Vision of Perma Death (Part 1: Character Creation/Concept)

CCP Philosopher (Agatir's inner Dev):
 
Greetings my fellow pod pilots and blog readers!!!
 

During the last EvE Las Vegas CCP Rise spoke about the concept of perma-death in EvE Online.  The concept of perma-death is still in the brainstorming portion of development.

The concept as CCP Rise portrayed it:

Characters would be able to skill up more quickly than normal characters, however if and when they were podded their character would be lost forever.  CCP Rise even hinted that it may be possible that these characters might not skill up over time, but could have skills that were plugged in, thus giving the character immediate access to skills.  These characters would be limited on what skills they could learn, and possibly would always flash as suspect, and subject the wrath of any player.

Of course once this concept was hinted at… the cries of the bitter vets had their opinions on why it wouldn’t work.  Well, I’m here to sell you on a version of how perma-death could be introduced into the EvE universe, in a way that would enhance multiple facets of game play.

My concept of perma-death:

Game designers have attempted to create an AI that would mimic an actual player.  CCP has come close with burner missions, however even those once figured out have be conquered.  By making the player the NPC... creates an in game opponent that will infinitely adapt, and overcome the player.

So why not make the player the NPC?

 

CHARACTER CREATION (tldr = You’re a flashy pirate)

 

Perma-death characters (PDC) take up one of the three character slots available per account. 

The character would be a non-capsuleer pilot of one of the five pirate factions (Guristas, Serpentis, Angel Cartel, Blood Raiders, or Sansha Nation).  At the start of each pirate pilot career the pilot would be able to select a preset collection of skills for a basic frigate level combat, e-war, or logistics character.  A pirate CANNOT possess any marketing or industrial skill.

Each character would be issued a starting “noob” ship fit to fill their specific role (Any ship flown would bear the skin of the appropriate pirate faction).  If this ship is destroyed a new “noob” ship will be provided to the pirate.  

 

 Each character portrait displayed in the chat windows would also be appropriately marked to distinguish it as a PDC pirate.  

 All perma-death pirates would be designated as suspect for the life of the character.  As the pilot increased his notoriety and rank within his/her pirate faction, they would eventually become criminal in empire space high-sec systems. 

Next: Vision of Perma-Death (Part 2 - PDC Advancement)

Until next time...


Be Bold...

Cameo on Down the Pipe

Pod Pilot Report: Agatir Solenth

Greetings my fellow pod pilots and blog readers!!!

Well I got the opportunity to "try out" to be a host on the Down the Pipe Podcast. It is episode 41-Almost an Hour of Story Time.  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  It is difficult sitting there telling stories into a microphone.  I'll have to give Quivering Palm some props, the next time I talk to him, for making it sound so damn easy on Split Infinity Radio.

Now that I know what to expect, I think I'll know how to better prepare... if I'm invited back.

On a side note, CCP Seagull has finally dropped a Dev-Blog discussing the Rhea changes.  I'm really liking what I am seeing.  One nice surprise, is the addition of AWSD control capability, to pilot your ship.  I'll really want to check it out.  I hope it works well.  If it does I might be able to get few of my real life friends to give EvE a try come December. (They don't like the current ship controls)

Well if your tired of reading, give the Podcast a listen.  Let me know what ya think?

Until next time,

Be Bold...

p.s. I got word, I didn't make the cut.

No you won't steal my loot!

Pod Pilot Report: Agatir Solenth

Greetings my fellow pod pilots and blog readers!!!

Not having a lot of game time has limited what I can do in game.  SO... I decided to try out some of the recent changes to exploration.  I fitted up the Sisters of EvE frigate, the Astero, and set out through High, Low, and W-space.

I have to applaud CCP.  The changes to the spawn rates and loot drops have made this aspect of the game a lot more enjoyable.  You can easily come across combat, data, and relic sites.  Yeah it takes a few jumps... but they are much more common than they used to be.  I'd almost like to say that they are so common, that it seemed that if I passed through one system, and then returned 30-45 minutes later, a site would appear.

