Rena'Thras
Strategic Insanity FUBAR.
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Posted - 2015.10.18 17:16:26 -
[1] - Quote
I'm sure it's already been said, but how about deployables and anchorables that have a set radius that they can ping to pick up cloaked ships?
AFK cloakers or bio break cloakers that aren't near anything (are in deep safes) won't be bothered, cloaking in most situations remains as it is now, but areas of systems can be made "safer". Make it where it also has a set time between pings (like 300/150/60/30 seconds) could even add gameplay of cloaked scouts figuring out where the weaknesses are so they can grab a quick peek of an area - you know, like those Star Trek episodes where they figure out shield frequency of an enemy ship to beam in through "holes" created.
Anchorables would use fuel (so they can't be set and forget) but have a range of several AUs based on tech level, deployables would be more localized, having ranges similar to (but perhaps somewhat larger than) bubbles, on the 10-40km order.
As a person that likes cloaky things, I think this is a far better solution than simply dumping Local OR doing things like making cloaks drain fuel/cap. This sort of thing would create a lot more gameplay options like checkpoints or advanced scouting, while not killing the capability to cloak entirely. Paired with bubbles, this would allow friendly space to create safe zones - for example, imagine a 5 AU cloak breaking bubble centered on a belt with bubbles on the ends so that a cloaky ship warping there would be sucked into the bubbles (away from the miners), and then decloaked so that their appearance is known. This would include hot dropping fleets, being dragged far enough off grid for mining fleets or ratting pilots to warp off if they didn't want to engage.
Paired with all the new types of anchorable and deployable structures, something like this could be used as part of player deployed structure complexes at points of interest around systems.
...then again, perhaps I like this proposal most of all because it lends itself well to said player structure complexes - maybe I'm the only one that ever played the X-Wing/TIE Fighter games (where some missions have you fly patrol around a station or platform) or that thinks we players should be able to build bases like the NPCs can with various structures set up in logical, militarily advantageous formations?
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Anyway, it's just a thought.
(Granted, I think Local IS part of the problem, but if we do away with Local, we need things like this to restore the capability of players to establish regions/areas of control. Ultimately, that IS the problem in Eve - other than bubbles at gates, there really isn't a way for players to establish areas of control that they can dictate the situation in without the enemy being able to drop on them within seconds with no notice or ability to mount a defense.) |