Thargoid CG's feel... early

[CMDR Corlas]

First off, I'm not intending to just complain, just wanting to offer some feedback.

I realize there was previously a war against the Thargoids, but I also understand it was largely covered up or something. Either way, this many Thargoid CG's, especially with such a focus on weaponry, seems premature and... well, just weird.

I like how it started with the science stuff; the limpets, the scanner... missiles at the same time was understable, I guess, so we had SOME form of defense, just in case. But these major CG's to get some effective anti-Thargoid weapons would feel really epic and have a major sense of urgency if Thargoids were, pushing deeper into the bubble, interdicting and attacking players (or stations) all over the bubble, and were generally being a clear and major threat. But as it is, there's just sort of... over there. Being Thargoids by themselves, unless we go and poke them.

It feels like we're just expected to kill them because it's a game and they are aliens. Three weapons CG's in a row, when there is no real threat from the Thargoids, feels really off.

Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong, and I'm SUPPOSED to think that it's off and that something isn't right here, but without any in-game cues that there's anything I'm supposed to do about that, and the out-of-character knowledge that the Thargoids are the big content update here, it kind of feels like I'd just be tilting at windmills going that route.

 

[Vardaugas]

They're not talking. They're abducting people and shoot when you get in their way trying to rescue them. That's not friendly. That's not benign. It's hostile.

 

[Ian Doncaster]

Are the Thargoids "adapting" to these CGs to develop new weapons by attacking the systems they're being held in? (Or are they still effectively confined to the Pleiades?)

 

[Stealthie]

I agree with the OP.

I hope nobody finds the comparison too distasteful but it's a bit like if Dubya had just appeared on TV, announced that we were mobilising our armed-forces into the middle-east and then the whole weapons industry had ramped-up it's activities without their being any 9/11 attacks or Iraq war to provoke it.

I assume FDev are attempting to create a certain amount of ambiguity but, given the scope of the response to the "Thargoid threat" over the last couple of weeks, there hasn't been a lot to really justify it.
We, as players of a video game, know that "Thargoids" are the Next Big Thing that we're supposed to get involved with but there hasn't been much in-game to suggest the galaxy, as a whole, has anything to be very concerned about.

In a nutshell, they should've had the Thargoids blow up a bunch of stuff in the Pleiades (possibly a couple of planets and ideally a star) and then given us a heap of passenger-transport CGs taking people out of the Pleiades and delivering them into the middle of the bubble and/or delivering emergency equipment into the area.

That's the sort of threat which would justify the response that we're supposed to be getting involved with.

 

[Juniper]

Pew.

Pew pew.

Pew pew pew.

Pew.

That's why.

 

[CMDR Corlas]

They're not talking. They're abducting people and shoot when you get in their way trying to rescue them. That's not friendly. That's not benign. It's hostile.

They have been talking though. UA's have been talking for ages.

And how should they know those are escape pods that have people in them? How do we know they have hostile intent to those people? It's no more overtly hostile than when we scooped up Unknown Artefacts or blasted Meta-Alloys from Barnacles.

 

[Tataboj]

The Thargoids were DESTROYING capital ships. I don't know about you, but that sounds like enough of a threat to make all superpowers fund a research project.

 

[Bryan K]

And how should they know those are escape pods that have people in them?

Oh, I dunno, it might have something to do with the fact that they're called "occupied escape pod"s. Just a hypothesis.

 

[Ninj]

Where's the dossier Tony?

 

[CMDR-AD]

It feels like we're just expected to kill them because it's a game and they are aliens. Three weapons CG's in a row, when there is no real threat from the Thargoids, feels really off.

Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong, and I'm SUPPOSED to think that it's off and that something isn't right here, but without any in-game cues that there's anything I'm supposed to do about that, and the out-of-character knowledge that the Thargoids are the big content update here, it kind of feels like I'd just be tilting at windmills going that route.

Having followed a few of the story trails which begin in the Pleiades region (often beginning from Listening Posts scattered around), I also get the feeling that we are "supposed" to feel that there is a something amiss. It's clear that some organizations are well aware of Thargoid activities, and may have actively been engaging with them, off the record, for at least the past year. The general sense I get, is that no matter what these groups are doing (or trying to do, at any rate), the Thargoids really are doing their own thing in spite of these efforts.

What's not clear is whether the current increase in Thargoid activity is in direct response to these groups actions. It certainly could be, and could be why we are finding Thargoids having tackled a ship group. That ship group was conceivably participating in whatever those organization's actions were, and the Thargoids have responded. As outsiders, stumbling into them, we are scanned, determined to not be part of these efforts, and not a threat. The will (at present) leave us alone.

It seems very possible that some or all of this "hidden" organization's actions are also supported by, or even directly part of, AEGIS, who are busy getting their larger tasks completed with our help. Right now that's obviously building weapons.

