Notice GalNet changes

[rOmiLaYu]

RIP CMDR Romero.

o7

 

[Alec Turner]

Thanks for the clarifications @Stephen Benedetti. I'm actually very sad about the change and I, personally, feel Frontier may have significantly undervalued those background stories and what they do to add a sense of colour and life to an otherwise pretty dry galaxy.

 

[PeteACarter]

Greetings, Commanders.
After reviewing the discussion around the upcoming GalNet changes, Ian Dingwall, Narrative Lead for Elite Dangerous, wanted to address some of your questions.
Hopefully this information will provide you with some clarity on why we feel these changes are important for the further development of Elite Dangerous.

What led to this decision?
Producing content for GalNet takes a significant amount of time, especially when you factor in conception, editing and translation. For me, content such as Interstellar Initiatives and the scenarios we added to the game last year have a greater impact on the game than off-camera GalNet storylines. So when we, as a team, look at the features and updates we intend to deliver in the coming months and years, we feel it’s in the best interest of the game to ensure the writing team can support those features, and make them the best they possibly can from a narrative point of view. Consequently, the decision to remove off-camera narratives is very much about refocusing the team, rather than reducing the amount of time and effort we devote to the narrative side of the game.

With these cutbacks will Interstellar Initiatives get more stores, details and lore?
Yes, by refocusing the writing team we will be able to produce more supporting content for Interstellar Initiatives. During the Bridging the Gap initiative it was pointed out – quite rightly – that reactions from Ram Tah and Aegis would have been appropriate. Refocusing our efforts means we can devote time to producing these kinds of ‘reaction’ pieces.

Can we expect to see more coverage on affairs with major player groups?
This is something we have discussed, and, while we don't have any concrete details for you right now,

Greetings, Commanders.
After reviewing the discussion around the upcoming GalNet changes, Ian Dingwall, Narrative Lead for Elite Dangerous, wanted to address some of your questions.
Hopefully this information will provide you with some clarity on why we feel these changes are important for the further development of Elite Dangerous.

What led to this decision?
Producing content for GalNet takes a significant amount of time, especially when you factor in conception, editing and translation. For me, content such as Interstellar Initiatives and the scenarios we added to the game last year have a greater impact on the game than off-camera GalNet storylines. So when we, as a team, look at the features and updates we intend to deliver in the coming months and years, we feel it’s in the best interest of the game to ensure the writing team can support those features, and make them the best they possibly can from a narrative point of view. Consequently, the decision to remove off-camera narratives is very much about refocusing the team, rather than reducing the amount of time and effort we devote to the narrative side of the game.

With these cutbacks will Interstellar Initiatives get more stores, details and lore?
Yes, by refocusing the writing team we will be able to produce more supporting content for Interstellar Initiatives. During the Bridging the Gap initiative it was pointed out – quite rightly – that reactions from Ram Tah and Aegis would have been appropriate. Refocusing our efforts means we can devote time to producing these kinds of ‘reaction’ pieces.

Can we expect to see more coverage on affairs with major player groups?
This is something we have discussed, and, while we don't have any concrete details for you right now, we fully intend to investigate this further.

Are the GalNet 'off-camera' stories getting totally removed, or just reduced?
For now, the plan is to remove them, but we may reassess this decision in the future. We’re always reviewing the changes we make to the game and their impact on the overall player experience, and adapting and adjusting where necessary.

Will the amount of GalNet content change? Will it increase or decrease?
It will decrease slightly overall, reflecting the fact that we are refocusing our efforts.

Is the team understaffed?
No, not at all – in fact we’re about to gain an additional full-time writer. But we have an ambitious production schedule ahead of us, and it was therefore necessary to reposition the writing team so it could properly support that schedule.

What will happen to GalNet Audio?
It will remain an aspect of the game – there are no plans to remove GalNet audio.

Was the Gan Romero story reflected in-game?
The Gan Romero storyline was always envisaged as an off-camera narrative. The fact that some people assumed it had an in-game component, and went searching for Romero, was for me further evidence that off-camera GalNet stories could be detrimental to the player experience, and cemented our desire to ensure that all GalNet content related to things that were actually in the game.

