Endless idiocy. More of the same.

[Mac]

Okay, I was a backer for Elite Dangerous since the summer of 2014. The game had serious problems for a long time when it was being developed, but most of the technical stuff seems to have been ironed out. However, one of the things that has never been ironed out is the idiocy and unbelievable behavior of the people and everything else in the Elite Dangerous universe. There is something clearly wrong with the people at Frontier, who seemed to have decided that their universe was going to be filled with people and machines that all behaved as if they were psychotic. Here's an example of what I'm talking about, and then you can all insult me, call me names, tell me I'm an idiot, whatever. Do whatever makes you feel good. But, again, I think my point is valid, even if you don't like the way I'm expressing it.

Here's what happened: I go to Sanuma, and get a mission for a minor faction in Dunyach Gateway. They used to be in charge, but aren't anymore (I have no idea why... makes no sense at all), so I'm trying to help them regain control of the system. I get an influence mission from them to help out. It's a surface scan mission, where you have to get data from a data point, and the data point and the base where it's located just happen to be owned by this same minor faction, whom I am considered allied to. The mission is (of course) in another star system. So, I get there, and I fly towards the surface of the planet to land, I have to endure the ridiculous multiple rescannings and relocations of the base, and finally I land. I get out of the ship, and into my little SRV, and slowly and leisurely cruise the 600 meters to the base where the data link is. As I approach the base, I'm delighted to see that the base, and everything in it, shows up green on my display, because I am an ally of the faction who owns the base, and they gave me the mission to recover their data. "Easy peasy!", I'm thinking, and I continue to cruise on in towards the data point, which I can clearly see, figuring I'll scan, leave, and go back and collect my reward.

I pull up next to it, and... What's this? Security perimeter breach? I'm in big trouble. What's going on!? I was sent here by the people who own the place to scan the data link and recover their data. "What the...??!!", I'm now thinking, as the turrets and skimmers all open fire on my SRV. Well, I didn't even stick around to get destroyed or run away. I can't scan the data link now, because I'm under fire, so the mission is basically over, unless I want to pull away and try again, which I don't think should be necessary. So, I logged out, and, once again, I'm done with this ridiculously silly and laughable game for another 4 months, until I log in again someday, and see if Frontier finally decided not to program the behavior of things in this game as if the universe is run by a bunch of lying and crooked psychopaths.

This is a stupid game, friends. Face it. It's really, really stupid. The crime and punishment stuff gets stupider with every update, there isn't anything for players to look forward to, like building your own stations, or claiming your own system. It's almost totally empty of content, and what content there is is frustrating in a sort of sado-masochistic way, that really makes you feel like a moron for playing the game at all. The stuff in this game just wouldn't occur the way it does. The game itself, it's true, looks absolutely breathtaking, and it is really cool flying around between star systems and exploring, but the gameplay and the content is unbearably, insufferably stupid. What happened to me makes no sense whatsoever, and no amount of rationalization makes it suddenly seem sensible, despite the fanboy hostility that is often irrationally displayed in these forums whenever anyone dares to criticize this game. In any sort of universe that made sense, and not in Frontier's paranoid schizophrenic pretend universe, if you were sent to a company's data link by the company itself to recover their data, and you were an ALLY of theirs, YOU WOULD NOT BE ATTACKED BY THEIR DEFENSES AT THE BASE!

You would simply drive up, totally unmolested, do your scan, turn around and leave. Everything with Elite dangerous is a big stupid fight, a mind-numbingly improbable series of events, and a ridiculous scenario which would never occur in reality. And this game is supposed to be lauded and applauded because of its realism?

 

[two quiet suns]

Stuff your have I can?

 

[Thorberg Shavestroke]

Mac, I think I know what happened! They couldn't stand the whining anymore, so they set up that data mission as a trap to assassinate you.

Can I have your stuff?

 

[Ouberos]

I genuinely think that sometimes the forums are better than the game.

Edit: Also, can I haz your stuff too?

