76

(28 replies, posted in Feature discussion and requests)

No offense Pete, but there is nothing stopping you from taking your corpies yourself and learning how Gammas work. In theory, you're gonna need this knowledge soon. I'm sure if you are active on the TS and someone is around and you have a question you'll probably get it answered.

77

(201 replies, posted in Testing server)

Maybe. But I have a point, too.

78

(201 replies, posted in Testing server)

Don't ever run a business Anni.

79

(201 replies, posted in Testing server)

DEV Zoom wrote:
Cassius wrote:

Too many players have their own agendas, good or bad, that the forum feedback is just a cesspool of politics.

(Because yes, we do play the game occasionally, just not on the live server).

I'm sorry to hear this. From my perspective your game was something that entertained me for the last 3 years. And something I happily gave you (est) roughly $1400. Very cheap entertainment IMO and I enjoyed it. From your perspective it's either a labour of love indie project that you and a bunch of other long haired geeks devote time on the side to, or it's a business opportunity you are attempting to launch and gain a small but substainable market share to support all your co-workers. I know the state of your available resources. I know you cannot hire 24/7 play testers to get live server feedback.

But you really don't have a choice. You need this feedback, politic free, to understand your product, to improve it, to grow your business. To survive. It's not my livelihood, it's yours. If you the Devs cannot have a character in the world you created, that interacts with the rules, that engages others, that grows with the game and is challenged, that simply has FUN playing ... What hope in hell do us the customers have. This is not a 10 minute PvP match style game. It's a persistent 24/7 world where you gain EP roughly 1 per actual minute ... It's an investment to play, you cannot test it by occasionally logging in, shooting something, and logging out ... That's only testing code, not playability.

Regardless, good luck. Even if real life takes me away from this game I enjoyed it and want to see it succeed.

80

(32 replies, posted in General discussion)

Gamma as it was before offered the following to my nearly maxxed indy character.
(From memory)

Risk free mining via boxes.
10 % bonus to harvest speed and yield, via auras
10 % bonus to yield via mining tower
24 %  improvement in refining and recycling yield at t3 facilities vs Hersh (84% vs 60%)
25 % improvement in factory ME (85% vs 60%)
The ability to combine 0 pt CTs and add 40 pts to an existing CT, minimum.
The ability to have 250+ pt CTs, I have several
CT cost 20% less than Hersh
Prototyping cost 20% less than Hersh, and I am not maxxed in either proto or CTs

Net result, I can produce 5-6 Mesmers on Gamma for what it costs to produce 3 in Hersh.
Is Gamma worh it now??


Hard to say with the new bandwidth mechanics which make it impossible for no good reason whatsoever to have all your production facilities in the same terminal base.

81

(201 replies, posted in Testing server)

Let's try an actual on topic post for a change.

When I started playing, all NPCs were red, there were red grand Mech Observers that spawned (perhaps by artifact hunters) right outside ICS Alpha that vaporized my yagel ... I could walk roughly 1200 m from ICSA and try and farm a lvl 4 Ewar/ lvl 2 light spawn on my trial which dropped occasionally a T3 lwf. It felt pretty special. I lost a lot of bots but learned to kite effectively, learned to replace losses, learned to value T3 gear ... And it was a challenge. When I got better I could find harder spawns to challenge my skills, and earn better loot. Nia was dangerous. The roaming observers on Alpha were an event, you either avoided them or died, or tried with others.

I guess the first step away from this set up was players complaining about it being too hard, miners were dying to roaming observers ....  So they were removed from Alpha.
Then, for the sake of new players spawns were converted to orange in the new areas. Mining now was risk free, afk friendly, and challenges, and entertainment value for new players decreased. Easier had no effect on player retention.
Then, the chain mechanic which allowed kiting and reliable farming was changed, wealth generation too easy?
A number of changes have followed, leaving absolutely no challenges on alpha (risk) and orange spawns on Betas that are not even worth the ammo to farm them.

