So, The Bubble Is Burning, And...

[Gemini2011]

I think the factions (npc) should repair the stations over a set time depending on damage. Players are not going to be hualing massive ammounts of meterails unless there is insentive to do so. Fighting thargoids I think is different I think many get allot of enjoyment from it. Also its great for leveling combat rank and crewmans combat rank. So allot of insentive to fight the thargoids, not much to repair the stations that they damaged. FD should take a look at this.

 

[Riverside]

A dangerous universe has the tendency to elevate self-interest over altruism. If we're supposed to be altruistic in spite of the dangerous universe, I'm not seeing it...

I think this thread has shown that some are, and arguably most (like yourself) aren't. So functionally it is working to motivate people. I got involved because it was starting to affect me personally. As more stations are damaged maybe more will get involved, even if it's only for their local region (as will probably be the case for me).

Unlike unlocking the Guardian stuff, this is part of my personal narrative. I didn't go to the fight, the fight came to me & I rose to the challenge in some ways & not others. I don't see anything wrong with the game offering these kind of choices. It could be faster to propagate, it could be easier to get back to normal, but these are balance choices that can be managed week by week with a feedback loop.

Fundamentally I think it's a good design, it feels like the last days before a natural catastrophe, where (after the event) with hindsight lessons will have been learned. I'm trying to repair stations I think will be important to maintain the supply chain. It's not as glamorous as being on the front line of a war but it's still work that needs to be done, and a way I can use my assets & experience to help.

 

[Hellakitty]

Reminder that CZ's and RES and the like are placeholders now 4 years old, there in lieu of compelling game mechanics

 

[Riverside]

Reminder that CZ's and RES and the like are placeholders now 4 years old, there in lieu of compelling game mechanics

Don't do them then, I will win the war & raise my factions influence & system security. I don't go to war because fighting is fun (although it may be), I go to war to try to win. I'm not taking the fight to the Thargoids because I see nothing to win (yet), not because the combat is good or bad.

 

[rootsrat]

I have expressed my extreme disappointment at how the Thargoid story progressed multiple times since it was introduced. One of the most anticlimax aspect of Elite for me. The build up was amazing though. Remember all the puzzles, hidden messages, maps, signals - everything that led to the discovery of Barnacles, then Thargoids appearing, the whole Zurara mystery, first Thargoid bases and then... winter never came.

It's autumn at best, no real story, no excitement, no fear... War with ALIEN SPECIES? Let me quote Frontier themselves: "The return of the worst enemy in the history of video games".

Sorry, but no.

Incursions gave me hope for a short while and they did improve the experience slightly. Got old very quickly. Stations burning? Millions suffering? Meh. Whatever. The ONLY reason I am currently bothering with AXCZ is not because I care about the stations or am emotionaly engaged in the storyline. No. It's because after 4 years I can't be bothered anymore for my Combat Elite rank to be gained via organic gameplay, like the other 2. One of the upcoming Leaderboard seasons will be for my Squadron to try and get the gold trophy. Guess we'll get involved in the AX combat a little.

Repairing burning stations? There are stations burning? Sorry, I turned off those icons on my map ages ago.

After the infamous Gnosis event I was hoping for similar stuff to happen since then. Real-time attacks on stations would be awesome. Sadly, it was a one-off event and the only outcome of it was annoyed community.

I know I sound bitter, but this was the largest disappointment in the game for me so far, especially after FDEV hyped it up so much. And while usually I am of a different opinion, this time it's totally on them for building up the expectation of the community for what the whole Thargoid-related gameplay would be.

 

[Hellakitty]

There were people warning back then that thargoids were just going to be rebadged CZ's with some new alien assets in them.

Indeed we got that, and the horrible 'this station instantly switches to being damaged on the thursday server restart' mechanic.

 

[Maro-Val]

One of the worst things about this so called "invasion", is that it is happening now for so g long, that it is by now pretty much a burned card. People have seen and fought the thargoids, seen the stations burning, got hyperdicted (yawn), got so bored about everything, so now is very difficult to transform this "invasion" to something that is really amazing and exciting for the players and by exciting i mean the true meaning, not the frontier "exciting". That ship sailed now i think. The initial fear of the unknown and the first impression about aliens, has gone now.
It would be extremelly difficult to see the winter come.
Yes frontier probably have a super duper great "exciting" plan for the thargoid story, but it doesn't seem to unfold in this lifetime.

 

[Cmdr Aeries Hunter]

Single Cmdrs will have zero impact on a stations repair rate. And if Kzak you along with many others put in a committed and continued effort, to arrive at this conclusion. This would be an opportune moment for frontier to take on board some suggestions. Like lowering further the material requirements, and/or make it more interesting some how.

