Yeah I believe in the short bits we have seen you will need to build a large port on a planet before you can place the smaller ones, so multiple ground stations on a single planet.
If you intend to colonize a system - why? And which aspect of a colonized system most interests you?
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Yeah I believe in the short bits we have seen you will need to build a large port on a planet before you can place the smaller ones, so multiple ground stations on a single planet.
Has Frontier fully described or otherwise revealed the full intricacies of the presentation and play mechanics for colonization? It all sounds so abstract to me; the only thing that's well explained (so far as I know) is the workflow from claims->deliver something->place assets which require you to then do or deliver something -> Stuff gets built and upgraded, requiring delivering more of something to do it again up to some threshold where it becomes possible to place a claim on an adjacent system.
Could be AMAZING, could be terrible; it's all in the details they haven't shown. Does odyssey stuff happen at these build sites? How interconnected, robust, and consequential are the various tasks, stages of development, and attendant "things that can start happening in a system?" If it's too reined in, then in the end it'll basically just be player action standing in for the RNG part of their existing faction and station placement in the current bubble. If it's actually possible to steer the shape and substance of the expanded bubble, where different parts of the settled galaxy start to take on a specific and knowable sense of varied danger, style, and character; where we start to have something like "districts" or "zones" which are the accumulated products of player action? Well that's reason enough to care, even if you AREN'T going to be directly trying to colonize a system yourself. You might just have a vested interest in ongoing and competing attempts at expansions going on in a given area, and you'll want to contribute goods/tasks/whatever playable "votes" Frontier gives us to work with, so it will be like there are hundreds of player generated CGs happening all over the place all the time, and you as an independent pilot can aid or obstruct these efforts as you see fit. That will be interesting to interact with at any level.
On the other hand, there's a very good chance that the consequentiality of who colonizes where and in what way, may be so reined in by frontier as to be functionally meaningless; in which case; the only motivation is for your own internal sense of Role Play, and for the ego kick of having one more way to get your name on something in the game. If that's what we get from this, then it will be kind of the "Fleet Carriers" equivalent of getting 1st Exploration Credit - same thing, same reasons; but bigger, clunkier, more expensive, very little direct gameplay, very little direct control, and not a lot of player generated nuance other than GUI spam and the inherent ratcheting up of immersion-breaking visual discordance that always comes with repeatedly encountering online screen names displayed on in-game assets; especially when the types of names we are going to be seeing the most of are the ones attached to the types of players who are most motivated by being noticed by strangers on the internet. In which case, well; it'll probably generate some youtube content over the coming years but overall I'm not looking forward to it.
So, yeah I personally don't know. Either scenario, even the "bad" one, could still be fine if the process/strategy, and play mechanics of colonizing and then managing/architecting a system are fun in their own right. At the moment the experience sort of looks like how it feels to click and drag hundreds of documents individually one at a time, from one file folder to a second folder which is nested inside several other folders, and you have to start at the top level for every click and drag; except: You Are The Mouse Cursor! And the mouse cursor moves at one specific constant rate!
I don't think it's actually going to be like that. God I hope not. But that's all they've shown that I've seen; and until I have seen how it all really "works" I don't know how I'd be able to tell if I'm interested in doing it or not. For people who ARE interested now, or actively disinterested for that matter; I don't know how they're arriving at that. Seems way too early to tell, weird as that sounds given how close it is to release. This sort of incomplete to the point of potentially being misleading communication situation is not exactly a rare thing for Frontier, and it's not even a red flag. They've done it in the leadup to release for things that have turned out to be really good, and they've done it for things that have turned out to be really bad, and everywhere in between.
So yeah idunno - I'm certainly intrigued, but I also have no plans or intentions for it despite how huge of a thing it could potentially turn out to be.
Could be AMAZING, could be terrible; it's all in the details they haven't shown. Does odyssey stuff happen at these build sites? How interconnected, robust, and consequential are the various tasks, stages of development, and attendant "things that can start happening in a system?" If it's too reined in, then in the end it'll basically just be player action standing in for the RNG part of their existing faction and station placement in the current bubble. If it's actually possible to steer the shape and substance of the expanded bubble, where different parts of the settled galaxy start to take on a specific and knowable sense of varied danger, style, and character; where we start to have something like "districts" or "zones" which are the accumulated products of player action? Well that's reason enough to care, even if you AREN'T going to be directly trying to colonize a system yourself. You might just have a vested interest in ongoing and competing attempts at expansions going on in a given area, and you'll want to contribute goods/tasks/whatever playable "votes" Frontier gives us to work with, so it will be like there are hundreds of player generated CGs happening all over the place all the time, and you as an independent pilot can aid or obstruct these efforts as you see fit. That will be interesting to interact with at any level.
