Or it's a personal thing. I don't explore for cash or getting my name on stuff, but I get it all the same.
SI'd watch the Dev diaries when they come out. They will give you a rough idea.
Nice idea.It would be cool if simple summaries of the UC data was published as a tactical overlay to the Galaxy Map showing where expansion would be possible. That could guide CGs. Nobody in particular would be the Hero of the Universe (as games generally likes us to be), but we could see how our collective efforts, coordinated or not, influenced the game world.
SThis would be independent of Powerplay, although the superpowers surely would make good use of it. I would like to see UC as an entity throwing its weight around in-game that way. FD has all the data...
SIt could also give another dimension to Powerplay by allowing expansion into unpopulated systems (with FD as referee, of course). Overreaching would be a real danger, and we could end up with a frontier of sparsely populated, low-to-no security systems where superpowers would give equivalents of letters-of-marque to CMDRs.
FD are going for this more proc gen BGS approach (since I think they want more self contained games with less continual dev authoring) because it would finally make the galaxy 'alive'.This was the original plan for the DSSA - to send out the carriers and when base building is a thing use them as the nucleus of new settlements. Now we aren't getting base-building, but with the new FC range changes a lot more are now in resupply range. I'm currently on my way out to mine, 36k Ly out, to top up the Tritium. I could also bring back any mined stuff to make some $$$ selling it (though my DSSA isn't that active, so not much to do there).
[Facetious mode]
SOne thing that is somehow missing from ED is a class of systems with huge populations but no real space faring capability. Essentially worlds like the one we are on today, but in a galaxy of easy space travel for those on the "inside".
In the game, they would be systems with earth-likes but no stations or outposts. If such structure was to be built in such system and trade was opened to the surface, growth of influence of such system could be very fast - even catastrophic. That could have huge impact on the BGS and on Powerplay.
As others have said, I think these were locked down until the backlash started with no flight model changes needed due to tenuous atmos and fade to black just like the SRV.
Great essay!
The planetary tech they've been working on since they talked about ice planet upgrade (The Beyond updates Feb 2018). Tenuous atmospheres looks to be just colour shading, so the last two years x 100 devs has been about first person gameplay - which admittedly might be mind blowingly executed (and whilst I agree NPCs in game will be nice they've had that in Planet Coaster since 2016 - not that much work to port them over and plants can be knocked up in 30 mins in 3DMax).
That would be great. Getting the community involved in expansion of the bubble. If only there was a mechanic where the community could work together towards a goal....It could also give another dimension to Powerplay by allowing expansion into unpopulated systems (with FD as referee, of course). Overreaching would be a real danger, and we could end up with a frontier of sparsely populated, low-to-no security systems where superpowers would give equivalents of letters-of-marque to CMDRs.
An achievement for taking part in a CG while flying a Cobra Mk4 would be funnyI'm sure there are "completionists" on consoles out there who are furious they can't get the achievement for participating in a CG.
The problem is - with the exception of allowing PMFs to expand without conflict, which isn't necessarily a desirable goal anyway - the bubble is already far too large for the number of active players. If there was any requirement to "maintain" systems with even a token minimum activity level to avoid collapse, then the existing bubble would probably lose a good 10-20% in size fairly quickly ... at a requirement above "token" it'd probably lose 75% of its size.
You really seem to have an issue with buttons!
Seriously though, saying Exploration in Elite is just pressing a button for hours is as narrow as saying that the king of games, chess, is just moving pieces from tile A to tile B for hours. Or that rock climbing is just moving limbs from rock A to rock B for hours. Boring! Narrow!
No, there is indeed tons of gameplay and depth in Elite's Exploration, but if that is your definition then it simply means that you just do not like most of the actual Exploration gameplay (which is fine) or that it just eludes your personal and too narrow definition.
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