THE FORMIDINE RIFT MYSTERY (Part 4)

[eadghe]

*Sigh* Squabbling over stickers, which in fact we probably have no control over how it is divvied out anyway. Decal for all that want it, bobblehead for those that buy Premonition, and a tinfoil shipkit in the store for those truly dedicated men, women and penguins that desire it.

At the core of the Rifters - why I respect, admire and join in - is Freedom of choice and the sharing of ideas and information. Please, keep it that way. None should be excluded and none should be forced to conform to a specific ideal. You know if you're a rifter, no decal will ever change that.

Now please, lets all move past the whole sticker thing and discuss the proposed CG. I like the idea of bringing home the dead, though not sure how that would be possible in terms of current game mechanics.

Exploration CG sounds fitting, search for beacons or terraformed worlds, maybe other ships that were part of the expedition. That's kind of already been done though, its not that different from what a lot of Rifters have already been doing for years.

Commodities, taking them to the heart and/or soul bases for setting up an expedition of recovery. The dead and information contained on the Zurara, then later down the track the information discovered can lead to further clues. Cryptic clues that require more puzzling out to decode of course

One thing to remember is that the fact the Teorge logs have been discovered means that the forces behind the whole conspiracy no longer care if their plan is discovered. The galaxy knowing about the Dynasty expedition is unimportant at this stage as far as they are concerned.

So bringing attention to the expedition wont have any real effect. We need to figure out who and why, then make that information public and apply intense pressure on these shadowy forces to reveal more information that isn't available to us any other way. How to go about that is something I have been thinking about a lot. So far a CG is the only current game mechanic I can think of, though I'm sure there are other ways I haven't considered yet.

Poking around chasing ghosts hasn't been much use for me as yet, nothing new has come to light that isn't already known. Doesn't mean I will stop, just that so far nothing of interest has come of my usual method of investigation. This is why I'm exploring other options such as a CG, but I welcome any other suggestions to achieve the same goals.

+1 for stopping the discussions about the decal

For the "Bring the Dead home" CG: I think it could be a very simple CG like all the other where players have to deliver certain goods to a station to outfit an expedition. The reached Tier defines how well preped the expedition is and therefore give FD a way to reviel some clues based on that. I think thats the only thing we can do, hoping that FD will used this opportunity. Otherwise we can only guess and find theories about whos behind dynasty because without FD adding some proof we cannot find proof.

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

All this talk of turning the Zurara into a factioned megabase/bar makes me think we should have a shanty for the place.

I vote for "What Do You Do With a Drunken Rifter?"

Do you think "Shave that belly with a gimballed laser" is too gauche?

I like it, it has a certain poetry & rhythm, though it sounds more pirate than Rifter. Perhaps it needs some lines more apropos like "put him in a Sidey till he's sober" "eyeball-ing an airless planet" "listening to the galmap cos he's space-mad"

I thought at first you meant a shanty as in an improvised shack which would be great as a bar, would need to be on a landable planet though; could be feasible if we have some form of airlock arrangement in our helmets for a drinking straw to allow intake of apprpriate liquid refreshment. Would need a good view of a nearby sun, possibly sited in a nebula, with outside chairs tables and parasols.

Back to the faction question- if you become a faction then you will become a target for griefing. They will travel out to your base and undermine you for their lulz. SDC might like a base in the H&S from which to grief Zurara visitors.

We don't need a badge, or a faction, or a base - we know we're Rifters!

 

[BluWolve]

As far as I can see the only way to apply pressure other than with a lazor is by manipulating via the background sim (https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/193064-A-Guide-to-Minor-Factions-and-the-Background-Sim) but I think that is applying pressure to a faction rather than an individual. I don't know if PowerPlay could be used to pressure an individual (I think one or more of the powers is behind Dynasty); neither of these methods of play appeal to me.

Yeah BGS stuff doesn't appeal to me personally either really, though I do understand it quite well and occasionally manipulate it for my own purposes. Galnet could be another way to shed light and apply pressure, but it even if the articles are published doesn't necessarily mean anything comes of it. See one of my attempts at trying to get that 'stard Palin to come clean on what he knows -

http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/BluWolve/screenshot/6340255

Few months later he announces a breakthrough discovery, then a fed cap ship parks over his base and he clams up :/

When winter comes, I hope it smashes the FNS Boxer smack bang into his base. I got my dirty drives and CRCR's already, so I wont mind [haha]

Although to be completely honest, there is a part of me that suspects he may be working for the feds against his will. Have given him plenty of opportunities to come clean though, assuring sanctuary for him if he chooses to speak out. So he has made his bed and will have to sleep in it I guess.

