News Let's talk about Gnosis and the Cone Sector

[Old Duck]

despite the (embarrassing) flaws this is exactly what many have been asking from frontier: take some risks, but raise the stakes a bit and bring some life to the game! this seems like a good attempt, even if just circumstantial. they just really need to focus on testing and quality. let this be an occasion to stress the importance of addressing just that, and not kill the initiative.

It brings life to the game for players who love boss-level combat AT THE EXPENSE of people who love to explore. There are now hundreds (if not thousands) of explorers like myself stuck in a hangar while you get to enjoy your combat.

To bring balance, I think FDev should open up a wormhole that swallows up the Gnosis and everyone in the vicinity, the other end being Beagle Point - a one way trip, John Crichton style. That'll raise the stakes and bring some life to the game. Enjoy, combat pilots, enjoy

 

[Exigeous]

What I don't get is why people in this "outrage" flood are insisting that the story should be changed. There is nothing wrong with the story and it is up to Frontier to decide how to tell it. Don't get me wrong - I love the fact that they've said OK to some levels of player decisions, but let's face it - Most of us have watched every epic sci-fi and fantasy film under the Sun at least 3 times each - We know almost every single plot line and derivation of those plot lines. If the players were in charge this game would get the equivalent of those that buy a book and read the last page first to find out how it ends.

How do you not understand this is a "game" we "play" for "fun". Do you not understand that literally thousands of commanders spent dozens of hours each preparing ships for this event? And that many of those were exploration ships? So let's look at it from an explorers point of view (just like my alt account which is there)

- Spent 10+ hours of time preparing a ship and jumping out to the Gnosis
- Wait for the jump on the 6th with hype building and Frontier saying the jump will go ahead, regardless of the new permit locks
- 7 hours early Galnet leaks the fact that the jump "failed" (or will fail)
- I log in nowhere new with nothing to do
- I try to lift off to leave and am instantly killed
- That rebuy is 20% of my total available credits
- I can't risk that again so I'm basically stuck there now
- And if I did have a combat ship and shot back I'd get a fine and when I die moved to detention 1500 LY away

The issue is they never intended to let us jump there but let us, for weeks, think that. And by "us" realize there are more than 11,000 commanders on the Gnosis right now. So they let 11,000 think something was going to happen that they never intended. They let us work and plan for it, and promote it.

Again this is a "game". We "play" games, we don't "work" them. But many did work, for many hours so they could play. Now the vast majority get nothing but a bad taste in their mouth.

And you don't understand this?

 

[RymdLazer]

Bummer yeah. So at least I know I can head back home and do my thing.
I can admit that the disappointment wouldn't been as bad if the article hadn't spoiled everything. And seriously, there was so much hype for this so it is kind of tonedeaf to just let the Gnosis take one jump. You could at least have thrown it 2000ly off track in any random direction with the admittedly scary Thargoid attack going on. That would have been exciting. Lost in space situation. Well, well. Love my ED life too much to really do else than shrug it off. I didn't spend a fortune in creds and materials at least.
Don't know whether to be impressed or bothered by the callousness towards community rage

 

[stormyuk]

So ... when will it be repaired and depart into the cone sector? That's still happening, yes? :|

No.

 

[Stryka Choon]

What a steaming pile of biowaste! I haven’t played the game for a while, but kept an eye on the forums from time to time in case the game started to develop some depth. The Beyond Chapter 4 farce caused me some amusement (though disappointed for those of you looking forward to it), but this - this is an epic, epic fail. Lack of imagination combined with incompetent communications have pulled the rug out from under 11000 commanders all hoping for something new from the game. ELEVEN THOUSAND!! Lucy would be so proud...

FD, you’re going down.

 

[bitstorm]

you got my attention!

it even changed my mind and now i'm resolved to do the friggen guardian grind right away to help protect cmdrs under heavy fire on the gnosis. the cobra i docked there isn't going to cut it, so next time i log in it's back to the bubble and a crash course on what are the essentials (i never cared until now) to fight those particular flowers and back.

for once i find the flak at frontier very unfortunate.

despite the (embarrassing) flaws this is exactly what many have been asking from frontier: take some risks, but raise the stakes a bit and bring some life to the game! this seems like a good attempt, even if just circumstantial. they just really need to focus on testing and quality. let this be an occasion to stress the importance of addressing just that, and not kill the initiative.

