Post 3.3 - will the Thargoids overrun the bubble?

[[VR] Deggial]

Soon enough, the long awaited Q4 update will have launched with major improvements to mining and exploration.

Which is awesome of course and highly appreciated by many players.
Players, who will want to try those new toys out.
Players who might find a new love for making asteroids go *boom!*.
Players, who might have waited just for 3.3 to head out into the void and not to look back for a long time. (Personally, I am possibly one of them.)

But if all the new and fun stuff distracts the player's attention away from the alien threat, if people will focus their play-time on other things than popping scouts ... how will the galaxy look like, when the commanders finally come to their senses again?
Will there be anything left to come back to?
Will the Thargoids have pushed the human civilization into chaos?

Pressing questions that have to be answered!
Has Frontier considered this?

I am worried ...

--

Edit: LOL! It got a tag! Where did this tag come from?
"Worrythread"! LOL again!

Nope, it is not that sort of "worrythread"!
I am not a "concerned citicen".
I don't really think, FDev have messed up or done something wrong or has to answer to some serious questions!
This whole thread was meant quite toung-in-cheek and doesn't want to be taken overly serious.

Oh ... and I am still worried

Edit2:
Teeeee. Jaaaaayyyy. ?!?
No?
Well, I blame you anyway!

 

[Magichp]

If it happens like you described, we'll just have more stations to repair.

But most likely, the 200-ish people fighting Thargoids on a regular basis will keep doing it.
If a new invasion mechanic is unveiled, there might be something, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that...

 

[Oaktree]

I hope they advance the story significantly. It feels soo stagnant!
I hope they spice up this systems of the week attacks gameplay. Maybe adding a new BGS state.
I hope scouts pay a bit more.
I hope the Aegis Megaships either stop being useless or be turned into reef barriers in some waterworld!
And I want huge weapons!

 

[ZAKALWEINC8876]

It would be good it there was a threat to everyone from the Thargs like in the old days (original elite for instance). As has been said many many times, the threat is optional.
I have personally taken a pause at Tharg hunting, basically to grind cash with my new type-9, looking to finally get an annie, then i will be back.

Unless of corse humanity is actually in danger before then, then its back in the AX FGS to pitch in.

 

[SP_Predicador]

Without a radical change in storytelling, and while thargs are optional (even for npcs and BGS in the system of the station attacked), there is no reason to not get distracted by the 3.3 new features

I hope I'll really enjoy mining in systems right out of the bubble, using both the new explo micro-probes and new mining tools!

 

[WhoCares]

Not sure about the Thargoid storyline.
W.r.t. the Guardian story, since a little while I have the suspicion that we saw first indications of it on Galnet. That's in the form of robots/AI/whatever going rogue, which might be a hint of us downloading a virus/parts of the guardian AI, that might take over "stuff". Maybe soon we will see the ships that went to guardian sites going rogue wherever they might be today
Though you don't have to fear my AspX "Jolly Jumper" - it's unarmed except for a PD - them Anacondas on the other hand...

Well, not really sure where it might lead, but I think those Galnet events might be a hint toward the future guardian storyline...

 

[Skip Rockbounder]

As long as the Thargoids stay in their little USS bubbles there is no threat to mankind.

Had ED have made the threat a significant and encompassing one things might be different.
The Attacks on Human stations within the bubble should have been in real time and a proper fight for life should have ensued, when wars happen offline or in downtime there's a lack of belief.

 

[Jaylem]

Thargoids aren't a threat, they can damage stations, but that's about it. in fact, they are so harmless that humanity will still gets married, fights in wars and in general is 100% oblivious to it.

Unless FDev step up their game and change this, Thargoids will always be the Optional, optional content. Hell, I though it was funny when the Oracle was attack a year ago and they said "thousands dead", I then looks at my combat section to find I ALONE have thousands of kills...soo yeah, not a threat at all.

 

[Leadfoot]

It would be better to (1) see them in super cruise and have them interdict us; (2) have regular weapons be effective against them rather than need "AX" weapons installed. FD needs to get them out of the USS thingy and get them into SC if they expect us to take them seriously.

