Battleships were available in the late alpha, they were also given out as part of some events back in phase....5 I think. Around the same time some corps were also given stations.
The difference here is that they have been around and have been tested to some extent, but they haven't been commonly available to everyone.
A good deal of the lost skill levels are because trained SP are fixed. If CCP adjust the basic SP modifier for skills, or the rank of the skill, the SP the player has nolonger match up with the previous levels. I work on the assumption that CCP won't be doing regular fine tuning of skillpoint requirements and ranks for paying customers.
Still, you've made up your mind on this one, so I'm not going to endeavour to force you to change it on my behalf.
This comment was edited on Apr 24, 01:20.