At Fanfest, CCP Seagull trotted out one hell of a teaser – colonizable space beyond the current boundaries of New Eden. Teased as part of ‘winter 2013’s expansion, giving players the ability to build stargates to new systems would seem to imply that New Eden is about to get a bit bigger…

Which is a bit ridiculous. Already you can find dozens upon dozens of completely empty systems at any given point in time in New Eden. What exactly are more empty systems supposed to accomplish?

Well, there is another ‘problem’ in New Eden these days, or at least an issue that a lot of people label a problem. The problem of the independent alliance. Roughly 2/3rds of player owned space belongs to one of two factions within the game. These areas of space also happen to be the wealthiest (for now). More than a few people I talked to during my short lived campaign for CSM8 mentioned that they were in lowsec as a means of getting ready to push into null.

Could it be that CCP is taking the easy way out? Simply add more space and those new guys should be able to make their way out into space easier, right? No, no I don’t think so. Stargates will, in all likelihood, be in the domain of those large coalitions – and those large coalitions alone. Unless the CFC and HBC decide to abandon their current space for these unknown frontiers wholesale, I can’t imagine this new section of space doing anything but further diluting New Eden.

Perhaps there will be some gimmick to this new space, as there is with wormholes (Mass limitations, system wide effects, no sov). However, in an expansion cycle that promises to push forward the cause of ‘ownership’, I can think of a better way. A way that allows those small fries hanging about in lowsec and NPC nullsec with a better primer on how life in the sov lane works. Corporate leasing of systems in lowsec might be a better way to guarantee the successful transition to nullsec sov-holding. However that is an idea that requires a whole new post.

This is all not to say that the idea of player built stargates is a bad one. In fact they could be a great way to allow the map to get smaller. Imagine if a Stargate could be built from one side of the map to the other. Logisticians would likely weep tears of joy, but perhaps more importantly the excuse of “its too far” among certain circles (in null and low alike) would be eliminated.

That, too, is a concept deserving of more thought and deliberation. For now, however, while I admire the ambitious vision presented by CCP seagull, I think greater thought must be given before an idea so grand is floated, much less implemented.

You arrive in a high sec system in EVE – let’s say it is Vaajaita, a 0.5 system located between Aurohunen and Jan, two prominent lowsec systems. As a crossroads of sorts, it’s a naturally attractive target for the Guristas, the NPC pirate faction that plagues the Caldari State. Upon entering with your Gnosis battlecruiser, you hit the new and improved scanner. It washes over the visible universe, revealing some Ice Belts, a few standard hacking anomalies – and a huge disturbance of some kind, represented as a massive chaotic mess of pixels towards the ‘bottom’ of the system.

This is exactly what you were looking for. A CONCORD bulletin issued to all positive security status capsuleers within five jumps had summoned you here just minutes ago. Something about unauthorized FTL travel inbound to the system. Seeing as Vaajaita is the neighbor to two lowsec systems, both heavily contested by the Guristas and their capsuleer supporters, it is no surprise that the Caldari State wasn’t in the best position to investigate – but it was a big enough disturbance to warrant CONCORD alerting capsuleers in the constellation.

You whip out your probes and soon have the Local Disruption pinned down. You initiate the warp and land on a chaotic scene. About 50km away a smuggler’s gate is readily apparent, with gun towers being anchored next to it. A squad of Guristas piloted battlecruisers sit 20km off of your warp in, primed and ready to rock.

The group is too big and powerful for your Gnosis. Unlike the early ‘rats’ of New Eden, these ones actually pack a punch close to that of a player-fit ship. However, Caldari loyalists are warping in to help you out, so no worries there. You automatically find yourself entered into a gang with the loyalists. You broadcast primary and set to the dirty work of clearing out the Disruption, the gun towers, and ultimately the smuggler’s gate as well. As you send a few hundred projectiles into the face of the Guristas fleet, other capsuleers join you. As they do, the loyalists pull back – they are not rich like the capsuleers are, so any opportunity to save ISK on the cost of ammo and repairs is one they’ll take.

By the end of it, about 20 minutes later, you’re awarded with LP and ISK payment from the Caldari state. They may not have the manpower, but they certainly have the money. The gang is disbanded as soon as all your fellow capsuleers depart the disruption to head for home, wherever that might be. You arrive back at your home station, contemplating hitting the sack for the day, when you notice a Level 5 emergency alert from CONCORD in your Captain’s Quarters. Hitting play reveals that the Guristas attack in Vaajaita was apparently just one of many small feints – a full on assault is being made in The Forge, with multiple systems under attack. Unlike the Sansha, the Guristas aren’t interested in raids on highsec that only take hostages and prisoners – they want control.

However, it is late. The capsuleer, thinking that surely others will fend off the Guristas, elects to sleep instead of fielding his Gnosis in battle again. As do many others. By the time forces arrive in sufficient numbers in the beleaguered constellation, it is too late – at least one 0.5 system has flipped to 0.4, under the sovereignty of the Guristas.

~~~

Imagine if missions in EVE felt more modern, like Guild Wars 2, and less ancient, like Ultima Online. Instead of shooting X number of red crosses, imagine even small missions having greater implications on the geography of New Eden. Imagine dynamically created fleets, filled with NPCs if you don’t have friends around, with dynamically scaling rewards based on effort, number of participants, and other factors. If EVE’s PVE content were built around this dynamic, it may even lift itself off from the ‘Worst PVE System’ list.

Just a thought I had.