The wide spread availability of these weapons is where I would guess the story will eventually change. Instead of us CMDRs being considered a non-threat (since we used to not be able to damage Thargoids)... the Thargoids will face increasing losses to CMDR AX guns, (not to mention the mysterious organizations arming themselves, too) and I'd not be surprised to see all of us eventually considered by Thargoids as a threat or even hostile, as a result.

What remains unknown is how much of a real threat the Thargoids represent, in and of themselves. What I mean is, are these mysterious organizations out tearing up Thargoid sites, eggs, ships, and whatnot, pillaging their home-worlds (which may be permit locked to us) to gather some materials or technology? Would the Thargoids be here, taking down human ships, if not for the actions of these organizations?

Unknown.

 

[Vardaugas]

They have been talking though. UA's have been talking for ages.

What have they been talking about? I picked up a few and they never initiated a conversation. The Thargoids that scanned me did talk, though. With weapons fire.

And how should they know those are escape pods that have people in them? How do we know they have hostile intent to those people? It's no more overtly hostile than when we scooped up Unknown Artefacts or blasted Meta-Alloys from Barnacles.

They know the difference between animal meat and slaves. They're picky in only choosing living people to scoop up. They know exactly what they are doing.

 

[Stealthie]

The Thargoids were DESTROYING capital ships. I don't know about you, but that sounds like enough of a threat to make all superpowers fund a research project.

Well, I don't mean to get all hippy-dippy about it but consider this...

If the Thargoid ships are "alive" then maybe they assume our ships should be similar and, when they find no signs of life, they assume they're destroying "drones" without realising they're killing thousands of individual human beings inside the ships?
Given the way we, as players, treat NPCs with zero compassion, it should be possible to recognise that an alien race might have cause to think of human spaceships in similar terms.

And then, of course, there's a fairly straightforward comparison to be made between the way they're scooping up escape pods and the way we've been collecting up Thargoid items for years, or possibly even decades.

That's a bit beside the point though.
The point is that, up until now, a big part of the plot has been how it's all been hushed-up and yet now, suddenly, we've got spurious reports of aliens appearing in the Pleiades and the whole galaxy is rushing to supply materials to create weapons to fight them with.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

I was kinda hyped for the Thargoids arrival, but to be honest, I had to go and hunt them down, and even though they shot me first, on my first ever encounter with them (and destroyed my FDL!), they don't actually seem hostile to me.

I've investigated a fair few of them, and determined that some are aggressive and others just want you to leave them alone.
I've not had a single one come after me.

So I've left them to it. I'll return when things get out of hand. Lol

I'm not doing the CGs either, because it doesn't feel right this early on.
And I don't like how they ask for hard to get cargo, and then a regular run of the mill commodity aswell.
One or the other FD. Don't mix. Lol

I'm also leaving the Thargoids alone, because they're too far from the bubble to keep messing with. I can't progress my rank very well in the Pleiades.
Hurry up and invade the bubble, Thargoids. You know you want to. We've got fresh human brains! Billions of them!

*Awaits a full scale invasion*

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

 

[NecoMachina]

All of these "meaningful ways to interact with them outside of combat" sure are great, aren't they fellas? FDEV really delivered on this one!

 

[Vardaugas]

All of these "meaningful ways to interact with them outside of combat" sure are great, aren't they fellas? FDEV really delivered on this one!

Because they already finished delivering, right?

 

[Enderby]

I had to go find them.

They seemed to just be chillin.

I didn't fire at it but I got too close and so it attacked. I ran away.

They don't seem so bad.

 

[Surprised Brony]

We have aliens taking people and killing any who try to stop it. Aliens that we were at war with once before. Wouldn't you try to initiate Project: Parity as soon as possible if that occurred in real life? Project: Parity isn't a declaration of war, it's a preparatory measure. Think about it.

If we had something the Thargoids wanted, they could just take it with force due to their superiority. There's no need to negotiate with bees for their honey is there? We simply take them all and their honey. Why would we sit on our hands and allow that situation to potentially happen to us?

 

[NecoMachina]

Because they already finished delivering, right?

You think we're gonna get anything else for the science types? We'll see I guess. My money is everything else is gonna be more pew pew gadgets, but we'll see. I'd love to be wrong.

 

[Surprised Brony]

You think we're gonna get anything else for the science types? We'll see I guess. My money is everything else is gonna be more pew pew gadgets, but we'll see. I'd love to be wrong.

I'll bet some of the only content science folks get will be another one-CMDR, one-time puzzle like the whole Merope 5c situation. In fact, it may further involve that particular body. I wish there were more interesting things that weren't just a simple trail that can be revealed by one person.

 

[Drelthar]

Seen all of those megaships destroyed by thargoids? There's logs on them talking about the Thargoids turning up, and just murderising their masive ship full of potentially thousands of people.

They try the escape pods, but then get captured by thargoid ships and done... who knows what with.

The Thargoids are cracking open huge ships full of humans, and sucking them out.


They haven't attacked Sol yet, no, but...