I'm sure it'd be perfectly easy to code it so you could have an infinite number of collectors but only one could be locked at a time.

Again, people could keep locking and unlocking, but you could also make that timer I mentioned automatically end when you unlocked. Net result is only one person at a time can be gaining exp from siphons.

I'd definitely like to see everyone on a ship get similar xp. The simplest solution, I think, would be to mantain a list of people onboard a ship who are either locked into a module or GRID JOINed. Ship xp gets split evenly between them. Then set aetherbeast xp appropriately.

End result:
Everyone gains xp equally.
Slivven hunters don't get screwed out of ship xp (GRID JOINed).
Anyone not actively working a module has incentive to hunt slivven (tiny bit more xp + gold).
This allows bringing trainees/newbies/eight more siphoners/cadets/the kids/novices along to benefit them, but at a cost to the crew's xp gains.

Eldanien's suggestion seems nice.

It however had the issue of encouraging afk xp gain, something the admins want to get away from.

I mean you can't punish someone for being on a manse, especially if it is a manse owner. But you can punish them for being locked in a module while afk.

Though I suppose they could add a sort of a reject for a grid join.

I would want this more than any sort of siphon xp change. Not that I have any sort of suggestion for it besides Eldanien's "give xp to everyone on board," which seems off to me for some reason, but it's something I'd like!

As an alternate take on the issue, what if you were to keep siphoner XP as-is, but significantly raise the XP gain on the slivven hunter end. After all, they are the ones putting themselves at risk of death, using up curatives, and very actively fighting. Make slivven hunting worth the weight of a gunner and then you will see lots more volunteer hunters and lots less AFK XP gain.

Oh well? If you grid join 20 people to afk, then you all make lousy experience. People might afk on modules like they do now, but I couldn't see anyone purposely taking along afkers to leech their experience if it was split and not static.

We need lockable mecha suits so newbies can kill slivvens instead of forcing demigods to actually do something unlike everyone else.

y/y?

Mecha docking station module?

Then they could knock the slivvens out through the airlock.

This sounds like a really nice solution to me, but as I've demonstrated, I don't have the experience to consider all angles.

It used to be that way (xp was split from a pool), and then it was decided demigods got too little, or everyone else got too much. Much gnashing of teeth and the sound and the fury of anger lead to what is there today.

If you split 6X experience between 6 people, it's the same as giving each person X experience, so I have no clue how you fixed that. I'd argue everyone else still gets too much, since you can take a level 10 along who is getting the same exp as the demigods and gets 20 levels or more in a single run.

This doesn't make any sense to me. Demigods can still sit on a collector, anyone else can still gun, pilot, or empath. I don't see how the current state of things addresses what you say is the original problem.

EDIT: But I feel like that's a garden path this topic shouldn't take right now.

Bears repeating: significantly raise the XP gain on the slivven hunter end. Problem (mostly) fixed.

Haven't been following this thread, but knowing the problem, this solution seems awesome. How much experience would it hold though? Unlimited? How long would it stay? I mean, it would have to fade after a certain amount of time parked at the aetherdock so that way someone can't just kick every body out and instantly gain five levels. Neat idea, but a few holes that need some mending.

As it is, the amount of raw experience isn't a flat amount, nor does it increase linearly with level or anything like that. There are some odd variations, trying to keep it worthwhile for higher levels but not ten-levels-in-a-single-dragon OP for lower levels. Your level determines precisely how much experience you will get, rather than a weighted percentage or whatever of a pool. It took a fair amount of fine-tuning on Roark(?)'s part.

Not splitting the xp was something we really whined and demanded back during the aetherspace changes. Don't change it back.

I don't think you understood what Eldanien said. I'd love to set you straight, but I don't even really know where exactly you're coming from.

Venus, obviously.