Greetings

The idea as you put it intrigues me. As you say balance is the key. Maybe a system wide broadcast that an incoming trans-system warp is inbound ( or a module or SOV upgrade whatever) , giving probers a chance at finding the possible ingress point, via disturbed gravity well or insert flashy sifi words here.

Purely from a game-design perspective, I think this could work. For the sake of lore in the Eve universe, I'm unsure how "science" could explain an increase of speed to 200 AU/second.

The problem with this idea is that it completely removes the choke points that stargates provide.

Right, that was a concern when I was thinking of this. Thus the idea of having a probe-able site to scan out. Perhaps limiting it to the same paths that star gates could assist in the preservation of gate camps, as long as the other side has the ability to scan out potential incoming targets.

I like the idea of giving a POS module the ability to detect Gravimetric Disturbances. That would give the probers the a nice warning that they should start doing their jobs.

Nice idea, OP.
+1

This is an awful idea. It's a terrible kludge that solves no current problem. There are plenty of ways to get through or around a gatecamp.

I guess it's easier to push a button and go make a pot of tea than have to think your way out of a blockade, though.

You are correct in that it isn't actually solving a 'problem', there isn't a problem I'm addressing. This is a focusing on improving and adding content relative to the game that can add to the player experience.

Can you explain in concrete gameplay terms what this adds to the game? I see nothing here beyond "another way to get around a camped gate", and there are a dozen or so ways to do that already (which is already more than we need).

What is the range of this?

Does it only duplicate travel where gates connect? (Obviously bypassing the gate)

Does it have a jump range? (This system is closer than many gate connected ones, so you could reach it)

Let's say you are apart of a gate camp. You and your fleet members are enjoying their time hanging around and getting any unsuspecting pilots who can easily fall into a trap. This is the nature of gate camps, there is no chance for that lone pilot.
This should also be preserved, because gates and jump bridges would still be a primary method of travel between the systems of Eve.

The two methods of travel currently (Technically Three):

Star Gates - Instant System to System node transfers available to all players for free, but subject to gate camps and must be connecting systems.

Jumping - Instant System to System node transfers available to trained pilots, reliable on Cyno Generators and an additional pilot. This allows pilots the luxury of skipping systems and a reduced number of jumps. Only available for use in 0.0 - 0.4 Space.

Jump Bridges - Corp owned, requires resources and maintenance. Also allows pilots the luxury of skipping systems and a reduced number of jumps. Only available for use in systems less than 0.1 Space.

The concern is how this will affect gate camps. One could think that everyone would rather long warp instead of using a gate, effectively destroying the usefulness of a gate camp. I have spent a lot of time thinking how this can co-exist because I personally enjoy partaking in gate camps.

I was thinking this new method of travel would appeal to as a method of faster travel in high-sec. And a balance would be in place that there would be a risk in using this long-warp in low-sec / null-sec... That risk is pilots can easily detect your movements via some sort of scanning (passive or active) as to deter long-warps around blockades, thus preserving the need to get around gate-camps the traditional way. If you want to long-warp around a blockade, you're essentially hanging up your "HEY HERE I AM" sign. This can prove useful too for players in null-sec in traveling around, but being the nature of a high-profile travel will make a pilot think twice if they should.

It's a mechanic that adds to the risky game play of Eve that I think could be beneficial.

It adds new content. Directly.

If you're dumb enough to think that anything added to the game is valuable simply because it's "new content" I think we've reached an impasse.

Your idea is terrible and you should feel ashamed for posting it.

A good series question. All dependent on variables such as capacitor, ship size, hull warp speed... It's range could technically be anything, but should it? Should it have a shorter range? If it were too long, players in High Sec would only need one warp, essentially removing the need to traverse through the many other systems. But at the same time we realize that star-gate travel is faster- instant travel.

What if... the time it would take to travel 20(random number) jumps would be equivalent to the time it would take to Long Warp that same destination. However if you wanted to Long-Warp anything less, you're travel time will be greatly extended compared to the travel time of Star Gates. This will urge players who want to navigate hastily through the systems use star gates.

What about capacitor?