Yeah agree.

Ignoring the (sadly common) muck ups and the (sadly common) explorer disappointment, this is actually good content.

As you say raise the stakes, take risks, shake the game up.

 

[Viperion_NZ]

So then to put a point on it the entire exploration part of the "event" was nothing more than a troll? You really let thousands of commanders plan for, work for and believe we were jumping into unknown space with zero intent of allowing that? Please clarify this as MANY of my viewers are extremely upset over this entire debacle.

~Exigeous

I think this post by Exigeous needs to be answered. Will/Zac/anyone, can you please explain, out-of-universe, in the real world, what your thinking was behind letting literally thousands of player spend hundreds of hours and millions of credits on a project you knew was never going to be the least bit successful? Why didn't you just tell Canonn that it wasn't possible earlier? What were your thought processes here?

 

[Falco75]

A technicality, most likely. The jump was planned, as they said. It just didn't succeed. That post was just there to hype us up.

Hey Rainbro,

Just to clarify from the post above.

The area of space (Cone sector) that the Gnosis was aiming to jump to was never a location that was able to jump to. This is because the location is specifically meant to be used for future narrative. That's the reason why the initiative from the community was weaved into the actual lore of the game.

Thanks,

Zac

So what about this then:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/445716-BREAKING-NEWS-GNOSIS-STRANDED-GALNET-NEWS!?p=6983805&viewfull=1#post6983805

Post #29......or heres a hint:

Zac/Will the clarity around the points is much appreciated.

We have basically been trolled.

 

[Winterwalker]

I love the scenario personally. I've been on Gnosis for several weeks and there never was anything particularly special about the FN-J system, except there might be Thargoids nearby. Ship meets Thargoids .. is ATTACKED by them .. and I should be surprised? Now station services are in as much uproar as the forums, several evacuation metas have been explored and if you look out the window you'll see, a pretty magnificent species of alien and a system to explore if you dare. Whiners gotta whine I suppose but one of the best scenarios I've experienced in ED. This is going to be a good week, but only for the brave. o7

 

[Valen Zendaris]

I appreciate the explanation and that you're working on the bugs with the event as it currently is. I have mixed feelings about it though.



Logically, I understand why this is the outcome you (Frontier Developments) had to choose. You have plans for the Cone Sector and you couldn't allow players to go there, even those who cleverly thought to use the gnosis' range to bypass other permit locked sectors. Trying to weave this into the narrative by itself was well-intentioned, but what went wrong here is that you sent mixed signals as the Dungeon Master of this story.

On one hand, allowing the Gnosis' jump schedule to remain as planned and on the other hand the pilots federation discouraging players from going with the Gnosis. Although that may have been a genuine warning to players to not get invested in this, it instead sparked enthusiasm for being able to go to a place that could not be visited otherwise, while the warning of thargoids attracted players who wanted to take on the new thargoid variant while potentially being stuck there and having to make do with what they could bring on the Gnosis. As a result, a lot of hype and expectations for some kind of big reveal or find in the Cone Sector built up during the lead-up to this jump, and many players dedicated their time to preparing for such an event.

With so many players involved, the event got a life of its own so the disappointment when the Gnosis ended up not really going anywhere was inevitable.

There are several ways that could have been handled better and avoid disappointing many players. A little out of character communication ("sorry guys, we have plans for the area and we can't actually let your megaship go there so expect something to go wrong") before the hype got too far out of hand or creating an in-universe reason for the Gnosis to not be allowed to jump there. Such as the Federation deciding the Gnosis can't be allowed to stir the hornet's nest and boarding the ship to steer it back to the Bubble.

I hope in the future you'll be more alert when player expectations for the ingame events you're creating become dangerously unrealistic and improve your responses (in-character and/or out of character if necessary) to avoid disappointment like that.

Now excuse me, my COVAS is warning me about more Thargoid scout attacks on the Gnosis... o7

Couldn't agree more.

