So, who cares about the 2.4 Narrative surrounding Elite: Dangerous

TrailBlazer 143 · Oct 31, 2017

When I fire this game up, I play my own narrative, my own story. Doing what I would actually do if I were a spaceman. And this whole "narrative" thing is SO far back in the background of my game that I don't know what the hell is going on and don't really care to know.

I see Federation Characters saying stuff like "we will handle the thargoids" and I'm sitting here like: "So, 'we' as in ME and the Federation? or 'we' as in flavor text?

I don't think its ok that I can't join a Major Faction. I mean like REALLY join. I want to get information from Admiral Aden Tanner letting me know to stay safe out there or to come to base for an important mission. Hell, I wish Actual Admiral Players in the game had legions federation NPC of ships following them around as they fly around Federation Space or even earning their own minor faction as a reward. But flavor text is all we get and that's rather bland to say the least.

I did go out and interact with thargoids but I wanted to interact in a diplomatic way only to see that the only way to interact is to shoot them... and after all the "are the Thargoids REALLY the villain?" routine, I just don't really know what I'm supposed to do with them at this point other than shoot them (which I havent.)

Then the Aegis thing in which CG's have become the way to introduce weapons into the game doesn't affect me at all. I would like to know who's been spending the past month just shooting at thargoids, feeling the "everchanging" galaxy unfold around you.

If you were to ask me when they released "The Return" they should have released everything they have planned and just sent us off into the black like they did with everything else and had US discover everything "The Return" had to offer since they were so secretive about it.

I'm still going to play Elite: Dangerous because I do love what the game has so far, but this recent stuff hasn't really affected me except for the fact that mission don't stack anymore; So its back to the same thing I did before 2.4, only less pay.

Schmack · Oct 31, 2017

Having us discover everything often means having one person discover everything, magically, in a few hours.

Like you I have a total disconnect from the Thargoid storyline but the great part of ED is that you can co-exist with that narrative without participating, for now.

DeathStroke · Oct 31, 2017

What narrative. Aliens have been in the game for a while now, only difference with 2.4 is that you can kill them. Same as everything else.

Conch · Oct 31, 2017

Was interested the first week of 2.4.. then it died down for me, and went back to doing my normal stuff.

Leo Sagan · Oct 31, 2017

E D is a video game : eventually, FD will have to work on gameplay mechanics. To be fair, in 2.4, they did : the Thargoïds use a new AI and require a whole new combat tactic. Unfortunately for me (and it seems for many other players), this is just combat interaction : not my thing.

Even worse, this is the only new activity there is in this patch (so far) (Yes, dropping random cargo near the Ts and eyeballing some new boring shaunty town on a gigantic barren beige planet doesn't qualify as "game mechanics" by my book).

The Return is (by far) the most disappointing point release they made so far IMHO.

tagos · Oct 31, 2017

It’s a story about a story that doesn’t intersect with the BGS and game mechanics.

I was hyped for it. I built an A rated mini fleet to go help out as part of my head-story.

But there’s nothing there. Free money from Palin missions that lead to nothing. An infinite number of Thargoids to try and kill but isn’t connected to anything.

Until what is going on starts going on in the game and generates game play loops from the BGS then the narrative is just a story about a story that is of minor interest.

They really need to start making it an in-game reality that involves the players. Then it could be as awesome as we were led to expect through months of ‘The Thargoids Are Coming’ hype.

My fear is this is a minimal resource, smoke and mirrors thing but I really hope a huge plate of Humble Pie is heading for my fat ugly face.

Agony_Aunt · Oct 31, 2017

I'm not particularly bothered by it. It has little impact on my gaming in general. I presume at some point the story will develop further and ill keep an eye on it. Its kind of like slowly reading a book, one chapter per month or two.

At some point in the future it will be over, and I presume the Thargoids will become just encounterable NPCs, possibly with their own region in space. Who knows, maybe they will have stations we can visit or places to attack. Maybe we will get missions relating to them.

I just play ED pretty much like i played Frontier, and enjoying it for that, with the added bonus of cooperation with other players and the potential to fly together. The story is just a sideshow i keep an eye on for the lore.

If ED was a single player game, then FD could have made the story more personal, but it isn't, so i'm happy to let FD play god, while i get on with my own stuff.

mojonaut · Oct 31, 2017

tagos said:
.............. I really hope a huge plate of Humble Pie is heading for my fat ugly face.

Sorry but no Humble Pie coming your way any time soon

...............can't help you with your looks either

Tadeus72 · Oct 31, 2017

I care about the narrative. But the problem isn't about the narrative or the lack of narrative. It's about gameplay content. It's pretty easy. This is a game about pilots-for-hire doing space jobs. This is an expansion about aliens. Are there any new rewarding alien related jobs? No. There is only the one mission at Palin that is basing on very old assets and the planet coordinates mechanic that most players hate.

shadragon · Oct 31, 2017

Agony_Aunt said:
I'm not particularly bothered by it. It has little impact on my gaming in general.

Quite true, but I'd rather think it has as much impact as you want. At least, it isn't in your face all the time which is great for those who don't want anything to do with it.

IndigoWyrd · Oct 31, 2017

I've never seen a Thargoid, live or dead.
I've never seen a barnacle.

I've flown around the Pleiades quite a bit and never been hyperdicted.

I suspect the narrative is about as interested in me as I am in it, which is to say...

I'm aware of it, and as long as it's not interfering with me directly, then I couldn't be happier.

