Community meltdown in 3....2....1....
This is long, and basically a rant, so you can skip to the bottom if you want for a TLR. This is also my first post on the forums, as I've been a lurker, but I'm frustrated enough to make my first community post a rant:
So, I've been an on-and-off player of Elite for 2-3 years, and I've clocked enough hours to get Elite Ranked trader, and decent ranks in other activities. I'll usually play for a few weeks, get burnt out on some aspect of the game, take a break, then come back when something new drops.
The Thargoid war was big, and amazing when it launched. Even before I knew what was going to happen, I went out, and grabbed myself some Guardian Gauss lasers, and engineering ground myself a meta cold-orbiter.
The invasion hit, and it was amazing. I did serious anti-xeno stuff for the first time in ages, used inara to find out where the action was, and the game felt alive in a way that it hadn't for any other community goal. You'd load into an instance, and when it worked. (Which was maybe 30%) of the time, you'd find yourself playing with other player commanders, dogfighting around a ruined ground base, or a burning station, united in common cause.
And it was clear, about a week in, that there was no ing way were gonna win the war or drive the Thargoids back, but it didn't really matter. I never joined the AXI discord, or coordinated with other commanders outside of system chat, but the way we--the community--were gonna play this was pretty clear: focus one system, let the rest burn if it had to. At least we'd have a achievable goal, and make a mark, even if there was no mathematical way to win until the BGS calculations were changed by F-Dev.
Then, we were informed--and it was demonstrated today, that our progress was reset. Not only were we going to all the systems we ignored, but there was no ing mathematical way we were gonna win the single system that hundreds of CMDRs had focused on. We could have ignored the war from the start, and we'd have the same result.
I have no current motivation to play Elite after the reset.
It's clear what F-Dev wants--there will be an inevitable invasion of the bubble, a war where humanity is driven back until some scripted moment/patch allows us to actually have an impact on the BGS, and take systems back, but the way they've implemented it is massively stupid, and I don't care enough to play the equivalent of a scripted cut-scene where the boss whales on your helpless player character.
Because even if they hadn't implemented the weekly reset, they'd still get your narrative. There was no way we could reclaim 8 maelstroms worth of systems. But we had a chance, as players, to win one or two battles. There's no reason they needed to keep the progress reset in.
So the knowledge that we're currently in a fancy scripted cutscene where our war impact doesn't matter until they graciously change the numbers so we have a chance doesn't make me want to play. I was hyping the update to several friends, who also burnt out--telling them that they could fight without farming Guardian weapons, that the war was really good, and I'm gonna tell them it's not worth their time.
I may decide to come back when we're finally allowed to win, I may not but the whole idea--that our defeat was never something we had agency in, and our victory's gonna get handed to us rather than earned as well, is just...bad. Bad storytelling, bad game design, bad.
TLR: The weekly reset ruins any motivation I have to play the Elite right now, and wasn't even necessary--we were going to lose the war--or at least a bunch of systems anyway due to the nature of BGS system, but we can't even make a mark by winning a single battle with the way it's implemented.
R. This is also my first post on the forums, as I've been a lurker, but I'm frustrated enough to make my first community post a rant:So, I've been an on-and-off player of Elite for 2-3 years, and I've clocked enough hours to get Elite Ranked trader, and decent ranks in other activities. I'll usually play for a few weeks, get burnt out on some aspect of the game, take a break, then come back when something new drops.
The Thargoid war was big, and amazing when it launched. Even before I knew what was going to happen, I went out, and grabbed myself some Guardian Gauss lasers, and engineering ground myself a meta cold-orbiter.
The invasion hit, and it was amazing. I did serious anti-xeno stuff for the first time in ages, used inara to find out where the action was, and the game felt alive in a way that it hadn't for any other community goal. You'd load into an instance, and when it worked. (Which was maybe 30%) of the time, you'd find yourself playing with other player commanders, dogfighting around a ruined ground base, or a burning station, united in common cause.
