DEFINE LOW SEC
I think we need to start by asking ourselves, Wat is low sec?
To me low sec is where worlds collide, the criminal, the lust and greed of the individual capsuleers and the blood thirsty killers that roam null sec. All of these things come together in one place. It is where the people who want to escape the control of the differant nations come, it is where the criminals come, it is where morally grey enterprises flourish, it is also where the losers of the constant wars in null sec come to lick there wounds and lastly it is where the farthest outpost of the nations are and where these nations fight.
Essentialy it is a maelstrom of combat, politics, crime, greed, violence for the sake of violence and enterprise.
THE SHINY(goods)
We need stuff to get people into low sec and give them a reason to stay. This should come in the form of items,resources, industry and combat that will come from these.
The items that we have in low sec should be anything that is considered shady illegal or contraband that is in high sec now. We also need low sec centric items that help with gameplay there eg
: a tracking launcher, this would launch a tracking module onto the targeted ship and all for the target to be tracked through any low sec area for a set period of time depending on skill level of the character that launched it.
: something to help groups of industrialists harvest material in secret, maybe a area cloaking device that cloaked everything within it's area, asteroids and ships alike.
As well as these things we need unique faction items that can only be obtained through certain deeds for a faction against other player.
GAMEPLAY
As well as all this new shiny we need the mechanics to back it up.
we need a way to have the factions in low sec engage in meaningfull combat, this can be done through a pirate vs law system like some other people have sugested. It would also be good to have smugglers jump gates that join directly to other low sec areas. A market that has certain that has specific advantages to trading on it.The GCC needs a magger change, so as to allow for a protracted fight to take place in low sec between the factions. The contract system also needs an upgrade so as to allow for more interesting deals to be struck.
PITCHING THIS TO CCP
An appraoch we could take to pitching this whole thing to ccp be would be to do with incarna, what s one of the key things that is always invovled in teh criminal underworld and shady deal. The meeting and the haggling and having actualy avatars will make this realistics . it would allow for a shady deal to be haggled out between players in the back alley of a station or in a bar. My point is that incarna can be linked to the wealing and dealing part of this so as to help get it on the table.
Comments (3)
Essentialy it is a maelstrom of combat, politics, crime, greed, violence for the sake of violence and enterprise.
I don't see the money part atm in lowsec. Too many mass murderers and too little money.
hi-sec : missions, trading
low-sec : resources
no-sec : resources, bounty hunting
smugglers gates: scannable gates (WH style), instead of despawning, they drift, pay to pass.
area cloak : scanner only??, make it something you can stick on a hic.
tracking launcher: change the "tracking" agents. Not hard to do rpwise, since gates log all traffic. Hack that DB (the agent does for a fee) and you have location. You pay x isk for y duration, updates via eve-mail everytime target changes system. Could require favor (courier mission: fetch/deliver contraband somewhere in hi-sec)
remove asteroid belts: make them drift, exploration mechanic.
I see low-sec as a frontier, like the wild west.
Brave pioneers heading into the wilderness to seek their fortune. Outlaws on the run from the more populated areas. Traders risking the attentions of said outlaws to get goods in and out.
0.0 has become about powerblocs, and is basically player run empires and hegemonies. Low-sec is the grey area in between, ostensibly claimed by the hi-sec empires but practically ungoverned.
Alliances should not be given a foothold in low-sec as this would merely allow them to extend their monolithic power blocs. Neither should the NPC empires be given more of a role. Low-sec is for pirates, criminals, smugglers and pioneers living on the fringes of both the Empires and the Alliances. Those with the independence of spirit and mind who wish to strike out and carve a name for themselves on the fleshy rump of New Eden.
I think the biggest problem with lowsec is that you have the "worst of both worlds". You have the security status penalties of high sec for attacking someone unprovoked (although admittedly without the CONCORD fleet showing up), but you don't have any real system protection, either.
There needs to be some middle ground -- and maybe sec status is NOT the way to go. Maybe it has to do with kill rights. What if aggression could be countered with a "posse" -- if someone aggresses in lowsec, their aggression is broadcast, and they are then able to be attacked by *anyone* in the system for some period of time. Maybe their positions are even given out (perhaps with some delay, so they can evade). This would enable actual players to act as a kind of deputized security force. Individual players don't need to be part of a particular company, or have fleetmates all the time for protection... But at the same time, if it's just you and one other person in system, you know there's nobody else around to help you if you get in trouble...
Hmm, maybe I should write that up as a separate idea.