Mind: Blown.

[dwindlehop]

http://myeve.eve-online.com/devblog.asp?a=blog&bid=401

They're going to add walking around in stations as a feature. As they say on the internets, WTF? Comments in the official forum were mixed, so I guess there do exist Eve players who feel the need to get out of their ships. I also understand that some potential Eve players try the game and are turned off by the inability to get out of your ship. Does being able to walk around in station make you more likely to play the game, people who feel that way? For the most part though, I have to imagine most Eve players are used to having a static portrait instead of an animated avatar and aren't concerned about getting one.

Personally, the opportunity cost of implementing walking around in stations is too high for me. I would prefer CCP spent the devhours on factional warfare or planetary invasion or better POS warfare.

[tazelbain]

Assuming the goal for CCP is to broaden their playerbase and reasonably well done implentation, I think its a very good idea.

[Yoru]

Are they talking for Kali or pie-in-the-sky "we're going to do this... someday"? They also want to implement planetary colonization and atmospheric flight, along with a bunch of other neat stuff. Who knows when though.

[dwindlehop]

First of, I want to stress that we intend to build the world and experience inside the stations incrementally. The first release will have limited functionality and is expected as a more of a socializing forum than a place for brutally strangling your rival corp members or tossing handgrenades into a crowd of newbies, although both would be rewarding experiences for many players ( not the ones being strangled or blown up, though ).

Somewhere in between Kali and "... someday", I think. Not Kali1, and possibly not Kali2. But they're actively working on it, they have screen shots, and they're planning a release schedule. My money is on 2007, but not the factional warfare update.

I would expect it to surface with the DX10 client, based on the discussion of the avatar modeling.

[Viin]

They have hired a ton of developers, so they have to have them working on something ...

Which is fine - they might be able to use what they are coming up with for the stations for use on the planets too.

[Morat20]

If nothing else, it'll make a nice and recognizeable 3D chat room for stations. Gives people a little something to relate to.

[Merusk]

They have hired a ton of developers, so they have to have them working on something ...

Which is fine - they might be able to use what they are coming up with for the stations for use on the planets too.

Most likely, IMO.  Building actual 'walking around' mechanics lets them work the bugs out on a trivial, unimportant bit rather than trying to fix it AND whatever combat imbalances they come up with.

[geldonyetich]

Can't go floating around in a pod of embryonic goo forever, apparently.

So, can we shoot the other players on the station?

[Endie]

They have hired a ton of developers, so they have to have them working on something ...

Which is fine - they might be able to use what they are coming up with for the stations for use on the planets too.

Yeah, it was quite funny that HRose, in the midst of his MMO-style "that's it.  I'm leaving.  Bye!  Don't try and persuade me to stay!  Seriously, this time I'm gone!" forum-drama leaving posts on the Cesspit, spouted a bunch of doomspiel recently saying that nobody was working on developing Eve and it was being left to rot while CCP worked on other stuff.  On the contrary, I've been amazed by the level of redevelopment of fundamental systems (and the fixing of deep-seated design issues like instas and research) that seem to be announced every other week.

I'm quite keen on them allowing implementing wandering round stations.  I rather like their idealistic and doomed "walk, don't run" stance, too.  In fact, I'd quite like to be able to wander my ship, too, though I find it hard to think of a point to it, I admit.  But then, I'm all about the worlds.

[Comstar]

Walking around the station is only good if you can do something new, different and FUN on the station. Gambling for instance (the old hookers and blackjack etc). Othewise, having to get out of the ship, load the surrondings, spend 3 minutes walking to the auction house to see a screen I could have looked at on my ship, no thanks.

1st Person invasions of ships and asteroids, with marines and boarding actions? That might be fun. 

[Megrim]

First of, I want to stress that we intend to build the world and experience inside the stations incrementally. The first release will have limited functionality and is expected as a more of a socializing forum than a place for brutally strangling your rival corp members or tossing handgrenades into a crowd of newbies, although both would be rewarding experiences for many players ( not the ones being strangled or blown up, though ).

I love the devs. Reverse carebearing indeed.

[ajax34i]

Looking at the few pictures they posted, they're going for photorealism with the avatars, and this "walking around in stations" thing seems to be as big a quest for them as "giving EVE the best graphics" was 4 years ago.

My guess is that they're using the EVE playerbase and game to test out / implement portions of the World of Darkness MMO they're making.  First just avatars, then some sort of combat system, and NPC AI.

[Roac]

That makes sense - build the engine, then WoD and Eve development can split off and go different ways.  Either way, it's interesting they're doing a sort of reverse SWG - start in space, and build down.  It'll be interesting to see if they build up the avatar skills to a similar extent that they have the space ones, and in so doing create an almost second MMOG.  It would actually work fairly well for Eve as they're already attempting to segregate players in several ways (hisec/lowsec/0.0, mining vs fighting, etc).

[ajax34i]

The skills would probably work well, but I am not sure what sort of movement system they'll implement.  Not sure if "right-click, choose action or object to approach" works.  Probably not.  I'd expect WASD, but I'm not sure how WASD will affect the skill system then.

[Soln]

CCP can out-innovate the bloggers, that's what gets people.

[Furiously]

Looking at the few pictures they posted, they're going for photorealism with the avatars, and this "walking around in stations" thing seems to be as big a quest for them as "giving EVE the best graphics" was 4 years ago.

My guess is that they're using the EVE playerbase and game to test out / implement portions of the World of Darkness MMO they're making.  First just avatars, then some sort of combat system, and NPC AI.

That's my thought - it's a protoype for the WOD engine.