If Thargoids need something hauled, and have something of value to offer for doing it, my cargo bay is for rent, otherwise, they can go about doing whatever they do as long as they leave me to do whatever I happen to be doing.

Oaktree · Oct 31, 2017

Indeed the game lacks tools inside to give cmdrs the information they need. Also more tools to interact with existing stuff ingame. Right now, the Thargoid stuff, its kill them and scan them.
And if it werent for this forum and others and youtube vids i wouldnt know half of what is going on.

But players also need to use a bit of their imagination if they want to play in this sandbox and take whatever satisfies them.
Myself, i'm having fun in the Pleiades. I'm saving pilots who are about to be abducted by Thargoids. Collecting lost research information and encrypted correspondence from vessels destroyed by the Aliens and delivering those to AEGIS bases. Every bit of information counts! Im also helping Prof Palin doing his own research. He's a nice guy and pays me very well

And if i'm sometimes bored i accept missions to hunt down those Ant Hill Mob Pirate scum!!! Love to see them explode!!
There are also parties of commanders looking for help to kill the Thargoids. I do not agree, i think we need to study them first. And there's also some weird folks wearing tinfoil hats doing research on these aliens. You can join them if you're into tinfoil hattery!

StevieG · Oct 31, 2017

Dont shoot the bumblebees(Thargoids) otherwise you want be able to dock at their stations in 3.0 Beyond.

There is a hidden reputation value so every goid you kill the lower your rep will go.

Punished Mobius · Oct 31, 2017

What has it been now? 8 weeks? Embarrassing. 8 whole weeks with nothing happening...

They are taking GRRM levels of time to produce fanfiction level content. Oooo what a twist there are two types of aliens. Ooooo what a twist we were the baddies all along... (can you spell cliche hack?) It even bothers me that the persons who came up with this narrative probably think they are the best thing since biowaste containers.

Ian Skippy · Oct 31, 2017

Was cool the first two weeks or so, been waiting for something to happen since. It has pretty much zero influence on my game, and I'm based in the Pleiades for heaven's sake.

Araviel · Oct 31, 2017

I would pay more attention if there actually was a threat, but there does not seem to be any.
and i learned pretty fast that if i don't bother the goids then they don't bother me, and i can't find any incentive to bother them yet.

zarking · Oct 31, 2017

sleutelbos said:
Was cool the first two weeks or so, been waiting for something to happen since. It has pretty much zero influence on my game, and I'm based in the Pleiades for heaven's sake.

I think they're going for "slowest common denominator" lol, in other words, somewhere out there is someone who plays the game for a couple of hours once a month. FD don't want to move the narrative along until that guy has logged in and had a chance to "experience" the current mechanics.

And that might be totally fair. Problem is, for those of us who play most days, it makes it feel very very slow moving. This would be fine if there were other features of the narrative to work away at while the big reveals are being prepared (and there have been loads of good suggestions, from missions and research to scavenger hunts and non combat interaction), but it's been pretty much static and the most we've seen so far was the INRA base hunt, which effectively was a dead end (and although it was cool, didn't give us any new interaction).

Quester91 · Oct 31, 2017

Just as all previous updates, this 2.4 feels cheap, tepidly designed, tacked on, artificial and slapped onto the main game just to add a tick on their list of stuff to do. Nothing surprising really.

tagos · Oct 31, 2017

Oaktree said:
Indeed the game lacks tools inside to give cmdrs the information they need. Also more tools to interact with existing stuff ingame. Right now, the Thargoid stuff, its kill them and scan them.
And if it werent for this forum and others and youtube vids i wouldnt know half of what is going on.

But players also need to use a bit of their imagination if they want to play in this sandbox and take whatever satisfies them.
Myself, i'm having fun in the Pleiades. I'm saving pilots who are about to be abducted by Thargoids. Collecting lost research information and encrypted correspondence from vessels destroyed by the Aliens and delivering those to AEGIS bases. Every bit of information counts! Im also helping Prof Palin doing his own research. He's a nice guy and pays me very well And if i'm sometimes bored i accept missions to hunt down those Ant Hill Mob Pirate scum!!! Love to see them explode!!
There are also parties of commanders looking for help to kill the Thargoids. I do not agree, i think we need to study them first. And there's also some weird folks wearing tinfoil hats doing research on these aliens. You can join them if you're into tinfoil hattery!

Yep. We can do these things. If these activities were part of game loops they would be part of something more interesting.

Missions to go rescue pilots from specific locations for specific organisations for specific rewards. Personal and collective research counters that registered our research efforts and awarded recognition and other intangibles.

Etc.

It’s that these activities aren’t connected to anything that’s frustrating. No one cares if they are done or not. Nothing happens or doesn’t happen. If FD had gone the extra mile and integrated these into the BSG and Missions etc and set up a few feedback loops then a lort more people would be happy.

Things to generate a personal connection to the story.

When we play most games we don’t have to imagine we are doing something when we play. Our imagination and game loops interact.

Layne Vakarian · Oct 31, 2017

What narrative? There's a narrative? And don't try to tell me that a few extremely disjointed GalNets, a (admittedly very cool) video-thing and some listening posts, which I have to find if I can be bothered, and then follow the 'leads', again if I can be bothered, and some players posting their latest 'dicoveries' (which to my mind, in some cases happen suspiciously fast) amounts to a narrative because I won't believe you, and wouldn't agree if I did.