On the other hand, there's a very good chance that the consequentiality of who colonizes where and in what way, may be so reined in by frontier as to be functionally meaningless; in which case; the only motivation is for your own internal sense of Role Play, and for the ego kick of having one more way to get your name on something in the game. If that's what we get from this, then it will be kind of the "Fleet Carriers" equivalent of getting 1st Exploration Credit - same thing, same reasons; but bigger, clunkier, more expensive, very little direct gameplay, very little direct control, and not a lot of player generated nuance other than GUI spam and the inherent ratcheting up of immersion-breaking visual discordance that always comes with repeatedly encountering online screen names displayed on in-game assets; especially when the types of names we are going to be seeing the most of are the ones attached to the types of players who are most motivated by being noticed by strangers on the internet. In which case, well; it'll probably generate some youtube content over the coming years but overall I'm not looking forward to it.
So, yeah I personally don't know. Either scenario, even the "bad" one, could still be fine if the process/strategy, and play mechanics of colonizing and then managing/architecting a system are fun in their own right. At the moment the experience sort of looks like how it feels to click and drag hundreds of documents individually one at a time, from one file folder to a second folder which is nested inside several other folders, and you have to start at the top level for every click and drag; except: You Are The Mouse Cursor! And the mouse cursor moves at one specific constant rate!
I don't think it's actually going to be like that. God I hope not. But that's all they've shown that I've seen; and until I have seen how it all really "works" I don't know how I'd be able to tell if I'm interested in doing it or not. For people who ARE interested now, or actively disinterested for that matter; I don't know how they're arriving at that. Seems way too early to tell, weird as that sounds given how close it is to release. This sort of incomplete to the point of potentially being misleading communication situation is not exactly a rare thing for Frontier, and it's not even a red flag. They've done it in the leadup to release for things that have turned out to be really good, and they've done it for things that have turned out to be really bad, and everywhere in between.
So yeah idunno - I'm certainly intrigued, but I also have no plans or intentions for it despite how huge of a thing it could potentially turn out to be.
Tbh... this just feels like Odyssey all over again, with expectation being a massive, massive superset of what's actually going to be delivered.
I'm personally not expecting anything more than the ability to grow the bubble through placement of standard NPC facilities, conditional on some rules, and resourced through what's essentially mini CGs.... which is where my expectation's landing.
Jump on, pick a random system with an icy nothing... deliver a bunch of cargo... see what happens from there, with my expectation being kicking off similar things again to upgrade.
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Anything you see or hear before the release date is a teaser, they NEVER release full details before release.
This is true only inasmuch as you're willing to be absolute in your definition of "full"; they have certainly gone into much more detail about the particulars of how a given upcoming play system will work prior to release. Also, at other times: less. There's been an entire spectrum of communication styles with frontier releases; they have been consistently and reliably inconsistent.
o7 all. Wondering if this has been covered - do we know if single body systems (main star only) are viable for colonisation? Or a waste of time? Or not even possible perhaps? To answer the OP question, we will be choosing systems close to our BGS territory - likely in a strategic direction for traditional expansion.
They haven't gone into the details of the architect mode yet so we don't know what factors will be considered when selecting a system, maybe systems without planets but with asteroid belts will be colonisable, but system with just stars won't, who knows, only FDEV.
Sorry meant to say haven't there!
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Can't really answer with any certainty short of full information, but at this point my plan is to put a primary starport at some system with a substantial number of bodies which look like they have good resource availability (landable HMC, GG with metallic rings, ...) and then enjoy building out the system and its economy over the long term, as a sort of side project I can dip in and out of, aiming to get the population as high as possible.
The eternal problem of every software studio: You make an announcement and the customers start fantasizing about how the functionalities will play out in reality. Particularly, when there's a long hiatus between the announcement and the release, the discussions go to interpreting every single word that has been said. Inevitable consequence is disappointment.
I am going to wait for the February FU, then I will load a ton of coffee and a crate of whiskey into my Mandalay (too bad that there isn't popcorn as a rare good
), fire up friendship drive and watch the show from somewhere really far away from the bubble That was my reaction to the thargoid invasion.I am going to wait for the February FU, then I will load a ton of coffee and a crate of whiskey into my Mandalay (too bad that there isn't popcorn as a rare good
It could be the other way around, build small before medium before large:
- from Piers Jackson on colonisation
I saw the idea somewhere (probably on a stream) to put an Odyssey ground settlement in a location where NPCs would have a chance of walking over intermittent geysers.. Would be an obvious bug if possible, but a fun one to watch perhaps.
Waiting to see how it works in reality and what adjustments FD make.
If it remains with the current 10LY limitation I have little interest in it. There's only 1 worthless star system that is uninhabited within 10LY of my faction's system.
If the range is significantly extended, then I have my eye on a couple of systems to colonize. A home away from home, a place in the black to restock and refuel and more, a place to get away from Powerplay for a while, and perhaps to take long range missions.
If it remains with the current 10LY limitation I have little interest in it. There's only 1 worthless star system that is uninhabited within 10LY of my faction's system.
If the range is significantly extended, then I have my eye on a couple of systems to colonize. A home away from home, a place in the black to restock and refuel and more, a place to get away from Powerplay for a while, and perhaps to take long range missions.
Understandable. I returned to the bubble when the Titan invasion started and that was quite entertaining because I liked the massive ships and the gameplay around was entertaining.
