Hello there DDF!
So, the new video is out of the bag, which we all hope is going down well, but lets not forget that it's also new topic time! You lucky, lucky people you...
Today's somewhat vast topic is injected events, a system with fingers in many pies, mechanically speaking. Here it is:
INJECTED EVENTS
This system will be used to create large events and large scale changes to the Elite Dangerous universe.
GOALS
- Create large scale events for all players to enjoy within the ED universe.
- Use player influences and system data from within the galaxy to feed into a meta-game system.
- Provide story and content for missions and other environmental encounters.
WHAT ARE INJECTED EVENTS?
Injected events allow larger events to happen within the galaxy. These will not be initiated directly by players or specific actions, but will instead be based on the current state of a star system or faction, even certain random factors. These will be influenced by many factors:
- Background simulation – the system itself will keep track of information within each system, such as population, wealth, standard of living & political influences.
- Faction information – every faction will have status information, including friend/foe lists, station info, local specialisations & NPC hierarchy.
- Government type – different types of government will affect the threshold at which certain events can be initiated.
- Discoveries – big discoveries or new systems/planets that appear will affect all nearby star systems, potentially spawning new structures or causing events to break out (e.g. war, gold rush, etc.).
- Contested star systems – any place where 2 enemy factions have influence will be considered contested, making it open to larger injected events.
- Player influence – players will be able to influence a star system or faction through many different avenues (see Player Influence below).
This information will be held & controlled by the meta-game, and then used by the developers to create these larger events and happenings. The idea is to create injected events that are relevant to the situation.
In the future, we would hope to create a system that maintains a semi-autonomous approach to this, creating these events without the need for developer interaction, but also still allowing the team to inject separately.
META GAME
The entire system will be based off of rules dictated by a meta-game system, which will look at each location and calculate a set of factors by which an injected event can best be initiated. What this will mean is taking the influencing factors mentioned above and seeing where events would be best placed.
For example:
- A colony with a large population, nearby to a newly found, uninhabited Earth-like world might colonise that planet. A colony suffering from famine or being under-populated would not.
- A star system with low wealth, low development or low standard of living levels would be more likely to suffer from pandemics, famines, governmental collapse and other serious planetary failures.
- Star systems that are contested by 2 opposing forces may suffer from war, be it civil or between factions.
This shouldn’t stop the developers from injecting more random events, such as extinction level asteroid collisions or alien influences if the need arises. Its function is to create relevance and a sense of a living, evolving galaxy.
OUTCOME OF INJECTED EVENTS
These events have the ability to significantly affect the ED universe, changing systems and locations, allowing us to keep it as interesting as possible. Depending on the event, the following are a few examples of what can happen:
- Two factions could declare war on each other. The event would be focused around a disputed star system, allowing us to create combat encounters and missions, as well as refugees, unscrupulous pirates and aid requests. Eventually the star system could change hands and governments.
- A new colony and space station is established in a recently discovered star system. Nearby over populated star systems might send out a colony ships, establishing a new station, which would promote trade missions, aid requests and other missions based on setting up a new colony.
- A well populated planet suffers from an asteroid collision disaster, causing destruction over large parts of the surface (a visible change to the planet for players). This in turn would have the potential to influence other injected events, such as a planet wide famine or a severe pandemic.
PLAYER INFLUENCE
Players will be able to influence this system, since the meta-game will feed off of changes in the simulation from many different sources, including players. For example:
- Missions – generally these will have the largest positive or negative effect on the system, depending on faction, success or failure, nearby enemies or allies, the importance of the mission undertaken, and various unforeseen consequences.
- Trade – player trade will have a minor effect on the system, although a star system already under the effect of an injected event may be exploitable (i.e. food sold to a star system suffering from a famine would fetch a very good price).
- NPC interactions – attacking, defending, interacting and killing NPC’s within a star system or faction will have an effect. The everyday NPC’s met won’t be high level, so their influence will be limited to small changes. For example, killing a trader will negatively affect the wealth of his faction or star system, but not to a vast extent.
- Exploration – discoveries made by players, once sold into the system, will be unlocked for the system to use for injected events.
The key here is to create way for players to influence the universe around them, without being able to destabilise or break the overall simulation.
Okay, no specific discussion points from me here, we're interested in what you think, anything you think we've missed, anything that could make this greater. Feel free to also post up any big ideas or epic scenarios you can think of for us to inject, anything you'd like to see happen in the ED universe.
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