Originally by: Marcus Gideon

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Edited by: Marcus Gideon on 07/03/2009 16:12:14
If you really take a step back, and realize what it is you're upset about...

There is nothing wrong with Cloaking, for the most part. Sure, there could be some alterations. Such as the ability to ferret out a spy in your midst. But that's best left for another thread.


The issues you're suffering from are;
- KNOWING FOR A FACT that someone new is in your system
- that person being able to remain in your system indefinately, even when THE PLAYER ISN'T EVEN THERE


Which is why I have always recommended the following two SIMPLE and NERF-FREE solutions.

1) Change Local chat from an "Immediate" channel to a "Recent Speakers" channel. This will only show the names and faces of anyone who has spoken in the last 15min. And a true spy shouldn't be too chatty. This will prevent you from knowing that a spy is lurking somewhere, which is how a true spy would be able to infiltrate your base. If spies just lit up like a beacon when they broke into a building, there wouldn't be a need for all the security agencies we have today.

2) Implement an AFK Timer. Every other MMO has one in some form or fashion. I agree that EVE is a much slower paced game, which is why the other MMOs short durations would have to be extended.
In "The MMO That Shall Not Be Named", you are publicly marked "AFK" after 5min of inactivity. And after 20min, you are disconnected from the server.

Now, while 5/20 is a very short time in EVE, the mechanics could still be used. If a player is completely unresponsive for 20min, they are marked AFK. This means they are not chatting in ANY of their message windows, they are not actively searching the Market, they are not making manual course corrections... basically they are AWAY FROM THEIR KEYBOARD.

If a player is doing any of the above actions, something which would denote that a player is truly sitting at the computer, then they are not marked. Sure, it could be macro'd. But macro's are totally illegal, and easily petitioned. If a player does sit in a deep safe, using a macro to stay alive, a GM can attempt to message them. When they get the macro's response of pressing a single letter into the chat window once every 5min, then they will know that it's illegal.

If a player has been inactive for over an hour, they are disconnected and returned to the character selection/login page. I feel an hour is more than enough time, given that NOTHING in EVE requires your mere presence, but not your interaction. Market Buy/Sell orders don't need you around to complete the transactions. Laboratory research or industrial Manufacturing doesn't either. So there is no "valid" reason why a player needs to EXIST in the GAME, unless they are actively PLAYING.


If one, or both, of these suggestions were implemented... Players would no longer have reason to whine about Cloaks, other than to complain about completely legal and valid tactical usage. And that... is just how the game is played.

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Originally by: Marcus Gideon

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But a "spy" or "observer" who is not doing anything even remotely involved with the game client, isn't spying or observing. He's not doing his job, and he's not playing the game...

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Originally by: Scrooged

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TBH the last posts regarding this on the features and ideas forum that I can find are from mid 2007.

Personally I don't feel an afk timer is needed. You shouldn't have to log if you are sat afk at a station or a POS. Those are things someone hostile to you can easily verify. I would like to to see a timer that if not reset decloaks the ship opening it up to probing or scanning etc. Seems to me a pretty simple fix.

Scrooged

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