Should FDev have the guts to upset players in order to improve the overall quality of the game

Jenner

I wish I was English like my hero Tj.
I've long advocated for a rework of superpower leveling and the military career path. Just let people keep their existing rank and ships and rework the system. Seems fair to me.
 
They can reset the ranks but keep the ranking points.

That way commanders can play whatever new gameplay there is for ranking without losing their progress towards unlocking ships.
Sandro mentioned that having rank and not performing missions that were sent to you could result in demotion. Seems a great way to implement it. Those of us with Max Rank everywhere can choose to keep one (or maybe more) buffed, and drop the the rest. I dont think anyone could create any meaningful amount of salt over not being Admiral AND King at the same time.
 
So, back to the point, should FDev have the guts to upset players, to implement game mechanics, lore and make other changes to the game, regardless of out upsets a majority of players.

I think whatever they do, they will upset players so yes, they should stick to their guns. FDev have folded to player criticism in the past e.g. over engineered NPCs and the engineers. The result is easy combat and an over-simplified pathway to extremely potent ships.
 
Make it optional for existing players? They could just let you choose to reset your ranks/lose your rank ships if you want to partake of the new military career. If you want to keep your ranks/ships then you can't do the new missions. Then it's down to you.

I've purposefully only ranked up with the Federation because that's how I believe the game should be but if they implemented a proper military career with interesting military missions (like in Frontier:Elite II) I would reset my rank in a heartbeat, despite being Rear Admiral.
 
I think so.

The game, for me, is permanently stuck in easy mode. Nothing I do changes that.

I'd love it if they made system security rating and government really matter. Currently the difference is so tiny it's not noticeable.


This would upset a lot of people. But not me. :p

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

Security rating isn't going to fix the core problem with difficulty, which is that the NPCs are a joke.

NPCs need to be buffed across the board based on their combat rating, an Elite NPC should be a rare, powerful, and rewarding enemy. Make higher NPCs tougher and smarter, then give them better gear and increase the reward for beating one. This would also indirectly buff security.

As it stands now NPCs, even elite ones, are basically a joke.
 
Security rating isn't going to fix the core problem with difficulty, which is that the NPCs are a joke.

NPCs need to be buffed across the board based on their combat rating, an Elite NPC should be a rare, powerful, and rewarding enemy. Make higher NPCs tougher and smarter, then give them better gear and increase the reward for beating one. This would also indirectly buff security.

As it stands now NPCs, even elite ones, are basically a joke.
I agree.
As long as a 'buff' isn't just add additional HP to them. Last thing we need are stupid bullet sponges. Lol

I'd love it if high rank NPC's called in back up, and whatnot, as well as used advanced tactics, like silent running, etc

But that said, without a decent mechanic to spawn these NPC's, we're also back to square one. Lol

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
 
For some reason I thought our Ranks were honorary granting access to military ship hulls.

If a military career path is introduced, it should come with associated responsibilities and upkeep, we should keep our honorary ranks and that path can still be available to others (noobs) joining the game allowing the path of privateer to continue however a 'Military Career' (pledged PP like), would come with access to an assigned ship & military modules which you would need to work to keep, if you buy yourself out you would lose access to the military tech but transfer your rank to an honorary one and retain access to Rank Locked Hulls. For PvP whilest 'pledged' acting against other commanders without orders would see you court martial-ed and stripped of Rank, then if you Loose your previously gained Privateer corvette you wouldn't be able to purchase another.
 
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It would be a refreshing change of pace from Frontier slowly turning the game into a Monty Haul Campaign. The most interesting game mechanics that were introduced to the game were quickly turned into banal versions themselves because players didn't want to have to develop the skills they needed to succeed in this game. Dynamic economies, the original version of Supercruise, and more difficult AIs were all toned down thanks to all the players channeling Veruca Salt.
 
No need to upset anyone, as you do military missions for one your rank decays with the other. If you already own a ranked locked ship you keep it but if you sell it you can't replace it.
No need to reset ranks but if you choose to help the military of one superpower than you must be prepared to lose the other superpower ranks.
New players then make a choice from day 1, older players get same choice and ranks adjust.
For those wanting an opposition locked ship maybe a hard linked mission at a top rank can involve capturing the ship as a reward
 
No need to upset anyone, as you do military missions for one your rank decays with the other. If you already own a ranked locked ship you keep it but if you sell it you can't replace it.
No need to reset ranks but if you choose to help the military of one superpower than you must be prepared to lose the other superpower ranks.
New players then make a choice from day 1, older players get same choice and ranks adjust.
For those wanting an opposition locked ship maybe a hard linked mission at a top rank can involve capturing the ship as a reward

I wouldn't have any problem with such a solution.
 