Will we ever hear of the conclusion of the Alliance Festival of Culture storyline?
Yes, all the remaining articles in the Alliance Festival of Culture storyline will be published.

Thanks for your understanding and let us know if you have any more questions!

Stephen,

Whilst the way Gan Romero captured the imagination of the galaxy is a credit to the writers, does it not also demonstrate (alongside the 550 page Raxxla threaf) to the content directors that many CMDRs are crying out for in-game stories/mysteries?

For those of us who started playing too late for the rift mystery, there has been very little for us to get our teeth stuck into. Whilst fighting Thargoids is great, I believe there are a significant number of CMDRs who would love some more stories/mysteries to solve.

Do FDev have any plans for more content of this nature? I just feel it would be good for the game, especially in the years or so before the next major release?

 

[zimms]

TLDR: Wait for the 2020 update.

As a layman I severely underestimate the amount of work needed for those articles.

 

[Cmdr-Wotherspoon]

In this new spirit of Glasnost, and in order that players do not get misled into searching for it as they did for the Halsey / Gan Romero story, can you confirm that Raxxla is intended to be an "off-camera" story too?

 

[Scytale]

" What a silly question ! Of course! "

 

[PeteACarter]

TLDR: Wait for the 2020 update.

As a layman I severely underestimate the amount of work needed for those articles.

As an author, albeit of technical content, I can tell you that the amount of effort that goes into writing is severely underestimated in general. I expect even more so in this case as there will be issues such as ensuring no article contradicts the lore or steps on the toes of possible future content

 

[rOmiLaYu]

In this new spirit of Glasnost, and in order that players do not get misled into searching for it as they did for the Halsey / Gan Romero story, can you confirm that Raxxla is intended to be an "off-camera" story too?

 

[PeteACarter]

Ah well, I will have to write some fan fiction and finish Gan's story myself!

 

[Scytale]

I wonder what else is fake in ED universe..
Halsey's ?
Guardian AI ?
TDW station orbiting that 8th moon?
R-r-r-axxla ???

Wait and see !

 

[rootsrat]

Greetings, Commanders.
After reviewing the discussion around the upcoming GalNet changes, Ian Dingwall, Narrative Lead for Elite Dangerous, wanted to address some of your questions.
Hopefully this information will provide you with some clarity on why we feel these changes are important for the further development of Elite Dangerous.

What led to this decision?
Producing content for GalNet takes a significant amount of time, especially when you factor in conception, editing and translation. For me, content such as Interstellar Initiatives and the scenarios we added to the game last year have a greater impact on the game than off-camera GalNet storylines. So when we, as a team, look at the features and updates we intend to deliver in the coming months and years, we feel it’s in the best interest of the game to ensure the writing team can support those features, and make them the best they possibly can from a narrative point of view. Consequently, the decision to remove off-camera narratives is very much about refocusing the team, rather than reducing the amount of time and effort we devote to the narrative side of the game.

With these cutbacks will Interstellar Initiatives get more stores, details and lore?
Yes, by refocusing the writing team we will be able to produce more supporting content for Interstellar Initiatives. During the Bridging the Gap initiative it was pointed out – quite rightly – that reactions from Ram Tah and Aegis would have been appropriate. Refocusing our efforts means we can devote time to producing these kinds of ‘reaction’ pieces.

Can we expect to see more coverage on affairs with major player groups?
This is something we have discussed, and, while we don't have any concrete details for you right now, we fully intend to investigate this further.

Are the GalNet 'off-camera' stories getting totally removed, or just reduced?
For now, the plan is to remove them, but we may reassess this decision in the future. We’re always reviewing the changes we make to the game and their impact on the overall player experience, and adapting and adjusting where necessary.

Will the amount of GalNet content change? Will it increase or decrease?
It will decrease slightly overall, reflecting the fact that we are refocusing our efforts.

Is the team understaffed?
No, not at all – in fact we’re about to gain an additional full-time writer. But we have an ambitious production schedule ahead of us, and it was therefore necessary to reposition the writing team so it could properly support that schedule.

What will happen to GalNet Audio?
It will remain an aspect of the game – there are no plans to remove GalNet audio.

