Celus Ivara
DUST University
Ivy League
320
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Posted - 2015.04.07 08:01:00 -
[1] - Quote
CCP Rattati wrote:One question, and this is a crazy one. If we were to setup a system that allows a SKIN to take into account the Corporation Name. Would corporations be interested in having CCP customize, based on request, a corp skin that would be available in the marketplace, but say "This SKIN only appilies if you are in D-Uni", for example? I don't have the tech yet, but this seems fairly awesome, so I would love to get your feedback. A bit of a off-topic, but I already have 30 plus top corp emails joining the cause, so I'm happy. 
I think the high level idea of corps buying custom SKINs to show off their brand and unity is going to be near universally desired.
For implementation, I think there's a lot of merit to following how uniforms work IRL:
1: SKINs are produced by the Corp (either through AURUM purchases and/or a WarBarge Flotilla module).
2: Corp (not the NPC Market) distributes them to their members.
3: Corp can make & distribute not just one "Corp uniform", but a variety of uniforms for people fulfilling different roles in a Corp.
As an example, in D-Uni, instead of a single Dust University SKIN, I'd ideally want to buy/build four SKINs: Students, Teachers, Spec-Ops, Directors.
4: Corps have some way to largely control who has access to the SKINs. But, players can through scheming gain limited access to SKINs they shouldn't have; which can then be used in infiltration, false-flag operations, etc..
That's the abstract above, below is my best stab at a mechanic:
A Corp can buy/construct a variety of SKIN BPOs. Once made, the BPO can be used by many players and never runs out.
Access to any corp SKIN BPO is controlled via the same Role Permissions menu we have now. If the Corp allows a member access to a SKIN BPO, that player has infinite uses of it.
A Corp can also produce BPC copies of the BPO. Legitimate hypothetical reasons for SKIN BPCs could be a sports arena Corp distributing red and blue jerseys to the players fighting that day, or a fashion Corp selling cool SKINs they fabricated. Production and distribution of the BPCs is controlled by a new Role called a "Factory Manager". (Name stolen from a similar Role in EVE. Note that the idea of a Role added solely to control who can make SKIN BPCs is a little much, but given that Dust Corps will likely be able to one day build tons of things, introducing new permissions for that will eventually be necessary anyway.)
A key aspect of SKIN BPCs is that they are consumed on death. People buying from the fashion company will be steady customers; spies using ill-gotten uniforms will have to be careful since have a finite amount of uses. |