 

[JesusRocks1988]

If he did then I totally missed it. Now you're going to make me go playing forum archaeologist.

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Oh my. That will make an interesting read.

I wonder if I'll stare at that page as long as I did the "Your ship has been destroyed" message.

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I think Drew posted a screenshot of his work in progress that included a character named Joshua finding one of the settlements. Since Jesus=Yeshua=Joshua It didn't take an incredible leap to make the connection

Ah, I didn't see the screenshot, that explains it. However, the name connection is a rather interesting coincidence; must have been an unconscious choice on my part! Feels rather obvious now though [haha]

 

[BluWolve]

+1 for stopping the discussions about the decal

For the "Bring the Dead home" CG: I think it could be a very simple CG like all the other where players have to deliver certain goods to a station to outfit an expedition. The reached Tier defines how well preped the expedition is and therefore give FD a way to reviel some clues based on that. I think thats the only thing we can do, hoping that FD will used this opportunity. Otherwise we can only guess and find theories about whos behind dynasty because without FD adding some proof we cannot find proof.

I agree.

Anyone here have any experience submitting CG's? I reckon this "Zurara recovery expedition" idea is the way to go - is everyone in agreement here?

It gives closure to the families of the crew, and the recovery team can also recover data and stuff onboard giving FDev a lore reason to release more info. In memoriam The Zurara stays where she is, but still is used to further the story line.

It is simple, utilises current game mechanics without having to add anything special or tweak any assets. It is a decent thing to do for RP reasons, and if anyone doesn't care particularly about the dead they can still contribute for the sole purpose of gaining information. Gets people out to the rift area that may not have been, enlightens those that are not aware and encourages those who may not currently feel there is enough incentive to make the trip.

I'm fairly convinced this is the best course of action going forward at this stage, although it does take us away from the core worlds where answers supposedly are.

Any thoughts? Is this a good idea or no?

 

[Harley Quinn]

Will the real Rifter please stand up

Does falling over on the floor from having too much Gin count?

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If you mean the Canonn Gnosis then that may not be a good guide to how megaships work. Her first point of call will be the Pleiades; I fully expect her to be the first casualty when the aliens invade (I anticipate Winter will come not long after PS4 release which is planned for launch in Q2 2017 hence anticipate invasion around July/August), though I hope it's the second cos I want to see Palin BURN!

For some reason you just gave me a horrible thought of aliens joining the BGS and people having to grind that to beat them.

 

[BluWolve]

For some reason you just gave me a horrible thought of aliens joining the BGS and people having to grind that to beat them.

*shudder*

If that's the case let the aliens win.

 

[Taranis Dekker]

I agree.

Anyone here have any experience submitting CG's? I reckon this "Zurara recovery expedition" idea is the way to go - is everyone in agreement here?

It gives closure to the families of the crew, and the recovery team can also recover data and stuff onboard giving FDev a lore reason to release more info. In memoriam The Zurara stays where she is, but still is used to further the story line.

It is simple, utilises current game mechanics without having to add anything special or tweak any assets. It is a decent thing to do for RP reasons, and if anyone doesn't care particularly about the dead they can still contribute for the sole purpose of gaining information. Gets people out to the rift area that may not have been, enlightens those that are not aware and encourages those who may not currently feel there is enough incentive to make the trip.

I'm fairly convinced this is the best course of action going forward at this stage, although it does take us away from the core worlds where answers supposedly are.

Any thoughts? Is this a good idea or no?

I'm very much in favour of a CG that will deliver something tangible, with a real sense of achievement, but.... if we have any input over what the delivery items the CG requires, can I propose that we ask for different types of deliverables - not the specific items. What I mean by that, is not just x tonnes of a commodity market item. Throw in some collected data or materials as well - I believe a recent CG for something else (can't remember which one) actually asked for CMDRs to deliver data as well.

So things useful for repairing the Zurara, or even part of it, such as FSD-scanned data of some sort to repair FSD etc etc. Materials / Metals for components or hull repairs. Medical items for dealing with the remains properly and cleaning Zurara up.

If it's purely 3 different "canned" goods from the bubble, the distances required will put off many, because it'll take a lot of jumps in a cargo-carrying ship of any decent capacity. Kind of - you can either jump a few times with little cargo, or jump many times with loads of cargo.

