With the release of the latest CG, Frontier is providing the second limited edition "double engineered" module, this time a FSD.
This is extremely alarming. The cornerstone of a game's longevity is accessibility. That's why tutorials and starting areas are so important, why the Cobra 4 is a bad ship (and that's a good thing), and why games make it easier and easier to progress through old content. If a new player is unable to eventually compete with longtime players, they will quit.
If, for example, in World of Warcraft they released an item that permanently powered up your character, it would be required by all hardcore players. If that item became unavailable to new players, bad things would happen. First, you'd see a mass exodus of players who did not get the item. You'd see players selling entire accounts behind the developer's back to get this item. And, of course, new players would start ignoring the activities that are made easier by this item, or quitting outright because there's no reason to bother.
It doesn't even have to be particularly powerful. It's a player psychology thing. Look at the incredible lengths players are willing to go in order to get an extra 0.1 LY jump distance! The amount of materials people will spend to get an extra 2% shielding! It's the nature of these games. If something like that is locked so that players who don't already have it cannot access it, it's about the most disastrous thing you can do for a video game.
Frontier is stepping very close to this line right now. I am frightened that they will cross it, because I have sunk considerable amounts of time and money into this game. I want it to succeed.
This FSD, by itself, isn't enough to cross this line. But it's closer than the missile rack was. The trajectory is frightening to me. If this get worse, I could end up quitting the game over it - I don't mean that as a threat, just as an observation. I don't want to. But a resistance augment / heavy duty shield booster, or an efficient/long range beam laser, or a lightweight/heavy duty HRP for example would all break the game overnight unless everyone could access them. Entire communities would leave.
I just want Frontier to be aware of the incredible amount of danger that this seemingly innocuous thing poses to their game. Please.
This is extremely alarming. The cornerstone of a game's longevity is accessibility. That's why tutorials and starting areas are so important, why the Cobra 4 is a bad ship (and that's a good thing), and why games make it easier and easier to progress through old content. If a new player is unable to eventually compete with longtime players, they will quit.
If, for example, in World of Warcraft they released an item that permanently powered up your character, it would be required by all hardcore players. If that item became unavailable to new players, bad things would happen. First, you'd see a mass exodus of players who did not get the item. You'd see players selling entire accounts behind the developer's back to get this item. And, of course, new players would start ignoring the activities that are made easier by this item, or quitting outright because there's no reason to bother.
It doesn't even have to be particularly powerful. It's a player psychology thing. Look at the incredible lengths players are willing to go in order to get an extra 0.1 LY jump distance! The amount of materials people will spend to get an extra 2% shielding! It's the nature of these games. If something like that is locked so that players who don't already have it cannot access it, it's about the most disastrous thing you can do for a video game.
Frontier is stepping very close to this line right now. I am frightened that they will cross it, because I have sunk considerable amounts of time and money into this game. I want it to succeed.
This FSD, by itself, isn't enough to cross this line. But it's closer than the missile rack was. The trajectory is frightening to me. If this get worse, I could end up quitting the game over it - I don't mean that as a threat, just as an observation. I don't want to. But a resistance augment / heavy duty shield booster, or an efficient/long range beam laser, or a lightweight/heavy duty HRP for example would all break the game overnight unless everyone could access them. Entire communities would leave.
I just want Frontier to be aware of the incredible amount of danger that this seemingly innocuous thing poses to their game. Please.