The reason why I am waiting for the FU stream is my hope (haha, you we all have expectations) that FDev might talk a bit about something else on their roadmap and according to that info and their timeline, I will plan my next journey (to last either 6 months or rather 12 months).
(edit clarification about 'return')
I think it's safe to say that colonization will be fairly bare-bones initially. This is true of all new game mechanics added to Elite. FDev starts by making a skeleton framework that does the job, then they put it in the game, then over the long-term they (usually) eventually flesh it out.
(This also allows FDev to see what we do with a new feature before FDev commits too many resources into focusing on potentially the wrong aspect of it)
So I don't expect a lot from the feature, despite a large amount of work that will have gone into it under the hood
(This also allows FDev to see what we do with a new feature before FDev commits too many resources into focusing on potentially the wrong aspect of it)
So I don't expect a lot from the feature, despite a large amount of work that will have gone into it under the hood
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Not even, imo. I think the writing is on the wall for PMFs in that regard.
It really just feels like the unused "colonisation" BGS state couldn't be automated in a sane way without direct player interaction (lest the bubble just explode across the galaxy) and so it's had the trappings of a feature wrapped around it... which is why an arbitrary player can't just shove a faction of their choice anywhere in the galaxy.
Indeed, from the get- go, many PMFs won't be able to do anything, so i don't think this is the target audience.
I’m looking forward to seeing what it actually brings whilst keeping expectations well and truly tamed.
My biggest concern is that we end up with a large number of systems with nothing beyond the minimum requirement for further expansion as Cmdrs look to push further out toward their actual goal. Leaving the system locked out of further development.
As for my plans, I’d like to choose a system I believe looks ripe for colonisation and see if/how I can develop it to become a healthy and integrated part of the regional economy. Can I recognise the levers I need to pull for the outcomes I desire? Can I even recognise the factors that may determine what makes a desirable looking system actually a viable system? Longer term could I colonise a small region that integrates economies (including those pre existing) needed to produce a trade sphere that makes that region self sufficient (as much as BGS and FDev coding/rules allow.) What effect on mission generation will my decisions potentially make?
Lots of things I’d like to discover, play around with and attempt to shape. However, I’m in no rush to get started as I suspect the initial hauling requirements will be daunting for the single Cmdr.
My biggest concern is that we end up with a large number of systems with nothing beyond the minimum requirement for further expansion as Cmdrs look to push further out toward their actual goal. Leaving the system locked out of further development.
As for my plans, I’d like to choose a system I believe looks ripe for colonisation and see if/how I can develop it to become a healthy and integrated part of the regional economy. Can I recognise the levers I need to pull for the outcomes I desire? Can I even recognise the factors that may determine what makes a desirable looking system actually a viable system? Longer term could I colonise a small region that integrates economies (including those pre existing) needed to produce a trade sphere that makes that region self sufficient (as much as BGS and FDev coding/rules allow.) What effect on mission generation will my decisions potentially make?
Lots of things I’d like to discover, play around with and attempt to shape. However, I’m in no rush to get started as I suspect the initial hauling requirements will be daunting for the single Cmdr.
Agreed. For BGS purposes, sure, you can in theory expand a faction already on the edge of the bubble to arbitrarily many systems without the need to contest them in the actual BGS (or any likelihood that there will be future player visitors to upset the static influence levels), but the ability to do so means that "number go up" is even less meaningful than it already was.
Meanwhile, for Powerplay purposes, the existing bubble already has 10,000ish unclaimed systems, which even with Powerplay being massively defender-favourable will still take probably at least five years to fill up.
I think from what Frontier have said that they intend it as a collaborative feature for settling new systems because people enjoy settling new systems as a thing in itself - Colonia got a lot of attention during its growth phase, the Enclave was I think for many people the most memorable and interesting of the 2019 Interstellar Initiatives, it's now been over half the game's entire life without any of that sort of thing really happening (though even the minor establishment of the new Marlinist colonies within the bubble got its fans).
There certainly isn't any actual gameplay "need" for the bubble to be larger than it is - I expect the 10 LY limit to be loosened somewhat after the initial phase to allow colonisation to spring up in more interesting places - but equally some people will enjoy having a long-term constructive goal that makes a lasting change.
Yeah 100%
If the only thing to come out of colonization was essentially "player injected trade mini-CGs" in the form of the supply requirements, i think that would be at least a good step.
Pure gut feeling... but I'm imagining the main complaints (excluding the range question) to come when this goes live are:
- it's too difficult to get Faction X out to the bubble edge to expand further... need a mechanism to "vote" factions out to newly expanded systems.
- lack of personal benefit/reward//advantage over using existing systems or am FC
- lack of significant strategic impact to bgs factions/powerplay
... but neither do i think they're even in scope of this.
My only comment on scope is that i don't understand the limitation to the bubble proper... the 10Ly thing is the 10Ly thing... but tbh i see the 10Ly limit staying, and instead FD will cycle Trailblazer megaships to different parts of the galaxy every month or so... and they provide a "temporary start point" for players to expand from, deeper in the galaxy. That way FD can prevent people rushing to some obvious candidates deep in the black.