had you blocked. Always avoiding responses and diverting any legitimate question into some narrative that makes it look like you're looking after the health of the game while you only look at your petty little interests. Focusing on enabling what you want to do instead of trying to think outside your little niche and improve everyone's experience.

Let me rephrase it for understanding - saying that hisec freighter bumping is equal in its nature to lowsec/nullsec combat is laughable if not sad. Furthermore, as experience has shown so many times before, the fact that a mechanic is legal does not make it a good mechanic. Obviously, you can't get these two things into your head, which is ok, some people are like that.

I used to gank, will likely do it again in the future, but still I can see beyond what made my activity profitable and fun and try to suggest improvements that would make other people's gameplay better THUS increasing player retention. Trying to do that would require you to show some empathy and understand that different people want different experiences from this game, something you seem to be unable to do. Instead of thinking how to keep your easy mode ganks in place (and regardless of what you say, they are easy mode with their execution as scripted as any lvl4 mission), if you're so worried about retention, you should try thinking how to identify and remove bad in-game mechanics, make mining and/or missions more engaging, how to integrate better social tools into the core game, how to better train and inform players about the game its mechanics and all the opportunities it offers.

As for that famous presentation, it really only proves that interaction based gameplay will retain more folks then the one where interaction is absent, with unexpected interaction being more engaging. This is small wonder, considering the abysmal state of EvE's PvE gameplay, especially in the newbie category. How that information makes the idea of preventing trial accounts from going criminal a bad thing, I don't know. Then again, you're all about keeping your status quo.

I don't have a feeling that ganking in general is a big issue in terms of player retention, but if CCP really wanted to be fair to the topic, they should have done something else - checked ALL the ganks and player retention after them, preferably with links to organisations who performed them. That would be something you could use in your arguments about the impact of the ganks on the overall ecosystem, and personally I'd bet that code on average causes more unsubs then any other ganking group/individual does. However, I don't see any of your guys asking for that, since what Rise said was so nice and convenient to you.

As for the hyperdunking and the likely nerf, no idea why you came up with it but it might be an indicator of what's coming.

keep on chasing ghosts.

This isn't the first time I've seen you cry about about your hunches.

See, this is where you are wrong. There is nothing magical about lowsec or nullsec in terms of combat or PvP. They are just different sectors in this game about spaceship fighting. Highsec is not suppose to be free of PvP or be a safe space for capital ships. PvP happens everywhere in this game, and the angst you continually demonstrate over the way this game works flows from your inability accept this simple fact. CCP wants ships to blow up in highsec. CCP intends for freighters to be vulnerable to bump-tackling. They could "fix" these things with a few lines of code but they don't.

You need to accept that gankers are just playing the game like everyone else. Tackling a ship in lowsec, is like tackling a ship in a wormhole, is like tackling a ship in highsec. There are different methods and considerations for each sector, but there is nothing special or "broken" about a ship being able to be tackled in highsec. There are ways to avoid bumping, escape from bumping or to make yourself immune from bumping. You need to accept that and just play the game instead of continually arguing that since you think something isn't a "good" mechanic it must be changed.

Well you don't need to, nor is it my place to tell you how to think, but I bet you would have a more fun gaming experience if you did.

Make players able to haul things completely AFK is not going to increase player retention. It just reinforces the emptiness of space and encourages people to watch Netflix or do something else. Eve is a competitive PvP sandbox, CCP has said so many times. People should not come play the game wanting a "different experience" than that, say the ability to AFK haul or mine free of player interference and expect to get it. For that there are plenty of other MMOs out there.

Those are all good ideas. PvE should be improved, more social tool released, and players should be aware of all the opportunities and play styles the game offers. That of course includes hunting and killing other players in highsec as CCP has confirmed many times. I guess we do agree on something.

You can't say "come play Eve where you can be the villain" and then when they start the trial say "but we won't actually let you try out criminal game play until you subscribe - just go run some missions or something." That is a serious mixed message and prevents new players from getting a taste for blood. If anything, new players should be given an Opportunity that has them gank another player, steal from a jetcan and the like. That is how to get players more engaged with the game.

CCP has all this data. They will analyze and release the data as they see fit. If highsec ganking is really a problem, I am sure CCP would do something about it. Retention is their concern and their call. You can allude to these statistics you just made up all you want, but until CCP says something to the contrary, I am willing to take CCP Rise at face value.

But if it makes you feel better: CCP Rise or anyone else at CCP who is reading this, please release more statistics on which ganking groups are best at increasing player retention. Inquiring minds want to know.

Yeah so like I said I had a character that I used for pulling concord off grid. I didn't have any free character slots and deleted the character to make room for one that I was purchasing. What exactly is the issue here? Do you think I ought to have to tag up that character before I delete it so I can make room for my purchase?

Please spell these rules out for me so that I can more clearly break them for you.

To be fair it does seem fairly suspect that he was deleted shortly after getting past the -5 mark. I find it hard to believe that it just so happened to coincide with your need for for a new character, and undoubtedly you've found the space to roll a new aggro puller since then.