I think I've just reached tipping point over all the posts/threads about murder/griefing. The next time I read yet another NEW post about how someone just got 'killed' I really don't know whether I'll be able to stop myself screaming or snarling.
I'm not into griefer gameplay and I hope such a thing can be curtailed by proper crime & consequence rule implementation, but I'm fed up of reading the same comments over and over again. I'm not giving lots of examples but you can be sure someone will suggest playing in solo, or that what happened is valid gameplay so everyone else should stop moaning (and, yes, I realise I am sort of moaning myself, here). You know what I mean, unless you are new to these forums.
So... I decided I'd start a pro-murder thread. Let's hear it for those killers - the human players whom we all hope not to meet! I want this game to live up to both its name and my expectations. With only NPC crazies on the loose this game is Elite : Mostly Harmless, as after a while (building up experience and skills, plus ship upgrades) it is basically just the human players who make this Elite : Dangerous (excluding some unfortunate jumps into close binary systems, of course). Yeah, I know we could talk about hitting asteroids or the station walls, but that's just bad flying.
Rule #2 for beginners should be that they need to move away from the starter systems. In my ED universe there are places that hold more potential danger than others, just as there are IRL. If I want to go on holiday I don't choose a war zone. If I am transporting goods from A to B I won't take a shortcut through place C if I know that C is being blockaded and my goods are frowned upon. If I want to go for a stroll I won't pick a nearby mine field. If I do any of these I understand quite clearly that I place myself in greater danger. Nor do I assume that by avoiding such places the risk reduces to the point of being removed entirely. I doubt very much that when I go to the shops and then the pub later today that I shall die, but it COULD happen. The odds of my death happening at the hands of a murderer are even lower, but it could still happen, and I'm certain I could travel to some places in the world where the odds of such a demise would increase dramatically.
What am I trying to say...? When I first started playing ED I tried hard to be lawful and not become a criminal; that was my chosen path in the ED universe. There were occasional moments when I strayed slightly (such as smuggling) but they were brief exceptions to the rule just so that I could see for myself how the game worked. The first time I killed an innocent NPC I felt guilty, as it went against the character of my Cmdr. The first time I had another Cmdr shoot at me without cause I felt peed off and angry. But would I ban such behaviour outright? Hell no! It is the knowledge that I must be aware of others in the game and the fact that they might not be fine upstanding members of lawful society that gives this game its edge. Keep me on my toes, why don't ya, but you'll have to catch me first! In short, I'm glad killers exist in the game (and I do not include griefers in that statement) as long as they spread it around a bit.
Thinking about the whole 'killing' thing and how it is occurring, it made me wonder how I could perhaps add to the danger within the game. The conclusion I came to is that it is too black & white at present. IRL we have surely all read reports or watched tv programmes about killers who remained hidden within the community for many years, and about their MOs (modi operandi), and this opens up a new way to play: I could become a serial killer!
As our ships have scanners which identify others by name this is where the forum rules (here, at least) add to the gameplay. A superb pilot might be able to sneak up and stay out of the scanning area of the prey but I doubt I'd be able to pull that off. If my name became known too quickly they'd scarper as soon as I was ID'd by their scan. As such, within the forums, all that'd be available would be a sketchy and worthless bit of info ("the killer was flying an FDL, but that's all I can say").
But... how shall I choose my victims? Serial killers often have specific types of target, so perhaps I shall only pick Haulers who are rated Novice (sort of 'young adult' if we applied a scale progression to rank vs age). Serial killers who remain hidden often have preferred hunting areas and other patterns, so maybe I'll park my 'killing ship' in a station somewhere and only pick on victims I find within 12 Ly of it. As for the pattern, I'm not sure yet; I could go with something along the lines of every Sunday with a '1' in its date (so two victims on the 11th), or maybe some other date pattern that has significance in the real world (e.g. dates of Zeppelin raids on England in WW1). The better the pattern the more likely people could pick up on it and the mystery killer could be suitably named (i.e. given a monicker).
So, there you have it. An acceptance that murder exists, but in game it would not be to the extent that dozens would be decrying it all at once. It would, however, add to the sense of danger out there ("when in the black, watch your back!"). After sufficient victims allow the pattern to be known I could end up being the hunted player.