 

[VR Jay Le Chardon]

To give the OP his due, hes merely echoing the sentiments of others who have complained about the nonsensical crime and punishment implications for picking up a small bounty through trivial things such as a datapoint scan mission or having a fender bender with a kamakaze NPC in a mailslot. So I fail to see why you are giving them such a hard time?

 

[Vasco Sapien]

Mac from WAB?

 

[Ian Skippy]

Okay, I was a backer for Elite Dangerous since the summer of 2014. The game had serious problems for a long time when it was being developed, but most of the technical stuff seems to have been ironed out. However, one of the things that has never been ironed out is the idiocy and unbelievable behavior of the people and everything else in the Elite Dangerous universe. There is something clearly wrong with the people at Frontier, who seemed to have decided that their universe was going to be filled with people and machines that all behaved as if they were psychotic. Here's an example of what I'm talking about, and then you can all insult me, call me names, tell me I'm an idiot, whatever. Do whatever makes you feel good. But, again, I think my point is valid, even if you don't like the way I'm expressing it.

Is this just an internet thing or do some people really start discussions in this way in real life? If so, how does that work out generally? :S

 

[M00ka]

Ah the good old Scan Mission Scam, been around since, well Horizons

Think of it this way, the Faction needs that beacon scanned for whatever reason but they also know it is illegal. They are in a bind, they could sent that dashing young LT from the System Authority Corp to do it but if word gets back it might not look good in the press that they are scanning their own beacons (just what did they pickup on the beacon, ah the mystery continues), the faction can't really be linked back to this dastardly deed. So they go the full deniability route, they hire an outside mercenary, in this case the esteemed Commander Mac to execute the task. They do this knowing he will incur a bounty, which of course will help their bottom line in the end and if anything goes wrong, the full onus of responsibility is on the Commander, not the faction.

Come on, Governments at all levels have been operating like this since the 20th Century, we in the 34th Century have just refined the practice

 

[verminstar]

Ah the good old Scan Mission Scam, been around since, well Horizons

Think of it this way, the Faction needs that beacon scanned for whatever reason but they also know it is illegal. They are in a bind, they could sent that dashing young LT from the System Authority Corp to do it but if word gets back it might not look good in the press that they are scanning their own beacons (just what did they pickup on the beacon, ah the mystery continues), the faction can't really be linked back to this dastardly deed. So they go the full deniability route, they hire an outside mercenary, in this case the esteemed Commander Mac to execute the task. They do this knowing he will incur a bounty, which of course will help their bottom line in the end and if anything goes wrong, the full onus of responsibility is on the Commander, not the faction.

Come on, Governments at all levels have been operating like this since the 20th Century, we in the 34th Century have just refined the practice

Cool thing this aint been shifted to off topic yet cos a comment like that would have gotten the thread yaffleized ^

 

[warlock]

deleted

 

[Ethaidan]

Is this just an internet thing or do some people really start discussions in this way in real life? If so, how does that work out generally? :S

Well, down t'pub, I find throwing in a few interpretive dance moves tends to add much needed flavour to drawn out opening monogues.

 

[warlock]

Ah the good old Scan Mission Scam, been around since, well Horizons

Think of it this way, the Faction needs that beacon scanned for whatever reason but they also know it is illegal. They are in a bind, they could sent that dashing young LT from the System Authority Corp to do it but if word gets back it might not look good in the press that they are scanning their own beacons (just what did they pickup on the beacon, ah the mystery continues), the faction can't really be linked back to this dastardly deed. So they go the full deniability route, they hire an outside mercenary, in this case the esteemed Commander Mac to execute the task. They do this knowing he will incur a bounty, which of course will help their bottom line in the end and if anything goes wrong, the full onus of responsibility is on the Commander, not the faction.

Come on, Governments at all levels have been operating like this since the 20th Century, we in the 34th Century have just refined the practice

I was sort of agreeing with the O.P until i read this. Good answer.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

It's a very old issue.

The System simply doesn't actually check Issuing Faction vs. Target Faction.

