Please explain to me how you expect a new player from this point forward to become a dropship pilot.

Please tell me how they will spend their skill points and how long you think it will take them to achieve said skill points. How are they funding their dropship costs and skill book costs.

Can you please lay out a brief roadmap for me based on what we currently have?

Thank you very much for your time.

[quote=DUST Fiend]Please explain to me how you expect a new player from this point forward to become a dropship pilot.

Please tell me how they will spend their skill points and how long you think it will take them to achieve said skill points. How are they funding their dropship costs and skill book costs.

Can you please lay out a brief roadmap for me based on what we currently have?

Thank you very much for your time.

[CCP]nothin said dropship WP are "on the backlog" in IRC

::sigh::

Lol, that's one thing.

I wanna know how they expect anyone to pay for 1.5 million ships that can be destroyed instantly and without warning by these silly forge guns

Or by those RDV TERRORISTS

This is a progressive game i takes time for shiny stuff to skill and have isk for. It is same in EVE.

So about dropships and love.

First, there's a price cut in plans for them. We'd like to make them more affordable especially on the lower end to make them easier to get into. The learning curve can be pretty rough if you can't afford mistakes. Dropships also provide the kind of cooperative gameplay that we would like seeing more of.

Second, we're taking a look at the SP requirements for different paths overall and making sure that skill costs are appropriate for what you're getting. Progressing into being a dropship pilot (or something else, for that matter) should ultimately be a fun and rewarding endeavor, not a grind.

Third, we're aware that flying dropships as your job doesn't allow you to make a solid living right now. It's getting looked at. We want to give some more WP-reward love to the dropship pilots. You should be able to be the trucker of the skies without having to finance your job by doing other things in between :)

So about dropships and love.

First, there's a price cut in plans for them. We'd like to make them more affordable especially on the lower end to make them easier to get into. The learning curve can be pretty rough if you can't afford mistakes. Dropships also provide the kind of cooperative gameplay that we would like seeing more of.

Second, we're taking a look at the SP requirements for different paths overall and making sure that skill costs are appropriate for what you're getting. Progressing into being a dropship pilot (or something else, for that matter) should ultimately be a fun and rewarding endeavor, not a grind.

Third, we're aware that flying dropships as your job doesn't allow you to make a solid living right now. It's getting looked at. We want to give some more WP-reward love to the dropship pilots. You should be able to be the trucker of the skies without having to finance your job by doing other things in between :)

you respond to THIS?


*notices silence on the bajillion other issues raised*

Pound it out on foot. Remember though, that if you want to be a dropship pilot, your SP needs to go into vehicle skills. Hope you enjoy running militia on 0 skill points.

Did that in two other builds. Except for the skills that crossed over between suits and vehicles. Learned my lesson to focus on the ground game now and worry about vehicles later. Maybe after the first 10 mil sp.

you respond to THIS?


*notices silence on the bajillion other issues raised*

So about dropships and love.

First, there's a price cut in plans for them. We'd like to make them more affordable especially on the lower end to make them easier to get into. The learning curve can be pretty rough if you can't afford mistakes. Dropships also provide the kind of cooperative gameplay that we would like seeing more of.

Second, we're taking a look at the SP requirements for different paths overall and making sure that skill costs are appropriate for what you're getting. Progressing into being a dropship pilot (or something else, for that matter) should ultimately be a fun and rewarding endeavor, not a grind.

Third, we're aware that flying dropships as your job doesn't allow you to make a solid living right now. It's getting looked at. We want to give some more WP-reward love to the dropship pilots. You should be able to be the trucker of the skies without having to finance your job by doing other things in between :)

Did that in two other builds. Except for the skills that crossed over between suits and vehicles. Learned my lesson to focus on the ground game now and worry about vehicles later. Maybe after the first 10 mil sp.

1) Forge guns are way too powerful and hard to see. I cannot escape from a tiny dot hidden among dots that could be to my left ot right, 50 Meters away or 200 yet can hit me from rather far away.

woo fun

I am concerned for new players too and also for myself. This forum is full of loud screaming complaints and self entitled extremists. But I see that drop ship threads are very often calm and polite and filled with concern for our craft and a desire to make it better. I have to commend you DS guys as being amongst the upper tier of the community.

Except the one dude who was rude to the dev who posted. I need to ask you General Tiberius two things that are a puzzle to me and I imagine most :

1) Why on earth would you criticise a Dev for feedback of any kind?
2) Why on many earths would you criticise a Dev for making points relevant to thte topic of the thread, in that thread?
3) Do you really thin that the Devs all work in the same area? He commented here because this is an area of interest and specialization for him. We should be thankful at him reaching out to us. It is a hand to reach for not to slap back.

Some Specifics from my experience

I spent 7.5 million in the DS trees and then 400 000 into gun game.
My DS is good but only about 65% complete based on the skills I still Need. And my base level assault rifle and suit just annoys the people I shoot at and mainly serves to help them locate me so they can kill me before I make too much noise with my gun.

