So, have we hit the point in here where base range on mediums and heavies gets significantly buffed yet? Anybody who has actually run ewar knows prec without range is almost worthless and seeing a guy who moves @ 8m/s in the last 10 m for a second = not much help.

If its been covered, just say, I haven't read through the entire thread

Ok, in the last few days I have talked and thought about various ways we could try and make the EWAR system work. It really is hard to find a balance between scouts dedicating their fits to being properly stealthy getting rewarded for doing so and medium frames being able to have a chance at actually participating in EWAR. As we stand now, even with the proposed changes, scouts will continue to easily, with practically no effort, beat any and all attempts from medium frames at participating in the EWAR game. There have been many interesting propositions in this thread for making EWAR more dynamic, including things like actions directly affecting profile. But seems we are, for now, due to technical imitations stuck with a more static system.

I have a general outline in my head that I have been toying with, that I find very appealing, though I know most people who even bother to read this will probably disagree with it. But hey, loads of people have made all sorts of suggestions here, so why not.

First of all, let's keep the concentric circle system, with the reduced scan precision at longest ranges. But instead of just slightly higher precision in the smallest circle, I propose (as have some others) that everything, no matter the profile, is visible in the short range. I think this is not an inconvenience to even the stealthiest of playstyles, because no matter how many dampeners you stack on, you still have to use your brains to decide on direction and timing of approaches, use situational awareness and speed to maximum effect, take advantage of windows of opportunity created by the actions of other players. And the short range we are talking about here is quite short, distances a scout can close almost instantaneously.

Now, you might say, why would anyone use precision enhancers if everything is can be scanned regardless? Well, precision enhancers would still work to improve your passive scans at medium to long range, and can serve to give you an advance warning about danger heading your way. So, they'd still be just as useful.

On the other hand, what does it matter if your scans show you a scout that's about to remove your spleen when they are already within the very short scan range of the inmost circle? Well, it might not, in some cases. But I do think that it may give one a fighting chance, due to the split second of being able to start to react, turn, dodge, whatever when that red blip shows up on your radar instead of only after the scout in question is already happily running off with your kidneys in hand, on his way to find a black market trader for clone mercenary organs...

Now, ranges. I think the current base ranges for medium frames (and possibly heavies, however I am not so much concerned about them, as they do have their massive HP and insanely high dps as defences :P) need to be improved on.
3.something meter short range scans are meaningless, both in Rattati's system, and in my theoretical one. I propose assaults and logis both should have a BASE range somewhere around 20m (at the very least over 15m), just so their short scan radius reaches a useful distance... Of course scout base ranges could also be adjusted upwards to retain their superiority to medium frames in this aspect. Though I do also see that if we increase base ranges too much, range amplifier modules may become ridiculous at their current percentages, but they could be adjusted to work with longer base ranges. My aim with this is that a medium frame with max skills would have a passive short range scan of at least about 7-8m. Well within shotgun range, barely an eyeblink for a nova knifer to close in.

So, how does this help medium frame participation in EWAR? Well, I personally don't think medium frames can or should compete with scouts in stealth... Assaults can choose to dampen to try and hide themselves from active scanners/other mediums/heavies etc. But they don't need to reach the levels of dampening a scout can. But mediums should have a decent chance at detecting scouts, yes, even dampened ones. And the numbers we have seen really don't include a decent chance for that, 1 or 2 dampeners would be enough to competely hide a scout from any scans a medium frame is capable of. So, sacrificing slots for enhancers seems rather pointless. But if a medium frame can see a scout in their short range scans, the dynamic becomes less one-sided. Now everyone can choose to increase their effectiveness against stealthy players by increasing their scan range... as increased scan range would also slightly increase the radius of the short range scans.

Now, I happen to think that shared passive scans would break this system... But I also think that shared passive scans already break the game, a little. I would be happy to see them go, and make EWAR a little more interesting at the same time.

I know I'm not going into a lot of detail as far as numbers are concerned, and I don't have a spreadsheet to show my work, but I don't see the point for something that is entirely just a throw away idea :)

Well, anyway, essay over, my other 0.02isk, whatever. Tell me I'm an idiot.