Friday 1 July 2011

Living with Incarna

It has been a difficult week or so in the Eve Online universe.  With Incarna finally arriving, the fallout from the Noble Exchange, the Fearless document and then fallout from communications relating to those issues, it has been a trying week.

Quite accurately most of the rage is nothing more than mob hysteria, misguided and generally impotent.  Diary of a Pod Pilot has written about it at length, longer than I wish to write so have a read.

Incarna has, so far, been a disappointment.  I know it's a foundation and more will be built but I think CCP should have tried very hard to introduce more than a weird little room with little form and no real function.

From my point of view lets look at the advantages and disadvantages of Incarna as it stands right now.

Advantages:
The new agent finder - this is actually pretty good, and looking at the redistribution of pilots I'd say a winner.  Of course of less use in low and null security space but the bulk of pilots are in empire.

The remodeled weapons - a borderline advantage as they visually look much better (if zoomed right in) but in typical use are almost invisible.  The changing of the weapon images in the hanger has really slowed me down as I now have to check each and every one to see what they are, I knew them visually before and I cannot do that now.

Disadvantages:
The Captains Quarters, at the detail level I wish to run the game at, is slower, everything I do there is slower.

Every time I enter the room the wrong design, the missing items just leap out and scream their absence, not great for the OCD.

About 20% of the time while docking the game crashes.  I suspect this happens during the change over from space to the Captains Quarters.  CCP have mentioned in a previous patch note this was a known issue and has been addressed.  The problem is still there.

I cannot now easily open the cargo hold of my ship.  I do not wish to walk here or there to do this, I just want to click a button.  Now that the game runs slower my process is now to press the ship fitting button, then the hanger button (while the ship fitting is opening), and then click (subsequent to this post a corporation mate reminded me of the ALT+C shortcut to open the ships cargo) on the cargo hold button in the ship fitting tool.  This is rather annoying.

The amount of long Down Times (DT) has also been very disruptive as they push the return from DT well past midnight.  This has happened a few times in the past week or so, makes it very difficult.

I don't know if CCP will fix these issues, apart from the crashing problem I'd say the design direction they wish to align themselves with would not allow it.

I wonder if the new pilots in Eve Online will be as frustrated as I am?

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