Tractor Beams only work on Containers, but I think it would be very fun and immersive if they could also affect the velocity and trajectory of live ships.
If only Tech 2 Tractor Beams could do it, then Alpha abuse is not possible.
You don’t want us to drag a ship to another system, as that would be ‘flying’ more than one ship at a time.
To render that prospect impractical, or at least highly situational, add Diminishing Returns:
A ship using Tractor Beam on another Ship can only do so for up to 60 seconds, until a cooldown blocks further effect.
This effect could be progressively diminishing
The cooldown ensures that if players want to ‘fly’ an extra ship, they would have to spend a lot of actual time and coordination in order to achieve that goal.
If you use Distance Traveled while under the effects of Tractor Beam, instead of just the duration affected, it would mean that trying to fly away from a tractor beam at a high speed would decrease the time to release from its effects. (Sounds like good fun to me)
Ship Mass vs Ship Mass could also have a an effect, though there is a lot to consider regarding Biggest vs Smallest ships.
Furthermore, the ship that is being tractored can also have Diminishing Returns.
After reaching 300 seconds (or kilometers) of Tractor effects, a cooldown blocks further effect for a long while.
Ships that have Tractor Beams generally don’t have much combat potential on the field, but it would add to excitement and immersion if they could utilize tractoring to affect the course of battle, or at least try to defend themselves.
As for PVP, the effect should probably be disabled some places, or players could be protected by a Timer. Groups of ships with Tractor Beams vs Gankers could be interesting.
At the very least, I would hope to see it live for PVE.
While I realize not all players would appreciate this mechanic, there are many who genuinely would. Star Trek has burnt this into the minds of many generations of sci-fi fans.
Well, EVE is not Star Trek or Star Wars. This mechanic don’t really have any useful place in EVE. Even you can’t find anything expect “it would look cool”.
It would be a huge change to EVE, so the effects are up to the devs who can bring the big picture into perspective. I’m not sure if the idea is compatible with the current state of the game.
Aside from the potential for both immersion and role-play, it could have a moderate impact on both PVP and PVE.
Certain big ships would be tempted to fit Tractor Beams for tactical purposes
Ganker groups will want to utilize Tractor Beams to further ensure kills
Noctis becomes something akin to a monster
In my opinion, the idea of implementing the mechanic has merit.
Whether it is good enough to be prioritized, or even considered, is another tale.
I don’t really see the point. Webs already slow the other ship down so you can close the gap.
It’s just the same outcome and less effective, because at least a web is also a defensive module that aids escape by also allowing you to pull away from an opponent.
So, you couldn’t use it defensively, and it wouldn’t be good at reducing transversal (at least, on it’s own), but it could actively pull targets into range and deeper into bubbles, it would have a long range when compared to the web range of most ships (and for cheap), it would make it easier to catch and hold onto faster ships, and it would greatly increase the value of utility highslots.
Huh, if mass was involved, you could maximize pulling power with things like MWD’s, plates, and Higs Anchors. You could also tow hics with zero-point mass entanglers around at incredible speeds.
It’s an interesting thought experiment, but it doesn’t address any problems, I’m not sure how it would make anything better, it would be utter chaos from a balance perspective, and it could greatly increase server load (I’m not an expert on such things, so I don’t know).
Given the majority of TiDi is reportedly due to collision mechanics, I believe this is an accurate statement with regard to sizable engagements. Webs simply slow ships - they do not change the trajectory - so they are fairly economical modules when it comes to server load. I don’t really see that being the case with a ship-moving tractor beam, which would move collidable objects around the grid.
Note that wrecks and jetcans are not collidable objects - so what is not an issue for an MTU or tractor beam module would be a consideration for this proposed T2 module.
Also, OP, this statement is not accurate:
If only Tech 2 Tractor Beams could do it, then Alpha abuse is not possible.
Alpha pilots are not locked out of most T2 modules - they are locked out of most T2 ships.
Overall, this idea is for a kind of remote bumping that cannot be fought without also introducing specialized ECM, and is ripe for griefing. I don’t readily see a value add for most players, and I very much see a lot of opportunities for abuse or broken game mechanics if this were implemented. Does it sound cool? Yes. Is it a valuable addition to the current structure of EVE overall (combat mechanics, crime watch, all of it included)? Not really.
Its a cool idea and I personally would love to see it, but from a balancing perspective it would be an absolute nightmare, and from an implementation perspective there are so many variables there are bound to be insane bugs (akin to the early nano gangs before stacking penalties were introduced).
Still would love to see it as I really think utility high slots need more options.