I like to think up a back story for my pilot - where she's from, how her life has been so far etc. It makes the game more interesting to me, especially if I can find my pilot's motivation for acting as she does in the game (such as now when she's been exploring for three months).
Anyway, perhaps it's just me, but I find it much easier to relate to a character, I can see, just as I like it when I can see my ship from time to time. It gives this "Yes, this is me, and this is my ship" feeling. It's a bit like when you meet someone you have so far only chatted with online. Suddenly they become more "real" in a sense.
So far, all I can see of my pilot is her feet. They're nice and all, but it's just not the same. My ship I see only when outfitting or when landed on a planet.
With 2.3 we should be able to create a character so we finally have a head to go with those feet. Hopefully we will also (eventually or from the start) be able to create different body shapes, add different clothing and so on.
My thoughts are as follows: Could it be an idea to make the main menu and the loading screens more individual, to support the identification with one's pilot and ship?
Loading screen:
At the moment the loading screen shows a completely anonymized, orange "not completely wireframe" version of the ship, you are flying (although without ship kits).
Why not show the actual ship you are flying in stead? Complete with any ship kits, paint jobs, wear and tear and so on.
I'm no programmer (at least not on this level), but it strikes me as something that could very easily be implemented, since we already can see our ship from the outside in-game.
It would also make it more interesting to buy paintjobs etc. if you see them more often.
Main Menu screen:
I really like the main menu image, but after having seen it every day for months and months it kinda becomes something you don't see anymore (like the box of stuff that has been standing in the corner of the room forever).
Imagine if the main menu screen showed your pilot doing different things. I'm not taling about animated images, just stills that show your pilot at the helm, in the Scarab, at a station, eating a snack, looking at screens, fixing the engine and so on.
These images could even be made so that they correspond with whatever you are doing in the game at the moment (if you are out exploring, docked, landed on a planet and so on).
I realize that such changes really don't change the actual game at all, but I think they could do loads for the immersion and the way we know and identify with our pilot and ship.
What are your thoughts on this?
Anyway, perhaps it's just me, but I find it much easier to relate to a character, I can see, just as I like it when I can see my ship from time to time. It gives this "Yes, this is me, and this is my ship" feeling. It's a bit like when you meet someone you have so far only chatted with online. Suddenly they become more "real" in a sense.
So far, all I can see of my pilot is her feet. They're nice and all, but it's just not the same. My ship I see only when outfitting or when landed on a planet.
With 2.3 we should be able to create a character so we finally have a head to go with those feet. Hopefully we will also (eventually or from the start) be able to create different body shapes, add different clothing and so on.
My thoughts are as follows: Could it be an idea to make the main menu and the loading screens more individual, to support the identification with one's pilot and ship?
Loading screen:
At the moment the loading screen shows a completely anonymized, orange "not completely wireframe" version of the ship, you are flying (although without ship kits).
Why not show the actual ship you are flying in stead? Complete with any ship kits, paint jobs, wear and tear and so on.
I'm no programmer (at least not on this level), but it strikes me as something that could very easily be implemented, since we already can see our ship from the outside in-game.
It would also make it more interesting to buy paintjobs etc. if you see them more often.
Main Menu screen:
I really like the main menu image, but after having seen it every day for months and months it kinda becomes something you don't see anymore (like the box of stuff that has been standing in the corner of the room forever).
Imagine if the main menu screen showed your pilot doing different things. I'm not taling about animated images, just stills that show your pilot at the helm, in the Scarab, at a station, eating a snack, looking at screens, fixing the engine and so on.
These images could even be made so that they correspond with whatever you are doing in the game at the moment (if you are out exploring, docked, landed on a planet and so on).
I realize that such changes really don't change the actual game at all, but I think they could do loads for the immersion and the way we know and identify with our pilot and ship.
What are your thoughts on this?
