Showing posts with label Jove. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jove. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 04, 2015

Jovian Speculation : Could New NPCs Open Door for New PCs?

OK, this thought experiment is admittedly a stretch for what I expect to happen but I don't feel its out of the realm of possibilities.

What if the coming of the new NPCs, which for convienence I'm calling Jove although there is rampant speculation on Tweetfleet Slack #lore channel that it could be any number of groups / sub groups, is also heralding the advent of new player races of advanced capsuleers with access to advanced new ships and weapons, but WITHOUT the ability to transfer consciousness to another clone upon death?

Death Knights of EVE


World of Warcraft introduced the concept of "hero class" when they created Death Knights, a class that started at level 55 instead of level 1 like normal characters, and which a player could only unlock once they had a normal class character at level 55+. The idea is that even the weakest of these new hero characters are capable of feats and abilities far beyond the normal average character.


This can translate into EVE by introducing a hero faction where the base starting Jovian character had millions of skill points and exotic skills for weapons and ships not attainable by normal capsuleers, powerful but not unstoppable. This could open up a world of new technologies and gameplay options for veteran EVE players, but would require some balancing mechanic to prevent them from obliterating players without access to these advanced tools.

One way could be to limit them to a particular section of space but that goes directly against the EVE credo of one shared universe without borders. Another potential method, and possibly hinted at in recent questions from CCP about players and using Perma-death characters, is that the Jovian characters have one life and if they are podded they are gone for good. Sure, your Jove ship and weapons can take on N opponents and win, but what happens when N+1 shows up?

In the end, I don;t think CCP would do this. There is enough difficulty balancing the current roster of ships and skill that is fraught with pitfalls and unintended consequences such that adding another power level to the mix could be disastrous and chaotic in the extreme. Its NGE volatile, if you catch my drift... see what I did there?


Thursday, December 11, 2014

Land Rush

Caroline's Star appears to be in Jove space. In three regions of Jove space, previously inaccessible by players, the stargates have been almost completely removed. The latest mysterious actions by Sleepers, Sansha's Nation, and the strange artifacts appearing in space with apparently degrading cloaks suggests that the Jove are going if not gone and that soon there will be a new land rush.

The smart money is betting on that the much heralded "new space" that players will be building stargates to is the Jove regions that are now probably unoccupied, or at least occupied by Sansha's and/or Sleepers.

I'm not so sure.
Source
Much like the 101 new Shattered Systems are an extension of wormhole space with unique properties, I suspect that players will be able to build stargates to Jove space eventually and start to colonize that area, perhaps with a mix of known space and wormhole space mechanics. No local, but cynos can be lit. Special systems with effects and moon mining. Etc. But like the Shattered systems, there is not enough there to represent a long term expansion to the game as a whole. For example, wormholes expanded the game back in Apocrypha in a large scale that allowed hundreds if not thousands of players to carve a new playstyle. Simply put, 101 Shattered systems will not do that, nor will 2-3 regions of Jove space; it would simply be integrated into the large systems in a relatively short time.

No, I suspect that we are seeing a purposeful and graceful expansion of current space and the Jove systems will play into that plan, but the end goal of the road we started in Rubicon is beyond Jove, beyond wormholes and the Shattered Systems. New space, real and expansive new space, is still coming.

* * * * *

Crystal Ball Prediction Time:

Players will find a way into Jove space, probably via wormholes, possibly with new technology to make jumps or stargates. I suspect the partially cloaked Unidentified Objects we are seeing in space from the Rhea release will play a part in getting us there eventually. In there we will start to find the components and techs we need to make the next jump to the new space which will be much larger than a couple regions. Think wormhole space big at least.

Brace Yourself.