Friday, November 14, 2014

Thera Thoughts

Now that I've had time to ruminate about Thera and the related new one hundred Shattered Systems (will they collectively be called S-space or T-Space?) I feel I can pontificate about what these new systems mean.

Thera will be a Fight Club
Akin to low sec, I think we will find that Thera will be a system that no one can completely lock down so medium sized groups will be forced to live along side smaller groups that prey upon the unwary. Logistics should not be too difficult since there is a large number of k-space connections to be made and the four stations will have manufacturing services, but any sort of PvE content or mining will be next to impossible which will limit the upper limit on organizational size (pilots need to make money!). The end result will be a lot of small scale PvP with all classes of ships, especially battleships since there will be no threat of capital escalation threats. Think of any low sec "capital" system like Nennamailia, Huola, Amamake, etc but on a larger scale.

Large Warp Distances Emulate System Jumps Without Bottlenecks
The super large size of Thera means its possible to localize control and combat in various areas with the likelihood of interference from other parts low (although climbing as time goes on in a fight). This reminds me a lot of combat throughout a low sec constellation, except without the bottlenecks in movement that jump gates create. Thera will feel like a small constellation more than a large system, as long as CCP provides enough CPU power.

Standard Shattered Systems will be Day Tripping Systems
Without any ability to set up a POS for long term habitation, normal s-space (I'm going with s-space) will be used by wormholers and k-space day trippers for PvE activities when the opportunity presents itself, but no one is going to live in them. Hunters will check them for contacts when they connect to them too, but I expect the

Small Ship Shattered Systems will be Wastelands
I appreciate what CCP is trying to do here, i.e. create a set of systems that encourages smaller ship activities that have a lower barrier of entry to lower skill point pilots, but... these systems are not going to have even daytrippers very interested in them. Even with the Wolf-Rayet effects I suspect the ships are going to have a slow time doing PvE, and PvP needs a base of targets to escalate to the point where PvPers run into each other often enough while hunting. I picture these systems to be like non-faction warfare low sec systems that lack stations, planets, and moons. Desolate.

Fuck POSes
I find it very interesting that there are no moons in s-space, including Thera. One can speculate that since originally Wormhole space was intended to be a place players visited for PvE and PvP for short or extended stays, but not actually lived in (hence the lack of ice mining for POS refueling), CCP was taken aback when players simply adapted to the logistics involved in importing POS fuel and made their homes in all levels of w-space anyways. So new s-space seems to say "Fuck POSes" by making sure it is impossible to set them up instead of merely difficult or improbable. Never bet against player ingenuity.

The lack of POSes in s-space will severely limit the ability of players to setup shop in these systems. Will small groups find a way to get an Orca or three in a system and try to live out of them by being very careful when they log the Orca pilot on? I'm sure someone will try it (I did it in a class 1 wormhole for a year).

Overall I get the feeling that s-space is meant to be like NPC null sec in how its a jumping stone between k-space and full on w-space.

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Now, some questions I don't have answers for.

How does Thera and s-space relate to the new space and the new jump gates? Does it represent the first wave of new space, or completely just an extension of w-space?

Will there be a public service made by a third party giving the current locations of Thera's statics so people can make roams there off the cuff? I bet its already being planned.

Does the concept of a huge system that emulates a small constellation have traction in future design plans? Will n-space (new space, natch) be made up of multiple Thera-sized systems? Will there be any wormholes or jump gates at all in n-space?

6 comments:

  1. With the new tug class or what ever it is. It may be possible for pilots to use it alongside other deployable structures to keep a mobile base in these shattered systems.

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  2. It will be entirely possible to live in the 75 larger new systems for days at a time, but it will be pilot intensive. This may cause some issues for smaller groups.

    I agree with you on the frigate systems, Kirith. I can see raiding them, maybe, but that's about it. It'll be a throwback to the days of salvage destroyers.



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  3. Or will Thera type systems be where these deployable new stargates lead to?

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    Replies
    1. It would be an interesting mechanic if they were one way jumps.

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  4. Assuming the 75 s-space systems have the normal mass limits for their wspace level, then it should be possible to zip up the C2-C6 levels and run sites. Possibly even mine ice, although that seems pretty crazy to me given the lackluster ISK-per-hour and danger. But you can certainly live in a system out of an Orca or a carrier. You have to be really careful about when you log in.

    The C1 systems will be much like the 25 frigate systems. You can't zip them up, and so they should be fairly dangerous places to do PVE. The frigate systems might be fun to run sites in though, in PVPish fits. With armor buffed from the wolf-rayet, every ship is going to have extra midslots.

    I am not so sure about Thera having decent logistics. Imagine it has 2 highsecs and 2 lowsecs, all of them camped and bubbled. How are you getting in? I dunno. If it does become fight club then obviously there should be profit to be made getting stuff in... but it won't be easy. Especially hulls.

    I do think it should be amazing to be able to jump clone into Thera, experience wspace rules for a night, then jump out the next day. Well, for everyone who can jump clone. Poor me not included.

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  5. The first few people to find Thera on TQ will sell its location VERY dearly and make some nice ISK, since first-access to Thera will grant access to offices in the best stations.

    Within a month or so, though, I will be stunned if there isn't a theraentries.com or something similar with a daily report of at least one entry, if not all of them.

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