I had an idea for a lost ship mechanic

EVE Technology and Research Center Player Features & Ideas
1

My idea as follows is

Core Concept
I’ve been thinking about how to get more players actually flying around in New Eden instead of station trading, and came up with this idea for abandoned ships. Basically, as you’re flying around, you’d occasionally discover derelict ships that you can claim. I think it would help player feel more engaged with rng like mechanic while helping players build up their fleets by having intermediate breaks of grinding to make it feel more worthwhile.

Discovery Methods
You’d find these abandoned vessels through normal gameplay activities. While mining a belt, maybe your overview suddenly picks up an abandoned ship drifting nearby. Or you’re running combat probes and get a weird signature that resolves into a battleship someone had to bail from during a fight. These wrecks could show up anywhere - belts, anoms, empty space, wherever makes sense. The whole point is creating these unexpected moments that break up the usual routine.

Ship Distribution
This would follow a logical rarity curve. Most finds would be frigates and destroyers - your Rifters, Cormorants, and so on. A decent number of cruisers and battlecruisers might turn up, especially in more dangerous space. Battleships would be genuinely rare finds, with faction ships being true jackpot moments. And for capitals? Maybe once a month across all of New Eden, some lucky bastard finds an abandoned carrier or dread. Rare enough to be exciting without flooding the market.

Ship Acquisition
I want to keep this simple - If you find an abandoned ship, it’s yours. Fly up, board it, and it’s added to your fleet. Without complicated mechanics or artificial barriers beyond the skills to fly the ship. The challenge should be in finding them, not jumping through hoops once you do. Maybe there’s a small timer where you’re vulnerable while claiming it, but that’s it.

Rewards and Features
Beyond just the hull itself, these ships could come with stories. Each one might have a ship log explaining how it ended up abandoned - maybe the crew mutinied, or they ran out of fuel during a roam, or they got caught in a wormhole collapse. Some might have partially fitted modules or cargo holds with random loot. The older wrecks could have cool visual damage patterns or maybe even a special “Salvaged” skin showing they’ve been recovered.

Economic Impact
This system would create an alternative path to ship acquisition without wrecking the economy. Since finding specific ships is random, it wouldn’t replace manufacturing or trading. Instead, it gives players - especially newer ones - a chance to progress their arsenal without endless grinding. The occasional capital find would be a game-changer for small groups who couldn’t normally field them. Most importantly, it shifts player activity from station spinning to actually being out in space.

Gameplay Benefits
EVE’s biggest problem in my opinion is getting people to undock people are scared of pvp getting your Expensive stuff blown up. This mechanic directly attacks that by creating another reason to be flying around. It breaks up the monotonous “grind ISK → buy ship → lose ship → repeat” cycle that burns out so many players. Finding an abandoned Machariel or even just a nicely fitted cruiser creates those memorable moments that keep people playing. Plus, more ships in space means more targets, more backup in fights, and generally more dynamic gameplay for everyone.

2

but if its a ship you can’t fly you can’t move it anywhere, then bam someone shows up and takes YOUR ship leaving you flying your pod back home lol.

3 Likes
3

Well i would hope there a display that shows you if you have skill or not to fly it like in your hanger

4

i see these as bait.. someone waits cloaked, a newbro finds a ship thinking they are gonna take it and BAM. your ship and prospective ship are gone.

1 Like
5

I’m not bailing out of a 1+ billion ISK ship just to salvage a ship worth ten to a hundred times less…

2 Likes
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Ok did i said you had to

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the point was, nobody is really going to do that most likely..

8

I mean, if you find in like a better ship than you have in your own space.I’m sure people would be down to that like if I find the battleship in space, and i’m flying like ishtar i’m probably gonna take the Battleship, just leave my ishtar and come back to get it

9

you say you wanna get people to undock, first you say they are station trading and later on you say they are scared.

you have to choose.

i think its neither tbh, i would guess in fact most people undock…but they might still have a station trading alt.

exploration already exists, you can easily come across valuables to buy your ships with.
ships don’t have to cost much, and what are you gonna do when you find an expensive ship without mods and you were afraid to undock beforehand…fly it unfit? either way lose it within a few minutes cause you are not experienced.

next.

1 Like
10

Sure, something like this could be interesting. But I think you’d need to scan the “derelict” down and then maybe hack it to retrieve any bounty.

The argument that’s been made is that this kind of interaction already exists with the various exploration sites.

11

That’s complete nonsense that can’t work.

But the idea is nonsense too.

12

How it’s very clear how it would work stop hating man

13

I like the idea, and also the unintended consequences (like you disembark in space and someone slides in and steals YOUR ship while you’re slowly realising you cannot move this dread you just boarded).

I mean, if it were me I’d dock up somewhere then return in my pod to claim the abandoned vessel, and then take it somewhere.

I do like the idea of some unlucky sod finding a dread and being able to do absolutely bupkiss about it due to lack of skill or nowhere to take it. That’s funny. I also think the ambush opportunities are cool, lile you could abandon a vessel yourself to lure someone in.

There would be some issues to address, like someone above mentioned the abandoned vessel being unfit, but if it were randomly spawned surely it could be randomly fit from a selection of the community fits for that ship, or just do a partial.

I don’t think it would increase player activity, but it would be an interesting curiosity.

1 Like
14

It used to be in the game.
In fact, it probably still is, just all the old, abandoned POS’s have already been picked clean.

15

We need less spawned loot and more player crafted items. Not the other way around.

2 Likes
16

Prices for those ships that “can be found randomly” would probably go down quite a bit, maybe to the degree that producing them becomes totally unlucrative because the ship itself would cost less on the market than the sum of its component when building it.