I'm not suggesting it should be made easy, by any means (if it's too easy, it's not an achievement), but I can picture the everlasting Colonia CGs that hardly ever seem to make progress. We don't want the same thing happening for a Zurara CG. Rewards need to justify the involvement for players not interested in the rift or the ship.

 

[eadghe]

I'm very much in favour of a CG that will deliver something tangible, with a real sense of achievement, but.... if we have any input over what the delivery items the CG requires, can I propose that we ask for different types of deliverables - not the specific items. What I mean by that, is not just x tonnes of a commodity market item. Throw in some collected data or materials as well - I believe a recent CG for something else (can't remember which one) actually asked for CMDRs to deliver data as well.

So things useful for repairing the Zurara, or even part of it, such as FSD-scanned data of some sort to repair FSD etc etc. Materials / Metals for components or hull repairs. Medical items for dealing with the remains properly and cleaning Zurara up.

If it's purely 3 different "canned" goods from the bubble, the distances required will put off many, because it'll take a lot of jumps in a cargo-carrying ship of any decent capacity. Kind of - you can either jump a few times with little cargo, or jump many times with loads of cargo.

I'm not suggesting it should be made easy, by any means (if it's too easy, it's not an achievement), but I can picture the everlasting Colonia CGs that hardly ever seem to make progress. We don't want the same thing happening for a Zurara CG.

I dont think its necessary to carry the goods out to the rift, the CG will outfit an expedition which starts in the core worlds.
Edit: Lets say a megaship which needs fuel, scientific equipment, medical equipment, rations for the long trip and a lot of coffins.

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

Yeah BGS stuff doesn't appeal to me personally either really, though I do understand it quite well and occasionally manipulate it for my own purposes. Galnet could be another way to shed light and apply pressure, but it even if the articles are published doesn't necessarily mean anything comes of it. See one of my attempts at trying to get that 'stard Palin to come clean on what he knows -

http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/BluWolve/screenshot/6340255

Few months later he announces a breakthrough discovery, then a fed cap ship parks over his base and he clams up :/

When winter comes, I hope it smashes the FNS Boxer smack bang into his base. I got my dirty drives and CRCR's already, so I wont mind [haha]

Although to be completely honest, there is a part of me that suspects he may be working for the feds against his will. Have given him plenty of opportunities to come clean though, assuring sanctuary for him if he chooses to speak out. So he has made his bed and will have to sleep in it I guess.

Or hide underneath it when the ravenous beasties arrive!

You may have a solution with the ruins-hyperdiction hypothesis. I've not been hyperdicted since they started despite several trips out to Palin to reengineer my fleet, visit the first alien wreck site, and through Pleiades on way out to the FRift. Nary a flowership in sight but I've never been to a ruin either. I have visited Ram Tah a few times for the engineering.

Edit: a few people have reported chain hyperdictions. Would be worth ascertaining if they have done multiple ruin visits!

 

[Taranis Dekker]

I dont think its necessary to carry the goods out to the rift, the CG will outfit an expedition which starts in the core worlds.
Edit: Lets say a megaship which needs fuel, scientific equipment, medical equipment, rations for the long trip and a lot of coffins.

Good point re fitting out an expedition... [up] give me complicated or easy... I'll go complicated every time!

Mustn't forget the tea, either. Very important. We can't go anywhere without tea. Or a towel.

 

[Harley Quinn]

*shudder*

If that's the case let the aliens win.

So cmdr, how did you beat back the alien invaders?

Well I took all these missions to deliver biowaste to them and they went into outbreak, lost influence and went into retreat.

Was there any difficulties doing this?

No. Nothing other than the usual round of pirates after my tasty cargo.

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

+1 for stopping the discussions about the decal

For the "Bring the Dead home" CG: I think it could be a very simple CG like all the other where players have to deliver certain goods to a station to outfit an expedition. The reached Tier defines how well preped the expedition is and therefore give FD a way to reviel some clues based on that. I think thats the only thing we can do, hoping that FD will used this opportunity. Otherwise we can only guess and find theories about whos behind dynasty because without FD adding some proof we cannot find proof.

I would support a CG to bring home the Zurara dead. Don't mind if that is tied to a decal, though would prefer if the decal was also tied into book purchase as a tribute to DrewW, not at all interested in factioneering (don't like crowds, never mind a crowded bar).