All incentives for player interaction with NPCs have been slowly removed, to what end? Better NPC ai?  And this will do what? Give the player a better gaming experience? Unlikely. Things like teleporting Jihadist NPCs were introduced, which couldn't be replicated by any in game mechanic or available mod, simply to ... prevent players killing NPCs efficiently. Now we have (or had, I don't play so I don't know) exploding beta NPCs that don't drop loot and other nerfs which ... DISCOURAGE ... or ARTIFICIALLY INCREASE THE DIFFICULTY of farming NPCs, for what end? A better gameplay experience? You are getting the opposite and losing paying customers in the process.

You the Devs HAVE to do 2 things.

1) sit down and plot a path of what you want the entire game to be. You have made so many reactionary minor changes to make "better NPC ai" you have killed NPC farming, and the fun in it.

2) PLAY THE DAMN GAME!
Too many players have their own agendas, good or bad, that the forum feedback is just a cesspool of politics. Play the game. Play the changes you have made. Go find an old build of the NPC mechanics from 3 years ago and play them, then decide what is more enjoyable. The old mechanics are far superior to today's patchwork garbage of changes. The biggest issue with the old system was ease of kiting, maybe a simply improvement to the chase AI of the NPCs, like forcing them to return to their original spot rather than stand at the end of the "leash" and get slaughtered would have been a far simpler change, and far more effective.

Just some thoughts, on topic, and political bullshit free. Think about it.

82

(201 replies, posted in Testing server)

Annihilator wrote:
Cassius wrote:

You could maybe learn how to play the game without logi support.
It's actually a valid and profitable playstyle.

Sure it's not max optimization, but you still mine enough and farm enough and make enough running solo bots.

The nature of every MMO game is for the player to figure out within the framework of the game that is presented what is the absolute max reward for min effort. No matter what he rules of any game there will always b a method that will fit this category. Syndic is right in this regard. And it's not a bad thing. It's simply up to the Devs to provide enough content to grow their playerbase. Not nerf content in order to restrict wealth generation.

translation: hot air. NPC aggro will be fixed and we will put back shields on our RSA bots. (and we all forgot about the Sensor strength extension that makes them less prone to ECM, and with ECCM almost immune to weak npc ECM)

Translation of the translation: you are an idiot. When I played the game for 3 years I never ran logi on any of my bots, my computer did not allow it, after Gamma 1.0. So I learned how to play the game with a solo combat, or a solo Ewar, or solo miner ... It can be done. Maybe if you don't know something it's best to shut the *** up?

Also, edit, what Kanogi said.

83

(201 replies, posted in Testing server)

You could maybe learn how to play the game without logi support.
It's actually a valid and profitable playstyle.

Sure it's not max optimization, but you still mine enough and farm enough and make enough running solo bots.

The nature of every MMO game is for the player to figure out within the framework of the game that is presented what is the absolute max reward for min effort. No matter what he rules of any game there will always b a method that will fit this category. Syndic is right in this regard. And it's not a bad thing. It's simply up to the Devs to provide enough content to grow their playerbase. Not nerf content in order to restrict wealth generation.

84

(201 replies, posted in Testing server)

too bad you are making all these changes to AI when all you need is to go back to all red NPCs and Roaming spawns on Alpha  ... and roaming observers as well .... you could never leave your miner truly AFK ... but with so many small changes invested into changing NPC mechanics you have forgotten how well the old ones worked.

It appears you guys are trying to eliminate the "grinding" aspect of pve in perp, but I think you are forgetting players need something to reliably grind in order to accumulate wealth to do other things in game, its unfortunately a basic tenent of all MMOs.

85

(49 replies, posted in General discussion)

I think one of the largest factors that has killed this game is the toxic enviroment that is allowed to prevade the forums and the in game chats. people push their own agendas and deliberately flaunt the rules simply because the Devs do not have the proper resources to adequetely monitor/enforce their own EULA and many players know this and have taken advantage ot this to push things to the extreme for years, to the point where disrepsctful conduct that should be bannable has become the norm.

