OK CCP, the time has come. Its time to start thinking about planning the contents of the summer release. I’m sure you will have lots of big things and little things planned (like re-balancing another 60 ships or so) but as a small little stakeholder in the grand scheme of things I’m going to propose something that will require a small amount of effort (compared to say, POS rework) but earn you a huge amount of goodwill with all players of all stripes.
Directional Scanner Rebuild.
(This post is inspired by this forum post I was asked to view and comment on by the original poster.)
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| Stolen from Yarrbear Tales blog post of similar content from 2009. Come on CCP, get on it. |
Here are the problems with the current directional scanner:
1) Range box is a type box and not slider, and no automatic conversion to AUs. Trying to figure out with range finding if the target is at a moon or not? But the moon’s distance is in AU and the directional scanner is in millions of kilometers? Frustrated? You bet.
2) Angle slider is really finicky in the small angles. Trying to pick 15 degrees and not 5 or 30 is a pain in the ass.
3) You turn the camera to aim the directional scanner. Seriously?!
4) No visual indication of angle in space. Your forced to aim your scanner with the camera, but when scanning 90 degrees or less you can’t tell exactly what objects are in that cone centered on your ship and what isn’t.
5) You get everything or the current overview settings as filter. Why does the scanner not have its own set of filters to create and select from? Because the design is 10 years old!
I know some people want new bells and whistles to do things like repeat auto scan and to do automatic signal searching, but I’m fairly ok with the manual method if the reason is to prevent directional scanning from being too easy (like probing has arguably become). However, CCP, if you fix these five items you will improve the user experience for pilots in all sectors of space immensely.
Do it, CCP. Do it now.
Now this will be definitely be something I would be looking forward for, such a small tool in such a large game and has been overlooked for a long time.
Please CCP revamp the system and D-scan tool.
You would be loved by many, yes admittedly alot of those will be pirates
revamp D-Scan, but i agree with the manual use.. automating it makes it too simple. Using D-Scan is part of strategy, if you fail to its your own fault
You know you can always see than angle of your scans when you press f11. The side map with the 3 windows the bottom one that is the solar system map. It shows you thar
you sir an idiot, dscan is perfectly fine how it is font fuck with shit that isnt broken
Cause we all ave the AU <-> KM conversions memorized and can do them in our heads in seconds
/derp
it isnt hard 1au is just the distance of earth to the sun which is roughly 93million miles or 150million km its not that diffcuilt….
We're flying spaceships which can warp and do all sorts of amazing things, to which we're hooked up through a neural interface, but they can't do unit conversion for us?
On that not I want it to make me a coffee every morning and cook dinner!
I mean, my spaceship can warp but cant do that?
150 mil km is 1 AU, approximately. after so damn many years in null/low/WH space it's an automatic conversion. 150=1, 300=2, 450=3, etc. the Dscan SHOULD, however, be an exact number of AU instead of 14.3 or whatever it is.
And you're so smart, but have no idea why max dscan range is what it is. All the more reason to change it to AU.
you don't? (1 AU = about 150,000,000,000 Km)
Ha, yeah. added a few too many zeros there
Malarky!!!! there was not a single zero!!!
And FYI I'm using BASE 16 too ( HEXIDECIMAL) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexadecimal NIBBLE ON THAT B)
1 AU = 123398742364872563682.55 links en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_(unit) what's so complicated about that conversion?!?!?!
You prolly cried about titans and supers that werent broken and was happy when they got nerfed
Working as intended! EVE does not need more fucking dumbing down, Tech moons should be high priority not this shit, if can't figure out how to propery use dscan you must fail as much in RL as you do in EVE.
+1
This would be fast, and easy.
CCP have made it QUITE clear they will stall anything about tech as long as they can, as Goons have it. Might as well make the rest of the game better if CCP insists on not fixing something as broken as alliances making their isk in a top down approach (Moons).
The author's #1 and #2 points have nothing to do with skill or intelligence, simply a great suggestion to make the interface better. I hate trying to get hit that 15 or 30 degree spot, and the range textbox is terribad from a UI design perspective. Its by no means dumbing down EVE.
#3 I actually like using the camera to dscan… it was a little awkward at first but once you get the hang of it, its fun.
#4 Already solved
#5 I don't see as worth the time… and I personally wouldn't wanna set that shit up twice, but the suggestion is still not dumbing down the game at all.
All in all, your troll is troll. I hope you were trying to troll, instead of just posting whatever squirted out your ass on your first reaction.
