People constantly look for some "Jesus feature" to increase EVE population again, with no avail. Today I suggest a rather unorthodox solution: what if we'd treat EVE like it was a video game?
It's well known that players of video games are flocking to rewards. They do the dungeons giving out the "epixx" instead of the old ones, despite similarly valuable content. Real life marketers even stated to "gamify" real life aspects to increase customer retention and involvement.
Unfortunately EVE doesn't have many systems like this. PvE gives out rewards in the ISK value of the items acquired, and killing ships provides kill reports and loot. But fundamentally important actions like FC-ing, maintaining infrastructure, flying repper or scout ships are absolutely invisible. No wonder that alliances struggle finding players doing it.
Imagine that these all could be gamified, giving out points, achievements and such! "But-but-but sandbox! CCP can't tell me which is the right way of playing EVE by giving points for flying repper in a fleet!" - While quests are basic things in all games, EVE largely misses them, unless you count the missions which could be transformed into anoms without anyone caring. CCP introducing quests would largely cause outcry.
Well, who was talking about CCP? Devs would only design the templates, alliances would have to provide the details, the flavor text and the rewards. Alliances could petition for new quest templates to cover actions they like their members to do. Let me give some examples of great quests:
CCP already has extensive logging tools. They could be transformed into a player monitoring system used by the alliance leadership to always give something to do for their line members. Instead of ship spinning, they could open up their quest interface and see what he could do right now for his alliance.
It's well known that players of video games are flocking to rewards. They do the dungeons giving out the "epixx" instead of the old ones, despite similarly valuable content. Real life marketers even stated to "gamify" real life aspects to increase customer retention and involvement.
Unfortunately EVE doesn't have many systems like this. PvE gives out rewards in the ISK value of the items acquired, and killing ships provides kill reports and loot. But fundamentally important actions like FC-ing, maintaining infrastructure, flying repper or scout ships are absolutely invisible. No wonder that alliances struggle finding players doing it.
Imagine that these all could be gamified, giving out points, achievements and such! "But-but-but sandbox! CCP can't tell me which is the right way of playing EVE by giving points for flying repper in a fleet!" - While quests are basic things in all games, EVE largely misses them, unless you count the missions which could be transformed into anoms without anyone caring. CCP introducing quests would largely cause outcry.
Well, who was talking about CCP? Devs would only design the templates, alliances would have to provide the details, the flavor text and the rewards. Alliances could petition for new quest templates to cover actions they like their members to do. Let me give some examples of great quests:
- "Scan down a wormhole in home space": You scan it down, bookmark it, bring the bookmark to an alliance station/citadel/POS and click complete to receive rewards. The flavor text could be "Wormholes are dangerous objects, due to their tendency to spawn PL command ship fleets. We must know where they are!" Reward: 5M ISK, paid from the alliance quest wallet.
- "close the wormhole": Quest appear if someone delivers a bookmark. If you are the last to jump before it closes, you get the reward. If you do it in fleet, it's distributed between members. Reward: 20M ISK.
- "complete an anom with a newbro": you must be in fleet and on grid with a member with less than 10M SP and less than 1 month in the alliance, from the first spawn to the last. Reward: 1 alliance points, listed on the toplist.
- "Catch that boogieman": kill a red in home space while not being in a stratop fleet. Reward: 3 alliance points.
- "First step into greatness:" be the fleet boss of a max 5 member fleet of alliance members killing a red. Reward: "Will be commanding titans one day" title.
- "F1": spend an hour in fleet advertised with "stratop" tag. Reward: 5 alliance points.
- "F1-6": spend an hour in fleet advertised with "stratop" tag in a logistics ship. Reward: 25 alliance points.
- "Savior of ship maintenance bay": refuel a tower. Every tower is eligible once in two weeks, you can't refuel the same tower 100x a day. Reward: 20M ISK
- "Serving the alliance day and night": spend 12 hours in hostile space cloaked. Reward: 5 alliance points.
- "Claiming space, one rock at a time": spend an hour mining in a system with ADM less than 3. Reward: 5 alliance points.
CCP already has extensive logging tools. They could be transformed into a player monitoring system used by the alliance leadership to always give something to do for their line members. Instead of ship spinning, they could open up their quest interface and see what he could do right now for his alliance.
8 comments:
I'm in signal cartel. People pay us to keep the Thera wormholes current by donating. As line members, we get ISK based on the monthly donations to scan the Thera holes. I made over 200 million one month just doing a few holes in less than 30 minutes. CCP is not involved at all. We are not a wealthy alliance compared to most others. I just don't see your point, though I am trying.
The real reward you get for scouting, logistics (both healing and maintaining hangars, supplies, markets) and fleet commanding is real respect and support from your pilots. I write this from the perspective of our 30 men corp.
P.s. Paying 5 mil per WH booked is nice. Many scouts fly hours and make hundreds of bookmarks on daily basis. Though such system will be abused as everything in eve.
@Pashko Zpc: since it's not managed and rewarded by CCP but by the alliance, so abusing it would be hurting your own alliance like awoxing. Sure, there will be abusers, just like there are awoxers, but they will be quickly blacklisted.
"Respect" might work in a small, independent corp. Definitely not in a 1000+ alliance where only a few celebrities are having names, everyone else are nameless line members.
they are bringing in Daily missions soon covering all playstyles. Perhaps this will be something along the lines of what you are looking for
Fabulous idea!
@Pashko: Supply and demand will sort it all out.
Grate idea. I so many times wondered what to do, then eneded spinning my ship few times then log off.
I like the quest type systems but how about a new Life Mail system. Logi pilots get a Life Mail sent to them detailing remote reps done to any ship that survives combat. Lists top healer and ISK value of items not destroyed.
Another way of looking at it is that Gevlon is asking for contracts which are enforced by the game itself.
I.e. The corp can issue the contract, someone goes and fulfills it, and payment is automatically rendered. There's no debate about whether or not the job was done, or if the corp will simply not pay. The contract terms are adjudicated by the game itself.
Post a Comment