Unfortunately the second largest factor is the Devs own disconnect from the game itself and the changes that are introduced ... its clear that changes are introduced on a per idea basis with out thought to a larger picture on how everything is affected down the line in game, and most changes are only tested for correct coding, rather than functionality mechanics for the game itself.  Again its a product of a small Development team that is taxed to the limit.
I could cut you slack for this but its really irrelevant,  in the end its simply the product that is pushed on the consumers that is a patchwork of changes that just don't work well with other changes.

But, I dont really play anymore, so take my opinion as you wish, I don't really care.

86

(641 replies, posted in Testing server)

Why would the Devs choose to move all players assets on Gamma to Alpha hangers and then wipe those assets? Doesn't seem right. It appears the Devs chose to acknowledge those players who stayed and played the game and lived on Gamma 1.0 for 2 years of gameplay. Why should they listen to players who abandoned the game  for most of the period, or listen to players with disproportionally the least amount of assets to lose if the suggestion they push forward is accepted. Voice of reason indeed.

And please, if a wipe of structures is considered, please wipe all assets aquired during Gamma 1.0
All the minerals, all the plants, all the bots built in the best production facilities, mods, whatever. Anything aquired or built, or even any bots that ever walked on Gamma, should be wiped. Also please change every Gamma island topography, and location. Those of us who played for 2 years already have screens of excellent base locations in every island, clearly this is not fair nor could a newb corp possibly compete with such vet knowledge.

The problem on Gamma is not assets or buildings, anyways, it's the mechanics which still are not correct to enable players to colonize and live on Gamma.

The current terraforming system is terrible.
A pyramid is the only viable defensive base plan.
All island will be capped with terminals and defensive structures simply to deny access to others.
Coastal or p.e.n.i.s.ula bases, or bases that take advantage of the natural landscaping, can't or have no reason to exist.

Since I only read the forums every week or so, and no longer play much at all, please ensure my opinion is weighted so it affects players who are currently involved in the game.

God. Out of retirement to agree with Stranger.

With the current terraforming and slope limitations and module terraforming only, every single base will sit atop a pyramid.

Can anyone at all come up with a valid reason why this won't occur?
Anyone??

Epi needs to stay on Beta. Forever.
If Gamma relaunched today with the same manufacturing bonuses over Alpha and Beta I would build and defend a base there. The production facilities alone are worth the investment. The bandwidth limitations preventing a full facility base built in one location is stupid.

Zoom you are scrapping Gamma 1.0 when all it needed was some limits, and trying to create Gamma 2.0 with all sorts of new rules in order to prevent what, stretched texture details??? Because you are the art guy and don't like how the look? The playability and functionality of the game should be paramount over art any day. The beacon system as Stranger excellently put it allowed for incredible diversity and creativity ... This is lost now.

Throwing the baby out with the bath water when all it needed was a little more soap.

Zoom build a base. Show us with the tools you are forcing on us how to build a functional playable defendable base, worth our time and investment again. Stop just testing mechanics "coding" and test playability for once, ***!

Syndic wrote:

Don't be ridiculous, tokens are the easiest way to aquire big amounts of pvp ammo so they will always have a value, plus people who live on beta/gamma would buy them to get beacons to process.

Beacons are very profitable. I know that better then you. lol

Don't be an idiot Cindy, wait, too late.

Even when I ran 1000's of beacons simultaneously on Gamma I never whined for beacons to only be Beta or Gamma and screw the Alpha peeps.  Beacons are very profitable. I know this better than you, lol. Beta only is the dumbest troll from you in awhile, normally you disguise them with a touch of intelligence, but hey, even CIR evacs gamma bases once in awhile.