 

[Urazz]

I hope they advance the story significantly. It feels soo stagnant!
I hope they spice up this systems of the week attacks gameplay. Maybe adding a new BGS state.
I hope scouts pay a bit more.
I hope the Aegis Megaships either stop being useless or be turned into reef barriers in some waterworld!
And I want huge weapons!

Combat in general needs to pay more not just thargoid scouts and thargoid interceptors. One would think the more dangerous professions in this game would pay more than the others, not less.

 

[Hanerib]

Yes, thargoids are going to overrun the bubble, but it's going to take a few hundred years, only a short passing moment for our beloved species of oboe-sounding space jellyfish. It would take a bit longer for Jaques to buy every single station in human space, and try to send them to Beagle Point. For an exile Galcop colony to take revenge on the bubble-dwellers it would take only half of this time. Enormous, planet sized dragons made of tiny RNA viruses would wipe out humanity significantly slower, limited by the speed of light. If Guardian AI and regular, rogue AI had competition, which one would win? Why? Guardians themselves and Lavian tree grubs are both extinct, so cannot enter. INRA will overrun the bubble, but can do none of it by themselves. Fourth advanced spacefaring civilization is forbidden.

 

[Jaggedmallard]

I hope they advance the story significantly. It feels soo stagnant!
I hope they spice up this systems of the week attacks gameplay. Maybe adding a new BGS state.
I hope scouts pay a bit more.
I hope the Aegis Megaships either stop being useless or be turned into reef barriers in some waterworld!
And I want huge weapons!

The Aegis megaships being seemingly useless ties in pretty heavily with issue one and two. I think they're supposed to be representing Aegis launching sorties or whatever against the Thargoids and preventing an additional station/megaships from being attacked but in Fdevs typical way they don't tell us this in what little storytelling they do have and they didn't implement it gameplay wise.

 

[Saool]

I've been hoping for such a disaster scenario for ages. It could be epic with the whole bubble becoming a war zone and later a no-man's land, with Colonia being the fall back as well as the Exodus points going active as the Club bust into action...


But it won't happen. It would be far too big a gamble for FDEV and the risks would be too great (in terms of it being too much for many players and too much of a change).

 

[Johnny Cairns]

I agree its time the thargoids got serious. They need to start overrunning the bubble or at least part of it. There is no urgency when the thargoids attack and to be honest there are enough players engaging the goids that i would be surprised if we lost another station. Making the goids optional content was a big mistake on FDs part, if you dont want to fight a goid then run away or try saving civilians when we do lose stations. Thargoids just are'nt scary anymore. Interceptors do not attacl on sight like the scouts do and scouts are just way too easy to kill.

 

[viper***]

We all die, easy

 

[Kzak]

I remember one of FDev's teasers before 3.0 launched, in which we saw 'Thargoid incursion deepens' as one of several headlines. Well, the Thargoids aren't just for show, are they? They need to make a significant impact upon the bubble if we are to take them seriously.

 

[discocat]

I remember one of FDev's teasers before 3.0 launched, in which we saw 'Thargoid incursion deepens' as one of several headlines. Well, the Thargoids aren't just for show, are they? They need to make a significant impact upon the bubble if we are to take them seriously.

1. We're not at war yet. They're merely blowing what's in their way.

2. Burning stations taking months to repair across the whole bubble is what's happening... isn't that serious ?

I imagine people won't feel urgency until Sol or their homesystem has a station in flames... sad :/

 

[[VR] Deggial]

The thread concentrated way too much on the general Thargoid "issue", imo.
My actual question was more like: will you guys (those of you currently repelling the alien scouts in endagered systems) stop your activity when 3.3 drops and mainly enjoy the new toys (exploration & mining) FDev treats us with?

Anyway, as we obviously engaged in serious game discussions, I'll play along and throw the upcomming "changes to the BGS" into the ring.
Somehow, I tend to believe that this might be related to the Thargoid threat.
Will we finally get an "under alien threat" system state?
A state where NPC ships do communicate differently and stations provide us with special missions to hunt down those aliens or special fetch missions? Maybe the market might pay more for certain commodities as well?