I’ll be playing Elite for a long time to come, because I know it has potential and I love the procedural side of what we see - the unknowns that we experience.
The problem: Elite, as far as the populated bubble is concerned is unable to support 'life' in the game. By life, I do not mean fictional planet/stations but that the game from the player's perspective does not feel alive. The reason for this is simple:
The sole reason of NPC's existence in the game is to be killed.
Because of this, when the player transitions through systems, one after the other they experience the same thing. Generally there are a handful of NPCs mulling about in the RES sites, or spawned via USS, and so on.
The big problem that this presents is that the player is unable to have any story for their character. There is no significant history for what we have done. A year+ after release, we still have made no significant impact on the galaxy beyond adding our name to the system map. We are the best in the bubble - we can outmatch our targets up against the odds, yet there is nothing to gloat about.
In a region of space where we are so profoundly outnumbered by NPCs, we should be a part of their world. The galaxy, wherever populated should have a purpose, and it should be able to evolve at our hands. PowerPlay is going to be excluded because I see that as a smaller sub
The problem: Elite, as far as the populated bubble is concerned is unable to support 'life' in the game. By life, I do not mean fictional planet/stations but that the game from the player's perspective does not feel alive. The reason for this is simple:
The sole reason of NPC's existence in the game is to be killed.
- It does not matter if an NPC is a fed, a pirate, a trader, or a miner. That NPC has no other role in the game.
- They are not persistent.
- They lack reasonable motivations for their actions.
- They are simply fodder for missions and event the Elite NPCs pose little threat.
Because of this, when the player transitions through systems, one after the other they experience the same thing. Generally there are a handful of NPCs mulling about in the RES sites, or spawned via USS, and so on.
The big problem that this presents is that the player is unable to have any story for their character. There is no significant history for what we have done. A year+ after release, we still have made no significant impact on the galaxy beyond adding our name to the system map. We are the best in the bubble - we can outmatch our targets up against the odds, yet there is nothing to gloat about.
In a region of space where we are so profoundly outnumbered by NPCs, we should be a part of their world. The galaxy, wherever populated should have a purpose, and it should be able to evolve at our hands. PowerPlay is going to be excluded because I see that as a smaller sub
-section of this issue.
Play Modes
The lack of NPC interaction has created a single threat in the game: CMDRs
This leads to the issue we see of Solo/Group vs Open.
How can this be resolved? Expansion of the Background Simulation.
Background Simulation
This is the most important thing to me. Right now, the BGS is extremely limited in scope of affected outcomes, scale and realistic contributions. An expanded BGS can resolve a lot of the issues we see. I'll come back to the first two points at the bottom.
Trade hubs
We need systems that act as headquarters for shipyards, module production, commodity trading, and even station
Play Modes
The lack of NPC interaction has created a single threat in the game: CMDRs
This leads to the issue we see of Solo/Group vs Open.
- Solo/Group players want access to the entire game with control over their own environment, because CMDRs are unpredicatable and prone to griefing.
- Open players don’t like that solo players being able to run through PP uninterrupted, and the role of piracy is near impossible with people mining in solo.
How can this be resolved? Expansion of the Background Simulation.
Background Simulation
This is the most important thing to me. Right now, the BGS is extremely limited in scope of affected outcomes, scale and realistic contributions. An expanded BGS can resolve a lot of the issues we see. I'll come back to the first two points at the bottom.
Trade hubs
We need systems that act as headquarters for shipyards, module production, commodity trading, and even station
-building. Trade hubs add to the bubble centralized points when all traffic will ultimately pass through at some point.
Trade hubs would guarantee the following benefits to any player visiting them:
Deep(er) space distribution
Where trade hubs give the player easy access to many goods, the demand is so low that they rarely offer good deals to sell TO the hubs. But, as we expand from trade hubs outwards towards the edge of the bubble, we find that distribution of goods is less consistent. In these cases, players must be able to stock the market with commodities and goods that are missing. Depending on the demand in the station, some ships, modules, and commodities will give greater payouts.
Supply, Demand, Blockades and Piracy
Whether you are a solo player or a group player, you have little chance of making much impact in and even beyond your system without an extreme amount of effort. We can fix this by making sure that the BGS is actually reliant on a supply of materials coming from trade hubs.
The single player can use this information to find a significant way to help turn the tide
Trade hubs would guarantee the following benefits to any player visiting them:
- All non-rare commodities will be guaranteed available, in large quantity. This includes rare metals like platinum.
- Every ship, and every module is readily available.
- Materials for crafting are also available.
- Trade hub station demand is lower, but the supply is very high.
- Trade hub systems are on high security with a guaranteed swift response to any combat in the system.
Deep(er) space distribution
Where trade hubs give the player easy access to many goods, the demand is so low that they rarely offer good deals to sell TO the hubs. But, as we expand from trade hubs outwards towards the edge of the bubble, we find that distribution of goods is less consistent. In these cases, players must be able to stock the market with commodities and goods that are missing. Depending on the demand in the station, some ships, modules, and commodities will give greater payouts.
