Need to read this far more closely, but my initial reactions are:
1. I don't see how this helps the little guy take and hold sov space. If anything, it seems to make it even easier for existing sov holders to hold and keep their space. Heck, the one nifty thing about these proposed changes - the Entosis Link, which could be used by little guys - is near on worthless if the only time you can attack something is during their prime time, and NOT during YOUR prime time.
2. I don't see
occupancy effects as we've long been hoping and praying for... i.e., the more you use space, the stronger your hold over the space, the less you use space, the less you own it, eventually leading to sov dropping from lack of use. You've addressed (defensive) bonuses to using space, but have not addressed penalties for NOT using your space.
In other words,
where is the "use it or lose it" based sov we've been begging for?3. DETEST the "prime time" concept. Will expand more after I cool off over reading that, but it's pretty much screwed any advantage of having Australian-time-zone strong corps in nullsec. This gives HUGE advantage to the existing blocs. It also takes away any chance of small groups that are active in opponent's low-activity time zones the possibility of attacking and taking over someone else's sov. It takes away any opportunity for two large groups that are not in the same time zone to ever fight on a meaningful level. Most importantly, it essentially kills cross-time-zone teamwork within an alliance.
How does making your space absolutely safe 20 hours out of the day encourage conflict?4. DO like - in fact, love - the freeport bit.
ADORE the Freeport idea. Love it.
5. I'm not entirely sure, but right now, I think I like the capture-the-nodes aspect of the changes. I can see how that spreads the fight out over several systems, but also (depending upon constellation layout) makes just hell-camping a single system could be a solid defensive tactic. I like that this makes subcaps (especially fast ones) have a highly useful role in "big" sov fights. I can see how small roving 3rd party gangs could royally screw things up for attackers and defenders (not entirely sure that is good or bad though). (Edit: More I think about it, especially the chasing and fighting aspects, the more I like the command nodes idea.)
6. I don't see how capitals/supers/titans/etc play a role in taking sov anymore. In fact, you could potentially take and hold and defend sov space without any big-boy-toys at all... which does have a certain appeal, I must admit, but if there is NO REASON to use your big-boy-toys, then there is NO REASON TO RISK THEM. Which means less big-boy-toys dying, and that does make me sad. I'm not a fan of capital/super/titan/dread warfare, but I recognize it's something many players really enjoy, and I believe supporting engaging gameplay for the big-boy-toys is vital to Eve's health. And I do like tackling them
- Get rid of the "prime time" idiocy. Just nuke it. Keep the current reinforcement timer system, where the owner sets what time a structure comes out of reinforced to their prime time, but let us attack at the time of our own choosing.
- Giving defensive bonuses to systems that are actively used is Good IdeaGäó
- But you need to add a penalty to NOT using systems, so that systems that are unused eventually just drop sov, or become ridiculously easy to take.
- How about making those 48 hour timers much shorter in systems that have low activity levels?
Where are the economic improvements? Is that coming this year also? Just curious.
March 4: Okay, 4 more edits/thoughts
after reading every word of the next 42 pages of responses:
- If you absolutely must keep the prime time, there are numerous suggestions in the following 42 pages that have prime time based on activity levels in a system/constellation. Building upon ideas I particularly liked in the following pages is to have areas heavily used have very small prime times, and areas hardly used have long (all the way to 24 hours) prime times, making unused systems vulnerable to attack at any time. This suggestion, which I hope you give thought to, addresses many of the issues of the prime time concept, provides cross-time-zone content, is a big advantage to small groups, forces larger groups to pay better attention to their unused systems or drop them, and if those unused systems happen to have nice moons, give potential use for caps/supers.
- Stick to your guns about letting the entosis link be fit on virtually any ship, including interceptors. That's one of the best ideas in the blog, the ensuing hilarity will be epic. Yes, it'll be abused for trolling purposes sometimes, but if you don't have the ability to swarm an area with fast, small ships (maybe they came in through a frigate wormhole?), half of the best part of these changes is wiped out. Sure, it'll be annoying at times, but that's okay! There are far too many ways for people to counter such swarms, including the simplest: Undock and put your own entosis link on the structure to counter.
- Totally agree with the numerous suggestions on the following 42 pages about all forms of industry, including building, research, exploration, etc., affect the industry index. PVP should also be included in the military index.
Everything you do in your sov space should count towards improving your occupancy strength.
- Drastically reducing the size of iHubs is vital to the success of this. iHubs will be reinforced and destroyed far more often - which is a Good ThingGäó - having a steady supply of iHubs for people to attack is essential to this.