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My name is Hallan Turrek. This is my blog.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Why CCP Should Fix Jump Bridges Even As They Nerf Them

Oh, life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no, I've said too much
I set it up
R.E.M. - Losing My Religion

So if you came here expecting anything other than the name of the post, you'll probably be rewarded.

I rant sometimes.

Lets begin.

For anyone who is unaware of how jump bridges work, lemme break it down for you. In order to use a jump bridge, you need to know the POS password of the POS it's next too. Now, that don't make any goddamned sense, but bear with me.

This means you need to have at least one POS in the system with a public password. Jump Bridges don't let you through if you don't have the right standings, but you still need a password. There is no option to just allow standings to determine who uses it. That's pretty fucked up when you consider the scale some alliances work on, but bearable, since Jump Bridges do allow logistics to be incredibly easy.

Jump Bridges also cost 300 million per month per system. Particularly complicated networks cost billions. This is also bearable, since for 300 million a month, you can connect to two systems at once, and are afforded incredibly easy logistics. Anyone else starting to see a pattern here?

Cyno Jamming costs 600 million a month. That's effing expensive, but worth it on a high value system. Jump Bridges allow you to get capitals in that are friendly, without needing to turn off the Cyno Jamming. This is an incredibly useful and very common sense approach. If you're friendly, I should be able to let your capitals into my system.

So, CCP naturally says that Jump Bridges are too easy, and nerf them. Now, let me be clear, jump bridges needed a change, and this is a far cry from how far I thought they were going to go, but come on CCP: You need to wake up. You want to nerf JB's: fine. But in the same patch, in the same goddamned patch, you need to fix all of the issues with POS's, standings, and the like.

If you're going to nerf things, fix these things too:

1: Allow Jump Bridge owners the option of allowing for no password.
2: Allow POS's to allow people inside based on standings alone.
3: Allow jumping to Cyno Beacons in Cynojammed systems.
4: If you're halving the number of available Jump Bridges in any system upgraded for them, half the cost of the upkeep too. (Seriously, this is a "duh" moment if there ever was one).

Do that, AND nerf jump bridges the way you outlined, and you and I don't have a problem CCP.

With this following on the heels of the True Sec nerf, you need to give the 0.0 guys something or they will be out for blood. Don't say I didn't warn you.

This is a long time coming... all of it.

4 comments:

  1. TBH, somebody should be asking the guys at CCP "U mad brah"? It honestly sounds like one of them got blobbed and then, OMG NERF BAT U BASTARDS!

    The changes kinda makes sense in a way, but not really when you look at the scope/impact of the change. I can understand the need to shake up the null sec game a bit, in my eyes the best change would be to fix the sov system first.

    This does however open up new tactics. Makes it a hell of a lot easier now to just lag out the attacking fleet when they have to jump gate. Easier to stop fleets by bubbling the gate(s) since there is no defenses there like a POS. OFC there is always the possibility of titan bridges if someone can make it past the camps.

    Can't wait to see all the freighter mails tho, didn't need that logistics anyway.

    This is perhaps the only time i'm glad i live in empire so i don't have to deal with it.

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  2. Most of the people crying over the JB change are the same ones who would be against, say, autopilot warping to zero or fast-travel options in Empire space, because EVE is supposed to be hard and distance is important. Inconvenience in the game is great as long as it only affects the other guy.

    Something certainly needs to be done about JBs and nullsec in general, but these few changes, in isolation, are a very bad idea. My prognostication is that defense gets incredibly hard, but offense is unchanged - supercaps are still dominant and titan bridges are unaffected, which means the mobility advantage is entirely in the attacker's hands after these changes.

    People will adapt, I expect, but I don't think this plan was thought through very well.

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  3. Not out for blood, just out. I know dozens of 0.0 pilots who are leaving (often with multiple accounts).

    CCP probably plans to cut out tons of bitter vet dead wood. They seem to be maintaining growth, so I can't fault them though I hate what they have done - and not done - to the game since Apocrypha.

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  4. I was in a hi sec border system last night and a null sec guy was giving away all of his stuff. IMHO the thing that needs fixed most and SOON is super blobs. He who blobs the most moms into a fight wins. I have been on fleets where we simply went home because the reds had already blobbed massive numbers of supers into a system. JB's were the least of the null sec problems. And f*** you again CCP for the tru sec nerf.

    ReplyDelete