Ville wrote:

Dear players in Chaos!  Hello!  I wish to ask you players how it feels to be yelled at in TS by the same players who gloated about the goods they took from you at Landers Bridge.  Players in Chaos, it kind of makes me giggle thinking about 30 million nic in noralgis incubators.  Take care !  O/

I'm guessing the same way Sharkwolf feels when he logs into the same TS as you and Cindy. Maybe ask him.
All things change eventually.

Syndic wrote:

There's a pattern here;

Get massacred in-game, cry on forum for developers to hurt us in some way.

Nobody even tried to roam Dom while we were doing beacons for weeks. Developers shouldn't be used as a weapon by the weak and cowardly.

Yeah I've seen this pattern before as well.

Norrdec, your picture is from May 25th. And involves a AIC member. A video would probably provide better proof and there are those within your organization that are certainly capable of getting all required. I personally agree that 3rd party software should not be used in game, but ultimately it's the Devs responsibility to be clear on the rules, and then deal with violations when they are brought to their attention. Unfortunately it appears your organization is attempting to paint all parties who run beacons on Alpha as using 3rd party software, and by this implication you guys are attempting to "justify" what amounts to your alliances simple griefing of newer players by veterans. If you have proof of any of the participants in this particular thread are in fact using 3rd party software to increase the efficiency of which beacons are processed, please provide it. Or rather than attempting to paint legitimate players running beacons with legitimate means, perhaps focus your efforts on those who indeed are abusing the system.

But hey, never let facts get in the way of a good troll.
I am slowly warming up to Ville's manner of responding so in the same vein I wish you a very good day, Norrdec, Syndic, and the rest of the current Beta placeholders.

Lobo wrote:

Make it squad only activation.... but make them targetable and killable like a teleport. End thread. yarr

Obi Wan Kenobi wrote:
DeathPaw wrote:

Of course CIR/PHM/77 would like to see distress beacons become beta/gamma only, LOOK WHO PRESENTLY OWNS ALL OF THE BETA ISLANDS!  They are constantly pushing their own agenda, instead of trying to make the game better.

MAYBE JUST MAYBE it will give more reasons for people to stop sitting on their hands on Alpha ?

Obi, please name one incentive in EvE that brought carebears out of Highsec to Low/Null.
The answer is zero. I don't mean on an individual level I mean on the paradigm shift level. It will never happen. EvE needs the carebears to pay the bills, end of discussion. Same applies to this games model. Period. It doesn't matter who controls what now, or did in the past, or will in the future. Its a simple law of this type of full loot drop MMO. You cannot force players to play in an single area. The best you can do to have more players is have varied areas. That's it.

Why don't the Devs make every island Beta. Let's see how long the game survives.

Ville I didn't read your reply. Try english or maybe PM me if you think its important I do, otherwise I respect your right not to bother.

Syndic, did something change? Loot cans blow up now? A little different than loot cans not dropping. And are you saying you justify griefing new players on Alpha because of a recent Dev mechanic change that probably won't last?
Makes sense. And macros ... Umm proof as mentioned?? There are enough players everywhere in game for someone to fraps this, no reason to even listen to you without proof. Unless you want to derail the topic.

The OP asked a question to change the ownership rules for beacons. Zoom did I miss your reply? Just curious.

Ville, getting old fast, was funny once.

Syndic, it might be safer to farm them on Alpha, but bullshit, you can generate the same income from them no matter where you run them, with the right organization. You guys are organized, remember? And macro comments ... Keep repeating them until they stick, we both know it's not even remotely on topic here.

Zoom, wow. In my opinion you are missing the point big time. This is griefing, plain and simple. It's against the rules of your game. Remember when red NPCs on alpha were unleashed and players from all side would deliberately drag them to the terminals to aggro on unsuspecting players? All allowed within the game mechanics. But it was griefing within those game mechanics. It was changed. Now veteran players are using game mechanics to grief mostly your newer players, and your Alpha players. Its that simple. You as Devs need the generally 85% Alpha player base product consumption to supplement and allow a 15% PvP player base to exist. It's not my income that's ultimately on the line here.

