Dash Ripcock
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Posted - 2006.04.30 08:22:00 -
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Edited by: Dash Ripcock on 30/04/2006 08:23:46
As it stands, local chat (when it isn't bugged to hell and back) is an immensely powerful tool in detecting enemy ships. Well, it doesn't detect the ships, but the moment another pilot enters local he's automatically there for everyone to see. Rather annoying if you're trying to set somebody up and they have an ounce of brain power, or you're a pirate hunting in a Force Recon cruiser.
I've long been an avid non-fan of local chat but the alternatives have always seemed a little dull. Why not something to spice up the game and perhaps even making it a little richer? I propose:
Tagging
Let's say that pilot A is somebody mining in an asteroid belt somewhere fifty jumps from Jita. Pilot B is flying a Buzzard, scouting for targets to report back home. When Pilot B enters the local system, under this proposed system, he doesn't appear in local chat. Neither does he see Pilot A. However, upon scouting a few belts he happens across Pilot A. Here's the interesting part û he right-clicks on his ship and hits 'Tag'. What would 'tag' do exactly?
Reward Patience: When someone is tagged, they become visible in local for 30 minutes unless they leave system, at which point they disappear from local. What it means is that only those who have actually taken time to explore the system know who's there and can keep a short-term record of it, those who haven't don't.
Make Low Sec More Dangerous: Suddenly pilots can no longer just sit in a system with WCS or aligned knowing that they can get out. They'll be safe by stations and gates (well, kinda) but like the darkened back alley of some backward town, venture too far and they are vulnerable. They will need to have their own scouts, their own defences. This encourages teamwork which is, after all, the name of the game.
Make CovOps Special: As well as becoming a valuable asset to a squad by being able to make use of who sees who first, perhaps new skills could be added whereby what the CovOps pilot has tagged can be fed to the gang, so when they jump into local they too can see who is there and who isn't.
Of course, if someone decides to actually speak they become visible in local (perhaps again for thirty minutes). As well as the advantages mentioned above, it would mean the fleets in zero-zero also have to keep scouts on each other all the time to avoid allowing one party to slip away. It would also make Jita local a little easier to stomach! My thoughts on the matter anyway, let me know what you think.
The Firing Range |