While I do support putting more control into the players hands, I am a little sad about this change from the perspective of someone who lives in a wormhole. I hope the customs offices are either A: not too expensive, or B: fairly durable. Basically I'm envisioning people coming into occupied wormholes, blowing up customs offices, and leaving. No real interaction, just costing us money for the sake of griefing.

A few comments:

1. Customs offices should have a maintenance or upkeep cost, and that cost should vary with the security status of the system they are implemented in. Frankly, this should exist for Player Outposts in nullsec too, but since that ship is currently at sea, this should be caught before leaving harbor. Why? Simplest reason is because with no ongoing cost, there is no drawback to, say, Pandemic Legion installing customs offices on all the valid production planets in VFK (Goonswarm space).


2. I'm assuming that (like towers and stations) Customs offices can be repped when they come out of R/F - although this was not specifically addressed.

I like that losec customs offices are owned by corporations, this does present some interesting gameplay (um, griefing tactics) for corps that are trying to use losec for PI but not invested or residing in the systems they use.


3. If a planet has a customs office installed, does that mean people who do not have access to said customs office cannot use planet for production, or can they still do launches? I would hope the former, since part of the purpose of the customs office should be to block access to assets, but the latter isn't a horrible option. This needs to be clear up front.


4. Also, taxes. The whole "tariff" seems pretty vague. Is it based on market price of the product? Is it based on volume? Is it based on rarity? Devil in the details. I'd like some please.

Can we get a checkbox to set it for alliance only rather than having to make all our friends +5? Also is it based off corp standings or alliance standings?

a) Will it be possible to set a tax rate for different standings/groups? Say, Alliance has 0%, +10 has 0% too, +5 has 10%, +0 has 20%, -5 has 50% and -10 has 100%?

b) Can you anchor a Customs Office next to a station/outpost?

You will have to defend your customs office with space ships, (beside the reinforcement). From comments to the blog, we realize there is a worry that all customs offices will be griefed all the time. I promise we will keep an eye on this, but our hope is that a new type of players/corporations can emerge that are paid to protect customs office etc.

Without some control on the BLOB factor, there is no way that you're going to stop griefing from happening. I think you're going to have to rethink that carefully, especially for Null Sec.

HEY< WE"RE ALL BORED< LET"S GO SHOOT SOME CUSTOMS OFFICES IN NPC PLANET SPACE.

Wow, that was a good idea but it's not the case. If the time fairy smiles, then maybe...but don't count on it.
The Customs Office can be anchored a certain distance from a planet, it doesn't perform any more checks than that. So I guess you can have it close by an Outpost but not by a POS, since they are around moons.

To continue to emphasize this Blob factor with a tangible example :

Little tiny alliance of 100 people puts up Customs Offices in one low sec system. Goonswarm with 500 people goes and reinforces all the planetary timers in System X. Who is the tiny little alliance going to hire that is going to stop goonswarm? PL? Ya, ok. No way taxes are going to make up for hiring a major merc alliance to stop Goons.

I also thought you were going to move away form the "Shooting Structures" bit? How long does it take to take a Customs Office down? Why not bring 500 people and 100 supercaps to do this? Because faster is better. How can anyone stop a mega-blob if they're not already mega-blob capable? Noone wants to shoot structures, so they just develop ways of shooting structures FASTER. So more supercaps and more death on the field. Low Sec is already screwed up with a boring Null Sec, that PL is living in Amamake and other null sec alliances have been trolling through low sec with super caps on stand by.

Shooting structures is bad, do you have plans to change this as we go forward, just as has been mentioned for Null Sec sov changes?

So, it becomes a population issue, the more populated areas will be more valuable, for more throughput for more taxes. But who can and will contest with the major alliances in low sec, if the major alliances want to take that all over?

You forget one thing, everyone in nullsec is bored out of thier skull of shooting structures, maybe some lone super will reinforce your office (depending on hp) but no one will get a big fleet together too shoot these without a big chance to get a fight.

Mimidae Risk Solutions in first. :)


The major issue, I have to tell you, with that thinking - as a Mercenary already, is that the value has to definitely increase enough to want to hire Mercs to do it.


It's also the BLOB factor. The reality is, no Merc can outblob a major alliance/crew. it is just not happening (Unless you're PL I guess).


Without some control on the BLOB factor, there is no way that you're going to stop griefing from happening. I think you're going to have to rethink that carefully, especially for Null Sec.


HEY< WE"RE ALL BORED< LET"S GO SHOOT SOME CUSTOMS OFFICES IN NPC PLANET SPACE.


I love the idea, but you're not going to stop the griefing by simply using the reinforcement timer function. It's going to become a sov mechanic all over again. The biggest numbers win. Over and over. You need to fix that and make it viable in other ways.

The Customs Office can be anchored a certain distance from a planet, it doesn't perform any more checks than that. So I guess you can have it close by an Outpost but not by a POS, since they are around moons.

While I do support putting more control into the players hands, I am a little sad about this change from the perspective of someone who lives in a wormhole. I hope the customs offices are either A: not too expensive, or B: fairly durable. Basically I'm envisioning people coming into occupied wormholes, blowing up customs offices, and leaving. No real interaction, just costing us money for the sake of griefing.

Also, nice touch adding the BP to the faction warfare stores. I know it isn't much, but I hope the little attention paid to the abysmal feature of FW will be appreciated.

really? wow

May have to do some PI.

Ok, read the blog three times now.

Nope, wont be doing PI.

Any comments on HP levels?

Aside from the stations that had to be conquered, nothing in sov space was exactly reserved ever. The only stopping factor was your luck getting in doing things then away with it.

So, I guess, this is also a step towards the 'sov must mean something' part, as obivously the sov holders will have the first chance to build the customs offices. Of course, IF the holding alliance bothers / is able to enforce the policy.