This is my fully detailed idea to address the issue of balance in the current cloaking system on Tranquility as of this post. This is not a topic to discuss the level of imbalance as CCP already knows this. I present this idea in good faith in CCP's ability to listen to the community for ideas on how to manage issues instead of extreme nerfs to certain game elements. So devs please feel free to point out any technical issues with my idea and I will be happy to think of ways to improve it to help make it possible to implement in the game. I welcome dev feedback as well so please post your thoughts devs!
Also I would like to note that the images below are mine made from screenshots from singularity and edited with the Gimp. I am not the best but I hope they convey the idea.
For those who are confused at this point. Lets take a random scenario in the game. A player jumps into the system, finds a safespot and cloaks. Under current game mechanics this player is now effectively invincible in place. Example in image below.
http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/9176/afk1g.jpgThe cloak in theory is balanced. However, in practice this allows risk free away from keyboard activity while in a hostile system and this topic aims to make that a risky venture. And do little else.
The goal of this plan is to add risk to such activity through the use of a modified probe system that targets a random point generated every time the cloaked ship travels a certain distance. And to warn said ship in the same way submarines knew they were being hunted by the ping sounds. Of course in this situation it would be a message window or something similar to fit the feel of the game.
The reason a random point is used is three fold.
* It prevents quick uncloaks which can affect normal transport uses of the cloak.
* It allows the current cloaking backend to remain the same as position is not important other than warp reports.
* It prevents defenders from putting up a probe "umbrella" over operations to prevent active players from getting near while cloaked.
Other than the names and icons. The only major change when it comes to these probes is the extreme scan time as compared to combat or scan probes. I recommend 10x but that is something CCP could test on SiSi to find what is fair.
An Example scan image is below. I call it "Unstable Energy" just as a placeholder.
http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/364/afk2e.jpgDuring this time the cloak pilot's client flashes a warning that his cloak is starting to become compromised. This would be the time to plan a quick warp and return to throw off the scan. If he ignores the warning or is AFK the result below is shown to the scanning pilot (Please forgive that I forgot to edit the name, 0.25AU not 4 and scan strength which ought to be 100)
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/3995/afk3.jpgA final warning is flashed to the cloak pilot. He has 30 seconds to warp or his cloak is temporarily disabled or its cycle stopped.
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/3681/afk4s.jpgA random point is regenerated if he feels it is safe to recloak in place. However, If he is not paying attention his now uncloaked ship can be found by regular scanner probes and his location will be revealed. Often with the results below. (NOTE this screenshot was taken on Sisi and the attacking pilot is not affiliated with this idea nor was aware of my purpose in SiSi as far as I am aware. Just a random gank moment on Sisi made into screenshot for my idea)
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/1233/afk5.jpgAs you can see. With this system only someone who is willing to ignore the warnings will be seriously affected by this change. So with this idea I believe this will solve most of the current balance issues with cloaking without having to resort to more direct changes to cloaking itself such as fuel bays or random decloaks. I hope you CCP will consider this idea for EVE.