If it is done right, this could open up a whole new perspective on group exploration as well. If a group of explorers come together to fund a megaship, that ship could serve as a mobile base for an expedition.
Megaships are basically the answer to end-game content AND player-owned bases
- Thread starter Cosmo
- Start date
It would certainly add another element to the game play, admitted. But if it is optional, I'd go for it. As long as it remains possible to play elite like you can play it today I think it might actually be a positive contribution! As described there is no need for it to stand in the way of the current gameplay.
+1, a little hesitant, but still a +1 for this idea.
+1, a little hesitant, but still a +1 for this idea.
Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
So "give us mega-ships - but first we need guilds to build them"?
Yay yay and thrice yay, would love to have my own Mega ship doing its do whislt i zipped about doing other things then rendevou with it from time to time.
Now if we could only settle some off the countless millions of planets out in the black... Id never be seen in the bubble again.
Now if we could only settle some off the countless millions of planets out in the black... Id never be seen in the bubble again.
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To provide end-game content I think Elite: Dangerous has to break free from the mold of 'grind for (mega)stuff'. I'm done building a fleet and tinkering the loadout of each ship. I'd like to put those ships to good use finally. For me end-game content means a way for players to participate in and create/contribute to stories, adventures, politics, etc.
Of course this is no easy task and I understand this might be new territory for FDEV. The way stories are run currently (Formidine Rift, Guardians, Thargoids, Salomé event) does not work very well because only a small group of players can effectively participate while all other players are reduced to spectators. Somehow stories in ED have to be parallelised so that many more players can participate. Parallelisation would fit the game's instancing design much better.
Of course this is no easy task and I understand this might be new territory for FDEV. The way stories are run currently (Formidine Rift, Guardians, Thargoids, Salomé event) does not work very well because only a small group of players can effectively participate while all other players are reduced to spectators. Somehow stories in ED have to be parallelised so that many more players can participate. Parallelisation would fit the game's instancing design much better.
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That sounds like an interesting thought and Id love to hear you expand on it in more detail. Please start a new thread
I'm more of a PvE explorer and all, but isn't this what the BGS and Powerplay are for? These all allow for player driven stories, if people cooperate and roleplay. The whole Colonia thing was largely unintended and caused by players. If a large group put tons of effort into getting a particular power in control of a huge area of the bubble, Fdev would have to respond. Or if they make a concerted effort to make one power as small as possible. Maybe I'm misreading what you're intending, can you elaborate?
With you on that one Rob. I like how if people want to act as a team/group in this game, they actually have to sit down and plan something rather than clicking "join guild" and then engaging in a number of repetitive guild objectives.
I see nothing wrong in simply making such a station prohibitively expensive. A well built iCutter is in the region of half a bill - we're talking in effect a space station here. Several billion minimum. Having content that isn't just a given you'll achieve it by sitting on yer backside at Sothis for one evening might do players some good
Not to mention being an actual credit sink for those wealthy enough to aim for one.- - - Updated - - -
You have to be careful on these grounds - the very fundament of ED is that you are not on any number of scripted stories, adventures, or campaigns. There are things happening in the universe that you may choose to interact with (thargoids, Salome...) but these are events that poof when over, and not some galaxy-wide campaign where every player becomes Captain Unstoppable Overlord Hero To The People after starting up ED.
Of course ED needs moar content, but that isn't exclusive to the odd new ship or mega-purchase. It's hinted at in OP but I would strongly suggest that such an idea in OP would be put forward as "no-one should simply expect they're going to own one". For those that want to pursue it, great - but players need to get this self entitled, bratty mindset that if there's something in game you can achieve, you are entitled to have it. You wouldn't have to save up for such a ship, you don't have to be "one of the wealthiest people in the galaxy". That should be a choice if it suits the playstyle you want.
Strongly suspect this wouldn't make it in to game anyway, as it'd be a big implementation and FD just know that they'd get incessant whining about "how much grind there is" in saving up for one, as though they don't have a choice in going for it...but would be a nice change in direction for asset ownership/development, and it goes without saying that other content needs a lot more developing over time.
That sounds like an interesting thought and Id love to hear you expand on it in more detail. Please start a new thread
It was just an idea that popped into my head when I took a shower this morning. In my mind I saw Salomé's (intended) run from 46 Eridani to Teorge and all waypoints in between. Due to the high number of players many waypoints were instanced maybe 25 times or so (just a guess). She visited only one instance per waypoint giving players in all other instances no chance to see her. I thought: What if many Salomés were created that travelled through each instance in parallel? At least everyone could have seen/interacted with her. Of course the problem then becomes: how to derive the outcome of the event as a whole from the outcomes of all parallel versions of the event? Take the outcome that happened most often?
Maybe a linear story like Salomé isn't suited very well. Maybe stories that can be structured as a tree or a grid work better (I'm not a writer, no idea if that makes sense). Indeed the BGS does parallelise working towards a goal. But the current BGS doesn't really tell a story. It just happens (same with Powerplay BTW). What happens in the BGS can be narrated after the fact though and presented as a story (I expected FDEV to do that with Powerplay).
What are your thoughts?