Has anyone else got any other ideas for imaginative ways to incorporate murder in the game? If so, please share...
I'm not into griefer gameplay and I hope such a thing can be curtailed by proper crime & consequence rule implementation, but I'm fed up of reading the same comments over and over again. I'm not giving lots of examples but you can be sure someone will suggest playing in solo, or that what happened is valid gameplay so everyone else should stop moaning (and, yes, I realise I am sort of moaning myself, here). You know what I mean, unless you are new to these forums.
So... I decided I'd start a pro-murder thread. Let's hear it for those killers - the human players whom we all hope not to meet! I want this game to live up to both its name and my expectations. With only NPC crazies on the loose this game is Elite : Mostly Harmless, as after a while (building up experience and skills, plus ship upgrades) it is basically just the human players who make this Elite : Dangerous (excluding some unfortunate jumps into close binary systems, of course). Yeah, I know we could talk about hitting asteroids or the station walls, but that's just bad flying.
Rule #2 for beginners should be that they need to move away from the starter systems. In my ED universe there are places that hold more potential danger than others, just as there are IRL. If I want to go on holiday I don't choose a war zone. If I am transporting goods from A to B I won't take a shortcut through place C if I know that C is being blockaded and my goods are frowned upon. If I want to go for a stroll I won't pick a nearby mine field. If I do any of these I understand quite clearly that I place myself in greater danger. Nor do I assume that by avoiding such places the risk reduces to the point of being removed entirely. I doubt very much that when I go to the shops and then the pub later today that I shall die, but it COULD happen. The odds of my death happening at the hands of a murderer are even lower, but it could still happen, and I'm certain I could travel to some places in the world where the odds of such a demise would increase dramatically.
What am I trying to say...? When I first started playing ED I tried hard to be lawful and not become a criminal; that was my chosen path in the ED universe. There were occasional moments when I strayed slightly (such as smuggling) but they were brief exceptions to the rule just so that I could see for myself how the game worked. The first time I killed an innocent NPC I felt guilty, as it went against the character of my Cmdr. The first time I had another Cmdr shoot at me without cause I felt peed off and angry. But would I ban such behaviour outright? Hell no! It is the knowledge that I must be aware of others in the game and the fact that they might not be fine upstanding members of lawful society that gives this game its edge. Keep me on my toes, why don't ya, but you'll have to catch me first! In short, I'm glad killers exist in the game (and I do not include griefers in that statement) as long as they spread it around a bit.
Thinking about the whole 'killing' thing and how it is occurring, it made me wonder how I could perhaps add to the danger within the game. The conclusion I came to is that it is too black & white at present. IRL we have surely all read reports or watched tv programmes about killers who remained hidden within the community for many years, and about their MOs (modi operandi), and this opens up a new way to play: I could become a serial killer!
As our ships have scanners which identify others by name this is where the forum rules (here, at least) add to the gameplay. A superb pilot might be able to sneak up and stay out of the scanning area of the prey but I doubt I'd be able to pull that off. If my name became known too quickly they'd scarper as soon as I was ID'd by their scan. As such, within the forums, all that'd be available would be a sketchy and worthless bit of info ("the killer was flying an FDL, but that's all I can say").
But... how shall I choose my victims? Serial killers often have specific types of target, so perhaps I shall only pick Haulers who are rated Novice (sort of 'young adult' if we applied a scale progression to rank vs age). Serial killers who remain hidden often have preferred hunting areas and other patterns, so maybe I'll park my 'killing ship' in a station somewhere and only pick on victims I find within 12 Ly of it. As for the pattern, I'm not sure yet; I could go with something along the lines of every Sunday with a '1' in its date (so two victims on the 11th), or maybe some other date pattern that has significance in the real world (e.g. dates of Zeppelin raids on England in WW1). The better the pattern the more likely people could pick up on it and the mystery killer could be suitably named (i.e. given a monicker).
So, there you have it. An acceptance that murder exists, but in game it would not be to the extent that dozens would be decrying it all at once. It would, however, add to the sense of danger out there ("when in the black, watch your back!"). After sufficient victims allow the pattern to be known I could end up being the hunted player.
Has anyone else got any other ideas for imaginative ways to incorporate murder in the game? If so, please share...