That leads to golden Inbox Texts like "CMDR, thanks to your Donation we've identified that our own Faction is still active in this Sector. We need you to go down and find out what we're up to!"
(makes no sense? Of course it doesn't. RNG at its best - no sanity checks applied, so there's your Faction present in multiple Systems that can send you out to scan their own Data beacons - and Fine/Bounty you for doing what their very Mission asked you to )

It's bug #1541 for all I can tell. Bug-Reported 12 months ago, due fixing in 3Q 2019 at current pacing.

All one can do is carefully check all Mission Details before taking on the RNG. Worst-case and unless a workaround is found, touch a bugged Mission once and then never gain until it is fixed. Saves alot of trouble.
And checking them one should do these days... There's wild stuff everywhere

 

[Adhock]

And that's why I don't bother with Planetary Scan missions.

Give me a full load of Data Courier missions and I can easily knock that faction right back into control through the BGS.

You might want to investigate more of the BGS to learn how to alter systems OP. Then take missions and do stuff that you know you can do without incurring fines.

 

[Oldric]

Is this just an internet thing or do some people really start discussions in this way in real life? If so, how does that work out generally? :S

It's probably an Internet Research Agency template I think.

 

[Vandaahl]

The wall of text was pretty stupid, but I agreed with the title though. This is starting to become unbearable.

 

[AbsinthSvK]

This is a stupid game, friends. Face it. It's really, really stupid. The crime and punishment stuff gets stupider with every update, there isn't anything for players to look forward to, like building your own stations, or claiming your own system. It's almost totally empty of content, and what content there is is frustrating in a sort of sado-masochistic way, that really makes you feel like a moron for playing the game at all. The stuff in this game just wouldn't occur the way it does. The game itself, it's true, looks absolutely breathtaking, and it is really cool flying around between star systems and exploring, but the gameplay and the content is unbearably, insufferably stupid.

Everything you say is true. I ignore almost all missions and heavily using "exploits" last years, its only way how to play reasonable. Peace.

 

[Oopsie Daisy]

Sorry OP, but the predictable responses of the forum members to your OP only further reinforce the interpretation of the community as being toxic. They are the problem, not you or your point of view.

 

[d8veh]

OP made one good point. Why do we have to put up with that stupid dancing around of the search zone? It's just another stupid frustrating time-waster.

Anybody want my stuff before I go? I've only got 65 billion in my 4 accounts, but I have one ship that is full of every type of material except thargoid stuff because I'm too thick to figure out how to deal with thargoids.

 

[verminstar]

Theres lots of really weird and wonderful things happening on mission boards lately...more weird than wonderful sadly, but hey glass half full time...at least they got the rankup and permit bugs sorted quick enough.

Heres another cool one which I honestly think is intentional to try and stop mission stacking of kill order missions...those ones where ye have to assault and 3 star security base with two navy fighters constantly patrolling overhead and oh look surprise surprise...the exclusion zone is now 1 and half km from the beacon oh goody this is gonna be fun.

Ye start racking up the bounties pretty much instantly which obviously has the base reacting to yer advance through what now feels like a boulder field on steroids. Oh and those two navy fighters? Oh no lets not forget about those when yer climbing up walls in the srv. Ive lost srv before getting halfway to the beacon and then I play a blinder and get the srv out on single percent hull...but more often I lose the srv...if not on my way to the beacon, then shortly after I scan it. How shortly will depend on how good I am at running from something I can never realistically outrun or kill...and trying to is just suicide and racks up more bounties fer attacking navy vessels.

This mission alone is why I now carry dual srv when running missions...maybe there is a way of surviving them more often than not...when I do occasionally get out, it does feel all the sweet cos its usually a very lucky escape. Because of the base turrets, ye cant call yer ship in before ye clear the perimeter...so run forrest run.

Ye the game does make ye wanna put yer boot through the screen sometimes and curse the deves with voodoo dolls and needles before bedtime everynight to help ye sleep better but glass half full perspective...what else in yer life inspires such passion that sometimes ye just absolutely lose the plot and go on a rampage through the forums fer a day or two.

Deranged discussion is like therapy sometimes...glass half full not half empty ^