kyofu
Praetorian Black Guard
Frater Adhuc Excessum
4
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Posted - 2013.05.15 23:06:00 -
[1] - Quote
1)
From reading this thread and the other related threads, one of the main goals of odyssey's changes to exploration seems to be to make exploration more accessible. Considering how many explorers there are in hisec already, why is this a concern? Exploration is already quite accessible, so much so that players are competing and racing each other in sites. The only concern, really, is the disparate proportion of explorers active in certain areas compared to other areas. ie Guristas vs Sansha, or hisec vs lowsec. Or anything drone. DSP filtering is also a concern for many. Accessibility to the profession as a whole though is not.
Assuming this patch succeeds and actually makes exploration more accessible, I have doubts that increased accessibility will end up being a desirable outcome for anyone.
2)
There should be some learning curve associated with exploration, just as there is with any other profession in Eve. This is both a character learning curve, and a RL learning curve. Previous posters have mentioned this often referring to these changes as "dumbing exploration down" etc. Some dismiss this point, but it is actually an important consideration. Many of us have spent years exploring, and the idea that the changes are going to remove much of the need for our hard won knowledge and skill is insulting to many explorers. I think this has been made clear in other posts. However, its also important to new and would-be explorers, as EVE is a game about self accomplishment. Most of the player base takes satisfaction from learning what has historically been one of the most difficult MMORPGs to learn and succeed in. So while we appreciate your efforts to save our wrists by adding the option to launch 8 probes at once, or to use preset formations we also resent being forced to use game defined formations, and giving the uneducated instant access to those formations. I have horrible wrists and exploration is bad for them, but I do it anyway because it is fun and I enjoy the fact that I am good at it. I also remember long ago when it was hard and I was not good at it, and this furthers my satisfaction. I have seen so many games that don't understand that in order for something to be enjoyable, it must first be difficult. It is a point that EVE seemed to grasp so please don't lose sight of it now.
3)
As an explorer I don't remember the last time I actually looked at space. I am not in a car, looking out my windshield. Why would I do such a silly thing, when I have a z axis to contend with? Spaceship instrumentation's most basic function is to make complicated information presentable and usable. While there is nothing wrong with having sites show up in space if i happen to be looking at space, there is a very large problem with equating the new discovery scanner with the old list. There is a very large problem with forcing me to look at space. The two systems are not equal, and replacing the list with the new system would be a very negative change that fundamentally affects exploration.
In closing...
I think it's extremely important to remember current explorers and be careful the new system does not alienate them. Not only because I am one, but because it is an important way to approach design changes. Suddenly altering our shortcuts is just a silly move that will **** a lot of people off every time their muscle memory tells them to do what they've been doing for the last (3? 4?) years. The intent of these changes seems to display a bit of a lack of understanding about what much of the player base enjoys about eve. There are a lot of really good ideas and tools that will help explorers and add new life to exploration, but removing DSPs, removing the scanning list, inverting shortcut keys and invalidating everything about a system many have spent years perfecting is a better way to alienate existing explorers than it is a way to create new ones.
-Kyo |