Now in w-space, people have theorized that if a site is run that a new site will appear in the same constellation to replace it.  This will cause you to find empty wormholes with a ton of sites in them (and often leaves active wormholes empty for weeks).  If CCP has used a similar spawn mechanic for k-space exploration sites that would mean an explorer would only need to run laps in a constellation for an endless supply of sites to run.  I'll have to test this theory, and get back to you.  If it works... I might be able to confirm that wormhole spawn theory.

As I ran my route, I scanned down all the Cosmic Signatures I could find.  I'd even poked my head into the wormholes, that I would find.  I was even able to cash in on one of the null-sec data sites that now spawn in C-1/2/3 wormholes!  I have to admit exploration made scanning fun again.  Each new signature, was a miniature lottery... (Jackpot!!! a relic, data, or combat site!)

 

The only downside are the cut throat thieves, and wanna-be gankers.  I had one guy jump into a site, and bum rush into the next room trying to steal the faction spawn.  As I landed, I watched as the lone faction officer exploded and turned into a wreck filled with loot.  I cursed my luck, until I noticed that he had pulled the aggro from the entire room, and was burning away from the wreck!  So, I did what any other fun loving explorer would do if someone that tried to rob him.  I burned over and took the loot out of his wreck and warped out to a safe, and cloaked up for 15 minutes.

 

It was well worth picking up a Dark Blood Energized Adpative Nano Membrane. 

I also had a guy, in a Heron, try to bait me into attacking him in data site in low sec.  Funny how a Heron sits next to a cargo container, but he never attempts to hack it.  Then he slow boats across the site, before warping off.  Did I mention he had four corp mates in local?  Easy decision to move on to the next set of sites.

Until next time...

Be Bold...

The universe is growing!

Pod Pilot Report: Agatir Solenth

Greetings my fellow pod pilots and blog readers!!!

 Finally CCP has announced they will be adding something new to the game that has really got me excited as veteran player... NEW SPACE TO EXPLORE!

This new space has a name, Thera.  From the early information released, it sounds like it will be combination of NPC null and w-space.  It will have the 0.0 security mechanic (so you can shoot anyone), no local to tell you how many people are in the system, it will have special wormhole type effects, sites to explore, and npc's to kill.

I'm hoping this will be the gate way to many more new "systems" of space, that will only be accessible through the player made gates CCP has been promising.

I can't wait for CCP to tell us more.

Until next time...

Be Bold...

I'm still here, time to reload.

Pod Pilot Report: Agatir Solenth

Greetings my fellow pod pilots and blog readers!!!

Believe it or not, I am still here.  Sorry for the long absence.  I'm still in EvE, just a bit unfocused on my endeavors.  Since leaving w-space, I've gone back to small corp of RL friends.  They are bunch of carebears, but looking to grow some teeth.

We tried an experiment, with a C2 wormhole.  It was a great wormhole. 

• It had a low-sec and C2 static.  The planets had enough PI to support POS fuel construction.  
• There was enough traffic to support PvP operations.
• The sites in the wormhole and static were enough to support operations.

Unfortunately, the small size of our group wasn't enough to support daily operations, and their lack of wormhole skills made it difficult to support.  Forced to keep everything running solo, I decided to pull the plug.  I was spending more time keeping the POS running, and teaching the guys the basics (again & again), than doing the things I love to do.

We've moved back to our high-sec home, and have continued with wormhole diving operations from their.  This has allowed me to do some solo operations. (Back to the basics!)

Along the way I had the opportunity to take part in a podcast audition for Down the Pipe Podcast.  It was fun, not sure how well I did.  Hopefully, I'll get another chance at it.

I await the changes announced in the next expansion, coming Nov 4th.  Holly cow, is capital movement going to get difficult!  The big alliances are scrambling to consolidate, and null is about to get turned on its head.

I'm getting excited to play more often, and that is a good thing.

Until next time,

Be bold!!!