Am I just imagining a Imperial-favouring galaxy/developer?

Beornfrið

B
Good day,

When I started ED I was in Federation space. On learning that Sol was controlled by the Federation and with a real-life interest in history I thought, "Okay, I'm a Federation player."

I didn't really have any concept of what that might mean but garnered a few snippets of information from GalNet. Some things about an unpopular president and a condemnation of a ridiculously-named drug. As my playing progressed (I backed the game in 2013, started playing on overall release) I began to question why I actually was playing for the Federation, when it seemed that GalNet and FDEV are putting all their energy in the Empire. The Empire has had assassination attempts, rebellious princesses, anti/pro-slaving events and so on; genuinely interesting plotlines, even if the execution feels a bit contrived. The last I remember hearing about the Federation on GalNet was something or other about Hudson visiting an education facility.

One of the things I love about ED is the freedom to feel like I am a pilot out in the void, but just as in real life I would like to feel attached to something bigger. I recently encountered a situation wherein Imperial players were rallying together to achieve a united goal in the area I was in; I was surprised to see this dedication amongst players. They were talking in role-play (but sensibly) about the Imperial situation and I realised I have never encountered anything even remotely similar with Federation-inclined players. I've been in the area trying, and struggling, to level my Imperial rank as it is lower than my Federal rank because I had been hoping to be able to take advantage of the current Clipper discount. It's clear I won't be able to do that, but I find myself thinking: "If I want to feel like I am part of an overall story, shouldn't I be putting not just my current energy but my future energy in to the Empire?"

Goodness only knows what Alliance-favouring players feel.

Is there a reason why the Empire seem to have all this extra energy put in to them? If FDEV want players to feel like they can become attached to the in-game governments and 'fight for a cause' isn't it about time that there were causes that people could actually become interested in? I didn't become active on this forum until a while after I started playing so appreciate I might have missed something official about this stance.

EDIT: Why is it only after posting that I noticed the typo in the title? Sigh!
 
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Ben Ryder

Ben Ryder
Take a look at the community goals and you just need to look at the faction weighting and you'll see that there is a heavy bias in the game play and story development
 

skydivertricky

skydivertricky
The imperial Courier is the answer. Its a step up from the t7 for trading for not a lot and a half decent fighter. And it looks damn sexy
So players get over to the empire for the rank missions to get the ship, then discover that the empire has more profitable trading comoddities.

So most people just stay there.
 

bossbrigand

B
I imagine part of the reason for Imperial players' being more devoted to the Empire is that a big chunk of Federation players are only pro-Fed because the system you spawn in is Federation.

As for the reason FD seems to favor them, it's because the Empire is simply... better at this time in the lore. It's more stable and actively expanding with little resistance, whereas due to the Federation's issues with corruption and incompetence they're losing systems. I expect the Alliance and Empire will be competing to gain these lost systems soon. I believe both factions have had significant effort put into them, so of the two I don't think any particular one is favored - the Alliance seems underappreciated but they're kind of a loose cabal of independent systems rather than a unified group like Federation/Empire.
 

Nexien

N
It does seam like there is one person writing all of stories and community events and he only likes the Empire,full stop :)
 

xeixei

X
have you ever looked at the past CGs? in that thread? Most of them are Feds' Now they have an importunity to work on Empire's Lore. Please stop whining.
 

Lord_Crazy

L
Lanatir said:
look at the imperial clipper, and then look at the federal dropship. You immediately know which faction FD favors.
Click to expand...

US cars look like... while German and Japanese cars look awesome. So can you infer I despise the US and love Japan and Germany?
FD made a description about the galactic powers and made clear that aesthetic was a big deal in the Empire while the Federation was more focused on industrialization. Which one you favor is your opinion, but that does not mean the developers like one over another.
 

_Flin_

_Flin_
Alliance is great.
We do our own stuff.
We dont even need ships or ranks.
We have an ongoing plotline of a homeworld in danger, a pirate plague in our second capital area, numerous systems asking to join us...

It just isnt on Galnet.

If you want to take part, join the Alliance Elite Diplomatic Corps :)
 

FuzzySpider

FuzzySpider
The Federal Corvette looks to be the most devastating ship available, and it's coming soon.

The Federal dropship is underrated. It's no Imp Clip, but it's still not as bad as people make out.
 

Lord_Crazy

L
Nexien said:
It does seam like there is one person writing all of stories and community events and he only likes the Empire,full stop :)
Click to expand...

Yeeaahhhh sure... The story barely started so statistically speaking it would have been the Feds or the Empire. If the current Emperor-related plot was actually about the Fed President people would whine about FD being too much in love with the Federation. The game's story is slowly starting and we already have people complaining. Why don't you wait a little bit and see what happens with the Federation? Also, the past CGs does not allow to make any inference: they were mainly Feds and are now focused on the Empire. Nothing indicates it won't be the way around soon.
 

Beornfrið

B
xeixei said:
have you ever looked at the past CGs? in that thread? Most of them are Feds' Now they have an importunity to work on Empire's Lore. Please stop whining.
Click to expand...

Whining, right!

There were a good chunk of Federal CGs, especially around the conflict in Lugh, but the whole Lugh-incident was provoked by the players and not FDEV. Federal CGs around Lugh were in response to player enthusiasm, not the other way around.

I'm glad the only one that feels like this. Whether you think of it as a genuine sandbox or not, FDEV have created something that really lends itself well to rallying behind a faction and making players feel like part of something distinct and special. I hope that, as time goes on, we have situations where at any given time players - whomever they support - sign in and think "I wonder what's going to have happened today?" as opposed to "I wonder if it will be my turn for a story today?"

Otherwise, there's a risk of players simply floating between factions to follow storylines in much the same way people have switched sides just to follow the money.
 

Lord_Crazy

L
Beornfrið said:
Is there a reason why the Empire seem to have all this extra energy put in to them?
Click to expand...

Yes: because you write stories chapter by chapter. Currently it feels like the chapter written is more about the Empire. But nothing seems to prevent FD from focusing on the Federation on the next chapter. Besides, the Federation had a lot for itself a month ago or so. Between the war in Lugh and the wall Onionhead mess there was really something going on. Apparently it did not appeal to you but then it comes from your personal preference, not FD's willful bias. Finally check Galnet and you will see: with shadow president gathering corporate support and probably trying to get rid of Halsey I suspect something big is gonna happen soon. :)
 

bossbrigand

B
The Dropship is a good piece of kit in the hands of players. I poke fun at it because I'm contractually obligated to by Gutamaya, but I've seen decent pilots tear stuff up with theirs. As with any vessel you just have to know your ship.

I expect the Corvette will be a really solid piece of hardware.
 
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