In case you haven't been following, there's been numerous threads in the console forums about the bug that causes a crash to "desktop" when multiple SRVs gather together in the same instance (thankfully this has been announced as fixed). It is very clear that a large number of players see the ability to gather as a group on the surface of a planet as a huge part of the social experience in things like the upcoming DW2 expedition. I keep reading the argument that there needs to be new gameplay provided to justify giving us "space legs", but I beg to differ. The social interaction one can have in an SRV is somewhat limited, but imagine if we could all gather around the campfire in "person". While it might not be everyone's cup of tea, I'm willing to bet that a large part of the community would enjoy this. Considering some of the goofy things people do with SRVs, I can see gestures and poses (and heaven forbid, Fortnite-like dances) adding to the 'campfire' experience.
As for implementation, it would be relatively trivial. I'm not talking about walking around our ships or going on EVA while out in space (though someday that could still come), I'm just talking about having access to either an EVA suit or even just a backpack / jetpack strapped to our RemSuit instead of "wearing" an SRV. We already have avatars, so that's in the code. You may think walking is "hard to code", but look at your SRV while driving around - it has active shock absorbers, it skids when the brakes are locked, etc. I would argue that walking is easier to code than the mechanics of an SRV. And it's not like nobody has ever make a walking avatar in a game before
The other advantage is that explorers like myself could elect to leave the SRV behind and free that slot up for something else if we choose. In other words, the EVA would be part of the planetary landing module, with stairs / ladders as our entry point into our ship. An EVA would obviously be limited compared to an SRV (particularly when it comes to speed), but if we are given a hand tool that works similar to the blasters on the SRV, we could gather mats in our EVA, interact with Guardian ruins, etc. People who don't like walking simulators can completely forgo the EVA and use the standard SRV. The EVA just gives us another option.
* emphasis on the group of players in EVA suits
As for implementation, it would be relatively trivial. I'm not talking about walking around our ships or going on EVA while out in space (though someday that could still come), I'm just talking about having access to either an EVA suit or even just a backpack / jetpack strapped to our RemSuit instead of "wearing" an SRV. We already have avatars, so that's in the code. You may think walking is "hard to code", but look at your SRV while driving around - it has active shock absorbers, it skids when the brakes are locked, etc. I would argue that walking is easier to code than the mechanics of an SRV. And it's not like nobody has ever make a walking avatar in a game before
The other advantage is that explorers like myself could elect to leave the SRV behind and free that slot up for something else if we choose. In other words, the EVA would be part of the planetary landing module, with stairs / ladders as our entry point into our ship. An EVA would obviously be limited compared to an SRV (particularly when it comes to speed), but if we are given a hand tool that works similar to the blasters on the SRV, we could gather mats in our EVA, interact with Guardian ruins, etc. People who don't like walking simulators can completely forgo the EVA and use the standard SRV. The EVA just gives us another option.
* emphasis on the group of players in EVA suits
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