A Redo of Remaps

A few months ago, CCP proposed the idea of allowing players to purchase neural remaps for PLEX.  This would be their first implementation of micro-transactions.  The playerbase response was, not surprisingly, negative.  "I r pay $15 a munth for Eve! Why I pay more?"  Under attack from the CSM and the players, CCP was forced to back down.

Which made me a little mad.  I have the money to afford a neural remap every couple of months, why shouldn't I be allowed to have it?  Critics argued that it would give me, a "rich" player, an unfair advantage over the "poor" players.  This argument is flawed on multiple accounts.  First of all, anyone that has an internet connection and can afford a computer is not "poor."  Poor is when your house is made of salvaged scrap metal and your toilet is a hole in the ground.  Secondly, the "advantage" that would be given to me is rather small.  At most, I might cut a few weeks off of my training, but as all Eve players know, skillpoints aren't the end all and be all.

However, since CCP has been cowed and has now assured us that paid remaps are off the table, we need a new model.  Being forced to play the "long game" alienates new players and reduces the flexibility of current players, so in the interest of New Eden's continued growth, I propose a new model.  Instead of making remaps a yearly affair, they should be available 23/7.  I said it, capsuleers should be able to remap whenever they feel like it.

"But wait!" says the bittervet, "We might as well get rid of remaps entirely, and that would make Eve less hardcore.  Heresy!"  To a certain extent, the bittervet has a point.  If each and every skill is trained at the maximum SP/hr, then there is no reason to even have attributes.  But what if by 23/7, I didn't mean 23/7?  Cryptic, I know.  Before you start spouting flames, here is my idea:

• Capsuleers can remap whenever they wish.
• Each remap, however, results in a 3-5 day "cool-down" period, during which no skills can be trained.
• Capsuleers are thus encouraged to remap only when the time saved is greater than the cool-down period.
• From a role-playing perspective, capsuleers need to rest their minds after the dangerous neural remapping surgery and can thus not train skills.

Sounds good, right?  This approach has many benefits to the players.  First and foremost, players have increased flexibility.  Turn your attention to this hypothetical example:

Stevie really wanted to start his own mega-corp.  To do that faster, he remapped to favor Charisma.  Two months into the corp's lifetime, however, there was a heist, in which his 300 Titan BPO's were stolen.  Furious, Stevie vowed to become an elite PVPer and hunt down the thief.  But wait!  With no extra attributes in Perception, to progress to Caldari Battleship V, it will take 178 days!  If only he could remap and lower the training time to 148 days.  Now, he is stuck with ten more months low SP/hr for Spaceship Command.  Poor Stevie.

With remaps coming only once a year, players are discouraged from changing professions or even focusing in different areas, such as training ECM when you've remapped for Spaceship Command.  By allowing players to remap whenever, CCP would increase the scope of the sandbox, as players could quickly switch between careers to find the one they truly enjoy.  This strategy would also have the benefit of helping new players surmount the learning curve cliff.  They would still be encouraged to plan long-term to make up for the cool-down time, but the newbies would not have to worry about locking themselves into a particular play style for the duration of the year.

Moreover, unlimited remaps would help current players, who have achieved their goals in one skill area and now wish to move on.  What's so wrong about that?

The one thing I have not been able to decide myself is the length of the cool-down period.  It should be long enough that remapping warrants some thought, but it should not take a whole year to make up the difference.  In the example of Stevie, I planned the following skills to Level V (Spaceship Command, Frigate, Destroyer, Cruiser, Battlecruiser, Battleship, Missile Launcher Operation, Standard Missiles, Heavy Missiles).  From base stats, the remapping made a month's difference.  I'm in favor of a shorter cool-down to facilitate skill training, but I understand a longer one make these decisions more serious.

Do you have thoughts on my system?  Drop me a line in the comments section, and your feedback will be taken into consideration before I post this in the Assembly Hall.

Fly safe!

-Stevie