Gullegubben
Ginnungagaps Landsknektsgille
32
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Posted - 2013.02.19 01:22:00 -
[1] - Quote
I have had many long discussions and angry debates in EVE on this topic for (seriously) the past 7+ years.
Here is a short summary of my findings in this. First, many players feel that any social space is stupid in EVE. EVE is about flying spaceships in space on the internet and therefore anything that does not further that gameplay is a waste of their money. I understand this point. One huge problem with that point is that it's one group of players telling other players what EVE is and how it should be played. That is utter crap. There are a million things I don't do in EVE. I don't mine veldspar, I don't go to WH-space and I don't do inventions. This doesn't mean I don't want these things to be fun for the people who do them. For example, I'd like to see mining change from static pockets into planetary or system orbiting, proper, belts. I think that's an amazing idea. What's more, it doesn't make mining better for PvPers, it makes mining better for miners. Because they're the ones doing mining and they're the ones who should be pandered too with mining updates.
Now, if you don't mine veldspar, why should you care what they do to mining? Likewise, if you're not part of the immersive social game in EVE, why should you care about walking around in a station? The answer is, you shouldn't. It isn't there to tick you off or make your EVE different, it's there to make MY EVE different. Because personally, I find the social game in EVE incredibly anti-immersive at the moment.
Currently, if I want to hold a meeting with directors of my corp, or alliance contacts etc, do you know how I do that? Ventrilo. I don't even use EVE. In fact, most of the time I'm not even logged in. Could there possibly be anything less immersive than a game where the prime method of hosting an important summit doesn't involve playing the game?
I am not saying anybody should be required to dock, get out of their pod and go into a meeting room to discuss something. That would be ridiculous. I am however saying that for those of us to whom this is the majority of their EVE life, this should be an option. I would absolutely relish the opportunity to die trying to get a covops into an NPC station in nullsec for an important neutral ground meeting. The sense of importance, along with the potential immersive gameplay rewards of escorting a CEO or diplomat past bubbles etc, would be epic.
So what does any of that have to do with Dust? Well we've been given a vehicle for change. The social landscape of New Eden suddenly includes people who don't use ventrilo and teamspeak, but count on actually being logged into their game to cover social, diplomatic and management duties. I think meeting rooms and social spaces could be an excellent reason for diplomats and corporate leaders to dock up, get out of the pod and mingle with some bunnies. Oh and if your purpose in Dust or EVE has nothing to do with diplomacy, if you're just a running gun, this doesn't affect your game. It affects mine.
TL;DR
Give us meeting rooms already, CCP. |