And it was clear, about a week in, that there was no ing way were gonna win the war or drive the Thargoids back, but it didn't really matter. I never joined the AXI discord, or coordinated with other commanders outside of system chat, but the way we--the community--were gonna play this was pretty clear: focus one system, let the rest burn if it had to. At least we'd have a achievable goal, and make a mark, even if there was no mathematical way to win until the BGS calculations were changed by F-Dev.
Then, we were informed--and it was demonstrated today, that our progress was reset. Not only were we going to all the systems we ignored, but there was no ing mathematical way we were gonna win the single system that hundreds of CMDRs had focused on. We could have ignored the war from the start, and we'd have the same result.
I have no current motivation to play Elite after the reset.
It's clear what F-Dev wants--there will be an inevitable invasion of the bubble, a war where humanity is driven back until some scripted moment/patch allows us to actually have an impact on the BGS, and take systems back, but the way they've implemented it is massively stupid, and I don't care enough to play the equivalent of a scripted cut-scene where the boss whales on your helpless player character.
Because even if they hadn't implemented the weekly reset, they'd still get your narrative. There was no way we could reclaim 8 maelstroms worth of systems. But we had a chance, as players, to win one or two battles. There's no reason they needed to keep the progress reset in.
So the knowledge that we're currently in a fancy scripted cutscene where our war impact doesn't matter until they graciously change the numbers so we have a chance doesn't make me want to play. I was hyping the update to several friends, who also burnt out--telling them that they could fight without farming Guardian weapons, that the war was really good, and I'm gonna tell them it's not worth their time.
I may decide to come back when we're finally allowed to win, I may not but the whole idea--that our defeat was never something we had agency in, and our victory's gonna get handed to us rather than earned as well, is just...bad. Bad storytelling, bad game design, bad.
TL
R: The weekly reset ruins any motivation I have to play the Elite right now, and wasn't even necessary--we were going to lose the war--or at least a bunch of systems anyway due to the nature of BGS system, but we can't even make a mark by winning a single battle with the way it's implemented.
Yeah, I think you pretty much nailed the reason for the visceral reaction.
I think they'll get this fixed pretty quickly, but currently, many AX pilots are feeling like Charlie right now.
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In any case, now they know what is 100% of the max possible effort in sunny conditions and can adjust accordingly, maybe even taking the average number of bugged instances into account. Should not be too hard, like adjusting CG levels. Remember the first starport repairs with their insane levels of mats required, I think it's about the same here.
As for the reset, Idk. If a systems falls within 4 weeks only, I guess it takes the same time to win it back, and there are many of them. Would be a grind anyway.
O7,
As for the reset, Idk. If a systems falls within 4 weeks only, I guess it takes the same time to win it back, and there are many of them. Would be a grind anyway.
O7,
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HeatherG
Volunteer Moderator
At the rate I'm going it'll be 6 months until I figure all this stuff out. I'm not a quick learner
(That's an understatement lol)
You don't have to, the galaxy is so big what happens in the bubble doesn't have to be an issue.
I did a bit of escape pod hauling and scout poppng but AX isn't really my thing, as such ive moved the carrier back out and im getting on with what i was doing before out in the black searching, endlessly searching and i still love it.
Even when im back out at Lyra's i still have a fast Annie that could get me back if something really interesting comes up but for now im happy to watch the smoke from a distance in the peace of deep space.
O7
Great post, I agree 100%.
I played the CG and the various AX skirmish systems in Open, and met some very cool people. The Community Goal was met in what must have been record time.
There is clearly a tremendous amount of interest in the events following Update 14. I'm hopeful it will get sorted out soon.
It would be nice to get a response from @Bruce G or @Arthur Tolmie or even a wild @Zac Cocken ( @sallymorganmoore is busy doing the improved communication in other posts ) popped in to say hey we hear you and we have raised your issues etc . Rather than the deadly silence that normally means they have turned off watching this particular thread ?
My own opinion of course
My own opinion of course
This isnt the end, it may be the end of the beginning, im a positive person and i can only see exciting times ahead.