How much cap would you need to travel 316200AU (5ly).
Example for Tengu:
warpCapacitorNeed 8.13e-07 (The power cost to warp per one kg per AU)
mass 14210000 kg

cap needed = warpCapacitorNeed * mass * disstance * ~0,621 (lvl5 warp drive skill) = ~ 130906,730 GL

lets say Tengu has 2842 GJ, this means he need to make 46+ "warp jumps" (5ly) using full cap, which is not possible.

Or, i'm wrong?

Id say that the best way to handle that is to have your ship basically shut down and charge up the capacitor for the one long jump.

It could be a lore reason why you do the jumps from star to star, you have to super charge your capacitor by tapping into the magnetosphere of a star.

I like that idea, warmup time (time based on cap needed) in star magnetosphere to overload cap to needed level and then one long warp, interrupting overloading cap process by move/activating modules/whatever requires starting that process again.

It could be a lore reason why you do the jumps from star to star, you have to super charge your capacitor by tapping into the magnetosphere of a star.

The big deal is the lore....

Ships cant use warp drivers to jump to the next system becouse they would end up without cap between the stars... this means that there would be nothing to drown energy from and the ship would have no capacitor to continue the jurney... The best way to travel to a nearby system without gate is to use a huge ship with a huge fuel bay that will warp to the other system taking a long time to reach it, and then it finds a safe spot and lights a cyno and the gate construction team starts to work.

And since only Concord owns these big colonizers ships there is nothing capsulers can do to expand the map.

We are not talking about expanding the map...at least I don't think we are....that would be a bad idea.

However, given the navigational information available to all pod pilots in Eve to calculate a warp to a star that already has gates, in conjunction with a capacitance overcharge rig tapping the magnetosphere of a star to store thousands of times as much energy as your capacitor is usually capable of, allows your ship to do long warps.

I dislike this idea for a few reasons:

1. it provides a completely safe way for traders to get high value goods from one place to another, going gate to gate is tough, takes a long time and is dangerous
2. this greatly reduces, or even eliminates the ability for alliances to control space with gate camps and intel, if any group at any time could appear anywhere in their space.
3. It fixes a problem that doesnt exist. Why do we need this change? or why devote developer time to something like this instead of something truely broken in the game?

As I think more about this, I realize that it needs some more balancing.

As we have it written here, no one will ever use jump freighters again... they would just use freighters to go directly from JITA to null sec and back.

So, I would make the following additions to the idea:

First make it require a rig. Call it a Capacitance Overcharge rig in small medium and large sizes and a drawback of 10% reduction in capacitor recharge rate. Prohibit capital ships from using them...thats my gut, I don't think that long warping should be available to capital ships.

This does two things, first it prevents freighters from doing long jumps, so if you want to carry 900,000m3 of stuff, you gotta use the gates, secondly it means you have to sacrifice something in order to use it, whether that is sacrificing a little tank or a little damage or a little cargo capacity, its a cost.

Second balance I would add would be a counter to it. A "Deepspace Probe" that is deployed at a sun and while deployed allows the controlling ship to scan for incoming long jumps. It should detect a signature when it is within one hour of landing but it would only say "something is coming" not "20 somethings are coming". When the incoming signature is within 15 minutes of landing, the probe can discern the total signature size of the incoming long warp, so a gang of 10 battleships at this point would show up as "Deepspace Contact, 4500m signature" When the gang is within 5 minutes of landing, the probe can say "Deepspace contact, 4500m, 10 entities" within one minute, it can break up each ship as an individual signature radius. It would never give ship types. This way, an alliance can defend its space by using probing ships to cover the stars.

Third balance, nothing will tell you exactly what time you will land at the other star, you would have to estimate that yourself. You can log off and your ship will continue to warp, but if your ship lands while you are offline, it will remain in space at the star for 15 minutes before performing the warp off and disappear thing. This way if you are lazy, you are risking a lot and suicide gangs in high sec can camp stars for incoming haulers full of blueprints.

Fourth balance, when you land at your destination, your capacitor should be empty.

WIth these four additions, I think it is a great idea.

It would allow people who don't own null sec space to conduct ninja mining operations. Imagine if you and your 30 closest friends pilled into hulks and orcas and set out to mine all the ore in a single system in 0.0 that you didn't own.

