Albert Spear
meadhan oidhche cinneach
HELM Alliance
14
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Posted - 2013.06.21 12:19:00 -
[1] - Quote
CCP Rise wrote:Ya I wouldn't mean to sound dismissive of hauling as a profession at all, I'm just saying that from a ship balance and fitting perspective, hauling isn't as complex as combat.
Maybe it could/should be, but again, I don't think this rebalance is the place to start, which is why we decided to hold off on anything drastic until we get a better sense for where industry in general is heading.
Right now the mix of haulers is too bland to make hauling a profession that is worth much training. Until you get to freighters, anyone can haul.
In the real world a visit to Singapore or Honk Kong would give you a much better perspective on what hauling is all about. While the Freighters work, the fact is that CCP has ignored the massive number of types of small haulers that work the coastal trades.
From ocean going tugs with strings of barges or rafts of logs, to small container ships, to specialized chemical haulers, these ports are full of diversity.
In the small ship area speed and the ability to handle hostile environments are big differentiators in terms of the cost to hire and the training a captain needs.
If you were to sit in the Hong Kong ferry terminal for a day you would see 40 to 100 different small ship types, all specialized in what they do.
When you sit in Singapore, you would see a different set of small ship types because of the pirate issues in the straights.
I would like to see CCP think hard about new ship classes for moving stuff. At a much more strategic level than just haulers.
Right now for me haulers are just shipping containers with engines attached, large square boxes that have little difference. Maybe that is what CCP wants.
I know after decades on the ocean, that I would love to see some of the diversity that I saw at sea, with some of the specialization. I think that like ocean trade, a number of new operations would end up happening - I know some of the most fun I had was heavy lift work - something that does not exist in EVE today, but would offer some interesting game play mechanics. Same tug work moving strings of containers from location to location - offering an easy gank to pick off a container to two from the string.
Specialized hauling of gas, ice, and other commodities, a ship that is designed to support station and POS placement. The ideas are endless, and the best examples are in the real world. Sit down with a copy of Jane's Merchant Ships, and take a read, see if that does not inspire you. |