- While the stations work like this already, we are unable to sell modules/ships and the demand does not affect the BGS AFAIK.
Supply, Demand, Blockades and Piracy
Whether you are a solo player or a group player, you have little chance of making much impact in and even beyond your system without an extreme amount of effort. We can fix this by making sure that the BGS is actually reliant on a supply of materials coming from trade hubs.
- Minor factions must have a budget to support their war.
- Minor factions have an ideal fleet composition. Do they prefer vipers or cobras? Lasers or autocannons?
- They must support their fleet with food, weaponry,aid etc...
- Combat zones require replenished fleets if they are to win.
The single player can use this information to find a significant way to help turn the tide
- something more effective than mindless combat. If the player determines the unique set of properties that make up the opposition's fleet, they can help drain the resources using some basic ideas of disruption:
This is good, but still too small in scope. We need assistance from other players to help - traders.
Buy/Sell Orders
Due to the lack of distribution in deep space systems, some systems will need bulk supplies of materials to fund their system conflicts. Players should be able to create Supply and Demand orders for other players to pick up as missions.
Services
NPCs can serve support roles for players in the BGS.
PVP Repercussions
Elite encourages open PVP, but at the same time a bounty is merely a badge of honor. There is no real reason to keep it low when you can just change systems and it becomes nullified unless you are scanned. For players with high bounties, there should be degrees of penalties given to them. They will be able to attack anyone, but not without considering the consequences.
Incentivization to play Open
A shift towards open play is not forced, but it is encouraged by empowering the traders and miners of the game to be able to make use of their fortunes to help support themselves. Pirates can also consider the consequences of their raids by avoiding players transporting fish and focusing on players transporting platinum - without relying on RolePlay and conscience.
This is really just the beginning of the idea.Thoughts?
- Siphon/buy resources out of their stations. You give them credits but they need to travel further to find replacements parts.
- Taking out their transporters.
- Taking out their miners.
This is good, but still too small in scope. We need assistance from other players to help - traders.
Buy/Sell Orders
Due to the lack of distribution in deep space systems, some systems will need bulk supplies of materials to fund their system conflicts. Players should be able to create Supply and Demand orders for other players to pick up as missions.
- Demand Order: A player will select an available mission location(s), delivery location, commodity type, quanitity and price. This order can be picked up by a second player as a delivery mission and the goods will be transported by the second player to the designated location. The contract is fulfilled under the name of the order author, contributing to the simulation.
Example: Player makes an order for 300 eagle ships to support their minor faction.
- Sell Order: A player will select an available mission location(s), buy location, commodity type, duration allowed, quantity and price. This order will set aside a quantity of a commodity can be picked up by another player as a sale. This places the goods on reserve for the duration of the contract, for the second player to purchase from the station. Purchasing this commodity will contribute to the simulation, possibly removing resources from a faction.
Example: Creating Sell orders for small lasers except at your station, in nearby systems as well will affect your opponent's ability to equip small ships with an inifinite supply of firepower.
Services
NPCs can serve support roles for players in the BGS.
- Protection: Open up NPC protection escorts to players. By doing this, players could select the rate per LY traveled that they want to have combat ships flanking them in a wing. Trade ships will be less vulnerable if they have the option to be guarded by ships that will try to ensure their safety during transport.
- Blockades: Instead of spawning arbitrary ships to float in space, let players hire pirates to camp nav points, delaying transportation of goods to the system.
- Ship Delivery: Transport your ships from other systems to your current systems, so that you don't need to hunt down the perfect parts all over again.
- Hired Bounty Hunters: Traders tend to be rich. Their wraith should be feared and they should be able to place a bounty on a CMDR. This would increase the frequency of his or her attacks in space by bounty hunters, on behalf of the contract holder.
PVP Repercussions
Elite encourages open PVP, but at the same time a bounty is merely a badge of honor. There is no real reason to keep it low when you can just change systems and it becomes nullified unless you are scanned. For players with high bounties, there should be degrees of penalties given to them. They will be able to attack anyone, but not without considering the consequences.
- Financial damage done to a player with respect to credits lost - both cargo value and ship value is proportionate to their bounty increase.
- Medium-High bounties result in Empire, Alliance, Federation station lockdown.
- High bounties incur Empire,Alliance,Federation police action. You are galactic scum and they may value your bounty more than your allegience.
- Highest tier bounties result in GalNet notices of your last-known whereabouts, constant tracking from Bounty Hunter NPCs, coordinated police force attacks and general bad-for-business action.
Incentivization to play Open
A shift towards open play is not forced, but it is encouraged by empowering the traders and miners of the game to be able to make use of their fortunes to help support themselves. Pirates can also consider the consequences of their raids by avoiding players transporting fish and focusing on players transporting platinum - without relying on RolePlay and conscience.
This is really just the beginning of the idea.Thoughts?