FDev did make it quite clear that the Gnosis was not actually going to jump to the Cone Sector and that a Thargoid attack would be the likely ingame cause for it ever since 3.2 dropped. What bothers me personally though is the fact that the event originally attracted largely non-combat oriented players (namely explorers) several weeks ahead of time. Those very same players who have been asking for some love for several years. The same players extremely hyped for Q4 because they are finally getting some. Those same players who now might as well feel like they've just gotten trolled by the developers because their non-combat event just got turned into a gank-fest, the expedition outright cancelled, but on top of that never even supposed to take place anyhow and the next part of the event is likely to be a trade CG (to repair the Gnosis)...

I docked in nothing but a stripped down, shieldless, unengineered sidewinder and survived. So, yes, it's quite possible for explorer-builds to survive the attack with a little instancing luck. Even went back twice to watch the fireworks from afar, but that's about as much "enjoyment" I got out of this event. Don't really see the point in sticking around any longer, so I'll just move on exploring as usual and wish those brave commanders defending the Gnosis good luck. o7

 

[Quantis Trap]

I'm usually 100% behind Frontier, but my personal opinion still stands that this was a poor choice on Frontier's part.

For me this has nothing to do with the small mistake of letting the information out a few hours early.

The poor choice, I feel, was the decision to let it go on like it did for so long and turn a research organization into Frontier's lab rats. Cannon Research will no doubt put a good face on it, but that's what is was.

Frontier, I know it is your game, but my opinion is that it was very inconsiderate of a large group of your fan base!

Yes, lots of other game companies do much worse every day, but I thought FD was better.

This is, believe it or not, the first time I've been really disappointed in Frontier's actions.

I'll get over it as I hope everyone else will!

 

[Rob At Work]

Is it true that the guy who pressed the wrong button in the Hawaii alleged missile launch has been employed by Fdev?

 

[Corbin Moran]

FDEV definitely chose the worst way to handle this locked area issue.

A much better alterante scenario should have been:
Let the jump happen, reproduce the content that we have now in OUTOTZ in the CONE SECTOR.
Since the area is too dangerous Canonn replan the jump to leave the area after one week instead of end of September (just the time to repair the ship from the Thargoids attack).
Players engage the fight, explorers find the barnacles sites.
Everyone is happy, everyone can say "I've been to the Cone Sector".
FDEV take the merit for on of the coolest event ever in the Elite Story.

Unfortunately with this wrong decision FDEV will get now the prize for the BIGGEST EPIC FAIL...

+1: The narrative and player reception would have been much more positive if the current combat situation and attack on the Gnosis were taking place within a single system of the Cone sector that had been unlocked for this event. After a week in isolation and engaged in the epic defence of the Gnosis (and the heroic collection of meta-alloys for the repair) - we manage to limb out again... Imagine what a story that would have been!

I really do try to make an effort always to offer constructive posts on these forums, but... FD you are making it really hard. The handling of this event was a bad, bad call and I feel sorry for Canonn for being dragged into it. Without spending more ressources than unlocking a single system of the cone sector this could have been handled so much better.

Thanks again for a wonderful sandbox game! I truly mean that! I've sunk hour and hours into ED and even more hours into the ED community, organizing events, expeditions and helping out with the Galactic Mapping Project. And I have enjoyed doing it.
But seriously FD, your handling of events and narrative is dangerously out of touch with your player base. You really need to invest here - hire some experienced storytellers and GMs and people with a sense of where the community (especially the exploration community) is.

All the best

Corbin

____

EDIT: I happen to know quite a few very talented storytellers who also have experience working as writers on sci-fi games, so just send a PM and Ill get you in touch with them

 

[Reneta Scian]

There is a HIGH LEVEL of Duplicitousness about this. I've seen at least 2 statements about the Gnosis jump that contradict each other "You weren't supposed to be able to jump there", and also "Jump is going AS PLANNED"... What is wrong with you FDev? How much more disappointment do you think we can take before your dedicated fans actually do click that Petition and Uninstall your game and tell you to get lost? Seriously, your game is broken AS all HELL. You've managed to make every single multiplayer mode undesireable to play, and DOA after first "Rebalance". You clearly DON'T play your own game, and you don't give 2-cents what the players want. I'm so sick of hearing that you messed up something for your community, YET AGAIN. Every patch is a weak, and the paintjobs always land on time, but actual content gets pushed back, over and over. I just want to play the game with my friends and enjoy myself, but they keep uninstalling it because ya'll can't get your act together. Eventually, even the holdouts will bail on you. So you really, REALLY need to give second thought to how you micromanage every system in this game until its unplayable, or otherwise be deaf to all criticism.