D-scan works fine as-is. It isn't supposed to be an insta-find-and-warp feature.
And YES it works by camera angle! If it worked targeting celestials only it WOULD BE CRIPPLED. As it stands you can watch a ship warp towards nothing in particular – great probably an off-grid gate safe (if you're on a gate). If you keep looking there you can see if he sits at his safe or warps off. To do this any other way is crazy – you'd have to introduce a mechanic in the game to handle it.
Actually for number 3, with the new selection tracking camera that is coming, if you set the camera to have the target in the middle of the screen.. all you'll have to do is set to 5% angle, click a celestial or w/e on overview, and then click scan to scan in that direction. boom.
I say keep some skill in the game – knowing how to use Dscan correctly is one of those little things that separates winners from losers. That said, I'm ok with some updates, like Dscan specific filters for example would be nice.. or a slightly reworked UI.
Predictable responses from people who think keeping the game cumbersome weeds out the undesirables. The originally author is not asking to dumb down the d-scanner. He's simply saying make it more user friendly. Those who suck at d-scan now, will still suck in the future. But those of us who are competent at d-scan would simply have a less retarded interface.
I'm all for improving the DScan and even dumbing it down somewhat. though you can shove that "undesirables" term where the sun don't shine..
Would be nice if we could type in a number of AU we want to d-scan rather than millions of KM we want to d-scan.
Also would be nice to have a range limited on an even number of AU (14 or 15 AU) rather than the current, which is somewhere between 14 and 14.5 AU iirc
14.7
"The number 2,147,483,647 is also the maximum value for a 32-bit signed integer in computing."
fairly silly that our fancy spaceships d-scan are limited by 32bit.
anyways its 14.35au
Number 4 solved-
Hit F11 and it will how mini-map, and your "POV cone" and a Dscan cone
D-Scan cone shows your Dscan POV in green and give you a top down view of where you're looking
But yes I don't disagree with the other ideas
this would be sweet
Apparently Mr Kirith Kodachi doesn't know how to properly use D-scan.
Step 1. Press F11
Step 2. ???
Step 3. PROFIT!!!
but it's in 2d
I use the current dscan extensively and its terrible UI and pain to use does give me a considerable advantage which I enjoy.
However in the interest of the game a few things could be done to improve quality (imo)
o Ranges in AU (current is pointless complexity)
o Auto refresh on dscan (as excited as I get spamming dscan its a little dumb, you dont have to spam overview for updates)
o Visual representations on cones (nice when trying to pick a ship out at a relatively close cluster of celestials)
I know point 2 is controversial for those who hunt people bearing but even if it was limited to 90 degree or less it would be a nice improvement.
i like autorefresh idea i think that would be brilliant, im sure wormholers all over would rejoice at that, thumbs up from me.
i agree with the lower scan degrees, they are finicky. Converting to AU, i dont really mind as im used to it now, but i understand the issue. The aiming of dscan is via the camera angle, i think this is the easiest and quickest way. If your suggesting that we need to aim our ships to where we want to dscan then NO FUCKING WAY!! but if your suggesting something else go right ahead and suggest it. And i also personally think its a skill to get the aiming right. and i dont see the problem with the filters, the overview has just the same filters, sounds like double handling to me.
we had radar in the early 1940's that could spot planes on a system less complex then a pocket calculator but cant figure out radar in EVE.
so much more could be done really with spotting and scanning mechanics. running silent dosent exist insted people log off. there is no way to turn off your ID so people get to see your ship name along with ship type. there is no signal jammers for scaning. you can ether be probed down or you cant. it all readlly needs a revamp and alot more complexity from game options. decloak bombs that are made just to knock out stealth teck. just so much more then point and spam a button.
I know the camera angle to turn scanner is a pain, but if I'm aligned to a safe, being chased or whatever from multiple directions. I dont want to have to realign to perform scan.
Some other method perhaps, but plz dont make it align only!
Agreed, I would love a drop drown for filters, like 'Ships Only' or 'Celestials + Ships' or 'Gates + Ships' etc. instead of it being based on ur overview. Having these filters should give you more options.
Agree with the idea of some kind of visual angle indicator that would show either on screen or even hilight whats on the overview.
The Slider idea for distance, that doesnt require a pointless and ridiculous dumbass conversion is good too.
I wonder if it could even be integrated somehow into the tactical, that has another button to overlay the d-scan info on it.
Which, reading the other comments seems what other ppl want.
okay, this explains why i Never managed to scan proparly on direcitonal, i've always pointed the ship and not camera to where I was trying to scan… FML Lean something new everyday.
