a beter start....what the game needs

[krm398]

I noticed as did many others I'm sure that you SUDDENLY are in a ship with little to no money and are forced into the universe.Why? It never gets mentioned, do you have family? Are you a young person starting out or some old guy who is restarting after a fail? Never gets mentioned, so here is my idea for what a better start would be.


Stardate 3300...a young person walks onto the docks for the first time as a real pilot. After 4 years of training you're finally ready, as your Family cheers from behind the thick glass behind you. You try and act cool, checking you gloves and waving over your shoulder but you're scared to death, and for good reason. Until now it has all been simulations. First flight then dog fighting and trading. Docking at stations and watching your fuel and damage to your ship...all things a good pilot needs to know.But it was all a mirage until now, as you stand looking up at your first Sidewinder and hope your scores on those tests were a good sign. You walk on board and as the door closes behind you ,you slide into the pilot's seat for the first time in a real ship. You check your instruments and see the customary 'food money' that each new pilot gets is on your account. Now the galaxy awaits, and as the checklist gets done and the engines start for the first time, a tiny one line message comes over the coms..."good luck child"...and you smile and leave your home station for the first and possibly last time.

Will you ever return? Will you become just another lifeless body floating in space until the gravity of some alien world pulls you in? No one knows or could possibly tell at this point, but it doesn't matter now. You're doing what you want to do, what you were trained for, and you fly on to see this new universe and what it has in store. Better ships? New worlds by the dozens? Maybe stars no one has ever seen before. All in the future, and you smile...because this is the life you chose.

 

[Adept]

The manual gives the scrap of lore explanation. We are all special snowflakes of the secretive Elite Federation of Pilots. Some old hand has payed your membership entry fee, and now you get a Sidewinder, some starting cash and covereage from the incredible insurance system they (we) have.

The rest is up to you.

 

[insanephoton]

Essentially that's the beauty and also frustration for some, of the current start. What FD have given you is a blank canvas, you can create your own back story (and looking in this particular forum, many people have). As with the rest of the game there's no hand holding or telling you what to do. I know it's not the standard thing in games but it makes a change from having your whole history mapped out by someone else. The OP's suggestion is a perfectly fine back story and if it works for them that's great. The thing is with the current start I could give you several other perfectly good back stories; maybe you're an old timer, down on his luck given a second chance; a freed slave given the opportunity to make something of themselves; an escaped slave taking what they could; ex military trying to make a go of civvie street and the list goes on.
.
In other threads there has been talk about imagination or lack of it, with some saying that in this day and age you shouldn't have to imagine stuff. With some of the gameplay aspects the 'no imagination required' camp have a valid point but this isn't one of them. Some players don't care about back stories and won't care either way. For those that do like back stories the challenge is clear not only can you shape your character's destiny but you can choose their past too.

 

[Cody]

There's your ship, there's the galaxy... off you go!

 

[Tettric]

FD wanted to avoid the typical issue with MMOs of everyone having the same origin story, coming from the same place and having trained in the same place.

I've had my commander since the start of Gamma he was sitting at an outpost in Chemaku, other commanders have started in different systems (although I believe that randomly seeded spawns were removed before launch). If I want a back story I can make one If I don't care then I won't.

I like the fact that we don't all have an identical (or at least suspiciously similar) back story. I much prefer it as it is!

 

[StoneGullet]

When I 1st hopped in the game it was almost like a baby coming out of it's mothers womb. Disorientating, bright, and confusing. But I don't mind having little to no background. I can travel the deep open spaces of my IMAGINATION. I like it better that way.