Returing Player: Will the mechanics of the Thargoid "invasion" be any different?

[Ryder35]

Hi All,

Thinking of returning to the game after a long layoff (been playing since Alpha so needed a break!) Has there been any talk about how the story will unfold? I would hope it can be told in new and interesting ways that involve players directly in the story. My concern is that the mechanics are not there to make this happen. Do people think we will see new stroytelling mechanics or will it be the same Community Goals, Combat Zones and fetch missions we have seen before.

I am hoping the former as I can't see how it will work otherwise.

If I have missed discussion on this please feel free to let me know!

 

[Soon(TM)]

Most likely the story will be told to the majority of us via galnet or YouTube streams.

A few lucky players will find missions and objects that progress the story line, but if history is anything to go on, it will be a first to find gets the glory.

I'm just hoping and praying that the thargoid interactions are not just re-skinned combat zones and interdiction mechanics.

I haven't been on ED for months, I'm waiting to see the first few YouTube videos of thargoid interactions, if it's any good I might give it ago, if it's just the above, I'll wait for 3.0.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

If the Beta was any Guide, it'll involve

- Scooping stuff up
- delivering it to CGs to unlock stuff for everybody
- rinse & repeat as the "new arms race" unfolds

Other than that, it's all speculation of course. But with 2.4 so close, you'll find out fairly soon I guess.

 

[purplemarauder]

So - what mechanics would everyone actually like to see for this 'story'?

 

[MatYNWA]

If i remember it correctly, in one of the streams they said, that the thargoid story will be told, or rather played, thru already existing game mechanics. So, yeah, no new game mechanics, if you are lookig for those.

How the lore will be told? Galnet i guess.

 

[Ryder35]

So - what mechanics would everyone actually like to see for this 'story'?

Maybe missions that advance along with the story. I want to feel like I am a bit more at the centre of the story vs being an impossibly small cog in the machine. There are already some really cool assets in the game (e.g. generation ships, thargoid bases etc) but without missinos involving them the only way to even find them is by getting spoilers on the forums. The story needs to be told in game and be available for everyone to participate without having to read about it in the forums or watch it on YouTube.

Here's hoping it can at least be participated in via missions.

 

[Drelthar]

To be fair, they already did this to some extent using a listening post in Maia, which guides you to the Thargoid surface site, via a couple of interactions. If they add a bunch more stuff like that, it'll be nice.

 

[Aris_]

Ι hope that it will be a true invasion one that will decimate stations and systems but something tells me that will produce too much reactions from the pacifist-solo bgs pve..etc players and it will be unacceptable

Give the current mechanics i will be much surprised if we have more than system engagements that you simple fight Thargoids npcs instead of plain npcs , even if the difficult level is better will be a welcomed surprise

 

[Kaocraft]

It's most likely going to be more of the same but you'll have a new type of NPC to shoot at.

 

[Old Duck]

So - what mechanics would everyone actually like to see for this 'story'?

Since this is going to be a war, I'd like to see proper fleet mechanics. Throw out RNG and have a strategic AI to plot ship battlegroup movements, supply lines, etc. Imagine the space equivalent to the Pacific Naval Theater of WWII (America vs Japan). Have missions handed down by military commanders based on this - escorting supply ships to the battle front, provide actual battle tactics and wing orders (vs the furball that's the current CG), provide scouting / recon missions to gain intelligence on the enemy, etc.

It would be nice if the strategic AI was smart enough to actually track all of these nuanced things. For example, if x number of supplies are brought to a shipyard, then y number of warships can be built to replenish what's lost (which is actually tracked). If Thargoids have "supply lines", then targeting these should reduce their ship production / growth (their ships might actually be "grown" like plants).

In other words, add "Risk" (the game) like mechanics / strategy to the current mechanics so that this war feels like a war, even to the point that we might just lose if we don't have our act together.

 

[Curried-Cat]

I'm hoping that there will be something for those of us who can't play 24/7. As it stands now there's just too little for those of us who squeeze in a couple of hours of gameplay. Trying to keep up with the 'story' is also very difficult.

I want to feel like I'm part of something not just reading about it or watching a highlights reel. I barely feel like I'm part of anything currently.

Unfortunately I think it's going to be more of the same, random CGs that don't really add up to much.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

Since this is going to be a war, I'd like to see proper fleet mechanics. Throw out RNG and have a strategic AI to plot ship battlegroup movements, supply lines, etc. Imagine the space equivalent to the Pacific Naval Theater of WWII (America vs Japan). Have missions handed down by military commanders based on this - escorting supply ships to the battle front, provide actual battle tactics and wing orders (vs the furball that's the current CG), provide scouting / recon missions to gain intelligence on the enemy, etc.

It would be nice if the strategic AI was smart enough to actually track all of these nuanced things. For example, if x number of supplies are brought to a shipyard, then y number of warships can be built to replenish what's lost (which is actually tracked). If Thargoids have "supply lines", then targeting these should reduce their ship production / growth (their ships might actually be "grown" like plants).

In other words, add "Risk" (the game) like mechanics / strategy to the current mechanics so that this war feels like a war, even to the point that we might just lose if we don't have our act together.

They called *that* Power Play. Check the forums on how well that worked out.

 

[NeilF]

Hi All,

Thinking of returning to the game after a long layoff (been playing since Alpha so needed a break!) Has there been any talk about how the story will unfold? I would hope it can be told in new and interesting ways that involve players directly in the story. My concern is that the mechanics are not there to make this happen. Do people think we will see new stroytelling mechanics or will it be the same Community Goals, Combat Zones and fetch missions we have seen before.

I am hoping the former as I can't see how it will work otherwise.

Would be nice if nice new involved gameplay is added for 2.4... BUT, given the track record of the past 1-2yrs, it's hard to imagine that. I imagine we'll get lots of point and click, cut-scene'esque, simple pewpew type stuff all under some "massive story line".

Personally, my hope is post 2.4/V3 we finally get some development of note. But I'm finding keeping even that hope alive tricky given the past 2yrs track record.

 

[Ryder35]

Unfortunately I think it's going to be more of the same, random CGs that don't really add up to much.

My head says you are probably right. No new mechanics have been tested in the beta so I can't see how they can bring them into the live game. My heart hopes that they will genuinely add something new or at least use what we already have with a bit of imagination and flair!

 

[Old Duck]

They called *that* Power Play. Check the forums on how well that worked out.

One of my CMDRs is active in PowerPlay, and believe me, *that's* not what I'm advocating for. PP is this weird mix of cloak-n-dagger, gang turf 'wars', and politic "points" that I've yet to wrap my head around, not an epic battle theater with proper fleet mechanics.

 

[Drelthar]

They do have some mechanics thay've not used -all- that much, that aren't used in general game play.

If they have spent a lot of time linking a bunch of them together to make interactive story elements which lead you through a kind of narrative here and there, which then leads to things like CG's and general missions etc, it might be quite good.



I mean... that'd take one hell of a lot of effort and clever thinking, be easier to make a CG to pew thargoids, and have combat zones, and the occasional hyper diction

 

[Ryder35]

They do have some mechanics thay've not used -all- that much, that aren't used in general game play.

If they have spent a lot of time linking a bunch of them together to make interactive story elements which lead you through a kind of narrative here and there, which then leads to things like CG's and general missions etc, it might be quite good.

That is exactly what I am hoping for.