Was the Gan Romero story reflected in-game?
The Gan Romero storyline was always envisaged as an off-camera narrative. The fact that some people assumed it had an in-game component, and went searching for Romero, was for me further evidence that off-camera GalNet stories could be detrimental to the player experience, and cemented our desire to ensure that all GalNet content related to things that were actually in the game.

Will we ever hear of the conclusion of the Alliance Festival of Culture storyline?
Yes, all the remaining articles in the Alliance Festival of Culture storyline will be published.

Thanks for your understanding and let us know if you have any more questions!

Awesomesauce, thanks for the info Ian & Stephen!

I must say the recent level of communication and interaction with the community is a massive improvement. Please keep it up <3

 

[K-nours]

Clarity and sincerity is the best thing to share with the community.
I really apreciate your move FD.
This is a beginning of a new hype for this mysterious new content that focus both developper and writing teams.

 

[Sunyavadin]

With these cutbacks will Interstellar Initiatives get more stores, details and lore?
Yes, by refocusing the writing team we will be able to produce more supporting content for Interstellar Initiatives. During the Bridging the Gap initiative it was pointed out – quite rightly – that reactions from Ram Tah and Aegis would have been appropriate. Refocusing our efforts means we can devote time to producing these kinds of ‘reaction’ pieces.

Don't forget to make sure to, as has been suggested, provide multiple articles on the same subject but from these different perspectives. Galnet's always suffered from not having enough articles, giving the ability to properly sit back and catch up on a week of them in a playlist and not be finished in less than a couple of minutes. When I sit down to listen to the news, it's not over in seconds, it's a full show, which gives a glimpse of just how much is going on in the world. And Elite's world is supposed to be vastly bigger than this one.

Can we expect to see more coverage on affairs with major player groups?
This is something we have discussed, and, while we don't have any concrete details for you right now, we fully intend to investigate this further.

It's definitely one of the most asked for things, I think, to engage people with a sense that their actions are having a meaningful impact, and helping take numbers in the BGS and make them feel like a real thing. It's one thing to see you managed to accomplish something with a concerted push into a system, it's quite another to have that reflected in human stories on the individual level of real people in the galaxy. Like the tales of slaves impacted by your liberation of a system, etc.

Are the GalNet 'off-camera' stories getting totally removed, or just reduced?
For now, the plan is to remove them, but we may reassess this decision in the future. We’re always reviewing the changes we make to the game and their impact on the overall player experience, and adapting and adjusting where necessary.

Still thoroughly disappointing as these are the kinds of stories which added a true sense of living in a world of more than just spaceships. And narratives which focus on gameplay are never going to really be able to fully flesh out that sense of a lived-in world and capture that magic.

Will the amount of GalNet content change? Will it increase or decrease?
It will decrease slightly overall, reflecting the fact that we are refocusing our efforts.

This is a subject where less is most assuredly not more.

What will happen to GalNet Audio?
It will remain an aspect of the game – there are no plans to remove GalNet audio.

It's just getting the CQC treatment.

Will we ever hear of the conclusion of the Alliance Festival of Culture storyline?
Yes, all the remaining articles in the Alliance Festival of Culture storyline will be published.

Good to know we're not getting collectively kicked in the crotch as a final insult, small mercies...

 

[Sunyavadin]

In this new spirit of Glasnost, and in order that players do not get misled into searching for it as they did for the Halsey / Gan Romero story, can you confirm that Raxxla is intended to be an "off-camera" story too?

Pretty sure the 99% of us who two years ago tried to track her down but were thwarted by instancing issues came to the conclusion that Salomé was as well

 

[Wendake]

Thanks for the update - love the transparency & straight answers !

 

[xzanfr]

Was the Gan Romero story reflected in-game?
The Gan Romero storyline was always envisaged as an off-camera narrative. The fact that some people assumed it had an in-game component, and went searching for Romero, was for me further evidence that off-camera GalNet stories could be detrimental to the player experience, and cemented our desire to ensure that all GalNet content related to things that were actually in the game.

Thanks for clearing this up.

I'm starting to think this game is some sort of social experiment to see how much can be promised and how little can be delivered before people just give up.

 

[Lightspeed]

Stephen,

Whilst the way Gan Romero captured the imagination of the galaxy is a credit to the writers, does it not also demonstrate (alongside the 550 page Raxxla threaf) to the content directors that many CMDRs are crying out for in-game stories/mysteries?