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Does falling over on the floor from having too much Gin count?

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For some reason you just gave me a horrible thought of aliens joining the BGS and people having to grind that to beat them.

Someone did report that there's a a thargoid faction, but since that probably came from file dipping I didn't read it

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I dont think its necessary to carry the goods out to the rift, the CG will outfit an expedition which starts in the core worlds.
Edit: Lets say a megaship which needs fuel, scientific equipment, medical equipment, rations for the long trip and a lot of coffins.

Well the tier requirements could be set fairly low to allow for the distance. I wouldn't mind converting my Annie to cargo carrier and hauling a few tonnes of equipment, rations and coffins out to Farsight Base. But just one trip mind! Could do some more exploration on the way there & back-determined to get Elite exploration & visit Shinrarta before the Thargs do; started this Zurara trip on 12% Pioneer, now up to 45%.

Edit: people have supported the Colonia CG by carrying books out there; isnt that further than H&S?

Edit: actually, just realised humanity is totally safe from any alien invasion- just get the Pilots Federation to declare the bubble a locked sector! Unless they've been infiltrated.. where's that Bentonio, I want to ask him some hard questions!

 

[Jorki Rasalas]

I'm very much in favour of a CG that will deliver something tangible, with a real sense of achievement, but.... if we have any input over what the delivery items the CG requires, can I propose that we ask for different types of deliverables - not the specific items. What I mean by that, is not just x tonnes of a commodity market item. Throw in some collected data or materials as well - I believe a recent CG for something else (can't remember which one) actually asked for CMDRs to deliver data as well.

So things useful for repairing the Zurara, or even part of it, such as FSD-scanned data of some sort to repair FSD etc etc. Materials / Metals for components or hull repairs. Medical items for dealing with the remains properly and cleaning Zurara up.

If it's purely 3 different "canned" goods from the bubble, the distances required will put off many, because it'll take a lot of jumps in a cargo-carrying ship of any decent capacity. Kind of - you can either jump a few times with little cargo, or jump many times with loads of cargo.

I'm not suggesting it should be made easy, by any means (if it's too easy, it's not an achievement), but I can picture the everlasting Colonia CGs that hardly ever seem to make progress. We don't want the same thing happening for a Zurara CG. Rewards need to justify the involvement for players not interested in the rift or the ship.

Well, if you make it a long distance CG then that might indeed deter people who are not of a mindset to be true Rifters as denoted by a decal, so I'm liking this idea even more.

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Good point re fitting out an expedition... [up] give me complicated or easy... I'll go complicated every time!

Mustn't forget the tea, either. Very important. We can't go anywhere without tea. Or a towel.

Coffee for me, with or without Lavian brandy. Not a tea drinker; even of Yorkshire tea (t'bushes grow on t'moors above Harrogate, and are trod by t'gentle toes of lasses in clogs).

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So cmdr, how did you beat back the alien invaders?

Well I took all these missions to deliver biowaste to them and they went into outbreak, lost influence and went into retreat.

Was there any difficulties doing this?

No. Nothing other than the usual round of pirates after my tasty cargo.

Clearly traitors to humanity from the well-known Pirate Gardener clan, who specialise in early potatoes and rhubarb. I believe they were associated with Dread Pirate Robert, but have separated and are now led by Dread Pirate Percy, or was it Monty?

Sorry, have gardening on the brain- must go and do some (unwillingly).

 

[Javert]

Ref the Cannon decal - just for reference I looked into this and from what I've heard:

The Cannon decal will be given to anyone who does one of these two things
1) Participates in an upcoming CG.
2) Becomes Allied with the Cannon faction in game.

There is no time limit on 2.

I'm also wondering about all this discussion on what to do - shouldn't you guys also be picking part the logs found in Teorge - there was quite a lot of info there, and I've seen various posts dismissing it as "we guessed that already" - shouldn't it be subjected to a more rigorous and detailed review?

 

[eadghe]

Well the tier requirements could be set fairly low to allow for the distance. I wouldn't mind converting my Annie to cargo carrier and hauling a few tonnes of equipment, rations and coffins out to Farsight Base. But just one trip mind! Could do some more exploration on the way there & back-determined to get Elite exploration & visit Shinrarta before the Thargs do; started this Zurara trip on 12% Pioneer, now up to 45%.

