Based on what I have seen, certain formats have very healthy queues for a length of time.
cheap entry cost makes the queue healthier
low SP requirement makes the queue healthier
low fleet size makes the queue healthier (solo queue is strongest)
formats with a greater and more complex meta dynamic have healthier queues
queues are healthier earlier on in the event than later on
motivators (top 100 skin rewards, daily log in rewards, the cache for winning a match) fundamentaly fuel the queue
The thing CCP did not really test to the nth degree, is how long queues last before they die under certain circumstances. All events seem to run for the weekend plus 2 days at the moment which is not unreasonable, however in some cases it may be cutting the event length short when it could have lasted longer. Alternatively, one day events may access formats that are fun but only have a short lifespan.
Another interesting point, 6) is a CCP dial factor. So at the moment the dial is turned right down to zero and the arena is working. If CCP turned it up and made unique vessels as a âtop 100â prize for a special event in the future, then the queue pool headcount would become MASSIVE and the competition SAVAGE to the maximum meaning of the word.
I understand that, but itâs not exactly in keeping with the spirit of the event. If you have to wait, then you have to wait. Sending in dummy alts that had zero chance of success just inflated numbers unnecessarily.
Thereâs no way to separate which were real and which were fake, and they also donât take into account the times when collusion was used to ensure that the guys in the bling fits who were working together didnât end up facing one another, and instead were facing the guys in regular fits who didnât really stand a chance.
Cheating WAS legal. I donât think that CCP expected the level of collusion they got, even if they should have been anticipating it, and once it was brought to their attention the event had gone for too long for it to be fair to change those rules and bar what hadnât been prohibited when the rounds started. I argued against any ex post facto application of rules, but I do think the rules being added now were necessary.
The fundamental issue here is that just because something is legal isnât a license to engage in the behavior if you know itâs wrong. Or, to paraphrase the movie, folks were so caught up in if they could, they never really thought of if they should. Gaming the system to rack up wins looks fine on paper, but everybody knows the results have a taint surrounding them.
If Cable wins the next go round fair and square, heâll have something to crow about. Now? Well, if this was baseball, Iâd tell him to expect a lot of pitches behind him.
Better be careful not to alienate those guys that like the arenas - I hear they like to cheat. They might not like it so much if they canât cheat anymore.
Apparently 800+ characters tried at least a single arena. Of that, how many were actual players who knows given the heavy alt use for rigging purposes.
Then why is anyone worrying about the 800 at best anyway? Itâs such a few players that I donât see why CCP even bothers. I do understand why some players want this, but why waste so much effort on so few?
Sure it is. This is EVE, cheating and lying and stealing and such are part of the game. There is no such thing as âwrong behaviorâ, only winners and losers.
There clearly is given the lines drawn in the sand by CCP.
The line usually is when it hurts the game too much, rather than aids competition. And as shown by this thread it is possible to cross the line.
Yes, standard gameplay is pretty much fine, it takes deliberate effort to cross the line.
But none of this should have been over the line. This is just a bunch of low-skill players being salty that they got out-metagamed and didnât get a âfairâ event in a game that is all about unfairness.
(And TBH CCP should have known that this was going to happen and never tried to implement âfairâ arena PvP in the first place.)
CCP disagree and they get to set the line.
I see no difference between them setting this line or any other exploit line theyâve set in the past. They were all possible via in game play, so if that is the qualifier for what should be allowedâŚ
See above, just because you can metagame some things doesnât mean you should.
As for Dev direction, personally I think the entire abyss was a mistake in direction for what EVE used to be, but it is their game to take in their desired direction. All we can do in that regard is give constructive feedback & vote with our feet if it becomes too undesirable as it evolves.
But now theyâve done the feature, this makes sense as a line, it still allows for a degree of underhandedness while reining in the worst abuses.
And CCP are very wrong in doing so here. They obviously have the power to do it, but letâs not pretend that this is a good policy to enforce.
I see no difference between them setting this line or any other exploit line theyâve set in the past.
The difference is that this is about player behavior and âfairnessâ in arena competition, not a flaw in the mechanics that can (and hopefully will) be patched out of the game. Gaining excessively easy triglavian standings because an obscure and long-forgotten game object gives absurdly high standings changes (which had never been relevant in the past) is an exploit. It clearly wasnât intended to work that way and itâs only possible because CCPâs quality control team let a bug slip through. Match rigging is not âoops, we missed a bugâ, itâs simply players choosing to act in a way that goes against how CCP wants them to play.
Match rigging is not banned though.
Theyâve just blocked two very specific things which they arenât able to code around easily (I wonât say at all because who knows), and clearly also werenât intended.
The PvP timer stopping filament use clearly exists only to stop people using this as an escape mechanism, it clearly was not intended to be used in the manner of rookie ships giving the timer for free.
And empty alts also was clearly not intended. I mean they could introduce some kind of fitting check for the arenas to reduce or prevent it, such as no empty slots,⌠but does that include high slots, what if itâs just a trash fit with the cheapest T1 module spammed in every slot, etc, actually blocking that would be a nightmare to try and code.
All other forms of match fixing though are still permitted, you can still bankrupt your opponent by ganking them so they canât afford top tier fits anymore, you can still organise your buddies to all try and join together and always shoot the other guy first before having a true FFA with the rest of you, it is still possible to be underhanded.
So they havenât removed what makes EVE EVE from it, theyâve just said âHey, these two things are clearly unintended and undesirableâ.
