Frontier needs ways to make players care for the systems, events and people in them. This is partly because there's so many systems, and we can't see or care about any of the effects of those 'disease ridden refugees' should they escape to another system. It's difficult without seeing people in the game, but at the moment it's just shooting fish in a barrel for credits. Pretty dehumanising! Yes players can role play and I've done this myself a few times, but I think more could be done in future.
One random thought... Perhaps invoke some decisions by emotion and have the audio team create lots of different audio messages from the pilots pleaing for help. Throw in some muffled cries from the men, women and children and at least try to emotionally involve people with their decisions instead of seeing them as a credit or material machine (or not as the case may be).
I agree with this.
I don't care one bit about these refugees knowing this whole convoy has zero purpose, impact, use or story behind it.
I was hoping I could sell the cargo of basic medicines and food cartridges I was carrying to this convoy, or to get some interaction like them wanting to transfer over passengers to go to another system or something to that effect. But nothing.. they are just floating props.
And don't even tell me these are supposed to be part of the depth to the game people have been asking for, because if a signal source full of props is their definition of adding depth then we're in more trouble than we think as far as creating a meaningful galaxy goes.
Why can't these types things be mini-community goals with reciprocal missions? Save at least X refugees and you get a reward, and when you deliver the refugees why can't we get a related mission where we drop them off to then carry back medicines, clothes and food? This way the refugee convoy would be an actual thing in space that's different from just taking missions off the mission board in a system. Suddenly you are helping them out of a system suffering from a massive outbreak, and also helping them by bringing supplies on your return trip.
Also, why aren't these things remembered in the game? If you saved 1000 refugees and brought 20 million worth of supplies to aid them, why does the game not recognize this in some form? Wouldn't the station where you delivered them remember? Shouldn't you get some form of recognition for what you did besides just +influence and +credits? Instead we getting but dead stares and preformatted responses. Why not free fuel for a week, or reduced cost on ammunition for awhile, or better prices in the commodity market. Something more than nothing.
I dunno guys... things are just too dead, robotic and clinical (or clean coded maybe).
Instead of "add depth" people should say "make it meaningful".
That refugee convoy? Totally meaningless. Sure, I could have blown it up and so what. National crisis that someone killed thousands of refugees? No, just more dead stares, preformatted text and some disgruntled security ships showing up.
Who cares?
