Sybbiana Dawning
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Posted - 2007.12.07 22:45:00 -
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While there are many decent points being made here, I think that perhaps the original topic has become derailed. The point being that, in most contexts, a war is a method of last resort; it is typically the result of conflict that cannot be resolved through diplomacy, policy or sanctions. There is no question that EVE has many elements that encourage PvP, but EVE was also designed to be an immersive simulated environment, one in which some degree of actual role-playing should hopefully take place.
So the point to be made, I believe, is that a WarDec loses some of it's value when it becomes the everyday tool of "grander" corps looking to assert themselves. As this topic subject states, it is tedious and takes some of the value out of the power of a wardec. I'm not denying that EVE is designed for a robust PvP experience, but one has to wonder what ever happened to the "softer" elements such as interaction, diplomacy, etc. On that note, I have to disagree that EVE is first and foremost a PvP game. EVE is designed to be (and succeeds largely at being) a sophisticated game in which people indulge in the use of a wide variety of skills, not solely combat.
Given these elements, I agree with the general gist of this thread: frivolous wardecs cheapen the experience. The resolution, I believe, lies more in what can be done to promote the role-playing aspects of the game. I am not yet a seasoned pilot, but here is one idea that comes to me off-the-cuff:
Create some type of arbitration system that extends the wardec system. It would first require that a corp declare it's intentions (e.g. "passive", "neutral", "hostile") and this mode of intention would determine how WarDecs declared by or on them are handled. As an example, a corp that declares itself as passive would then have a little insulation against a WarDec, but no ability to declare a WarDec. On the other hand, a hostile corp can WarDec for a reduced cost (or free?) but WarDecs made on them are instantaneously made active.
Again, these are off-the-cuff ideas, but the general concept is that a slightly more intricate system could still allow for wardecs as a useful game mechanism while promoting actual gaming and not simply turning all of us into either bragging or whining stat trackers. My personal feeling is that there is nothing wrong with encouraging PvP, but I feel like that element has been over catered to at the cost of the rest of the game's elements.
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