For those of us who started playing too late for the rift mystery, there has been very little for us to get our teeth stuck into. Whilst fighting Thargoids is great, I believe there are a significant number of CMDRs who would love some more stories/mysteries to solve.

Do FDev have any plans for more content of this nature? I just feel it would be good for the game, especially in the years or so before the next major release?

This appears to be what they are hinting at .... the Second Interstellar Initiative was a lot lot better than the first, and there are likely more developments to come, hopefully pursuing the course that you are wishing for.

 

[Sunyavadin]

I'm starting to think this game is some sort of social experiment to see how much can be promised and how little can be delivered before people just give up.

Nah, this is the control group, the actual experiment is over in Star Citizen, seeing how much of a difference sunk cost fallacy makes to players reaching that decision.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Its great we have some clarification, but really now there is no turning back- Galnet really has to step up and really support whats going on in game, and that there is enough going on in game to support Galnet. What I don't want to see is bursts of Galnet around IIs and then silence and big black spaces on the launcher news feed.

What concerns me is that ED is a game stuffed with places that can have stories, lore or messages sent to you or displayed. Refocussing is great, but its not filling these spaces and making the game feel alive cheaply.

 

[Thatchinho]

Greetings, Commanders.
After reviewing the discussion around the upcoming GalNet changes, Ian Dingwall, Narrative Lead for Elite Dangerous, wanted to address some of your questions.
Hopefully this information will provide you with some clarity on why we feel these changes are important for the further development of Elite Dangerous.

What led to this decision?
Producing content for GalNet takes a significant amount of time, especially when you factor in conception, editing and translation. For me, content such as Interstellar Initiatives and the scenarios we added to the game last year have a greater impact on the game than off-camera GalNet storylines. So when we, as a team, look at the features and updates we intend to deliver in the coming months and years, we feel it’s in the best interest of the game to ensure the writing team can support those features, and make them the best they possibly can from a narrative point of view. Consequently, the decision to remove off-camera narratives is very much about refocusing the team, rather than reducing the amount of time and effort we devote to the narrative side of the game.

With these cutbacks will Interstellar Initiatives get more stores, details and lore?
Yes, by refocusing the writing team we will be able to produce more supporting content for Interstellar Initiatives. During the Bridging the Gap initiative it was pointed out – quite rightly – that reactions from Ram Tah and Aegis would have been appropriate. Refocusing our efforts means we can devote time to producing these kinds of ‘reaction’ pieces.

Can we expect to see more coverage on affairs with major player groups?
This is something we have discussed, and, while we don't have any concrete details for you right now, we fully intend to investigate this further.

Are the GalNet 'off-camera' stories getting totally removed, or just reduced?
For now, the plan is to remove them, but we may reassess this decision in the future. We’re always reviewing the changes we make to the game and their impact on the overall player experience, and adapting and adjusting where necessary.

Will the amount of GalNet content change? Will it increase or decrease?
It will decrease slightly overall, reflecting the fact that we are refocusing our efforts.

Is the team understaffed?
No, not at all – in fact we’re about to gain an additional full-time writer. But we have an ambitious production schedule ahead of us, and it was therefore necessary to reposition the writing team so it could properly support that schedule.

What will happen to GalNet Audio?
It will remain an aspect of the game – there are no plans to remove GalNet audio.

Was the Gan Romero story reflected in-game?
The Gan Romero storyline was always envisaged as an off-camera narrative. The fact that some people assumed it had an in-game component, and went searching for Romero, was for me further evidence that off-camera GalNet stories could be detrimental to the player experience, and cemented our desire to ensure that all GalNet content related to things that were actually in the game.

Will we ever hear of the conclusion of the Alliance Festival of Culture storyline?
Yes, all the remaining articles in the Alliance Festival of Culture storyline will be published.

Thanks for your understanding and let us know if you have any more questions!

Hi @Stephen Benedetti

Thanks for all the clarification.

Could I ask for a further bit of clarification on the Gan Romero stuff?

Was it something that was non-interactable at present but ultimately going to lead somewhere for players? Or was it something that was both non-interactable and not going to lead to anything?

Thanks in advance!