Flimley

It should be clear by now, that Frontier have a set story line that will happen regardless of what people do. Let it burn, because at some point they will introduce a change in the story. The end result will play out as Frontier intended and we are merely spectators that have the illusion that what we do matter. They simply don't and never have.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

It should be clear by now, that Frontier have a set story line that will happen regardless of what people do. Let it burn, because at some point they will introduce a change in the story. The end result will play out as Frontier intended and we are merely spectators that have the illusion that what we do matter. They simply don't and never have.

It's called a "railroaded plot" in pen and paper gaming.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

One of the worst things about this so called "invasion", is that it is happening now for so g long, that it is by now pretty much a burned card. People have seen and fought the thargoids, seen the stations burning, got hyperdicted (yawn), got so bored about everything, so now is very difficult to transform this "invasion" to something that is really amazing and exciting for the players and by exciting i mean the true meaning, not the frontier "exciting". That ship sailed now i think. The initial fear of the unknown and the first impression about aliens, has gone now.
It would be extremelly difficult to see the winter come.
Yes frontier probably have a super duper great "exciting" plan for the thargoid story, but it doesn't seem to unfold in this lifetime.

Remember the mega-ultra hype during the runup to Thargoids being pushed out the door?

 

[Ralph Vargr]

I was referring to background world description, detailed NPCs, and a general direction for the campaign. As long as the GM allows the players to make decisions and choose their own fate, it should be fine.

Yes, anytime you have a GM that puts the spotlight on their precious NPCs, and not the players, and relegates the players to following the GM's premade script - yes, that is a bad GM.


In Elite Dangerous, we really have an absentee GM, as a lot of the story telling and development (or correction of issues, like Risk vs. Reward) is absent.

The GM is phoning it in, so no pizza for him/her.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

There were people warning back then that thargoids were just going to be rebadged CZ's with some new alien assets in them.

Indeed we got that, and the horrible 'this station instantly switches to being damaged on the thursday server restart' mechanic.

I *never* said anything like that.

 

[Riverside]

Regardless of the inevitability of the overall plot arc I have the agency to choose to help to repair the damage done & prioritise as I see fit. Collectively it may become a kind of reverse heat-map with repairs only being completed quickly in higher traffic systems.

We'll see. Maybe something else will come along to distract me from this distraction

 

[Ralph Vargr]

Regardless of the inevitability of the overall plot arc I have the agency to choose to help to repair the damage done & prioritise as I see fit. Collectively it may become a kind of reverse heat-map with repairs only being completed quickly in higher traffic systems.

We'll see. Maybe something else will come along to distract me from this distraction

In late 2020.

 

[Tikanderoga]

There were people warning back then that thargoids were just going to be rebadged CZ's with some new alien assets in them.

Indeed we got that, and the horrible 'this station instantly switches to being damaged on the thursday server restart' mechanic.

This is something that has been addressed in an Immersion-breaking thread some time ago. It's called Thargoid Thursday. poof- Not the station is burning.
You wouldn't even be able to defend the station, as you'd get fined for firing in the No-Fire zone. So in terms of immersion and common sense, it's totally botched. Also understandable that players don't give a rat's after a while. Why should I try to help to get fined because it takes me a while to avoid debris when trying to rescue people?

Also burning stations should blowup after a while if not fixed!
If they could be damaged, I'd help the goids blow up a station or two just because!

 

[MUSKETEER]

Let it burn [big grin]

 

[Maro-Val]

It should be clear by now, that Frontier have a set story line that will happen regardless of what people do. Let it burn, because at some point they will introduce a change in the story. The end result will play out as Frontier intended and we are merely spectators that have the illusion that what we do matter. They simply don't and never have.

Yep, exactly this. The plot is so fixed, that we just have to sit back and see what happens. There is no meaning in doing something, it just feels fake.

Remember the mega-ultra hype during the runup to Thargoids being pushed out the door?

Heck i remember I was hyped about thargoids... who knew that it would be an entirelly optional war.
And the "winter is coming" lol. Can't help myself but laughing when i even think who said that, and how much hype it created, including for me ofc.

 

[Virgile]

IDK man, even if we lose 10 stations per week and we don't recover any, it'll take years for a significant part of the bubble to be invaded.

Just in time for a new dlc

 

[Virgile]

Yep, exactly this. The plot is so fixed, that we just have to sit back and see what happens. There is no meaning in doing something, it just feels fake.


Heck i remember I was hyped about thargoids... who knew that it would be an entirelly optional war.
And the "winter is coming" lol. Can't help myself but laughing when i even think who said that, and how much hype it created, including for me ofc.

It's all designed in a way that new player can experience it.

 

[Maro-Val]

It's all designed in a way that new player can experience it.

Part of the new player experience work then?