I am fine with whether the CG is far out or somewhere in the bubble. It depends on what we want to archive. I personally like to create awareness and show the community that the Zurara is still out there and that there is still something happening with it. At the movement I get the feeling that the chapter is already closed in the heads of most people. Having a CG somewhere in the bubble would get more people to participate.

 

[CMDR Zadian Lichtfrost]

I'm very much in favour of a CG that will deliver something tangible, with a real sense of achievement, but.... if we have any input over what the delivery items the CG requires, can I propose that we ask for different types of deliverables - not the specific items. …

Different types of things have been used in CGs in recent times. The problem with this approach is that one of these things is usually easier to acquire than others and the CG is basically just "bring that type".
Using engineer materials or data is, in my opinion, not a good idea as it adds a lot of randomness to the CG as acquiring those materials is based on chance.

So things useful for repairing the Zurara, or even part of it, such as FSD-scanned data of some sort to repair FSD etc etc. Materials / Metals for components or hull repairs. Medical items for dealing with the remains properly and cleaning Zurara up.

In that case using medical commodities would be the fastest and easiest way to bring large quantities to the CG system. The moment acquiring the materials takes longer than delivering the materials it is better to haul large quantities of easily obtainable goods in a slow freighter.

If it's purely 3 different "canned" goods from the bubble, the distances required will put off many, because it'll take a lot of jumps in a cargo-carrying ship of any decent capacity. Kind of - you can either jump a few times with little cargo, or jump many times with loads of cargo.

People hauled commodity goods to Colonia for a CG. There are crazy haulers out there.

I would personally prefer rare goods. Sure, the tea-baggers will "rule" the CG, but the majority of participants will use small ships with long jump-ranges. It's accessible for all players as it doesn't require a special ship.

I'm not suggesting it should be made easy, by any means (if it's too easy, it's not an achievement), but I can picture the everlasting Colonia CGs that hardly ever seem to make progress. We don't want the same thing happening for a Zurara CG. Rewards need to justify the involvement for players not interested in the rift or the ship.

The current Colonia CG is different form other CGs as it is simply a method of getting a faction injected into Colonia and the progress bar doesn't show the actually progress for the different factions/groups participating.

About a decal: I just realized that even if there was a Rifter decal and I had it, I would never see it. 0% paint has erased the decals on my DBX. Only a few black dots here and there where the decal should be.

 

[G4RY]

First and foremost as people have suggested (i think) the best start for the Zurara would be a forensics/science team to investigate the whole ship, and go from there. Whether it be a CG or whether to leave it the hell alone. I know, they all had taken this Hexedit stuff and probably still trippin' even now.. i jokes. But we know what happened to the crew from the logs, not what they had stored on their computers or whatever within the ship, There is probably a plethora of information inside.

TINFOIL ON
What are the chances of a crew member still being alive? Frozen, perfectly preserved so the logs say.... chances are slim i know.
TINFOIL OFF

But a specialised team going in and turning the ship upside down (metaphorically speaking) may reveal more about the dynasty project... possibly revealing more clues etc etc.. you know what i'm talking about

If all goes well, then CG happen's to 'restore' her. But from my point of view, there isn't much to restore judging from the logs. Main reactor, life support and batteries? not much to turn into a CG in my opinion, and as you can see, the Zurara looks healthy for the amount of time she has been drifting... wouldn't make sense to transport millions of something to get a ship running again.

But obviously if a team went in to investigate then we will be waiting around for Galnet to keep us informed on their findings... i don't know i'm just rambling at this point.

Would be nice to see her flying though...

 

[TheHavoc]

I'm also wondering about all this discussion on what to do - shouldn't you guys also be picking part the logs found in Teorge - there was quite a lot of info there, and I've seen various posts dismissing it as "we guessed that already" - shouldn't it be subjected to a more rigorous and detailed review?

I agree, I am also wondering about that. I for myself would do, but as I wrote before, I am fed up with that, I don't feel like chasing the next goose (not any more, I feel a bit mucked around with) or ghost that leads to another goose that leads to the next goose that leads to another goose that leads to ...........

 

[Levianova]

Ever consider its as simple as allying with teorge dynasty in zaonce? Need to confirm my lore for it though ingame as i recall i think bank of zaonce was built by a family from teorge and faulcon delacy is one of its assets. Zurura launched from reorte i believe which is delacy shipyards. There fore dynasty project is literal dynasty. I may be wrong kinda at work so carnt recheck all my facts. Check lore beacons in zaonce and reorte.