Well if you DO want to keep it in this thread Ill reply here as well: It would be possible to write a story setup that explains why it is not a single individual or small group, but rather a larger group of VIP ships that have to reach a set destination (groups of refugees fleeing persecution, gangs of thugs escaping the police, militia members trying to reach a dropzone in an ongoing imp-fed conflict...). Story outcome depends on the percentage of VIP ships that make it to the destination. With eg. 25 VIP vessels, there are both more ships to protect and more to assault - spreading out the experience to more players on both side of the event.
Well, I was thinking Powerplay and BGS would get the foot in the door. In the vaguest sense, a group does something major in power play, FD responds with NPC interaction, Galnet articles, encouragement of a response. Players Respond, the plot shifts. And so on.
Often times being part of a story doesn't feel like it's telling a story, it's just what's happening.
But if you want to talk about specific storylines, honestly, the stuff leading up to the Salome event could have been handled so much better without the silly coded messages with the exact systems to go to. A big goal among explorers is finding earth like worlds. If they'd have littered the Formidine Rift with tons of beacons next to Terraformable and earthlike worlds along certain paths. Have a couple of the paths end with easily found ships that have logs that give part of the puzzle. Bits of information that led to one of the powers being behind it, and maybe some minor factions in on it. FDEV starts adjusting the actions of the factions and powers. Some might be trying to buy all sorts of specific commodities in bulk. Others might start requesting unusual assassinations. All the while people are uncovering more and more information about this conspiracy.
I guess we are still on-topic in this thread since it is about 'end-game content'. It was just an idea. I don't have much to present for a thread of it's own. Maybe later.
Your suggestion makes a story parallel from start to finish and it can work in the game as it is now, I like that. The Salomé event could have worked in such a way. Drew Wagar could have announced that Salomé was among the refugees but in disguise so it was not possible to hunt for her specifically. Then after the event he could have revealed that refugee #173 was Salomé. Or he could have searched the logs for a particularly dramatic story that he liked and choose that refugee as Salomé. Though in the latter case he couldn't have presented it as 'letting players decide'.
An advantage of 'leaving breadcrumbs' is that the story can split into many branches after a breadcrumb is discovered, thus creating space for more players. If a new breadcrumb is discovered on one or on multiple branches a fresh start is made from there while the other branches end.
I have the impression that so far FDEV has tried two things: scripted linear stories (Formidine Rift, Guardians. etc), and player-driven self-perpetuating stories (Powerplay, BGS).
If many players work on a linear story they create spoilers for each other and that stops them from branching out. Instead players concentrate into a single small(ish) group that monopolises the story (I do not blame Canonn for that). This was also enhanced by the high level of knowledge and skills (encription, audio analysis, etc) required to solve the problems.
I think Powerplay suffers from badly designed system dynamics. I wonder if they ever simulated the dynamics that resulted from the game rules they made up. I think it's a pity they didn't solve Powerplay's problems because something like Powerplay can bring the end-game content we need.
The BGS suffers from weird/incomprehensible dynamics similar to Powerplay and from a lack of documentation.
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Well that there is the problem. there needs to be a blend. If it's JUST left to players, you get people who simply learn the mechanics. If you just make something linear, it's too narrow and limits participation. FDEV needs more give and take. And make them broader. I was pretty there weren't hundreds of probes left throughout the Formindine rift. Were the logs lying? They and tons of other ships spent months dropping probes. Where were they?
This would be awesome to grief. Can you imagine you and 10 of your mates in Anacondas patroling the universe for multi-billion cr. megaships to hunt?
As a megaship owner watching in paniced dismay as the culmination of years of grinding and credit farming slowly breaks apart and explodes while people taunt you in chat.
Beautiful
As a megaship owner watching in paniced dismay as the culmination of years of grinding and credit farming slowly breaks apart and explodes while people taunt you in chat.
Beautiful
Yeah, mega ships I am not too fond of the idea...( But it is still cool) but bases I think wold be the best approach.
If I could set up a base I would put it in between Maia and the bubble..i would offer travellers goods, rest and tea. A friendly stopping point for a moderate trip.
The game has enough planets for Trillions of bases. assuming multiple players can live on each planet. you could build trading communities together...how sweet.
If I could set up a base I would put it in between Maia and the bubble..i would offer travellers goods, rest and tea. A friendly stopping point for a moderate trip.
The game has enough planets for Trillions of bases. assuming multiple players can live on each planet. you could build trading communities together...how sweet.
I'm all for player-owned bases, and this too is a fantastic idea
I think 1 billion credits for something that large though seems a little on the cheap side. Perhaps 1 billion will buy you a megaship the size of an outpost, but a fully-equipped massive megaship would cost 5 billion all-in, and take you a year to two to buy and fully equip?
Don't forget that you could help towards the cost of this by buying a smaller megaship and earning an income from it, through taxation, fuel sales etc.
I think 1 billion credits for something that large though seems a little on the cheap side. Perhaps 1 billion will buy you a megaship the size of an outpost, but a fully-equipped massive megaship would cost 5 billion all-in, and take you a year to two to buy and fully equip?
Don't forget that you could help towards the cost of this by buying a smaller megaship and earning an income from it, through taxation, fuel sales etc.
Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
Passive income rather would move the game from one player / one ship / realtime to a form of executive management game.
Love this. Seems a very interesting and clever idea to put some perspective in the game, which seem has loose some depth by a while...
+1.
Awesome!
+1.
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