Rimac
   |
Posted - 2006.03.13 16:30:00 -
[1]
1. Fact of life: Some people take risks, others don't.
Some people want to stay in safe space and don't want to take risks, others don't mind taking more risks for more gains.
2. Fact of life: There will always be hubs and regardless what you do, they will remain. People like to flock together, live easy (even if it costs more in terms of lag or ISK). They just accept that and continue regardless. Anything you do to counter it will just move hubs, you'll never be rid of them
3. Fact of life: Players who started out early on in EVE have an advantage over others. Perhaps not in specific areas (a newer character trained purely for combat could easily beat an older, general-purpose skilled character).
I don't consider these things to be problems. It gives people an example, someone to beat, a role model, whatever you prefer.
So I don't think any of these things, be it hubs, going to 0.0 or even the lag is a problem. You accept these things by travelling there, same as you accept the fact that you're going to be in a traffic jam if you drive into New York during rush hour.
The only problem I think there is however is this: n00bs can't really/easily get to the places older players can get into. To use an analogy, in the 'real world', sure the older player might be driving a ferrari and the young player might be driving a yugo, but they can both drive to the same place. Not so in EVE. A (very) young player is going to have major difficulty getting to 0.0. They don't have the funds to buy instas, often don't have the knowledge or time to make them, and don't have the skills or knowledge yet to mount a meaningful defense or to beat a camp. Sure, some of them get there but most are shot down or ganked by gate camps, pirates and what not.
I'm willing to bet that the majority of the n00bs who try to get into low sec or 0.0 will be scared off or killed, or at least have a scare. If that happens once a lot will give up, if it happens a few times they won't go back. If you keep getting 'mugged' in a neighbourhood, you're not going to keep going back there.
So they set up shop in the hubs where they learn the trade, mission running and what not, and later on they learn more and get more skills and funds. Then if you are lucky they may go to 0.0, but they may well decide not to because they've built up their character here, have all their assets here and remember those first bad experiences in low sec/0.0.
I guess what I'm saying is, make it easier to get into 0.0. More routes would be my choice solution, or perhaps even 'safer' routes, though I don't know how we'd get there. Does that mean alliances will have a harder time controlling their borders. Yes. Is that a bad thing? Not really... Governments in the real world have the same problem.
I like the way EVE's social interaction, economy and the way people reacts has so many resemblances to real life. And sure we could turn it into a big marxist-like 'equal oppurtunity/equal skills/everyone is equal' type world, but where would be the fun in that?
|