 

[JimSan]

As I said on the reddit thread about this, I would've preferred a misjump (caused by Thargoids if you wanted to include them) to someplace which is more interesting anyway, something like one of those clusters of stars just outside the Milky Way, then all the players would've had to do source the repair materials locally to repair the ship before the NPCs do it at a much slower pace.

If one location of the galaxy is completely closed then send us someplace worth visiting really.

 

[itsfortybelow]

I doubt FDev is going to read this, or even most forum readers, but I hope at least ranting here will be therapeutic.

This is a debacle of Herculean proportions. Perhaps that sounds like hyperbole, but stick with me for a bit. This even has been known for weeks, with commanders preparing for it for weeks as well. During this lead up, we ground out engineering materials, scoured Guardian sites, spent millions of credits outfitting and transferring modules, all in preparation for this moment. I myself personally fully engineered out two separate Krait builds for exploration and Thargoid combat. During this same time, FDev encouraged the excitement with social media posts, further stoking our excitement for what was surely going to be a fun event. I had been taking a break from Elite, and this event brought me back.

Then, before rollover even happens, the GalNet article gets released prematurely, and crushes the hopes of thousands. As if that isn't enough, when the rollover does happen, a Thargoid attack occurs on the Gnosis that commandeers can't help defend against, and I myself can't even get off the launching pad! I was hit by multiple EMP's attempting to leave, rendering me immobile and vulnerable, so even with full AX outfitting I am quickly ripped apart. To add insult to the injury, I get fined for pad loitering and shipped over a thousand light years away to a detention center.

The timing of this is also terrible, right after the announcement of content being cut from the next update, and the most recent update appearing to have been rushed out at the last second. Then there's some vague promises of stuff to come. Well, I said this in another thread, but it bears repeating. FDev is treating us like Lucy in the Peanuts comics holding a football and telling us Charlie Brown commanders to come kick it, then yanking it away at the last second.

Anyways, I need to go find a piece of gum or something, I have this sour taste in my mouth that just won't go away.

 

[Eudoxia]

What they should have done is gotten their butts in gear and actually worked to put things in the Cone Sector for the players to do and find and let the Gnosis jump to it. They had an entire month to do it, the Gnosis' jump plan to the system was scheduled 5 weeks before.

 

[Archon Valec]

Hey Rainbro,

Just to clarify from the post above.

The area of space (Cone sector) that the Gnosis was aiming to jump to was never a location that was able to jump to. This is because the location is specifically meant to be used for future narrative. That's the reason why the initiative from the community was weaved into the actual lore of the game.

Thanks,

Zac

I'm Sorry Zac, but this is bull, as it directly contradicts Will's statement from August 28th:

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/443772?p=6958427#post6958427

 Hello folks,


All I'll say is that the Gnosis' jump to the cone region is still planned and hasn't changed because of the presence of permit locks. 


Watch the skies.

 

[Cicha]

It's sad. I'm not a combat pilot, but I was ready for it deep in unknow. Have unlocked some guardians weapons that I normaly not use. Was happy, that finally we get a story in this game... But no. It destroyes the feeling for the game. :|

 

[Weps]

FDEV definitely chose the worst way to handle this locked area issue.

A much better alterante scenario should have been:
Let the jump happen, reproduce the content that we have now in OUTOTZ in the CONE SECTOR.
Since the area is too dangerous Canonn replan the jump to leave the area after one week instead of end of September (just the time to repair the ship from the Thargoids attack).
Players engage the fight, explorers find the barnacles sites.
Everyone is happy, everyone can say "I've been to the Cone Sector".
FDEV take the merit for on of the coolest event ever in the Elite Story.

Unfortunately with this wrong decision FDEV will get now the prize for the BIGGEST EPIC FAIL...

QFT

Having read nothing about the event in the past, not knowing the names of ships and systems and so on, this was actually my understanding of the event this morning. Until I got around to read more, I actually thought the attack had happened at the destination, not before the jump. It's like, the most logical way for this kind of story to unfold.

The lesson I draw from this: never underestimate the creativity of FDEV in making convoluted scenarios to disappoint the playerbase.