Yea that's true. They kinda ruined the whole idea by allowing ranks in all the factions simultaneously without balancing factions against each other. I guess the lore would be that Pilots Federation CMDRs are just mercs for hire, with honorary military titles.

I guess the current ships could just all be unlocked and a new ship (or whatever prize) would just be introduced with a new military career path.

Or maybe the factions send you a message that says choose...

Quite the pickle.

I think I'm leaning to full reset, but then again I don't fly a rank locked ship.

If they take away my rank locked ships, I will quit this game, no matter how much I love it. My ships have history - I've won races in those ships. They're a major part of my Commander's story, and I earned them.

I don't believe FD has so little respect for my time invested in this game that they would do such a thing, but when I look at mechanics like rep decay, I do wonder.

Rep decay has already pushed me to the point where I no longer pay any attention to superpower rep as it is too transient to have any meaning. If they take away my rank, too, I could live with that, as long as I can keep--and rebuy--my ships. I don't need any new ships and would probably not bother re-earning the rank.

But if they take my ships they lose my business.

Note: I only have Imperial rank.
 
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I honestly think we've already gone beyond the point of no return unless they ditch rank locking of faction ships and maybe the Sol permit or give us multiple characters. The problem is paint jobs and ship kits. People have paid real money for them and many players have a mixed fleet. It's not going to go down very well to tell people that suddenly they can't use things they've bought from the FD shop because of 'lore' reasons. I've include the Sol permit because even though it's not something that people buy, a lot of people will have a perfectly reasonable desire to see Earth and the Solar system in game.
 
Imerial rank and fed rank can coexist.

In ffe you could play both sides but if you engage in hostile activities against the feds walst qorking for the empire.. say you go nuke one of there settlements you would loose rep with them and they would be less likely to give you high rank missions.

So you can be a courier for both sides but if you want to be an emperial assasin you will have to accept that the feds wont like you and you will be given delivery boy status untill you have proven your self again.

So realy rank locked missions or spec ops militery missions could be the decider in what aide you are on but you could rank up in both as long as you played your cards right.

Alternatively you could loose or gain ranks in the navys but if you reach a ship unlock it stays unlocked even if you loose your rank.
 
I agree that people have purchased real world cash items to support ships they have or want (bought the Black Friday paint for the vette before I had her). Regardless, there should be some type of balance between the superpowers. As you gain with the Empire you should lose credit with the Federation and vice versa. Until there is a different class ship to rank up in the Alliance, you should be able to rank with either the Empire or Federation to unlock the ships and then defect to the Alliance if that is what you want. But as in power play, you should only be allowed to hold rank with one of the major powers. To rank with another, their should be a defection required. This in my opinion does not have to cost you the availability of your rank locked ships. Treat them almost as in a licensing class fashion (i.e. I earned the proper clearance and training from my time with the Feds or my Time with the Pire') where once you have earned the right to pilot them, they can't take them away. You also should not be able to decorate or display a faction or superpower patch on your flight suit or your ship without having allied yourself with that power or faction...
 
The problem is paint jobs and ship kits. People have paid real money for them and many players have a mixed fleet. It's not going to go down very well to tell people that suddenly they can't use things they've bought from the FD shop because of 'lore' reasons.

This.

I own the entire Core Dynamics line of ships, so if I am forced to choose and go with the Empire I lose access to them, including all the painjobs and shipkits I bought with real money?

Which is why it will not happen.

Another thing that is sometimes being brought up is that Imperial and Federation ships are not direct competitors. For the sake of balance, do they need to introduce counterparts to types of ships that the other side lacks, like an Imperial Gunship?

I'd rather see Powerplay changes to facilitate military careers.
 
Yep, said it before i believe FD tries to make everyone the target audience instead of having an actual, target audience. Because of this the game tries to have everything but dosent excel in anything.
 
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