UPDATE: So it came to my attention that during the latest Jeff Raider Show (Episode 9), which is a great show and I highly recommend it. This happened:
(Grrr, for some reason Blogger is being stoopid. I'll get this sorted shortly.)
At around the 1:07:15 mark CCP Fozzie and CCP Masterplan are reviewing the new Navy Electronic Warfare Frigates when it becomes time to discuss the new Navy Maulus. Not only is this exciting, more new ships are always a good thing, but when it comes time to tell us about the additional bonuses the ship gets for Warp Scramble strength, CCP Fozzie can't resist himself:
"But it also has a bonus to Warp Scrambler strength, so you can catch people with Warp Core Stabs. Which I think is something that Rixx Javix is really going to like."
Cue laughter.
I admit it, I laughed also. This reminded me of the Low Sec Roundtable at Fanfest when Fozzie made a un-prompted joke about me and WCS. That was also a funny moment. During Fanfest I pretty much made an annoyance of myself with Fozzie, Masterplan, and any other Devs I talked to about the problem regarding these modules. The great thing about talking face to face with your heroes (and let's face it, Devs are our heroes!) is that the conversations are totally devoid of the trappings of posture that we all take when we are grinding axes out here on this side of the fence. At those moments it is just two fans of Eve speaking to each other. This is one big reason why I would encourage any Eve player to make the trip, in person you understand that we are ALL fans of Eve. Even those that work on the game.
The point I made in person is that while I obviously make a lot of "hay" out here about WCS, the only real issue I have with them is the lack of a reasonable counter. Every thing in Eve has a reasonable counter. And don't even start with putting multiple scrams on your ships, I do that all the time and there is nothing reasonable about it. (To a slightly lesser degree it is also the problem with off-grid links!) Having to seriously neuter my own ship in order to counter something that I may or may not encounter is not a counter. It is over-compensation that leaves me vulnerable to every other ship in the game.
When we talked about it they all agreed that this was not optimal game design. And we discussed several alternatives, none of which involved banning them from the game by the way. Although that would be easier.
So is the new Maulus the answer? Maybe. At the very least it will swing the arms of balance back towards the middle. At the very least it puts a weapon in our hands that we can use for its intended purpose. Which is all any of us out here fighting every day really wanted. Give us the tools and we can pretty much figure anything out on our own.
So yes, this is news that I really like. And thank you.
So what can I bug you about at the next Fanfest?
PS: The fan-boy in me loves the fact that my posters frame almost every shot in the o7 Show. There are times during close-ups that my signature is visible right above someone's shoulder. How awesome is that!?! lol.