Thought the same for the first 1½ years of playing, lolz
think a lot of people did that to start with, lets be honest its far more logical than pointing your camera at something
TOTALLY WITH YOU
It's amazing how essential and effective yet esoteric and underused the directional scanner really is. It's depressing, but really just unfortunate when I realize there are only a handful of pilots in a fleet of dozens that can actually use it. The alarming part, though, is how little people seem to /want/ to use it. Anyway, you're spot on.
CCP U READ THIS?
finally a well balanced — please change post– no whining — straight to the point and no mad ideas –Nice post thank you.
got sick of an universe full of gms who protect a small 40 men corp like pl is ? Sick of goons and test who fuck the whole 0.0 and a horde of sheeps following this terrible kiddos?
Got sick of the future, that thousands of shooter kiddos will join the game with DUST? Tired of ccp nerfs to prepare eve online for the Kiddos of dust ?
Join this game .. its comming soon and will show you, how a real space mmorpg has to look like www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vhRQPhL1YU&fe…
nice game, but question is, if there will be something like the 0.0 and corps that can get space like in eve …
Star Citizen…anyone else see a resemblance between this and BattleCruiser 3000AD and the infamous Derek Smart?
We all now what a *huge* success that has been and how BC players switched to EVE in 2003 the second in got released in the US? kkthxbye
can all you sc fans please comment on a sc newsite
I've backed Star Citizen with $$$ as competition is always a good thing for the consumer (that's you & me). I think competition for CCP will force them to up their game on content, features & also fixes. If they fail, there could be a viable alternative in the PC Internet Spaceships genre.
Good luck to both! I hope both win!!
Yes there is a ton of stuff they should work on
* D-scan should be a visible arch on the Tactical overview
* D-scan should hold the length in AU with an option to go to KM by radiobutton
* Probing – need a X,Y,Z, 3d view viewport like any normal 3d-cad program to get the orbs placed correctly in X,Y,Z space.
— hate my self to think its right but then from one axis its not correct
* Exploration tutorial is the most dull and booring of them all. not only is your skills so weak that you will grind the probing interface for an hour to find just one of the sites to 100% but the reward for spending 1h moving orbs around is not very interesting. my suggestion is that the new player get a booster inplant that grant +1 probes and +20% strenght working for 10days and only working the first 30days of a characters life that way you boost exploration untill they can enter a propper prober.
You are wrong actually, the DScan has actually some indication of where you are "directing it" simply, press F11, and the bottom right thingy shows you.
Yeah and Lag-fest will be awesome… Scanning in real time in eve ? Take three fingers and tap into your so called head.
My Wh PoS got killed by former WH allies so I'll buy isk for cash, no questions asked. Except : how many dollar for how much isk? hit me up ingame.
Gavascon
I will buy ISK for dollars
On a different note, would be nice to have some sort options on Local, like sort by standings for instance – so u can see how many reds/orange/neuts etc, without manual awkward counting. Plus, sort by corp and I'm sure u guys can come up with other Local filter/sort options
It would be nice if "use active overview settings" filtered out ships by standings as well. Seems like a fairly simple change.
Honestly fixing this isn't enough. Look at Star Citizen. Eve is going to have to introduce a lot of new mechanics, update the entire graphics engine, fix the PVP and then they may have a chance of fighting SC. The fact that eve has issues like these makes me think that even with a release date of 2014, Eve will die when SC is released.
Star citizen??? Hwhaha that game looks like a dog shit with puke on it. Oh and its nothing like eve and nothing ever will be.
Why does it look like "dog shit" considering it's going to murder almost all gpus out today? It's like eve but sub-free and the combat is better then pressing f1 and waiting for something to go pop. Sounds like you are just bitter that your crap pc will burn up on the start-up screen of Star Citizen.
Perhaps there should be a "RADAR" module (and not one the enforces scan range).
Look at it from 2 angles:
1.) A person ratting has a radar equipped. It pings that someone is closing in on them (like D-SCAN) so he GTFO.
2.) A person looking for targets in 0.0 get's a ping on a location for a target killing stuff in asteroid belt. Warp to and boom.
Of course, perhaps you can up the ante by adding modules that extend range. This means you can have a dedicated scanning ship. It also means you must sacrifice modules in order for safety/finding targets. The application of it is pretty "meh" in high sec, but how many of those people actually use the D-SCAN?
