What about adding some new services? Here are a few examples:
boosting other pilots in different activities, like PvP, Pve, mining, etc. IMHO, this is a very underrated area, where there’s a lot of room for development/improving. The only place that vaguely resembles this is the ‘fleet-up’ menu, but that is also very weak, in terms of offers: some are very far (say 30+ jumps, so that means 60, as you have to come back), some are with newbie miners that have no idea how important a boost is so they reject is, and so on.
Also think about boosting marauder pilots in PvE - shield, hull, skirmish it would be a faster way to finish that site.
Transporting goods, but posting offers/requests in another format, not in “courier contracts” like now, mostly because that place is full of fake-news shipping, lots of fake offers. It could be a new place for example, like in the “fleet-up” section, where you can find sometimes mining fleets. Something along these lines, you got the point. Yes, there are a few large transport corps, but you have to join their chat to send something, which is somehow not transparent;
a new window/menu where pilots can help others do the daily tasks, or simply do limited PvP, like PvP to hull. Right now, the only place to do that is post in local chat. This can be expanded into lots of sub-topics, like ‘shield’ or ‘armour’ or drones, vampires and so on;
an income source for explorers: selling locations, like a combat site, or a wormhole that lands you a few jumps from a major trade hub, etc. Imagine how easy it woudl be for a PvE pilot just to look in that windows, see a Serpentis Phi-outpost and click ‘accept’ or ‘take me there’. After reaching the gate, he would pay the explorer the said ammount. It’s just an example, it can work for wormholes and other stuff. Imagine the big ‘fish’, when you as an explorer, find an undefended vulnerable structure and post it, selling the location for some nice isk. Except, now there is no dedicated place to post/sell something like this.
Salvaging, one of my favourite activities: why is there no menu where pilots can post and request salvaging services?
Zkillboard if full of “i-want-it-all” bozos that fit 1-2 salvagers on their marauders, instead of simply hiring the services of a salvager. The “social” part seems to get completely annihilated when it comes to this, mostly due to greed, obviously. And sadly. So another place to vastly expand the gameplay.
High priced targets (read making lots of isk). Exploring, I have come across lots of places with several weaknesses: undefended wormholes/structures; weak def fleet; weak/newbie pilots (credit card players) and so on. There is no place where you can sell such “intel” now, so I can only hope there will be.
Edit: maybe even a new skill training cathegory could be developed, like the Paragon drawings. For example, junior consultant up to senior, similarly do RL school - primary, high and university. After training all the skills, one could implicitly offer all the services. This would imply the pilot is a vet, has lots of exp. with ships, has access to Tech 2 boosting modules, making him very efficient, so allowing him to ask for more isk.
Since all the above is a simple sketch for developing new areas, it’s obvious the subjects can be vastly expanded, so please feel free to comment/add anything that comes to mind.
That’s exactly the point, to avoid them becoming “too big to fail”, to spread the ‘market’ to small/solo players. To allow them to make some isk while growing. It means developing the game, instead of allowing those 2 corps to have a de-facto monopoly.
Are you ironic? Solo meaning pew-pew, not salvaging.
Besides, everyone screams eve is not for solo players, so why would anyone solo a mission?
Imho, every solo marauder killed in HS while doing missions is a failure of the Devs. A failure to introduce that player to the game, to explain how things work, to show how to work in a team (with a tackler, an ECM, an engi, a salvager). It’s also a form of socialising : )
And then the Princess comes and saves the day. And the player is guilty, for solo-ing. I mean… you get hte point.
On the contrary, it’s healthy if ships are killed in every part of space. It’s only a failure if Marauders cannot possibly survive in HS regardless of choices of fitting and location, but I don’t think that’s the case.
It’s like totally opposite. If you can’t fit a several bil ship that takes half a year to train to survive in high sec then you shouldn’t even fly it in the first place. The only real way to die in HS on a Marauder is getting very close to Pochven WH or shooting Lancers. Or fit it with 5B worth of modules and go to Tama. Also Marauders don’t need any more boosting.
Back to OPs suggestions:
It already exists within corporations and alliances. Just join one that is alive and active.
You need new tool for contracts that is not contracts… why inventing second bycicle when you have 1st one? You really think those scam contracts will not make it’s way to a new system? And again - all this exists within proper corps/alliances. Nothing stops you from creating your own transportation service and asking leadership to promote it.
There are thematic in-game channels for different activities. Also there is Rookie Chat. Join it and ask for help there. Local chat also exists. You can’t make an in-game menu for EVERY action in game. The only good idea is an arena for solo or team PvP. Devs turn it one sometimes for events but I think it should just stay as part of the game.
Openly selling locations is like asking to be ganked/robbed. Worst idea ever) And you can already sell those, it just requires some preparations.
Salvaging as a service… well if someone needs salvaging they just drop tractors and salvage with an alt. Most of the time income from general salvaging is so low that it’s only suitable for rookie pilots. Exception is triglavians salvaging. Most of the time (especially in nullsec) you can just ask in local someone who farms on a Marauder if you can follow him with a salvager and they will give you that salvage for free.
Open intel is 95% a bait. But as with first few proposals - it already exist within active corps/alliances. You found abandoned station - call your corp mates and go bash it. Found ratting Marauder in a WH - call mates and bash him. Unprotected mining fleet - you guessed it: call mates and bash those.
All in all - nothing new and interesting. Devs will not give you a button that says “entertain me the way I want”. This is a sandbox - entertain yourself.