1) My PG/CPU upgrades are only half way, which leaves my ship with limited options.
2) Turrets not yet at the top tier
3) Shield Boosts are barely upgraded (Gallente ship)

As such the ship is hard to keep alive. Mainly due to a few key issues

1) Forge guns are way too powerful and hard to see. I cannot escape from a tiny dot hidden among dots that could be to my left ot right, 50 Meters away or 200 yet can hit me from rather far away.
2) AI turrets are too good at aiming.
3) The Gallente version, like the Prom seems really really slow.
4) HP seems a bit low based on current AV strength. Swarms, grenades etc all really do too much to such an expensive and hard to skill and use item.

I have more but this is long as it is. Last point. We need some mature specialists to talk to the devs. In this forum, IRC or a special password channel in game that they can come into when they want to speak to some real pilots living the role. I would love to help make us useful, but not OP. Come speak to us Pilots Devs. Some of us are people of worth.

First time I flew an eryx it felt heavy, having flown grims last build I can only imagine what you guys are going through with the new handling.

Lol, that's one thing.

I wanna know how they expect anyone to pay for 1.5 million ships that can be destroyed instantly and without warning by these silly forge guns

Or by those RDV TERRORISTS

So about dropships and love.

First, there's a price cut in plans for them. We'd like to make them more affordable especially on the lower end to make them easier to get into. The learning curve can be pretty rough if you can't afford mistakes. Dropships also provide the kind of cooperative gameplay that we would like seeing more of.

Second, we're taking a look at the SP requirements for different paths overall and making sure that skill costs are appropriate for what you're getting. Progressing into being a dropship pilot (or something else, for that matter) should ultimately be a fun and rewarding endeavor, not a grind.

Third, we're aware that flying dropships as your job doesn't allow you to make a solid living right now. It's getting looked at. We want to give some more WP-reward love to the dropship pilots. You should be able to be the trucker of the skies without having to finance your job by doing other things in between :)

Realy hard to control the militia dropship. A new player will fall in the first minute. Price drop is a good idea tho

. Add to that the flying now seems to allow the ship to "slide" s lot more..

Okay tried flying a gorgon earlier, and I thought vipers felt sluggish first time I flew them. All those who choose gallente, you have my symphathy, and you have my pity.

One feature I'd implore the dev's to consider is giving some way to control the Assault DropShip turret from first person view.

The same way that it works in third person, except without the issue of having to guess where targets are because there's a giant dropship blocking your vision looking down.

All those who choose gallente, you have my symphathy, and you have my pity.

I know this isn't your department, but perhaps the first dropship should be the attack (no side guns perhaps?) so the pilot is more in control of his/her role from day one.

( And DAMN YOU RDV TOURISTS! )

So about dropships and love.

First, there's a price cut in plans for them. We'd like to make them more affordable especially on the lower end to make them easier to get into. The learning curve can be pretty rough if you can't afford mistakes. Dropships also provide the kind of cooperative gameplay that we would like seeing more of.

Second, we're taking a look at the SP requirements for different paths overall and making sure that skill costs are appropriate for what you're getting. Progressing into being a dropship pilot (or something else, for that matter) should ultimately be a fun and rewarding endeavor, not a grind.

Third, we're aware that flying dropships as your job doesn't allow you to make a solid living right now. It's getting looked at. We want to give some more WP-reward love to the dropship pilots. You should be able to be the trucker of the skies without having to finance your job by doing other things in between :)

Okay tried flying a gorgon earlier, and I thought vipers felt sluggish first time I flew them. All those who choose gallente, you have my symphathy, and you have my pity.

Lol...it is hard out there now for us Gallente. If they fix the PG then we can fit the darn things better.

I am having to practice flying sideways now to at least give my gunners a chance against those darn assault DS...forge gunners on the ground, drunk RDV pilots in the air, assault DS, and I can go 0-60 in 10 minutes....yea it's going to be a long road ahead!

A little mass makes the ships a lot more challenging to fly.

I'm actually finding the most difficult part is accurately air dropping your troops. That tiny bit of drift can really send them way off target.

If dropships weren't skill based before, they sure as hell are now.

Great thread and i am happy to see it drifting into pilot to pilot discussion instead of incessant requests to CCP

Some have described the dropship flight physics as flying a brick on top of ice. When considering inertia on a single plane this feels accurate. But one thing that seems much more pronounced in Uprising is the stall mechanics.

I feel this much more in a Python because of my tendency to over compensate sending my DS off level.

I think of my DS in flight as resting upon a vertical tower of pressure that keeps me aloft. Whenever the craft tilts i begin to lose lift and elevation. So tightly banked turns are losing me speed and elevation more rapidly than I have been used to.

I also believe that, once we master this new flight model, we will be able to use these physics features to our advantage to pull off great maneuvers that a less skilled pilot ( or forge gunner) will marvel at.

We just have to get CCP to allow us a viable gameplay role in order to grow that skill base.

I just find it freaking annoying that I get shot down so easily by something that costs a fraction of the ship.

Actually, your Dropship costs infinitely more than my AV Starter Fit. Not even exaggerating when I say "literally".