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Author Topic: EVE is no place for high-profile mortals  (Read 1489 times)

Merdaneth

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EVE is no place for high-profile mortals
« on: 16 Feb 2013, 17:13 »

I think the lesson to be learned from the Shakor incident is that mortal heads of state or similar dignitaries have no place flying around in space in the EVE Universe. For as long as capsuleers have little weapon restrictions and remain virtually immortal, mortals who draw their ire will simply be killed the moment they appear in space. The only way to survive capsuleers as a high-profile mortal is to avoid them altogether.

Currently, I see some people on the forums trying to find acceptable methods (RP, mechanics, and game-balance wise) to have 'essential' NPCs survive when targeted by rich, well-armed, willfull and immortal adversaries. Rather than trying this I would say that the NPC world needs to adapt to the realities posed by the capsuleers class: a clone-less Heth will die if he sticks his head out in space and capsuleers become aware of him. Similarly for a cloneless Jamyl and other high-profile people.

Heads of State aren't (as a rule) stupid. They must be aware of the dangers of capsuleers, and either they would counter them (by disarming capsuleers in high-sec) or they would get clones. No current world leader would live very long if they allowed immortal soldiers with sniper rifles to walk around their countries unimpeded.

Rather than inventing complicated mechanics, I would simply have the NPCs adapt to the day-to-day reality they live in. That would make the most sense.
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Samira Kernher

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Re: EVE is no place for high-profile mortals
« Reply #1 on: 16 Feb 2013, 17:18 »

The delegates were all capsuleers, not mortals.

That being said, yes, I agree that non-capsuleers venturing into space need to take into consideration the reality of the EVE universe. There are many avenues to prepare for such, which I'm sure the CCP live events team are considering.
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Saede Riordan

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Re: EVE is no place for high-profile mortals
« Reply #2 on: 16 Feb 2013, 17:25 »

thats kind of the attitude CCP is going for, in regards to a lot of the content tutorials and things. It makes a big deal about how you're this crazy immortal spacecraft flying around doing whatever you want.
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Silas Vitalia

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Re: EVE is no place for high-profile mortals
« Reply #3 on: 16 Feb 2013, 20:43 »

I think the issue is more with revising the CONCORD and DED PF, and the capsuleer interaction with NPCS.

Either CONCORD has a leash on us, or they don't.

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Matoko

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Re: EVE is no place for high-profile mortals
« Reply #4 on: 16 Feb 2013, 22:25 »

This does beg the question of why they don't just make high-rank officials Pilots. If they can transform upwards of 100,000 people to be these demigods, what's a few more or less?
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Morwen Lagann

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Re: EVE is no place for high-profile mortals
« Reply #5 on: 16 Feb 2013, 22:38 »

This does beg the question of why they don't just make high-rank officials Pilots. If they can transform upwards of 100,000 people to be these demigods, what's a few more or less?

If I remember the numbers right, there are several million capsuleers in total; the "unbound" or "independent" capsuleers that make up the playerbase are somewhere between 500 and 750 thousand. The rest are employed directly by the empires and outlaw factions.
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Saede Riordan

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Re: EVE is no place for high-profile mortals
« Reply #6 on: 16 Feb 2013, 23:01 »

I often imagine capsuleers as something akin to the AIs in The Culture, where the pod just makes you sort of become the ship. So capsuleers are these semi crazy warship minds, half controlled, most just utterly insane.

As for the 'concord leash' the way I RP it, to explain the fact that I can kill DED swat battleships in nullsec missions, is that in order to enter highsec, you're forced to accept firmware updates that make it possible for CONCORD to crash your ship systems and detonate your reactor if you break the law. This firmware is then scrubbed when exiting highsec. But these patches don't exist in low or null, so you can merrily shoot DED forces. This was what Stitcher and I sort of deduced in the summit one day.
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Techie Kanenald

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Re: EVE is no place for high-profile mortals
« Reply #7 on: 17 Feb 2013, 07:58 »

I think the issue is more with revising the CONCORD and DED PF, and the capsuleer interaction with NPCS.

Either CONCORD has a leash on us, or they don't.

I think CCP has a bit of a quandary there.  The entire thing of EVE is "SANDBOX!"....we've seen how they're reluctant to put restraints on "emergent gameplay" in the past.  To have CONCORD have that kind of leash on us restricts that gameplay.

I'm fine with being restricted like that, but I could see it becoming a PR incident:

"Come play in our sandbox and do whatever you want, unless you want to change the game, then you play by our rules."

Sounds logical to me...CCP -are- GMs in the D&D sense.  I just see them hesitant to reign in their players.
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BloodBird

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Re: EVE is no place for high-profile mortals
« Reply #8 on: 17 Feb 2013, 08:47 »

Most DM's don't worry that to restricted the players in a game will cause the players to stop paying them and leave the game entirely.

CCP has to worry about that. If EVE was a pen and paper D&D game the DM could set whatever realistic consequences for murdering the King "for the lolz" as he pleased.
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Graelyn

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Re: EVE is no place for high-profile mortals
« Reply #9 on: 19 Feb 2013, 03:08 »

If I, as a mortal, want to take the the skies, and am not a pauper or an idiot, I will be flying in a craft piloted by a capsuleer.

That doesn't mean I am one.

Pilots who are Unbound (like us) both control AND Command their vessels. This is the exception, not the norm.
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