Cascading Thoughts

Warning: Random (probably bad) Idea Incoming.  [TL;DR: Idea]

I was going to bed and flipping through twitter as I walked up the steps.  I noticed that Poet was working on his summaries of the CSM topics and Marc Scaurus’ interview on Crossing Zebras was up.  He commented that he should have waited another day to do his interview because he was getting over being unwell.  I joked that I didn't mind if he didn't sound his best as long as he hadn't suggested that all low sec become faction warfare, low sec become mini-sov or that low sec become carebear PvP training grounds (aka that ‘step’ between high and everyone's (or so I keep being told) goal to head to null sec and then sov null).  Only, I wasn't joking.

Amusing how we can and will say things in a joking manner when we don’t mean it.  I was rather serious but I tend to want to come off in a pleasant and non demanding and entitled way. Who am I other than a fickle voter to him? I don’t lead a coalition of thousands. I am no great name followed and respected by the masses. He isn't my baby daddy. I'm just someone asking him to put in his time and spend his game doing things that I want.  I soften it up by hoping they are mutual goals.  But there is a lot of selflessness in my intent.

My mind started to wander but I reigned it in. I scribbled some notes down and went to bed.  Once awake, I did some research.  My initial series of ideas shattered and coalesced into other thoughts and opinions.  Research is fun. It may not be relevant due to using real world concepts in some things but that is not this topic but another one.

I’ve said before that I’m not one to write deep probing questions.  I try to avoid having ideas for Eve.  They are often so full of fail and to narrow in their scope and perspective   Even with low sec.  I live here but I do not participate in faction warfare outside of trying to kill the people that participate in faction warfare.  I don't have an opinion about faction warfare other then the fact that the faction warfare notification menus in the systems irritate me.  I am in no way qualified to have an opinion on it.

But the topic of give low to faction warfare crops up.  Then I was thinking of topics about expanding space. Other people have said to compress space.  I was thinking about changing space.  Kinda.  

We have Empire High Sec.  We have empire low sec.  We have NPC null sec.  We have player Sov null sec.  Then there are wormholes which are unclaimed but claimable.  Each flavor of space is different.  The differences are what draw people.  Null sec has true sec and then the various NPC types to add variety to its space.  It's not a lot but it's something and it allows them to hurl taunts and insults at each other about their "terrible" space.  Wormholes change by the type of hole it is and that is about all I understand.  (My head exploded a little bit as well trying to work out that knowledge.)

Low sec has two flavors.  Faction Warfare and everything else.  Then that is broken into four types for the various empires.  It doesn't mean a lot because people (most people) do not function on a tank your ship for NPC DPS formula in low sec.  The ones that do die and therefore they can't do it anymore cuz their ships are in pieces and the dropped modules sold on the market before they know what happened.

And the cry is to make low sec unique.  Give it its own qualities and specialness.  Yet,when we attempt to focus on what would be interesting and special it is hard and confusing.  We tend to beg and borrow from everywhere else and the fit just isn't right.  "Low sec is for people to prepare to go to Sov." and "Low sec is for people that can't hack sov" and "Low sec should be for high sec people to have a little more danger but not much" or "Low Sec is fixed because Faction Warfare."

It has been "be creative and change/improve/help Eve" since the CSM minutes came out and CCP discussed their change of focus.  Everyone is tossing around ideas for Sov changes and High Sec changes and Pirate factions and expanding space and compressing space and opening Jove Space.  

This is what bubbled up in my mind.  I'll put out the normal disclaimers.  "Didn't want that idea anyway" I'm not attached to the idea just tossing it on the table that I don't expect CCP to read. But I had it and want to discuss it anyway because that's one of the many reasons I write a blog.

What about NPC low sec?  I separate this from Empire Low sec the same way we separate NPC null sec from empire space.  It was the pirate rookie ships that made me think of it.  The guess that players have made that stations will spawn their unique ships mixed with the request to bring pirate missions and stations closer in.  NPC low sec would be a lovely place for pirates.

It also seems that NPCs should be able to establish some type of security in their space.  I (want to) think of them as neutral bodies.  If empire is empire then NPC space would be that other stuff that develops.  The smaller groups and places with independence of culture who break off from the main but remain civilized and productive.

And if you want your training ground for carebears to leave High Sec but not derp into low and null and die to those more experienced  how about NPC high sec space.  Space where there is no Concord response but the faction police instead respond as if Concord would but without the Concording.  Pre-Concord or early Concord type thing.  That time vets gush about when sitting around the fire rocking in their chair with an afghan over their knees as they reminisce about a time when players could tank and fight them off.

We talk about the static nature of the game and the regions how they do not change.  Maybe it is time change space.  Condense Empire controlled low sec to faction warfare. Turn other/current non Faction Warfare low sec into NPC low sec.  Edge those areas with NPC highsec.  Or add to it.  People want more.

Ganking the ganker.  One complaint I hear is that people cannot be offensive.  They cannot gank the ganker without getting Concorded themselves.  If this is true and that people would defend themselves if they had a way out due to the nature of aggression laws this would be the implementation of it.  Let people defend their asteroid belts and escape from the faction police.  Let aggressive actgions in that space tank their and their corporations standings so that they have to keep that faction happy to stay in the space but that they could take the standing hit to offensively defend themselves.  Let them shoot people in the face who may want to harm them.

Of course there is the aspect that it might soften the learning curve.  Maybe. Is that bad? Eve is still not 'easy' for new players but they have started to grab a tenuous grip into the game that is keeping them here a little bit longer than the trial.  This is not bad. 

It may be that my thoughts are be a result of working with carebears and trying to see the narrow sections in the gulf between their play and low sec and null sec.  I also want to preserve the distinction of the current space types.  But watching my boys rip apart people in Bosena lately has me thinking about how high sec players do not understand the differences and high sec mechanics insulate them from learning these things. Demanding that they just step out and deal sounds wonderful but so few people will and those that do come boldly into low sec have no clue.  They don't warp off their pods because pods are so safe in high sec.  And there isn't an in-between ground but there could be one.

NPC high sec would be a police state.  The cops respond but they may not get there in time to help or they might get there in time to assist or maybe they don’t get there because they are on another call somewhere else in the system.

Give the pirate factions their own low sec around/edged by/near/something their own Low Sec and give them Pirate Faction Warfare/Version.  Use this as a way for players to get into Pirate NPC space without dealing with Player Sov blocking off Pirate Null.  That is a pet peeve of mine, those NPC zones that become playgrounds for the vast null sec blocks.

Of course it's easy for me to scream "moar, add, moar stuffs."  It is not as easy for CCP to do it.