[Endie]

Looking at the few pictures they posted, they're going for photorealism with the avatars, and this "walking around in stations" thing seems to be as big a quest for them as "giving EVE the best graphics" was 4 years ago.

My guess is that they're using the EVE playerbase and game to test out / implement portions of the World of Darkness MMO they're making.  First just avatars, then some sort of combat system, and NPC AI.

That's my thought - it's a protoype for the WOD engine.

Cool.  That'll give me a use for those Nosferatus in PvE after all.

[Megrim]

Oh man, that's like the 20'th Nos joke i've seen so far.

[Morfiend]

I really think EVE needs this. I hope they do it well. It would make me want to resub to check it out.

[Chenghiz]

At best, this feature will be really cool, and at worst it won't change the game we play if we don't use it (from what I read..). I look forward to it.

[Furiously]

At best, this feature will be really cool, and at worst it won't change the game we play if we don't use it (from what I read..). I look forward to it.

It sure made Earth and Beyond a much better game...

[dwindlehop]

Othewise, having to get out of the ship, load the surrondings, spend 3 minutes walking to the auction house to see a screen I could have looked at on my ship, no thanks.

They're going to do it like Puzzle Pirates. The same menu that you're used to will let you access station services, but if you want to walk over there, they'll let you do that too.

I am surprised by the generally positive reactions. Well, hell, I hope they get it done and a ton of people sub, then.

For planets, I really was hoping for flying ships around on the planetary surface instead of deep space, with maybe some planetary installations like sentry turrets and planetary resources like belts, moons, and clouds. Walking around on planets would completely subvert my expectations. Of course, knowning Eve's propensity for scale changes, they might do both.  :-D

[cloudy97]

I've tried the game a few times and I always felt it was too "cold" and impersonal for my taste. The game has many features I do like though. Maybe meeting face to face will add something, but "just" walking around will just feel cheesy if it has no impact on the game.

Add a poker game (for ISKs) to it and we'll see a very suitable meaning to meeting up at spacestation. I'd play then.

[ajax34i]

Well, once they decide to implement more than just walking around, I wonder if they'll implement in-station PVP, and the question I have is, how will that work?  Obviously, with insta-concord in 0.5 and above, and no concord 0.4 and below, who'll walk around in lowsec and risk being shot and losing implants, while docked?

[Roac]

Well, once they decide to implement more than just walking around, I wonder if they'll implement in-station PVP, and the question I have is, how will that work?  Obviously, with insta-concord in 0.5 and above, and no concord 0.4 and below, who'll walk around in lowsec and risk being shot and losing implants, while docked?

There would need to be something to walk around /for/.  I don't see them making the blatantly obvious mistake of a risk mechanic without any sort of reward.

[dwindlehop]

I will play at the zerosec blackjack table where you can shoot the house if you lose.

[Yegolev]

Shooting newbies is its own reward.  You have to admit that you'd do it just once.

I would like some visual identifier of clones.  Maybe a number on the forehead.  That would be funny.

I am fine with not having an avatar, but many people do have a problem with it if only because it's not what they are used to.  Add to that the lack of ship customization.  I am divided over whether or not I want more players in EVE.  It won't be SPAAAACE if every system is like Jita.

[Krakrok]

It might not be SPAAAACE but it will be WAAAAR!

[Chenghiz]

It sure made Earth and Beyond a much better game...

It didn't make it a worse game, that's for sure. :P

[Furiously]

It sure made Earth and Beyond a much better game...

It didn't make it a worse game, that's for sure. :P

Really? It seemed like an add-in to me, served no purpose.

[geldonyetich]

Seconded.  Earth & Beyond's space stations were tacked on at the end of the beta to assure players that yes, in fact, their avatars existed independantly of the ships.   However, the interiors of the space stations looked like ass and walking around in slow motion amongst other nearly identical looking player avatars did little to reassure.  Westwood (may they rest in peace) should have dedicated more effort towards making their game play differently from EverQuest and less towards reassuring their players that ship and pilot were two seperate things.

Will it kill EvE?  Nah, it's a long established game where everybody's happy being a zero gravity stock trader with missiles.  Walking around on the space station doing nothing is a viable sub activity at that level of fun.  *Notices he's on a board of EvE Players*  Uh, gotta go!

[tazelbain]

> Walking around on the space station doing nothing is a viable sub activity at that level of fun.
Have to add walking around doing nothing before you can add walking around doing something.

I can see a whole sub-game to capturing space stations. Tons of new skills for squad based combat and engineering skills to augment space-station defenses.

[Morat20]

> Walking around on the space station doing nothing is a viable sub activity at that level of fun.
Have to add walking around doing nothing before you can add walking around doing something.

I can see a whole sub-game to capturing space stations. Tons of new skills for squad based combat and engineering skills to augment space-station defenses.

I suspect it's going to start as a 3D chatroom with -- if we're lucky -- some form of gambling or casino sort of thing.

[ajax34i]

I don't know if it's gonna be as tame as that.  If they implement walking around in stations, they have to implement walking around in stations for the Gallente, and a lot of their clothing is revealing, which will lead to things.

[Morat20]

I don't know if it's gonna be as tame as that.  If they implement walking around in stations, they have to implement walking around in stations for the Gallente, and a lot of their clothing is revealing, which will lead to things.

For starters? Why wouldn't it be that tame? Offer stations to browse markets and do all the normal stuff you do in stations, only through your 3D avatar (and leave it so you can do it either way). Offer a cantina something, maybe some gambling, and that's a solid start. You can test out your engine for it, make sure it looks good, and works before you try anything new.

Plus, I'm sure there's a pair of frigates out there right now humping each other while their pilots roleplay furries or something.