So, RADAR module (mid slot) with Amplifiers for lows. This could allow ships like the Recons to have another use, which is EXACTLY what a recon is supposed to do – scout the enemy…
And while your at it… GET RID OF LOCAL CHAT!!!! Wormholes can cause distortion which shortens the range of the RADAR, this a person would need to stack radar amps as a result.
RADAR has an overlay (like the range one for on grid items) and ping red/grey/blue/purple/etc… and the user can hover over a "blip" to get ship information (like the D-SCAN has).
Get rid of local in 0.0 (make it like in WH – if you speak you pop up). Can still show the numbers, but you never know if they are blue or friendly.
It is not hard to use when you know how and have the skills. I have no problem with it and see this proposal as meaningless.
The current system is archaic and looks shit and god help any noobies that come to use it for the first time. I would rather being playing in space not looking at spreadsheets.
I would like to see a true 3d 'Radar' with a real GUI you can use you can set it to 360 for limited range or 5 degrees for very long range and it can overlay (HUD option) with what you see on screen. Better yet it could also remove the overview.
Come on I've seen radar GUI on games as old as elite. How hard can it be CCP in 2013!
I would like this to be the first step to removing local and be a true content that immerses you in the game (not just some table you have to 'load') what is this the early 90s?
The problem is that CCPs been sitting on their arses raking in the $$$ for years. Last year they received a bollocking form the EvE community and now have to desperately expend resources on catching up and overhauling. They have to go for low hanging fruit as the big stuff is just to hard and the will suck up resources.
Also a lot of resources are allocated to their new vision of DUST in a effort to capture the console market.
To have EvE back on form they will have to on:
Content – as this will attract and keep players but need to be expanded all the time else it get stale. (Incursions, fw, missions etc)
Features – to keep the game playable (UI, Chat window, Combat UI, etc)
Fixes – no software is without problems but CCP seems to shy away from the hard ones (POS overhaul, fixing Sov etc..)
Only when the community get REALLY vocal about ideas or issues do they action this so unless everyone cries(e.g. mining ship buff) about it on forums ideas (good & bad) die a lonely death.
For the Love of EVE YES! Also if you could disconnect the D-scan from the Scan box you would make my life.
Should not mess with the D-scan other then revamping apperance if u ask me.
i have never had any problems with D-scan but then again i actually look up,read,ask someone if i don't understand it,then i learn.
Eve is getting easier and easier, why not just make a Radar so if ur in the same Region you can see every ship out in space. you can then choose what ship to kill. if ur in a bs every ship below it gets destroyed instantly for example, then eve autoloots to ur cargo without u leaving station to save time. or there could be a "teleport to". would be so cool because then i don't have to actually do or learn anything.
Supported. km –> AU.
Totaly agree with this!
But, I'm sure that the POS rebuild, the technetium reballance, and the advance of dust interaction will be the core for the next expansion, and failing in any one of these would be catastrophic!!! Also players expect the ship balance to continue and extras like the D-Scan, new ships, new modules and some more…
Will this be hard? Absolutely!!! And as all eve players know, if it is easy it just dont worth it!
Tech doesnt need to be rebalanced.
Just add frigate-sized hauler spawns with a little tech (or other price-spiking moon minerals) to losec, and let the market sort it out.
auto dscan is good and bad. Depending on your point of view. How bout a compromise, auto dscan at min 5-10 sec constantly but you can still click dscan as much as you want? Then silly people can think they are safe and serious people know that they cant mess up becuase they have a short window of time between dscan pings. range in au would be perfect and a visual would be simple. put the visual on the tactical overlay and show a cone ring as well. and using the camera to pick where you scan shouldnt go away. It makes too much sense, once you get it. Just my 2cents.
to bring the dscan to a more updated level it really would need some things but if you want to change km´s into AU, that will end very bad, because if you want to scan 50000km you have to type 0.000334229356AU
so it doesn´t have to be changed, the AU option has to be added otherwise we are in the same situation again
Eve have the worst scan system of all sim games…. please use Radar type, like a F4 or a old Mig. Could work! Other option is a motion or radar system like the alien marines, with the tick sound could be excelente!
Just use a overlay when scanning, like the taktikal overlay. So this overlay could show the scanner the angle in wich the ship is currently scanning. It´s easy like that
Actual scanner is crap. It's stupid typing the distance in kilometers, typing 999999999999999999 for maximun range, etc. More than seven years using this scanner is worth a free month game time
DS is fine l2 use it. BTW the overview without scanner probes and the local without this blinking stuff were ok too. Dont nerf the gameplay to WoWs level plz..