Please get the community goals back on track!

[geoffrey.hdt]

Power Play has brought some new stuff, some background to the galaxy as well as some PvP opportunities.
However, while Community Goals used to be full of life with a dozen of players supercruising the same system, or fighting their way to the landing pad...the last CGs feel so empty, dead, boring, sad...
It's a fact, now players have other stuff to do and might not want to travel far to participate in the CG.
I would like to see some change in the CGs to be more attractive and see at least some of them reaching the final tier!

Antal CG: Reached tier 4 only. Spreading it to 4 weeks long did not help.
Gandii (combat): Reached tier 1 only.
BD-02 4304: Reached tier 2 only.
The new mining in Abres is still at tier 0...while osmium has already been collected, I do not see any progression.

We must now take into account more participation to PP means less participation to CGs. While I would love to see more creativity in the CGs rather than simply bring this, kill there or go scan whatever you want, a quick way to "fix" the current CGs would be simply to:
- Make them last enough to cover at least two weekends (which is when most people play, right?)
- Lower the trigger of each tier
- In case the last tier is going to be reached too early, simply add another one and post on Galnet that facing the success of the CG, we are bringing even more reward for more stuff, and blah blah
- Increase the reward per tier (people complain that PP costs...well, CG reward could be the solution)
- Offer unique global reward (like time limited 30% discount on specific ship or outfitting, access for PP specific module in case the CG took place in the area own by one Power), who cares about low % discount on something while you can find good price on valuable commodities or outfit discount in specific Power space?

As for now, I believe an immediate action must be taken for Abres mining CG... It is known that most players don't know how to mine, are not interested to mine...and on top of that, low participation due to PP is not helping. I hope FD decide to drastically lower the trigger and extend this CG by one more week...

 

[Carro]

Some of those pre-1.3 community goals were the best (and most fun) things ever to happen in the game!

Sadly, the FDev Fun Police came along with their nerf guns...

 

[Ben Ryder]

Looks like people are more interested in Power Play which by it's very nature is not a community thing.

The Community Goals have been very power play focused recently and that's just fine really but it's not enough to satisfy everyone. It does highlight the grind in Community Goals which for many new and casual players were a good source of credits. So I agree in lowering the tiers and having more goals. However, Power Play has needed at least a month for people to get used to. Knows a pretty good time for some balancing between the opt in players and the opt out.

I was really hopping that there would be maybe ten one week long community goals running at any time with very low tiers so people can do local group missions.

What do you think?

 

[Queze]

It would be nice if they could tie in some of the CGs in with PP somehow. I know PP is like a CG now as it is but adding some different CGs might make it more interesting to actually take part in PP.

 

[Starhawker]

I can tell you as a new player in early June, I was learning about Rare's, and travling in Diso (I miss that corn), when I was brutally attacked by a CMDR several times in a row; for no reason other than I was an easy kill. It is from that time forward, that I went 'offline' so any community goal's, regardless of how they are setup, will not see me in line for a landing pad; due to the actions of a few. At least not until I have the skills and weaponry to protect myself.

Its a "dangerous" place out there!

SH

 

[Quineloe]

Yeah the Mining CG thresholds are set way too high. FD, are you aware that 30 tons per hour would be an excellent result? We can't move Osmium like this.

In a trading CG, I easily put 2400tons per hour into it. With Osmium, I'm making around 20 per hour. Please adjust the values.

Also bring back Top 5 Contributors.

 

[Drink!]

This was bound to happen. The only thing to do was trade and CG's. Now that we have something else to do (Power Play), less people will do the CG. I missed all the CG's OP listed because of PP.
I would like to see the CG tied in with PP. Maybe a Fed/Empire war CG. PP players earn merit and money. Non-PP players earn money as normal.

 

[LetoAtreides2]

Some of those pre-1.3 community goals were the best (and most fun) things ever to happen in the game!

Sadly, the FDev Fun Police came along with their nerf guns...

I agree. I got into CG fairly late, so I missed Lugh and others. Still, I had a lot of fun in each one I participated.

 

[deathmagnet]

I say we pit the powers against each other in a War. The Feds and Empire finally go to war and the power play map gets all rearranged because of it. Make it a long war too, bring back the competing CG's. Have big capital ships have a giant slug fest.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

--- Deleted ---

 

[sikuwolfy]

If their intention is to making a CG with a mining focus I think it should accept osmium, platinum, and painite which can be obtained by mining only afaik.

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

I can tell you as a new player in early June, I was learning about Rare's, and travling in Diso (I miss that corn), when I was brutally attacked by a CMDR several times in a row; for no reason other than I was an easy kill. It is from that time forward, that I went 'offline' so any community goal's, regardless of how they are setup, will not see me in line for a landing pad; due to the actions of a few. At least not until I have the skills and weaponry to protect myself.
Its a "dangerous" place out there!SH

And THIS is exactly what I am missing!
You may quickly realize that Elite, if not dangerous, is boring. I also got murdered several times in unfair manners, especially during CGs...and I learnt a lot from that, I changed the way I play, I adapted...what does not kill you makes you strionger.