It would also allow corps and alliances that don't have titan bridges to long warp into enemy space if they so desire.

i dont know if these long warps are possible to develop so easy, but i think it would be as 1000 times cooler as gates.

after long years of playing, the gates taking the feeling of an endless space away a bit :(

That being said, if you changed it so the probes had a certain light year range and anything passing across the probes range was shown, I would be more accepting of it, but your fix would mean that you have to have a prober in every system in your space

Right now the thing that large sov holding entities have going for them is that they can catch people at few choke points into their space and blow them up there instead of having to patrol all of their space all of the time. This change removes this idea. Im not necessarily saying thats a bad thing, just letting you know those are the ramifications of this change.

Interesting idea. Im just not sure people would want to wait so long to be honest. If i wanted to travel 10 jumps thats going to be 150 mins which is like 2 and half hours. maybe longer.

That would be depressing. especially of you wanted to get somewhere fairly quick, your game time would be gone just in warp time.

Its far easier just to get a covert and travel the gates and quicker. People will more than likely take that route, jumping from system to system now can be boring as hell.

I like the disturbed gravity well idea. It would definitely increase the need for probers and maintain the need for gate camps, rather system camps. Would that gravity well be exact or be a random spot in the system?

Ninja mining in nullsec. If you and your mining buddies want to mine to good stuff but don't own space, how difficult is it to warp your gang of hulks and orcas through low and null sec space?

I like the "edge of star system" part via gravity well. Kind of brings the feel from Sins of A Solar Empire as well as some Homeworld stuff.



Had an idea alike that one some year or so ago. It was more about blindjumping with a mini-carrier as well as taking frigates etc along.
But I like that part of your idea in terms of ninjamining.

Right now, it is simply too difficult to even think about crossing boarders. In terms of ninja mining, it would give the defending 0.0 nations to shoot down stuff. I don't see a problem with that one.

That was the point.

And if they are not paying close enough attention, its pretty easy to light a cyno in a deserted system and titan bridge a fleet into it, or probe for wormholes to jump in behind peoples defenses.



Yes it takes longer, that is the price you pay for being relatively safe. It would likely not be used often between high sec systems except when someone wants to move from one place to another, then they can just set up the warp and log off.

The place where I see it being used more is for two things:
Ninja mining in nullsec. If you and your mining buddies want to mine to good stuff but don't own space, how difficult is it to warp your gang of hulks and orcas through low and null sec space? The risk vs Reward of that proposition at TOTALLY out of whack. It makes it so that any industrialist who wants to participate fully is RELIANT on PvPers to provide security. Now, I am not saying that that is bad on its own, I just think there should be an option for industrialists to get some of the good stuff with a risk factor that is greater than if they live in the space with PvPers in their alliance and lower than if they tried to do 20 jumps through hostile null sec. So in this way, a mining fleet could set up the warp from their high sec base to a system that one or two of them have scouted and found to be deserted but rich with ore/ice. They all warp, and hang out talking about BS on comms while they wait (miners are nothing if not patient). When they land, they spread out to start clearing out the belts. Their fleet might be just a couple of Mackinaws with their huge ore bay, of they might be 30 hulks, 6-7 orcas and a cynoed in Rorq or two. When they are done, or if adjacent systems get some activity, they can go back to the star and do the warp back. If the people who own the space are paying attention to the map, they would see a spike in "average pilots in space in the last 30 minutes" without adjacent systems having the same spike, which should tell them that someone either cynoed in or long warped.

What you basically want is to be able to cyno or bridge to a different system on your own so you can avoid people. What would keep a supercap pilot from equipping one of these long distance warp mods and bringing a Nyx into highsec?

I for one would be afraid of messing with the travel system soo much since I wouldn't want to break the game. However I have always thought that the gates themselves make the game feel less real.

I've always wanted to warp between systems instead of using gates if for no other reason to make the universe seem more real and vast. You would just have to make it so everyone came into each system in the same place. As for where you can warp out at. that would take some careful consideration.

To make the game feel more real and still keep the system we have now I would just be happy with some form of travel animation between gates. It would make you feel like your actually going somewhere and it would lengthen the travel process making the world seem larger. Gates are not Battlestar gallactica FTL drives like locking a jump drive onto a cyno is. Your actually being shot across ce.