Codex Expansion: Significant Players/CMDRs

[The Golden Knight]

In your standard CODEX, under Knowledge Base and then in Individuals, you'll see the lore of all the key NPCs (mostly pertaining to Powerplay). And while this is cute and all, what I specifically want is to acknowledge the individual CMDRs (and/or potentially significant community/niches such as "Fuel Rats" and "Buckyball") in this CODEX. A few example I had in mind:

Chiggy VonRichten (Assuming spelling is accurate) - Rescuer who crossed the galaxy on short notice
LatexRoach - Nefarious slaver
Golden-Knight - Admiral and Hero of the Federation
Musketeer - CQC Grand Champion

And anyone else who's had some form of outstanding contribution, the "Best of the Elite". You may have noticed one or two meaner claims-to-fame, because this CODEX list would not be exclusive to the "Heroes" of Elite Dangerous, but the "Villains" could also get a chance to shine as well. And personal opinion here, but it's also kind of cool (even if in a sick way) that players can potentially play as "the bad guys".

The point is to give a slightly more OFFICIAL recognition of outstanding contribution. Name-dropping on stream is cute and all, but if it's not in game, I personally don't think it counts. This is specifically to address a "role-playing" and "in-character" facet to these deeds and feats. And it'd be more universally accessible than the Tourist Beacons (I'm not sure how much more technically & technologically challenging it would be to add CODEX articles compared to Tourist Beacons, but if this be simpler, perhaps it could act as an alternative - besides, with it being available to EVERY pilot in the game, the information will be more universal and public).

 

[Chrystoph]

An interesting concept, but what do you use as qualifiers?

Chiggy is an obvious example, but also an extreme one; not deriding his accomplishment, just pointing out that it IS an extreme example.

Where is the lower limit? Does membership in the Fuel Rats qualify or do you have to have a certain number of rescues?

Does being recognized in the Galactic Mapping Project, an unofficial resource, count? If you include their record holders, does the person get removed if someone exceeds them?

 

[The Golden Knight]

An interesting concept, but what do you use as qualifiers?

Chiggy is an obvious example, but also an extreme one; not deriding his accomplishment, just pointing out that it IS an extreme example.

Where is the lower limit? Does membership in the Fuel Rats qualify or do you have to have a certain number of rescues?

Does being recognized in the Galactic Mapping Project, an unofficial resource, count? If you include their record holders, does the person get removed if someone exceeds them?

That is a super valid concern, honestly. I'm not sure a "lower limit" can be concretely defined, just like how the Carrier price has shown just how many people can have Carriers...I don't want something like this to be as easily attainable as, say, a Carrier. Because what I'm asking for, specifically, is for players to shape the lore, and that needs to have a weight of "specialness" to it, for lack of better description. Basically, I feel that it'd be up to FDev's Community team collaborating with their Narrative department, on a case-by-case basis, and if they don't feel someone nominated is worthy, that's fine and fair. (Just means I gotta keep working at it.) That's because this whole initiative would be more focused on looking at the "upper limit" - if one can be hypothetically designed. The community, in its entirety, has set a truly high bar, so high in fact that hitting "Top 10 Commanders" 4 times is not even mentioned (or it's deliberately ignored) on Supercruise News (which, arguably, counts as an "Official Source" even if it's not strictly in-character).

I know Alec Turner has a lot of time in the sun from Buckyball, as well as Dr. Chives, so the two of them could probably be up for discussion. This sort of judging would require an extra amount of manpower to pull off effectively...and that's assuming anyone official would be willing to "judge" at all, and if not, that may answer my own question to why this isn't even a feature in the first place (though that argument is defeated by the fact of "Tourist Beacons" simply existing, many of which specifically highlight famous CMDRs in-universe, and that sets the example and precedent for what would qualify).

For your third line, I was thinking about having articles for communities in a separate tab from individuals, meaning Fuel Rats would have their own entry into the codex as a "community", and not as an "individual"; simply joining them does not make the individual inherently outstanding. The "individual" section would be for those who are outstanding but don't fit neatly into any of those "communities" (such as myself, if my ego-stroke can be forgiven), and/or represent one such "community" in an extraordinary way. By the same token, Buckyball would be a "community" entry, not an "individual", but there may be individuals from that "community" which are deserving of highlight. For your specific example, not any Fuel Rat would fit into the "individuals" section, but arguably their #1 performing champion would - similarly to how there'd hypothetically be a "CQC Grand Champion" title. It's that mindset.