During the Diso CG, the place was crawling with pirates, bounty hunters, psychos...that was hard, challenging, fun...adrenaline! Recently I went several times to the Antal CG and did not meet any pirate...boring, I was just hauling metal mindlessly from point A to B! I even came back in my pirate ship, stayed there about an hour and realized that I was the only pirate and most traders were even shocked to be pirated!

Player interaction is the best in Elite, I miss these CGs which used to be dangerous and full of life!

 

[deathmagnet]

Recently I have been purposely hanging around in areas that I know heavy traffic will be (ie Harma), just so someone will pull me over and pick a fight with me. It has been a blast for sure but the waiting around for it to happen is really lame. I am not aligned with anyone in the hopes that not only will the pirates attack me but also the anti pirates. I don't even care if I am out numbered 4v1 or if I get blown up to a tune of 7.8 million credits. At least I am getting some fun CMDR/CMDR interaction. But I will even tire of this eventually and not sure what there is to do beyond that. I have traded until my mind has gone numb. Tried exploring, and for me that was worse than trading. Tried mining and that was worse than exploring. Can't wait until everyone gets bored with the PP grand and starts going back to their normal jobs (ie bounty hunters, pirates, murders). I hope it happens soon to because I feel FD might be hemorrhaging players right now do to lack of meaningful content.

I am not saying this because I think ED is a bad game. I love(d) it, especially after 1.2. But 1.3...well....it's not 1.2

1.2 brought

Wings - By far the best add on in the game to date.
Massive CG's with very high levels of participation
Large amounts of player backed content and lore (even had a Galactic Summit)
The alien artifacts that created such a buzz and in some ways still is.
Colonization and renaming of uninhabited stars.


1.3 brought

Power Play - The grind fest of the century. Basically a Facebook style game that forces you to participate every week to stay relevant (compared to the other powers). I have played many games that start to do this and I quickly leave.
The Rise of Solo/Private - This is mainly educated speculation from what I have seen, read and heard. Nobody is in Open anymore. PP is happening in private and solo so A. You can't get caught and therefore destroyed with your merits. B. Your group doesn't get the horrible "5th Column" brand, therefore turning the entire community against your group with retaliation in borderline criminal ways (no exaggeration. RL threats for a Virtual Life game).
The Death of CG's - Nobody cares anymore. Proof in levels of participation.
Specialized weapons - Which have had mixed reviews but nothing I have seen has me particularly shaking in my boots or motivating me to grind a power for a month.


Now don't get me wrong. 1.3 is not all bad. It has a lot of good positive additions but as I stated in a previous thread Power Play itself, in large part, seems to be the least liked addition. As a matter of fact the only thing I have had heard overwhelmingly positive reviews on is the better AI.

Maybe it should have been

1.3 - Power A.I.

I still have hope for this game. I am still hooked to the forums and spend a couple hours nearly every evening on it but the interesting things to do seem to be running out faster than they are replaced.

I have heard so many good ideas. I am sure FD listens (they have proven so in the past) but will they be able to roll them out (successfully) fast enough.

Let's focus on what made 1.2 great and build on that because it sounds like CQC is too far away for PC/Mac. There needs to be something BIG and POPULAR before then to keep the player base energized and engaged.

 

[Ben Ryder]

Lets see how the new 3 day combat community goal at HIP 11613 works out in comparison to the long trade and exploration goals that have just passed.

 

[Hagledesperado]

- Make them last enough to cover at least two weekends (which is when most people play, right?)

Judging by the frequency of server crashes, yes it is. But do we really want to exasperate that?

 

[CMDR Hagglebeard]

1.2 brought

Wings - By far the best add on in the game to date.

Wings, a very basic feature, missing at launch.

This is evidence that players want the basics to be thrown in instead of flashy stuff. DB and FD are building the game they want to play, which is good on them, but I'm not sure if they understand that they can never bring the same experience to us. They're all friends in an office, close together, enjoying the game that they made; There's always going to be immense satisfaction in that. As a solo player who doesn't know many people in the game, it's not the same

 

[Quineloe]

Bounty hunting CG hits tier 2 after a few hours, mining CG is stuck on 1 pixel of progress forever. FD please adjust the values before the CG is over.

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

Hey guys, I've got an idea for another great Community Goal, with the same flavor as the ones we have had recently: The first pirate/heist CG!

The goal: steal 10 millions of toxic wastes and sell it at the black market. Goods must be stolen.
No tier of course, either a fail or a secret reward.

What do you say? Yaayrr or nay?