2012: Sanctuary Training Program

This idea won't leave me alone and keeps running around in my head, so I thought it was worthy of some additional thoughts and discussion.  Starting out in Eve is difficult and getting new players involved, engaged and ready to face the HTFU universe is an extreme challenge. One which has not been cracked to date.


My core idea is relatively simple. Turn the initial days of a Rookie's life into a "Mini-Game" that exists inside of Eve. Combine the best of the Tutorials, along with some serious updates and revisions, into a Training Program. Think Danger Room from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters for an idea of what I'm on about.


The idea is to slowly engage the new player into the world, the concepts and the functions of Eve, while also giving them a real taste of what lies ahead. And this is the radical step that is missing from today's engagement - letting the new player have a chance to fly ships he might not get to fly for years.


It makes sense. Think about training a Capsuleer, how much effort is involved, how much technology, expense and pure resources go into a Capsuleer's training. Do you think they just drop you into a Rookie ship and say, "Fly Safe"?  Let's turn the experience of the new player into an experience more akin to Capsuleer Training. For real.


This is a unique situation and a unique opportunity, to engage the new player in our universe in ways unheard of in the MMO environment. A system of training that goes beyond the Tutorial boredom into an engaging, exciting and memorable experience!


So, how does it work?  


First, every Rookie system is a Sanctuary for every Rookie signed into the Training Program. No one else. So it is not an exploitable situation. There are no kill-mails in the Sanctuary Training Program (STP), no loots (other than those provided to other STP participants) and no way for anyone other than brand spanking new players to get into the STP. While in the STP the Rookie player is immune to the rest of Eve while IN the STP system. This is also important to avoid exploitation. Any Rookie that leaves the STP system can be killed just like anyone else.


The STP has a stepped and tiered program that introduces the new player to the various play styles open to them as players in Eve. A PvP program, an Industry program and so on. Completion of each program is necessary for graduation.


The PvP program would involve Arena Combat. In yet another brilliant move, this program involves introducing the player to other players, building connections on the FIRST day! Such connections as we all know are critical to jeeping players engaged over the long haul. The STP is designed to foster such connections in every program step.


Aura would guide the combat, slowly revealing new systems, tactics and basic fundamentals regarding ship to ship combat. And here is the important thing, while it would start with Frigates, the program would escalate into Cruisers, BCs and perhaps even other ship classes. Perhaps the student would choose PvP as their "graduate program" and more complex tactics would be revealed. The same would hold true in the other programs, students that had no interest in combat might choose Industry as their "graduate program" and be brought into more complex industrial concepts.


The idea is to show the new player a taste of what the big picture Eve is all about. Engage them in the world, while protected from it. The entire STP would only last a few days, but it would be an amazing and unique experience for the new player. It would provide that most important of elements - desire. 


Of course, the Rookie player could also choose to opt out of the STP and just undock and fly off. But I don't think many, other than those created as alts, would do so.


The ideas inherent in this system are numberless, limitless and with great possibilities. I'm extremely excited about the STP concept and I can't stop thinking about it. Once completed the STP Graduate would be uniquely qualified as a new Eve pilot and ready to face the challenges of New Eden in ways that we were not.


Imagine being a new player and asked to take over the piloting of a huge transport like the Providence? Or being able to slug it out in Drakes against another Rookie player? Imagine the bonds that could be built between players, the desire to get out there and make something or yourself, to change the sandbox.


I'm sure there are holes in this and those that will poo-poo, but given some serious development and thought I believe this could easily form the foundation for a new player experience that would set the standard for the industry and engage new players in ways unheard of, especially for Eve.


I continue thinking and look forward to your thoughts and ideas.

Gooder Eve: Time to Clean the Database

This is a quick one, but no less powerful and much needed for being so.


Eve is getting a bit long in the tooth in some ways, a universe that has been going strong for almost a decade now and it is slowly getting filled up with junk. One example is the sheer amount of old, dead, defunct Corporations and Alliances still in the Database. I was helping someone name a new Corporation on Friday and I can't tell you the number of times we came up with a name that was already taken - but the Corporation was long since dead. Or the single player holding it hadn't played Eve in over three years.


Mostly this hinges on the five letter Corp Ticker, there are only so many combinations available to us and most of them have been taken. 


It is time to clean house. Any Corporation or Alliance that has been inactive for more than three years needs to be wiped from the Database and archived. Any holding players that remain transfered into a NPC Corporation in the off chance they return to the game. This will free up the Corp Tickers and names for new use.


Simple. Clean and much needed.

Gooder Eve: Majestic Time

Gooder Eve is an on-going series that attempts to prod the Eve Universe into motion by suggesting ways in which it could be made gooder. These suggestions range from the serious to the silly, but each one is intended to start a discussion, engage your brain and hopefully start the ball rolling in new and interesting directions.


Recently the concept of Time Dilation has been introduced to the Eve Community. Or, as fans of The Matrix might call it, Bullet Time. The concept is simple, the Eve server acts in an adaptive manner to constrict "in-game" time when the load becomes increasingly heavier. The heavier the load, the slower time acts within the game. It is hoped that by manipulating the fabric of space-time, server lag can be better dealt with.


Which is all fine and good, and a subject worthy of an additional post.


But it brought to mind something else that has been nagging at the back of my brain. ( And credit to Angor Mau for bringing it to my attention earlier this week. )  If we are going to be warping time in relation to server lag, perhaps now is a good time to think about time in Eve on a more majestic scale.


New Eden is a big universe. The scale and wonder of what CCP has built for our enjoyment is truly remarkable. But have you ever noticed how small it is starting to feel?  This is just a perception, which is the heart of space-time relativity in the first place. The perception of time has as much to do with actual time as the hands on a clock. Eve might be big, but you can sure get from one place to another PDQ.


And this isn't just a function of Jump Bridges, Cyno Fields, Jump Freighters and other instantaneous modes of transportation either. Although they certainly play a role. It also has to do with warping from one place to another.  The other night I went on a quick jaunt North in my Vagabond. 17 jumps in less than thirty minutes. I wasn't burning, it could have gone quicker.


My suggestion isn't radical. It is simply this, to slow Eve down about 10-15%.


To return a touch of the majestic to the Universe we love. Eve has sped up over the last few years and no doubt the universe has gotten smaller. Maybe it is time to pull that back a tad? To give us all a little more time and room to spread our wings?  Room you say?


Well one way to achieve this would be to simply (lol) make New Eden 10-15% bigger. To stretch it out a bit overall. This would screw with jump distances and bridges and cynos and whatnots, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing?  Another way would be to make everything slower, but I prefer the bigger method.


Ok Rixx, this is weird. No one is asking for this and you've gone off the deep end. Possibly. On the other hand, just because no one is asking for something doesn't mean it is a bad idea. I think the more you consider this the more you'll start to think it makes sense. Or perhaps you have an alternative solution?


Majesty. Size. Wonder. It is space after all and it should take some effort to get from one side to the other. A little more effort, just a touch, could return some much needed majesty to the universe of New Eden.


What are your thoughts?