“…Everyone should remember how much hope and unity you have experienced in the last few weeks. The player-base is excited and awaiting these new changes or still assimilating the changes that have already hit in the Feb patch. Remember though, it only takes one CCP design decision to change what EVE is. Know that the CSM is trying to keep EVE true to the game we all love, and is pushing for gameplay-enriching changes. We sometimes also try to lay down under the tank treads to varying degrees of success. Bank this goodwill you feel now my friends, for darkness can come swiftly. It may already be on the way. We can’t get through to them in every instance after all….even united as one.”
And after parsing the whole text for clues, I want to forward my guess on what he’s pointing at within NDA limits.
Put in short, I think that the higher ups in CCP have decided to change the wardec mechanic so certain highsec corporations get a limited degree of inmunity to wardecs. Like, say, establishing “Social” corporations which can’t own structures and can’t be wardecced unless they wardec first, probably with some other limtiations so “wardeccable” corps are attractive but all in all giving one-man-Joe Inc. freedom from wardec while he PvEs.
Aryth’s clues are: it’s a “coward mechanic” worse than tethering, it’s related to activity and it’s a top brass decission which in Aryth’s opinion shows lack of knowledge of EVE.
So I just pack it with the mention of “social” corps as something for the future, three or four years ago; the discussion of changes to wardec mechanics by a CSM member in a thread; and a wild guess of what would be bad enough so Aryth wants to forewarn the player base but not so bad that is worth a breach of the NDA.
TL;DR? Good things are coming (changes already devblogged), some things are not so good (nullification, activity and the Agency), and CCP is gonna screw up seriously yet the CSM can’t do anything about it.
Therein also lies the danger. The goal is so obviously good and right that it can cloud CCP’s judgement in how they develop the game. Small decisions in how you implement a design have sweeping ramifications in the nature of the sandbox. I am pretty sure you are going to see the result of senior management not understanding EVE being responsible for changing the nature of it.
You should listen to Aryth on previous TIS podcasts. He is actually a strong proponent of revamps to wardecs including structure based requirements. I don’t think that is what he is hinting at but is probably something far deeper.
Well, i’m just having a hunch. I know that structures related to wardecs have been a idea for many years (at least since before the last change to the mechanic) but in general they are wrong to think that people being wardecced and avoiding the wars would PvP if they had a reason to. PvPrs thinking that PvErs just need an incentive to PvP are like dogs thinking that cats would bark if they had a reason good enough…
I would guess it isn’t wars (since everything else in the Minutes and elsewhere indicates they aren’t working on them, nor is Aryth at all a champion for them) and probably not tethering. Docking in NPC station is already a ‘coward mechanic’ and tethering for them, while changing the meta a bit, doesn’t seem to me to change anything fundamental about Eve.
My guess it is a feature they saw that really does finally cross that line and breaks ‘nowhere is safe’ design tenet. Some daily quest system or maybe private player space (or both) that is designed to get people logging in by handing out rewards but is completely invulnerable to the other players.
Let’s hope that CSM intervention was early and forceful enough to fix whatever it was that scared the CSM so.
The thing could be NDA, so we dont see anything about it.
We already have NPC corporations, and making an amalgam of corporation level ownership with reduced wardecability and structure ownership is nothing we have to be afraid of. Maybe PIRAT may be, but the whole null can sleep nice with introduction of corps like that. It would change nothign in low and null.
I think its about something more safe and about feature that is not now in the game at all. Maybe PvP arenas and tying them to Agency. But arenas with some safety measures like no podding and CONCORD taking control over player weapons before and after fight. Ships provided for free.
I don’t see how new people being in with a group of people who cant be warddeced hurts everyone.
Now I am sure the tears will flow on this subject, but the sheer fact is the great majority of players in this game are set blue to each other. Its not like the content isn’t there, the fact is they wont fight each other and the great majority of them only fight people they KNOW they cant beat. Hey only have to look at Providence and PL to see this happening now.
I can see this one of many steps for the devs to force Null to start fighting or just get no fights at all. It seems stupid to encourage all the oldest players to seek out all the youngest players, its not good for retention, and surely the games stagnation of “blue everyone” isn’t good for anyone either.
If this wasn’t a problem it wouldn’t be being addressed, but it is, EvE players and corporations tend to be cowardly and sometimes carrot and stick comes with a big F***ing stick.
Unprotected PvP is the nature of eve… It’s been here for 15 years either you like eve the way it is, or you want eve to be other MMOs, if you want eve to be other MMOs, please leave don’t let the door hit you on your way out