Ps in a game starved for content, "nerf content" is the wrong solution.
Also, when Ville quotes this and offers his repetitive generic patronizing reply, please delete it as it offers no content to this thread.

95

(48 replies, posted in General discussion)

Stranger, your take on things is so far off its not worth mentioning beyond this comment.
Heh Lobo, I think we did personally negotiate mission running on Dom once at the cost of a Riv and some Nic ... That still makes me smile.

CIR was allowed by us to remove their assets and decon their terminal, when we breached Bergers. Perhaps a more accurate description would be we couldn't be bothered with breaching your base at that time, which I wanted to. I consider that as returning the favour for the Dana evac. It wasn't my call, but I got much pleasure from your TS and sitting there watching it being done that night. Feel free to spin this history any way you wish. I know what went down from my side.

It's quite interesting the CIR/77 alliance is doing exactly what STC did for about 2 years, control the server and assimilate wealth. But of course what we did was apparently bad for the game while whatever you're doing is somehow righteous. It's all good. For all the obvious trolling I do in response to the stupid things you guys troll, I will never knock someone for using force in a open world PvP game to take and control territory. It's the way the game should be played. Things change all the time, enjoy your time now, you earned it.

And quite honestly, your opinions of STC are entertaining. For such a shell of what we once were, we still sure get a ton of press from you. Thanks for that. Also, umm the "outlast" strategy hasn't been used in over a year, we get the whole "f2p we ain't going anywhere" thing now since the change. Try and get a better botang maybe?

96

(48 replies, posted in General discussion)

Ville wrote:
Cassius wrote:

Alliance mandated agenda based troll posting has killed more potential in this game than Dev changes ever will.
But then, that's the idea, right?

Some of us are thoroughly thick skinned.

It's never been a problem with the ones who are thick skinned, or understand what they are actually reading. It's the ones who don't or aren't, and are lost to the game because of what they read or see. But you understand this more than most Ville.

97

(48 replies, posted in General discussion)

Alliance mandated agenda based troll posting has killed more potential in this game than Dev changes ever will.
But then, that's the idea, right?

98

(94 replies, posted in Feature discussion and requests)

I have yet to play a MMO where players do not find the best way "to grind for assets".

I'm pretty sure its up to the Devs, not the players, to ensure the content doesn't become simplified to the point where players can create massive wealth in a disproportionally short period of time.

Exploits should not be confused with opportunity. STC is probably still the wealthiest corp in game even with basically hardly anyone playing. I don't fault us, or the current powerblock for taking full advantage of the assets available on territory that is controlled, and could be lost. Also, when developers announce changes to things like missioning systems and epriton distribution, and then take 4 to 5 times as long as indicated to implement the changes, I don't feel this becomes a player abusing a situation. The onus is on the Devs to either keep their timeline or put in a temporary fix or hold that prevents players taking advantage of situations.

Opportunity does not equal Abuse.

99

(320 replies, posted in Testing server)

Gunner wrote:

Tux


Not my fault you all trained mesmers

Go away

Gunner, we've been running ewars and not Mesmers for over a year.

Go away.

Or at least try making a point in less than 10 posts.

100

(320 replies, posted in Testing server)

Tund Bungler wrote:
Kaldenines wrote:

There is another approach. Increase the base locking speed and range of all bots.  People have been complaining that sensor amps are a compulsory module for years.

As for an a buff being applied to bots for a few seconds after they are jammed, why not just make the jamming effect in itself a non-stacking debuff, seems like a simpler option.


Sensor Amps aren't required; Ive never run one on my most common bots and Ive been wildly successful. Let's stay on topic and talk about how the only fix needed is to ECM tunings.

Got RSA much? Lol. Sensor amps aren't mandatory but having another account with RSAs is, amirite?