Thornat
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Posted - 2011.08.12 08:39:00 -
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Edited by: Thornat on 12/08/2011 08:40:04
There are a lot of really interesting ideas here, but this article doesn't speak to all of them. I think what they are talking about here is a far more complex and strategic approach to creating a versitle game. Right now in Eve one might say for example that the Daemos is a crappy HAC for the Gallente and is not worth flying. As a former pilot of that ship I tend to agree, however noteably I still often fly it and actually own more of that ship than ever before because the price of them dropped dramatically and its a more affordable. On the flip side a ship like the Draemial (sorry if Im spelling the ships wrong Im notorious for that) is the king of Frigates (I think most would agree) yet its hefty price tag results in considerably fewer people actually flying. The article even mentioned that not many people actually buy and fly these ships.
The point here is that power and balance isn't always the only reason to fly a ship. If the Draemial is the best frigate in the game because its so unbalanced and powerful why does that not result in everyone who pilots a frigate to pilot that one? Why would anyone fly for example Merlin instead? The answer is that balance isn't just a matter of power. Often a player will choose a ship because its cheaper. He has skills that result in him being able to fly a particular ship better, or if your like me you might choose the Daemos simply because it looks bad ass.
I think the point of all this is to illustrate that balance is really in the eye of the beholder and even if their is a mass confirmation of a particular ship being "the best" still doesn't result in everyone flying it. There are many reasons to choose ships in Eve and being over powered is not nescessarly the only motivation to fly it. There are all sorts of factors that lead players to fly all sorts of ships, despite any concieved or even confirmed unbalances. I fly a Daemos! Why, because I think it looks cool, I love the tactics I can use with it and I have the skills to fly it well (both player skills and character skills). I know its not the best ship, hell I have more than once run from consierably smaller ships that another, better, HAC should be able to take easily. To me however the power factor is just one of many that results in me choosing a ship.
On the flip side the fact that the game is constantly nerfed and buffed in different areas does in fact result in players constantly re-analyzing ships, re-thinking fittings and creating new roles for old ships. I really think this is a awsome feature of the CCP nerfing/buffing program. It means that even if you have played for 6 years like me, you are constantly going back and doing stuff like "Hey wait a minute, you know this new Amarr ship that used to suck actually has some potential now, I think I will try it out". If things were stagnet, it would mean that once a ship analysis is done by me and I determine "no thank you", I will probobly never look at that ship again.
All and all, I agree with the strategy. I like the idea that its an evolving game where things constantly change. ya I can suck to have your favorite ship nerfed but their are lots of ships in the game and trying out new stuff is just a part of Eve and its what they are promoting here. I think its the right mentality. Sure at any given time their are going to be ships that aren't worth flying, but some day in the future that ****ty Amarr frigate might become the new fad thanks to a properly implemented buff. Which I personally think is awsome. Every ship has its time.
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