End game? we still have 95% of the galaxy to explore yet
O7
I'm going to substitute a reality where the answer was, "Sorry, the CZs were bugged, and a couple other things. Give it another week, and it'll be fun, again, we promise."
Who's with me?
Who's with me?
I think this is really just a semantic point rather than an actual disagreement, so I’m just going to clarify for clarification’s sake.
FD have set up a simulation. That simulation is running on its own, and FD aren’t currently manually doing anything. In other words they are already staying out of it. If someone wants FD to stay out of it, then they are already getting what they want.
What people are actually asking for however is for FD to change something (specifically the weekly reset/retry mechanism). That is the complete opposite to asking them to stay out of it.
(Again that’s just a semantic point really. It’s not a point about the change they’re being asked to make.)
This is such an utterly BAD mechanic. Very poorly thought out and disheartening. Retaking a system should unfold as a campaign. If you give a system four weeks before it falls into Thargoid... hands, claws, whatever, then players should have FOUR weeks to save it. All their hard work and effort shouldn't be thrown away at the whim of a server reset. This is a war, not some Power Play task. What an insult to ALL the players who contributed to trying to save a system. "You only made it to 50% this week, sorry... gone!" At the end of the day, this is a game, and if a game is no longer fun, people will stop playing it. Think on that.
we fought a battle and lost, did we lose the system.. no .. we get to try again but why would we.. as we have already lost our best efforts failed we get to try again with less enthusiastic people moving the same refugees to the same stations.. with less stations to evacuate from, its pointless
because this is a process that needs adjustment
and they are doing it
the bar already moved.
Well, the same here to some extent. I never masted Power Play mechanics and strategies properly - I'm sure I will one of these days. However I will be paying attention to developments and somewhat active on the Canonn discord for research.At the rate I'm going it'll be 6 months until I figure all this stuff out. I'm not a quick learner
DCoH have issued a new focus for this week and so I'll withdraw my earlier accusation of them turning into a protest group. I think the point has been made to FDev and we do need to get on with things and try to stop the galaxy burning down around us.
when they tell me it has been rebalanced.. maybe i will trybecause this is a process that needs adjustment
and they are doing it
the bar already moved.
View attachment 336641
TL;DR: I'm disappointed.
1. AX Combat/Thargoids are my least favorite things about Elite, but the new invasion storyline was kinda interesting, so I gave it a solid go. I'm on vacation, so I was able to devote a LOT of time to this.
2. I EXPECTED the initial phase of the story would involve a desperate retreat against the attack, so I was braced for that. When I saw that 50% progress bar at HIP 23716 with a couple weeks left, I had some hope. Sure, we were going to lose the other systems but at least we could hold ground in a single system.
3. But then the progress bar got reset to 0%. This week's player participation was probably as good as it is ever going to get, and a weekly reset just kills it for me.
4. I urge Frontier to rethink this mechanic, as I fear players won't find the current state of the game rewarding.
5. Personally, I doubt I'll put much more effort into the Thargoid Invasion part of the game, until something changes. We'll see. I might pick at it, but I've lost my drive.
(edit, some bad phrasing corrected.)
1. AX Combat/Thargoids are my least favorite things about Elite, but the new invasion storyline was kinda interesting, so I gave it a solid go. I'm on vacation, so I was able to devote a LOT of time to this.
2. I EXPECTED the initial phase of the story would involve a desperate retreat against the attack, so I was braced for that. When I saw that 50% progress bar at HIP 23716 with a couple weeks left, I had some hope. Sure, we were going to lose the other systems but at least we could hold ground in a single system.
3. But then the progress bar got reset to 0%. This week's player participation was probably as good as it is ever going to get, and a weekly reset just kills it for me.
4. I urge Frontier to rethink this mechanic, as I fear players won't find the current state of the game rewarding.
5. Personally, I doubt I'll put much more effort into the Thargoid Invasion part of the game, until something changes. We'll see. I might pick at it, but I've lost my drive.
(edit, some bad phrasing corrected.)
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