This is still en-route and I'm currently trying to unclog the pipes that are holding the dev blog up. It's been delayed for so long now I'm going to update the pictures on it to something that's more representative of the current state of things!

You're correct though the gameplay we've been prototyping is based around cooperative gameplay in a hazardous environment. You'd be cooperating both in space and in the structure you were all walking around in though and there would still be the potential for conflict with other people in the structures you are exploring.

We're pretty excited about what we've come up with internally.

Just to be totally clear this has so far been prototype work and we need management support to move further on into the production of it. That lots of players and developers are actually quite excited about it is obviously a big plus point in that regard.

While we await the dev blog, I can point to this unofficial shaky cam video of me showing off Team Avatar's prototype of exploration in abandoned structures as it was 2 months ago while I was at a player event in Moscow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajnxq65D220

It has changed somewhat, it has a fancy avatar now, more gameplay and a UI that resembles EVE more. Also, showing it off single player doesn't really tell you much because it's a very co-op experience.

edit:
Yes and it has turrets now, guns, hi-medium and low slot modules.

Sending back a badly cooked steak doesn't make one a vegetarian...

CCP is taking the right lesson from last summer, by the way. If the summer was really about being pro-Incarna, you'd expect a continued hemorrhage through last winter rather than the start of a recovery.

The guys behind DayZ actually work for Bohemia Interactive though although they did do the mod in their own time.

In the spirit of idea generation, would anyone care to start a thread in Features & Ideas Discussion about the sorts of tools the community might like to see in order that they have more control over content? It's probably a little off topic here.

They did that with the release of FW. Remind me how well that worked out?

Oh right. It didn't.

Rewriting lore for the sake of gameplay is a ****** cop-out - and the given case of multiple active clones is one that CONCORD - not to mention the Empires - would never consider changing for obvious security reasons.

so, I can get off my ship, walk around my CQ, I can get off my ship and fight with someone in an exploration site with guns or knives and other tech/resources. BUT I cannot get off my ship and fight alongside my mercs on a planet. then those dusties might ask the same question in vice versa, you mean I cannot be hired to fight on these exploration sites for the eve pilots?

Just for reference sakes, if we went for your actual avatar use, I would not be voting for a permadeath.
Maybe just a bad limp in the CQ.

You at least could compromise and split those dungeons into levels, from "solo - no PvP allowed" to "full scale - big monies for the goonies".

That doesn't sorts what to do with people who don't feel like raiding dungeons, but at last would be fairer than hand out the first functional WiS content to those who never asked it, nor waited for it, nor gave a damm of it.

No dedicated experienced explorer is going to go into these sites and risk losing his clone, his implants, his ship and his loot. Not to mention the time and isk that will be spent to replace everything including upgrading a new medical clone. The only ones who will be able to take advantage of this new content will be very large player corps and null sec alliances.

My statement is not an assumption, it's a fact. My replies are based on viewing the Prototype Demo and comments made by the Devs, along with reading all the replies posted in this thread by die hard PvP fanatics. Most dedicated explorers are highly skilled, use top of the line equipment, have implants installed and use a T3 Cruiser which when destroyed, results in a loss of skillpoints.

NPC's don't attack Pods anywhere so warping out is not a problem when ship is destroyed. A player can also warp their Pod out after their ship is destroyed by other players unless they are surprised, panic or fumble around with the controls. If they remain calm, then a Pod loss is due to being warp scrammed or smart bombed by the aggressors.

I already explained how making it a group based content will cut out a lot of people being able to engage in this activity. Incursions is is based on group activity with Logistics support. High level sleeper sites are usually done by multiple members belonging to the same player corp, again usually supported by Logistics as well. In both cases they aren't looking to kill each other.

Having group activity in these new Avatar sites is fine, but the constant demand to focus on the ability to 'Knife' another Avatar in the back is simply more grief play, nothing more. There's already plenty of that in this game. How about having Avatar game play focus more on the other side of the coin, such as support with Logistics? That's a very big aspect of this game which is greatly overlooked.

I already posted how the sites could work via the different security sectors in Eve. I'll expand on it some more.

The main focus should be a race to get the loot supported by Logistics team work. Ships dock in the site which gives no indication that it's occupied. Capsuleers use Drone Clones (represented by their Avatars when active) that are stowed in their Cargohold which are launched after docking. If the Drone Clone dies, the player respawns back in their ship where they can either launch another available Drone Clone or they undock from the site to get more Drone Clones. When site is completed, it despawns.

High sec - up to 3 players per group, 3 groups allowed. If you initiate Avatar PvP action within the site, you incur GCC timer with large security status hit. Site has strong interior weapons (Concord) that kills aggressor. The site can not be destroyed.

Low sec - up to 6 players per group, 6 groups allowed. If you initiate Avatar PvP action within the site, you incur GCC timer with small security status hit. Site has weak interior weapons that open fire on aggressor while GCC is active. The site can not be destroyed.

Null sec - up to 8 players per group, 8 groups allowed. You can initiate Avatar PvP action within the site. Site has no interior weapons. The site can be destroyed.

I'd elaborate more but I'm tired now.

(disarms the airlock doors and engages the manual override while grabbing tight onto a railing)

But yes, black markets are cool and have actually been discussed as one of the activities done inside avatar social spaces, making it necessary for capsuleers to meet face to face, off the grid so to speak.

I'd actually spin that the other way.

Have your suggested Black Market bar, where you can only do deals in person.
Fake items could only be sold here - along with real items, obviously.

Fake items would be produced using 'something' found in exploration. That's a bit vague.

So you get out of your ship. Wander along to the bar. Do a deal with Mr Dubious and get some stuff real cheap.
Then, when you get back in your ship, you try to fit/stack said items, only to find some/all of them are fake!

You could run back to give Mr Dubious a slapping. Or hunt him down in his ship. Or ask politely for a refund.
Or become Mr Dubious yourself and sell them on to someone even more gullible.

You are not hearing me. The tech isn't done. The project failed, they couldn't get it working. It isn't sitting there waiting for some switch to be thrown.

That's really not in line with what Team Avatar has been saying in this thread.

Hmm. Go play the dust beta and tell me if your interpretation of CCPs direction still holds.

We have a multiverse occuring now, with independent components that integrate together.
Eve's designers are only one part of the picture.

Team Avatar is developing features regardless of what any given designer's vision may include. Some of us are interested in seeing what those features are.

Thought I'd jump into the discussion here by clarifying that this isn't true at all. The "CCP higher ups" are quite adamant about WiS involving gameplay, first and foremost, and are continuing to dedicate some resources to avatar development. The CSM was shown a demonstration of their work-in-progress, but its early enough that details are highly NDA-ed. I can't say much more than this officially, but I wanted to quickly dispel the myth that CCP has somehow decided to stop working on avatars altogether. I've also taken some time this morning to pass the message along that you guys are still anxiously awaiting a dev blog!

I wouldn't hold my breath for a dev blog. The CCP higher ups are no longer behind the idea so all a dev blog would do is build our hopes up only to be let down again.

Sorry for the radio silence for the past couple of weeks, I've been variously ill, spraining ankles and on holiday.

I've got bad news about the devblog we promised. It's been swallowed by the black hole of corporateness and won't be seeing the light of day for the foreseeable future. The team have been as vocal as we can about the merits of putting it out but to no avail. We're continuing to try and work out a way of showing you work we're proud of and think you will like but for now our hands are completely tied.

If CCP would have followed the path of WiS we wouldn't have gotten all the small things, all the sweet things since the change of direction. Maybe we would just have gotten another cake door.