At first, I thought you mean "GalNet", which would count without question. In my mind, no, unofficial sources DO NOT count. It has to be in-universe, in-game, and in-character. That's also been my attitude more broadly: if it can be helped, I refer to official sources ONLY. But, if the documented accomplishments seem worthy of merit, it's on FDev to explicitly give it their official blessing. Yes, the key word here is "Official". For a darker example, the fact that GalNet has acknowledged the "carrier slaver operations" would mean whoever's orchestrating that could earn notoriety as a direct result of GalNet - an official source - having recognized this as a thing that exists, and one that has had a noticeable impact on the galaxy at large.

Lastly, there's a very valid point of keeping the CODEX up-to-date since "Champion titles" can very definitely change hands. It'd be quite a list of articles, but in theory, the "ideal circumstance" would be a sort of "Hall of Fame" idea that'd have a page for each former - and current - title-holder. Like, for example, if you or I got good enough to knock Musketeer down a notch, and/or he decides to simply retire, there'd likely be a new profile article for the next champion. Either way, Musketeer would still have his "individual" page, and on that page would include an in-character bio writeup and a note saying "Former CQC Grand Champion". Of course, that'd fall under the "Individuals" tab, and each CMDR at most can have only 1 such "individual" article for the awarded self, and such titles will be compiled onto that person's personal dossier/CODEX article. It'd take significant organization, but I feel it's theoretically possible to have a mechanism that documents a fluid passing of such titles. Things could get hairy if there were ever 10 different "CQC Grand Champions", and as far as I'm concerned, we'll cross that bridge when or if we get there.

 

[RamirezKurita]

The issue with any kind of player or group "hall of fame" is that the majority of player interactions take place outside the game itself. Even the fuel rats, one of the most well-known and longest running player groups, are basically operating beyond the game's mechanics. If there's nothing in-game to record and monitor these groups, then how should the codex determine what's worthy of addition? The only possible option in this case is to have a human keep track of these things, whether by a designated FD employee (which seems unlikely, considering how they barely have the manpower to continue Galnet at times, let alone curate a database of notable players and groups) or by some kind of community voting system (which would just turn into the standard out-of-game circlejerk wherein it becomes about "who you know" rather than actually about in-game achievements); both of these options have serious issues going forward.

There's also the major risk of such a codex section effectively canonising certain players and activities within the lore. It's similar to how players have to submit requests to have their fanmade minor factions added into the game, which are then curated and often rejected if they aren't fitting in with the game's lore. The difference here is that anyone can create a player group or squadron without FD's explicit approval, which then runs the risk of a player group that is very much against the lore effectively being canonised.

 

[Danieros]

I fear this would be just another reason for folks to be ganking and murderhoboing - to become siginficant CMDRs!

 

[The Golden Knight]

I fear this would be just another reason for folks to be ganking and murderhoboing - to become siginficant CMDRs!

There's a pretty high bar to be the king of ganking. Yes, seriously. The bar is truly high across the board, for both fame and infamy.

The issue with any kind of player or group "hall of fame" is that the majority of player interactions take place outside the game itself. Even the fuel rats, one of the most well-known and longest running player groups, are basically operating beyond the game's mechanics. If there's nothing in-game to record and monitor these groups, then how should the codex determine what's worthy of addition? The only possible option in this case is to have a human keep track of these things, whether by a designated FD employee (which seems unlikely, considering how they barely have the manpower to continue Galnet at times, let alone curate a database of notable players and groups) or by some kind of community voting system (which would just turn into the standard out-of-game circlejerk wherein it becomes about "who you know" rather than actually about in-game achievements); both of these options have serious issues going forward.

There's also the major risk of such a codex section effectively canonising certain players and activities within the lore. It's similar to how players have to submit requests to have their fanmade minor factions added into the game, which are then curated and often rejected if they aren't fitting in with the game's lore. The difference here is that anyone can create a player group or squadron without FD's explicit approval, which then runs the risk of a player group that is very much against the lore effectively being canonised.

And the short answer, is "manually by FDev". Just watching "Supercruise News" is a tiny example of what I mean. What I was proposing was simply scaling that up some degree, to the point where feats are more "official" and "canon". I share your concern, that they seem incapable of recognizing all the outstanding facets of the entirety of the community - let alone all the more mediocre thousands of members flying around.

You do touch on people submitting their own groups and factions, so I predict that hypothetically, it'd be similar to this extent. But I also do not want the "who you know" aspect coming into play. Running a meritocracy is hard, but having that completely nonexistent means "Why bother trying" is often on my mind.

 

[payperheirplain]

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